This year we’re doing something a little different for the Trade Deadline. Every blogger out there is going to tell you who’s going to be a buyer, who’s going to be a seller, who needs this, and who needs that. And for the record, I reserve the right to do the same thing later—although it might just be more entertaining to make fun of teams and completely overreact after the fact.

But we wanted to do something a little different around here. This year, we wanted to put these same questions in front of fans who cheer passionately for their teams. Its one thing to hear answers from a blogger who follows the team and has an eye towards objectivity; but it’s something else completely when you ask the question to a diehard fan who cheers with their heart on their sleeve. We’re talking about people who watch their team every game, know what their team needs, and have strong opinions on what needs to do to get better. They’re you and me. Hockey fans.

What better place to look for passionate hockey fans all over North America than checking out Twitter? So that’s where we went—and here’s who we found! For the Northeast Division, we have CJ representing the Bruins, Jason for the Sabres, Kyle for the Canadiens, Michael for the Senators, and Karina for the Leafs.

Hope you enjoy the project as much as we’ve enjoyed putting it together. After checking out everyone’s views, we’d love to hear if you agree or disagree with everyone’s answers. We know you have an opinion as well!

1.  Is your team living up to the expectations they had going into the season? Do you think there’s more or less pressure to make moves at the deadline because of those expectations?

CJ (Bruins): While the Bruins were certainly improved up front this season (see the fact they actually score goals), it is Tim Thomas who has carried the team on his back for stretches longer than anticipated. There was certainly added pressure on the lack of PP production, with the loss of Savard for the remainder of the season; followed closely by the B’s struggles on the PK of late. The physical element which was missing for long stretches a year ago is alive and well in Boston, which, as a fan meant only one thing, it was time for management to acquire whatever finishing touches were necessary to make a legitimate run for the Cup.

Jason (Sabres): To answer this question let’s first start off in the off-season. The Sabres had another very poor off-season with no notable free agent signings, as well as the loss of Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman in the feeding frenzy of free agency, which left a gapping hole on defense. Despite a lackluster off-season, expectations could still be high at this point, right? After all, the Sabres are the defending Northeast Division Champs. Ryan Miller won a Silver Medal in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics as well as being named MVP of the tournament, and he later won the Vezina trophy for best goaltender in the 09-10 NHL season. Tyler Myers came from nowhere to win the Calder Trophy for NHL’s best rookie and dazzled the Buffalo faithful with his great play at both ends of the rink. I’d say expectations were pretty high at this point. Then the season started and everything went downhill. Poor play, injuries, bad penalties, and before you knew it the Sabres were outside looking in on the playoff pack. The Buffalo Sabres are currently not living up to expectations. Now, because of their poor start there is more pressure to make a move at the trade deadline.

Kyle (Canadiens): The Habs are certainly living up to their projections. Most had them as a bubble team, and they may yet end up being that, but at the time of writing this, they are 5th in the conference, and only 1 point out of 3rd. Considering some of the devastating injuries they’ve had to their blue line, they have done very well for themselves. That said, they all owe Carey Price a great deal of thanks for the work he’s done in providing them such a comfortable position. As the trade deadline approaches, the Canadiens find themselves between a rock and a hard place. They’re well positioned to make the playoffs, and as such are likely to be buyers at the deadline. The debate is how big of a buyer they ought to be. With Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges done for the year, regardless of how far they go in the post-season, it’s my opinion that they should not go overboard in addressing needs such as size and scoring depth up front and mobility on the blueline. I don’t see it as smart to flush out two assets for short-term rentals. If the Canadiens were healthy right now, I’d be inclined to say that General Manager Pierre Gauthier should do what he has to do to get the final pieces to what could be a long Cup run.

Michael (Senators): Well…..what a fun season this year, eh Sens fans? As I type we sit rooted to the bottom of the Eastern Conference and it’s the day after the Mike Fisher trade (more on that to come). The consolation we can look to is the 2nd overall draft pick we currently occupy, and the hope that we rebuild well during the next 2-3 years and come back stronger.

You don’t need to me tell you that it has obviously been a below par year for the Ottawa Senators and our fans, and way off our expectations going into the 2010/11 season. A 5th place finish in the East last year, followed by a great effort in the first round of the play offs where we just missed out on taking the Pens to a Game 7, should have given us the scope to build on that for this season.

As a result of our poor year, there are overwhelming pleas, from the fans to the management, for a total rebuild and to begin selling off our most tradable assets in exchange for picks and prospects to help our recovery.

Karina (Leafs): For me, the Leafs are living up to the expectations I had. I wanted them to be fighting for a playoff spot but I thought they’d struggle for most of the year. They’re currently sitting in 11th in the eastern conference which has me satisfied, they are out of the draft lottery and in position to make an oh-so-desperate-and-disappointing push for 8th.

2.  Will your team be a buyer or a seller? What are fans hoping to see the team do at the deadline?

CJ (Bruins): The Bruins were buyers, and I LOVE the fact that GM Peter Chiarelli pulled the trigger early instead of waiting for the desperation of other teams at the deadline to drive up the prices. The Bruins added Tomas Kaberle, a puck moving defenseman, to QB their POWERPLAY, and likely tutor young d-man Steven Kampfer. The Bruins also added seasoned vets Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley, both of whom play a smart two-way style, and while not flashy, add depth to the 3rd and 4th lines. Since the B’s roll 4 lines consistently, adding versatile players who are also very successful on the face-off dot are exactly the kind of players the Bruins add at the deadline (see Mark Recchi added at ’09 deadline).

Jason (Sabres): I believe that the Buffalo Sabres will be buyers this trading deadline. Terry Pegula, the new Sabres owner, will soon get the keys to the Sabres “big boy office” and I believe change is coming (or at least I hope). I think the fans want, or at least I am personally hoping for, a top six forward and maybe an upgrade on defense… and a back up goalie (ok I’m getting greedy – you’re awful Lalime!!).

Kyle (Canadiens): The Canadiens will be some sort of buyer. The order of business in Montreal is to always make the playoffs, and barring a disastrous season that sees them with virtually no chance of making the playoffs, the Canadiens will always be buyers. Pierre Gauthier has gone on record as saying that he doesn’t like trading prospects or draft picks for temporary rentals, and I don’t expect this year to be any different. I expect him to make a small move for a depth defenseman at the cost of a fringe prospect, or a middle-round draft choice. Depending on who you ask though, the Canadiens have no choice but to add massive amounts of size and toughness at any cost. Recent losses to the Bruins and Flyers, in which the Canadiens were exposed as small have been rallying points for fans as the trade deadline looms. Pugilists can be had for very little, but size and toughness that can also play hockey is a different story. Those players don’t grow on trees and the cost of trading for them at this time of year could be astronomical, as that’s what everyone tends to look for.

Michael (Senators): Ottawa will not only be sellers at the trade deadline, but probably the biggest sellers in the NHL this time around. We will be looking at doing deals to remove salary from the books, and to build our prospects pool. This process has already begun with the Fisher trade to the Predators for their 1st round pick in 2011, and a conditional pick in 2012.

Chris Philips is another who I expect to follow Fisher out of the Sens exit door. He’s a free agent in the summer and there are rumours surrounding a trade with the Habs or Bruins. Personally, I see Phillips making the short move to Montreal to add some defensive bite on their 3rd line, probably in exchange for a 2nd or 3rd round pick.

I also think there will be some buyers pondering a move for Kovalev to add some playoff magic to their roster, although a 3rd round pick would be much more realistic in this deal following the Russian’s average 2 years in Ottawa, at best!

Others on the potential trade list, Ruutu and Neil perhaps. Both will add grit and determination to a play-off chasing team’s roster, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were still in the Nation’s Capital after February 28.

Karina (Leafs): Both. The Leafs are getting rid of a few pieces – the most obvious one I expected was the Beauchemin trade, but Versteeg is already gone as well – but the price of selling these pieces includes bringing back something that can contribute now. Kaberle has gone for an impressive package, which probably means that the Leafs are now buyers – they’ve got a large storehouse of prospects and picks, but really need to improve the line-up right now.

3.  What specifically does your team need if they want to take the next step?  Which players/prospects are on the trading block and could be on the move by Deadline Day?

CJ (Bruins): They need to add the players they have acquired into the mix, and practice the dang POWERPLAY! Having Kaberle will only be an asset if players are moving off of the puck and creating traffic in front. I believe the Bruins are poised to make their first credible run at the Cup since 1990, and as a fan I am thrilled that they didn’t make huge sacrifices to get these pieces. I believe that the B’s will miss Mark Stuart’s leadership in the room, and especially as a leader by example with the young players, as his work ethic was tremendous! I am hopeful that with these deals and the players in place that the message has been clearly received by the players that the time is NOW to do whatever is necessary to win the Cup. It is an exciting time to be a fan of the Bruins!!

Jason (Sabres): I think that the Sabres need a Brad Richards type player to compliment the core players like Vanek, Stafford, Roy, and Pominville. A player like Dustin Brown or Ryan Callahan would be nice as well. Watch any Sabres game and you will notice there are instances where they need the physicality of a player like Brown/Callahan who can also tickle the twine. A defensive player like Mike Komisarek would be nice too. They need a little leadership on the blue line.

Here are the players that should be on the block:

Tim Connolly – Ok I love the hometown kids, but with the injuries and running around aimlessly, you have to go.

Michael Grier – I’m a fan but you haven’t done anything this season.

Jochen Hecht – You continue to underachieve year after year. Sure, you can kill penalties but I watch you take lazy penalties just about every game. (Every year I hope you’re traded but you continue to stick around. I am seriously being punished every time you turn the puck over.)

Shaone Morrison – Well that didn’t work.

Rob Niedermayer – Don’t even get me started.

Craig Rivet – I don’t think he completely recovered from his off-season surgery.

I saved the best for last… Wait for it…

Patrick Lalime – Please go, PLEASE GO!! I get it; you’re a great locker room guy. Become a coach or some kind of consultant but please, please, do not step into the crease for the Sabres ever again.

You might see Jason Pominville and Drew Stafford’s names thrown around to see what they can get in return, but I hope they do not trade either, especially as hot as Stafford is right now.

Some prospects you might see on the block are Philip Gogula maybe even Mark Mancari. TJ Brennan’s name may be thrown around as well as Drew Schiestel.

Kyle (Canadiens): For the past two seasons, the Canadiens have been missing their best player, Andrei Markov for the majority of the season and post-season. His absence has really muddied the view as to what the Canadiens need, and what they potentially can be as a fully healthy team. Regardless, the Canadiens do need a forward that can be a threat to put the puck in the net, who can throw his weight around at the same time and have opponents thinking twice about taking liberties on the Canadiens smaller forwards. The name Zenon Konopka has become a popular target among Habs fans in the past couple weeks. The Canadiens are very good at hiding their intentions, as well as masking who is and isn’t available for trade. I would have to imagine that nobody off the current roster is available except for Andrei Kostitsyn, as he is a restricted free agent, and not a favorite of Head Coach Jacques Martin. Obviously a guy like Scott Gomez, with his heavy contract is always available, but it depends on the return if he were to be moved at this time of year. There is talk that young defenseman Yannick Weber is available, but considering how thin the Habs are on defense, moving him would be premature. Other prospects on their AHL affiliate in Hamilton may be up for grabs, but there aren’t any headline grabbers there that would tremble the earth if they were moved.

Michael (Senators): Going forward with the numerous draft picks we will undoubtedly receive from any such trades, I hope we can focus our efforts in acquiring young forwards, as I feel this is the area that requires the most developing. With young, up and coming defencemen like Karlsson, Cowen, Wiercioch, and Rundblad to name but a few, along with great potential in goalie Robin Lehner, it seems up front is where our biggest problem lies, both now and in the future.

Karina (Leafs): I had expected a goalie to get moved – Giguere, Gustavsson or maybe even Reimer – but with the rash of injuries I don’t think there’ll be any movement there. I think that the 1st the Leafs got from Philly will be in play, as well as any other picks teams request. The Leafs have far too many career AHLers playing right now and while part of that is due to injuries, there’s definitely a need for an upgrade in talent. Another depth defenseman is required, if only to prevent Brett Lebda from playing. The big question this week is whether Burke can extend Clarke MacArthur for a reasonable price, and if not, does he trade him? Personally, I’d like to keep MacArthur, and package a first with a prospect or young player (maybe Hanson) for a roster player, someone around 25, 26 years old and with a reasonable deal.

Fans love watching the 1st round of the NHL Draft. Most fans will take the picks, compare them to what Bob McKenzie told us would happen, and then start spouting opinions on who “won” the draft and which teams fell on their faces. Since about 50% of 1st round picks end up making the NHL at some point in their career, there’s no denying that it’s important to get it right at the top of the draft.

But after the bright lights of the first round fade on Friday night, Saturday morning is when a scouting staff will earn their keep. Most teams have the same handful of guys in the top 20 or 30—but there will be huge discrepancies later in the draft. Some teams will have a player as a top 50 guy; some teams won’t even have them on their board. A great scouting staff will be able to find the NHL players in the later round. While some will become stars, more often these are the players who will fill out a roster and separate the teams who have depth from those who don’t. Let’s be real, teams only get one 1st rounder per year (unless they’re the Boston Bruins) and even if they got more than one, they couldn’t afford them. Late round draft success is more important than ever.

If 1st rounders are the star quarterbacks that everyone notices, then the successful later round picks are like good offensive linemen. Every team needs them to be good.

Gare Joyce’s book “Future Greats and Heartbreaks” has the author traveling around the hockey world as a scout for a full calendar year. Within the first section of the book, Joyce mentioned on July 1, 2006, despite a fair amount of success in drafting young talent, the Buffalo Sabres decided to go in a different direction.

“But with their top scouts being shown the door, the Sabres are changing strategy. They are stripping the scouting staff down to a skeleton crew. Word is that they plan to rely on video for scouting. For scouts, this is an unthinkable compromise. Video offers them only a partial picture of the players—for them, it’s like reviewing movies based on trailers.” –Gare Joyce “Future Greats and Heartbreaks” (pg. 97)

Under Darcy Regier’s stewardship, the Sabres organization seemed to understand that concept. Sure, they had some hits with their 1st round picks. But it was the picks AFTER the first round that truly made them a perennial contender in the mid-2000s.

Not only did the Sabres seemingly have the right system in place, but they had the right scouts running within the system.

“The Sabres had done better in the draft than any other squad in the league. Not only did drafted players form the nucleus of the squad that made a surprising run to the brink of the Stanley Cup, but, more broadly, there were more players drafted by the Buffalo Sabres playing in the NHL than draftees of any other team.” –Gare Joyce, “Future Greats and Heartbreaks” (pg 96)

Between his first draft with Buffalo in 1997 and the budget slashing measures that left the scouts on the street, the Sabres had great success with 2nd rounders and below. They were able to select and successfully develop Henrik Tallinder, Maxim Afinogenov, Brian Campbell, Ales Kotalik, Ryan Miller, Paul Gaustad, Derek Roy, Chris Thorburn, Jason Pominville, Dennis Wideman, Clarke MacArthur, Jan Hejda, Nathan Paetsch, Andrej Sekera, Patrick Kaleta, Chris Butler, and Nathan Gerbe. Not bad considering the highest draft pick in that impressive list was Derek Roy at #32 overall.

The key to the Sabres’ success in the mid-part of the 2000’s was that they were able to make more with less. When the salary cap leveled the playing field for everyone, their ability to find stars (and depth) through the draft came to the forefront and took them all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. Twice.

But on July 1, 2006, the Buffalo Sabres decided to fire a bunch of scouts. One game from the Stanley Cup Finals and they decide that it’s best to take a jackhammer to the very foundation of their operation that had made them successful. They had a key advantage, an advantage that was only more important with the new salary cap, and they decided it was more important to save on organizational overhead.

6th rounders like Brian Campbell are a good thing...

The more I thought about it, the more I kept coming back to the same question: “So how’s that working out for you, Buffalo?” Well, there’s only one way to find out, right?

In the 4 drafts since they made the fundamental change to their organization, they’ve seen only a single player (Adam Luke Luke Adam) drafted outside of the 1st round play in an NHL game. We’re not just talking about for the Sabres, we’re talking about league-wide. Only one of their draft picks has made it to the show.

Obviously, it’s too early to make sweeping, final judgments on the Sabres’ drafts. We all know that prospects develop at different rates and it’s way too early to deem ANY of the draft picks as busts. But what we can do is compare the struggles to the success rates they had BEFORE July 1, 2006. When you compare the drafts before and after the shift in philosophy, there’s a huge difference.

From a Buffalo perspective, the trend hasn’t been all that promising.

None of this is to say that the Sabres haven’t had any recent draft successes. They happily selected Tyler Myers when he slipped to 12th in the historically deep 2008 draft. Tyler Ennis is excitement personified every time he touches the puck. Zack Kassian looks like he’ll make it to the NHL one day as a tough guy with hands, and defenseman T.J. Brennan is a prospect who will get to show if he can hang at the NHL level one day. But those are 1st rounders. Those are the guys who are supposed to make it to the NHL. Obviously, it’s important to get those right as well—but drafting in the late-rounds is a different animal.

This brings us to our point. It shouldn’t be surprising that the Sabres continue to draft (reasonably) well in the 1st round. For a team that has switched primarily to video review to monitor prospects, there’s just a lot more information out there for the highest rated prospects. More and more scouts know about them; and they’ve known about them for far longer than the 5th round pick who only a few teams are high on.

It’s those mid-to-late round draft picks where scouts on the ground make their money. I could watch a Windsor game last season and tell you that Taylor Hall and Cam Fowler were great. That doesn’t take a trained eye. But for a scout to observe how an undersized player goes into the traffic areas and how a bigger player shies away from contact—those are things that don’t translate as well on video. Does a 5’9” player want to go into the high traffic areas? Does a big, physical defenseman play well against all players? Or just against players who are smaller and will never make the NHL? There’s something about seeing the entire game with your own eyes.

The Sabres can easily go to the “we’re a small-market club” when asked for any explanation. Sure, they had made it deep into the playoffs in successive years. Sure, they have a great season ticket fanbase. But that doesn’t matter for a team that has been able to claim their small market and can’t compete financially with the Maple Leafs and Rangers of the world.

Bottom line: the Sabres killed the goose that laid the golden eggs. They had the competitive advantage that all teams starve for—and they gave it up to save a few bucks. They have their Tyler Myers and Tyler Ennis to hide the truth for a few years. But in 3-5 years when their shrinking depth shrinks even more, we’ll know why. It won’t be because their scouts suddenly forgot the game of hockey and it won’t be because their prospects stopped developing. It will be because the organization decided to try to draft on the cheap.

Good luck trying to explain that one.

It’s really easy to talk about a player suffering from a sophomore slump. It’s easy– and sometimes lazy. Really, what does that even mean? I get it– it’s a player’s second season and they struggle. But why? Why does that player who showed so much promise in his rookie year regress so severely?

There’s a deeper question that isn’t answered here (even though people think they’re answering the question). It’s like  asking why someone died and hearing, “Old age.” Does that mean the human body sees 90 candles on a birthday cake and instantly ceases to function properly? Hell no. It means there was heart failure, or liver failure, or slight pneumonia that the older person couldn’t deal with. THAT is what killed them. Not some mythical “old age syndrome.”

What you don't see here is the 2-0 going the other way...

So when a 2nd-year player starts to struggle, there’s always something more going on than the kid’s body hitting the 83 game mark. Sometimes they didn’t work as hard in the summer. Sometimes they take their spot on the team for granted and aren’t as hungry as they originally were. Who knows? But for every player who deals with this common occurrence, there are invariably a unique set of circumstances for each player.

This season, Tyler Myers looks like he’s the poster boy for the sophomore slump. Like Steve Mason before him, the defending Calder Trophy winning defenseman is having a nightmare encore act. In the early going, he’s a league-worst -10. Fairly impressive considering a) it’s only been 12 games; b) the next worst guy on the team is a -5; and c) there’s a defenseman on his own team who is a +9. Being the worst plus/minus guy and being second on the team in total ice time is not exactly the way to fly under the radar. On a related note, his 20 giveaways are an NHL worst (tied). Somehow, I think being the worst in the NHL in the giveaway department might have something to do with him being the league worst in the plus/minus department.  Then again, leading the NHL in turnovers isn’t anything new.

Keep in mind that even when Myers was playing at his best last season he was prone to occasionally coughing up the puck. You must have some talent if you can win a Calder Trophy after leading the NHL in giveaways. -Kukla’s Korner

The easy answer to explain Myers’ demise is that he doesn’t have Henrik Tallinder to bail him out like last season. While the Sabres had high hopes for the 8’3” defenseman, they paired him with their best blueliner to help ease the transition. Any mistakes he made were minimized because Tallinder was there to help pick up the slack. When he needed to exit the zone, Tallinder was there to give him an outlet option. When he rushed up the ice, Tallinder was there to stay at home and limit the opposition’s scoring chances in the event of a turnover.

Looking at the difference between last season and the present, the Sabres might be depending on him to do too much. Unfortunately, that decision wasn’t made by Lindy Ruff in the middle of a regular season game—it was made in July when Buffalo allowed their 2nd and 3rd best defensemen to walk and replaced them with Jordan Leopold and Shaone Morrisonn. With that decision, the organization made the conscious decision to hand the keys to the defense over to 20-year-old Myers.

By all accounts, it looks like Myers knows what the organization did as well. As cliché as it is to say a young player is struggling because he’s trying to do too much, it’s certainly the case here. Instead of making the safe play up the boards, fans have watched him repeatedly try to make things happen when it’s just not there. He tries to rush the puck when he needs to chip it out. He tries to crash the net when there are no forwards able to cover the blue line for him. He drifts too far down the half-boards and it only takes one transitional pass for him to get caught behind the play. Any one of those could be a small problem for a maturing player. Put them together and you have a player who is struggling to find his way.

Visual evidence of said play

Nothing exemplified his struggles more than a sequence of events against the Dallas Stars this weekend. On the power play, Myers was left to bring the puck up himself out of his own zone. Momentarily, he lost the puck and it looked like he was going to give up a breakaway. At the last minute, he was able to steal the puck back—before Jamie Benn stole the puck yet again going in on net and leading to a goal for Steve Ott. In five seconds, Myers gave up the puck twice on the power play in his own zone and gave up a short-handed goal against. And he had ZERO help on the play.

Last year, he gets the puck out. Maybe it’s because he would have had a defensive partner back there to help him out. Maybe last year the team wouldn’t depend on him to take it out of the zone by himself. And honestly, last year everything he touched turned to gold. Maybe we’re watching him regress to the mean.

Until Myers turns things around, we’re going to be privileged to a multitude of sophomore slump articles. But when you hear those things getting thrown about, think about the pieces to his game that are causing the slump. Remember, it’s not like he woke up one day in the off-season and thought it would be a great idea to screw with Sabres fans and suck. Part of it is because he hasn’t been put in the same situation as he was last season. Part of it is because his safety net has been removed and the training wheels are off. And you know what? Part of it is because he’s trying to be the same player as he was last year.

As soon as the Sabres realize that the expectations might be too much, he might be able to turn things around. More importantly, as soon as Myers realizes that the expectations aren’t realistic, he will turn things around.

If you had told me five games into the regular season that the Toronto Maple Leafs were number one in the Eastern Conference and tied for number one in the National Hockey League I would have drafted Nazim Kadri in my fantasy league you’d have me believing you were bat-shit crazy.

But I thought Toronto was re-building?

Brian Burke doesn’t believe in re-builds. Sure, he’ll blow a team up, but he expects to make a Stanley Cup run each year with his tough, skilled, veteran teams. He’ll overpay on trades, move up and down draft tables and bully general managers into giving him what he wants (see: the Sedins).

"Rebuilding is for wusses"

But, guess what? It works. The era of John Ferguson, Jr. was mired in abysmal failure, bloated contracts, jaw-droppingly awful trades and general non-success. Cliff Fletcher drafted Luke Schenn. That was about it. Brian Burke has built the team through free agency and trades.  If you think he’s waiting three years for a prospect to develop, you’re wrong.  You might not always agree with him, but he gets what he wants and he’s usually successful.

So what the hell is going on in Toronto? Brian Burke started to build a culture. One of toughness, accountability and pride in the blue and white. He traded for Calgary malcontent Dion Phaneuf and made him captain. It looks like that’s working out in the hockey mecca. Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who Anaheim fans thought was washed up, is 3-0-1 with a 1.96 GAA and a .911 save percentage. Why those don’t seem like washed up numbers, do they? Tyler Seguin Phil Kessel has five goals and two assists in seven games. He also made some worthy additions in the off-season in Kris Versteeg and Colby Armstrong.  Versteeg has two points and a plus-two.  If you were Twitter with angst-ridden rants when Tomas Kaberle’s no-trade clause went into effect, Kaberle has four assists and is a plus-three.  You might need a guy like him in the playoffs.

Do I really believe the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to win a Stanley Cup in 2011? No, I really don’t. Do I believe they’re going to surprise a team or two in the playoffs? It’s certainly possible. He did it with the Ducks in ’05-’06. But regardless of what the pundits say, the Toronto Maple Leafs are (finally) on the rebound. Brian Burke doesn’t believe in losing and he’s well on the way to re-making the Leafs from a laughing-stock to a winner.

Keith Korneluk is the host of KingsCast – a show for Los Angeles Kings fans, by LA Kings fans. Follow him on Twitter or friend him up on Facebook, this pleases him.

With Montreal and Toronto, we know this division is always going to get its fair share of attention. But what kind of attention will they be getting this season? They had four teams end up in the playoffs, yet none of them were really that “dominant” Stanley Cup contender. Will the Bruins be able to bounce back to the form that had them atop of the Eastern Conference two years ago? Are the Buffalo Sabres going to be able to handle the departures of Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman? Then we have the Senators who—despite the relative lack of attention—were the best team in Eastern Canada last season. Who knew? Will the Canadiens and Leafs be able to improve on their regular seasons and make their rabid fans happy?

To help answer those questions and give us an idea of what to expect, we have some of the best writers the Northeast has to offer. Our roundtable panel is consists of Sarah Connors from Somethings Bruin (Bruins), Zach Zielonka from Die By The Blade (Sabres), the knowledgeable Kyle Roussel from Cowhide and Rubber (Habs), the incomparable Kevin Burgundy from StayClassy.net (Sens) and the notorious PPP from the Toronto Sun Pension Plan Puppets (Leafs). Hope you enjoy their insights!

1. Tell us why your team will be better this season than they were last.

Sarah (Bruins): It’s easy to be better than terrible. Although the Bruins did make the playoffs, no Bruins fan will forget that record-breaking ten game losing streak anytime soon. The key to this offseason couldn’t have been made any clearer. The Bruins finished the season with the second-best goals allowed against, and the absolute worst offense in the league. We had one player – ONE, that’s ONE, singular – who scored more than twenty goals, and he will be sitting out the first half of this season with a busted knee. We needed goalscoring this summer, and we needed it desperately.

There are a lot of little tweaks this offseason that have flown under the radar. Or perhaps everyone is underrating the Bruins’ acquisitions. We’ve shed Wideman, who was often a liability. Seidenberg is back – he led the league in blocked shots last year, which is a fun card to have in your hand. Nathan Horton, had he been a Bruin last year, would have nearly tied for the team scoring lead. I’m not even going to talk about Seguin, because he could be a Tavares or he could be a Stamkos – there’s no point in speculating about an untested rookie. (That being said, both scored more goals in their rookie seasons than anyone on the Bruins had last year, so….okay, yeah, Seguin will help, too.)

We will score more goals this year, and if our defense can hold fast and our goaltending remains the same, the Bruins are going to be a contender in the east.

Zach (Sabres): This team has added a few things to their roster even though most Sabres fans will tell you that they should have done more to make themselves better. The addition of Rob Niedermayer will give the team more veteran leadership which is something that they still need and addressed. The additions of Leopold and Morrisonn will be sufficient replacements for Lydman and Tallinder and Ryan Miller is still on the team so it will be competitive.

Kyle (Canadiens): Do I have to believe they’ll be better? Because I’m not so sure they will be better. But if they are to better, the reasons for it are simple: the “lack of chemistry” excuse from last year is dead. Gone. Kaput. Many Habs fans trotted that convenient one out there as a reason why the Habs struggled. No chance that flies this year, not after their playoff run that saw them come together as a group. If Carey Price can get something resembling consistent goal support and post a save percentage better than .915, then the Canadiens will certainly be better off. Finally, the injuries. I hate using that as an excuse because everyone gets them, but the reality is so many Canadiens were felled by the injury bug last year. If they’re healthier this year, it should translate to more wins.

Burgundy (Senators): If we’re being honest — and Matt, I think we are… you and I don’t normally lie to each other… do we? I’m so confused. This is getting out of control — I’m not sure the Senators will be better than last season. Ottawa finished the 2009-2010 season as the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference with 94 points. That’s pretty damn good when you look at their roster and the key injuries they sustained. That 11-game winning streak helped, too. I can’t see their 2010-2011 roster running a similar streak this season. I suppose crazier things have happened, like a recently released ICQ 7! But back to my point, I don’t see the Senators finishing 5th in the East or better. The Senators will be in a battle with five or six other teams for the last few playoff spots in the East. To make matters worse, a few of those ‘battle’ teams will likely be other Northeast teams too.

PPP (Maple Leafs): Because Vesa Toskala is gone. I feel safe (dun dun dun) in saying that there is no way that the Leafs’ goaltending will come close to the fecal-like performance that Toskala gave last season. I’ll also bank on Francois Beauchemin and Mike Komisarek playing more like the defencemen we expected and a full season of Dion Phaneuf helping to address the Leafs’ biggest weakness since the lockout: goals against.

2. What part of your team are you concerned about this season?

Sarah (Bruins): I’m still a little concerned about the depth at wing. We’ve got centers up the wazoo here in Boston – and even in Providence, we’ve got guys who are natural centers moving to wing in order to increase playing time (see: Sauve, Max and/or Colborne, Joe). In addition to that, as much as I get mocked for being upset that Trent Whitfield is out for the season, what happens if someone gets injured early on? Our team in Providence is the youngest I can remember. For veteran depth we now have Jeremy Reich. That is IT. The next oldest guy is Jeff Lovecchio at 24, who has seen all of one NHL game. Brad Marchand has played a bunch but he’s young, 21, hardly a veteran. I’m definitely worried about our depth at wing.

Zach (Sabres): Backup goaltending as always been a contentious issue with Patrick Lalime. Whether Lalime’s play has lacked or the team in front of him doesn’t play well, the team suffers when Ryan Miller isn’t in net. The organization must have faith in Lalime though because they have brought him back this season. If there continue to be issues with Lalime’s performance, the Sabres have the choice of bringing up Jhonas Enroth who got his NHL debut last season against the Bruins.

Are these teams going to pick it up?

Kyle (Canadiens): My biggest concerns with the team aren’t so much about the Canadiens, but with the rest of the conference, and how they’ll be treated by fans and media. The instant Carey Price gives up a weak goal, or has a tough night at home, the fans will excoriate him. Unfairly, I might add. The trouble is so many fans are still bitter about the Halak trade that they’d prefer to have their tears justified than see the team do well. Madness sells very well in Montreal. Also, I’m still concerned about the coach. By November of last season, I was fed up of Jacques Martin. He’s not the right man for the group of players he has in his locker room. He’s adept at deflecting media pressure in both languages, but otherwise he’s a coach who was effective prior to the lockout. Other points of concern would be the inevitable drama caused by Markov’s pending free agency, and ensuring that Andrei Kostitsyn and Benoit Pouliot pull their weight for a full season. I also see the rest of the Eastern Conference getting better at a faster pace than the Canadiens. Boston, Atlanta, Tampa and Carolina will all be better this year, while the top teams will all be where they usually are. With the line between post-season and golf course so razor thin, we may not notice how other teams who were once below the Canadiens nibble away at their point totals.

Burgundy (Senators): Can I list several things? At the risk of having Matt beat me up for going against his single concern request, I’m going to list both offence and goaltending as primary concerns of the Ottawa Senators. Actually, Ottawa’s D is rather questionable too. OK I’ll stick to the forwards and goaltending for today.

Up front, the Senators have plenty of reasons for concern. Daniel Alfredsson is getting older (one has to wonder if this will be the year he slows down a bit) and both Alex Kovalev and Milan Michalek are coming off significant injuries from last season. The Senators didn’t replace Matt Cullen either. Cullen — who was a nice fit in Ottawa’s top six forwards group during the final regular season games and playoffs — signed with the Wild earlier this summer as a free agent. The Senators are hoping young forwards like Nick Foligno and Peter Regin can continue to elevate their games and fill some of Cullen’s void. I’m not sold Foligno is ready for top six minutes but the Senators believe Regin is. We’ll see if Regin can continue playing at the level he did in the playoffs and World Championships.

Ottawa’s Pascal Leclaire and Brian Elliott duo don’t do much to scare opposition. In fact, they scare their own fans more than anyone else. Lot’s of obvious question marks here. This is a career make-or-break season for Leclaire and Elliott will be pushing him all season for the coveted number one spot. Both goalies were consistently inconsistent last season. For the sake of the Senators, and the nerves of their fans, hopefully history doesn’t repeat itself.

PPP (Maple Leafs): How they will score goals. I wasn’t this worried last year because the team had, in every year since the lockout, found a way to score. Unfortunately, their powerplay sunk to second worst in the league and that crippled them. If they end up 25th in goals for again they won’t make the playoffs because the requisite decrease in goals against would be too large in my mind.

3. Each year there are players who break onto the scene as all-stars or even superstars. Sometimes it’s a rookie who is already expected to be great, sometimes it’s a rookie who shocks the world, and sometimes it’s a younger player who simply comes into their own. Which player on your team should we expect to have a breakout season?

Sarah (Bruins): For a breakout season on defense, look for the little-known Adam McQuaid to have a pretty good breakout. He’s a big young defenseman who’s had two very solid years in Providence; he’s not afraid to throw his weight around. He’s a stay-at-home defenseman, not a puck-mover, BUT he already has his first NHL goal under his belt (he played in 19 games when Boston was…very broken on D last year, with Ference, Boychuk, and Stuart all missing time.) Although a bit too hesitant in his first season, with a little more confidence he’ll be a force to be reckoned with.

I don’t need to mention Mr. #2 Pick Overall Tyler Seguin, but I will. The expectations are unreasonably high; imagine if he met them all? He certainly was impressive in the controlled environment that is development camp, and I am highly cautiously optimistic about how he’ll do this season.

Zach (Sabres): Tyler Ennis impressed during his short stint with the Sabres last year and is expected to make the roster full time this season. During the 10 games that he played last year, Ennis had 3 goals and 9 points and added another four points in the playoffs. Ennis should make an impact on the roster this year and make headway as a top 6 forward .

Kyle (Canadiens): It’s too soon to expect P.K. Subban to break out, so let’s get him out of the way first. He’ll be a star, but not yet. He impressed in the playoffs against some very stiff competition, but he’s still a raw rookie and his style of play dictates that he will be exposed from time to time in an 82 game schedule. His expectations will need to be kept in check. As I mentioned in the previous question, Andrei Kostitsyn and Benoit Pouliot need to live up to their top-10 pick potential. Both have amazing skill, but have been wildly inconsistent, disinterested or misused. If Kostitsyn can break 30 goals, he’ll be in line for a nice pay day, even as a pending RFA. If Pouliot can hit 25 goals, he’ll do a lot to hush the media who still long for Guillaume Latendresse.

Burgundy (Senators): Erik Karlsson was last year’s obvious pick. This year’s obvious pick is Peter Regin. However, I’m going to go in a different direction. I’m looking to Jason Spezza to have a great bounce-back season. Last season’s 57 points in 60 games was an off year for Spezza, which fuelled all kinds of ridiculous E5-type rumours from our favourite sports-tabloid blogger. Spezza has something to prove this season, to fans and more importantly himself, and I think he’ll use that small chip on his shoulder to get back to the 90-100 point platform he’s capable of hitting.

PPP (Maple Leafs): Sometimes it’s a rookie who is already expected to be great, sometimes it’s a rookie who shocks the world, and sometimes it’s a younger player who simply comes into their own. Which player on your team should we expect to have a breakout season?

I don’t know if it qualifies as having a breakout season since they both had great half seasons but I think the pair of Nikolai Kulemin and Tyler Bozak, if they continue to be partnered with Phil Kessel, could really turn some heads. Kulemin’s addition to Bozak and Kessel gave the Leafs a line that was a legitimate scoring threat every time it was on the ice. Kulie was able to marry his size, skating, and physicality with a nascent ability to find open space to create scoring chances.

Meanwhile, Bozak’s 27 points in 37 games was the best points per game rate among rookies. If he had kept that pace up all year he would have, at the very least, been discussed for the Calder Trophy. As it stands, he’ll have a full healthy off-season (last year he was coming off of major knee surgery) as well as a healthy start (he lost 20 pounds when he caught H1N1 early in the year).

4. We all know that watching a team for 82 games allows us to appreciate things casual fans won’t necessarily recognize. Which guy on your bench doesn’t get nearly the respect he deserves?

Sarah (Bruins): I honestly don’t think people recognize the potential that David Krejci has, because he’s constantly paired with Blake “What Is This Offsides You Speak Of?” Wheeler and Michael “Invisible Until It’s Least Convenient” Ryder. Everyone always louts them for clicking together as a line, but between 08-09 and 09-10 their combined production dropped from 70 to 53 goals. That line needs to be re-thought, I think.

Two years ago, Krejci even lead the league in +/-, a stat that’s always seemingly overshadowed by goals/assists/points. His performance in the Olympics was huge, and he came back from that on fire; his powerplay “quarterbacking” skills are astounding to watch, especially when he controls the PP from the half-wall; if his wrist recovers entirely, I expect great things out of our lone Czech this year.

Zach (Sabres): With the way the roster is setup currently, there aren’t going to be many bench players. Matt Ellis is a good veteran player that was just resigned by the Sabres as a depth player in Portland that could fill in as an injury replacement. Ellis was picked up by the Sabres in 2008 and has been a fourth line/scratched player ever since. He has a good work ethic that rubs off on the other players on his line and on the team as a whole.

Kyle (Canadiens): With everyone so new last season, the entire team was under the microscope, so nobody really flew under the radar. If I had choose one guy who doesn’t get enough respect, it would be Josh Gorges, although that is very, very rapidly changing. He’s a leader in the room, and Habs fans saw him play with pure heart in the playoffs. Considering his role as a 5th or 6th d-man, his lowly point totals and his style, it would probably open some eyes in other fan bases to know that he’s a top-3 contender to fill the captaincy void on the Canadiens. I also think Hal Gill deserves mention; through 82 games we wondered what Bob Gainey was thinking when signing him. The moment the puck dropped in the playoffs, however, we saw exactly what Gainey was thinking. He was a completely different player in that his body was going to be used as a speed bag for flying pucks. He was a beast on the blue line and a steadying influence on some of the younger guys. His ways especially helped Gorges.

Burgundy (Senators): I don’t think Chris Phillips gets enough credit for what he brings to the Senators. Granted, he’s played the majority of the last few seasons with Anton Volchenkov but I think Phillips brings a stable and reliable presence to the Senators. This will be even more important for the Senators this year as their 2010-2011 roster boasts some offence and very little defence. It’s also worth noting this season is a contract year for Phillips. I’m told the Senators have already begun discussing extensions with “Big Rig.”

PPP (Maple Leafs): Mikhail Grabovski without a shadow of a doubt. Habs fans will never admit that they gave up a player with 10 times the heart combined of the two Kostitsyn clowns they kept and Leafs fans are, on the whole, incredibly eager to trade him. A short trip to Behind The Net shows that Grabovski is the Leafs best forward at getting the puck from the Leafs’ end of the ice to the opponents and at creating shots on goal.

He never takes a shift off, pursues the puck doggedly, and is extremely hard to knock off the puck. If he gets the right linemates, which he had in his first year in Toronto in Nikolai Kulemin and Niklas Hagman, then he will be in the neighbourhood of 50 points.

5. The Moment of Truth: I understand that everyone is an expert BEFORE the season starts; so as bloggers, it’s important to throw up your pre-season predictions so everyone can mock you later. If your credibility was on the line, how would you rank the final standings of the Northeast Division? More importantly, which teams do you think will make the playoffs from the Northeast?

Sarah (Bruins): Haha this is only difficult past number 1. Honestly I don’t see the northeast being too strong this year.

Bruins
Senators
Sabres
Leafs
Canadiens

I think the Bruins will make the playoffs around the 3-4-5 area in the East; the Senators might squeak in at 7, and maaaaybe the Sabres at 8.
The Leafs will probably just barely miss at 9 or 10, and the Habs won’t even come close.

I’m a homer, what can I say.

Zach (Sabres):
Boston
Buffalo
Toronto
Montreal
Ottawa

Buffalo, Boston, and Toronto will make the playoffs.

Kyle (Canadiens):
1 – Boston (playoffs)
2- Buffalo (playoffs)
3- Montreal (playoffs)
4- Ottawa
5- Toronto

Burgundy (Senators): Urggh. I’m going to be crucified by Sens fans, Habs fans and Leaf fans for this… I can’t win. Here’s my “well thought out, completely off the mark” Northeast Division predictions:

1. Boston
2. Buffalo
3. Toronto
4. Ottawa
5. Montreal

PPP (Maple Leafs): Uggh, last year’s rankings had the Leafs in the middle of the pack and we all know how that turned out so in an attempt to curry favour with the hockey gods:

Boston
Buffalo
Ottawa
Montreal
Toronto

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The next division up in our Blogger Roundtable Preview series will be the Atlantic on Wednesday, Sept 8. If you want to take a look at the entire schedule, you can check it out here—or if you want to make sure you don’t miss anything, you can subscribe to VFMS (via email or RSS) for the next couple of weeks. If there are any writers you found interesting here, I urge you to go check out their sites. Each and every writer who participated has an extremely good site and pump out great content year-round!