1.Red Wings- losing fedorov- getting hatcher and hasek= more defense and the breakout seasons for datsyuk and zetterberg- also look out for jiri hudler
2.Blues- rumors about weight leaving will not be true and the blues will continue their streak of making the playoffs
3.Predators- their streak getting them close to the playoffs and then falling in the last 3 weeks of the season makes them unpredictable
4.Blackhawks- they declined last year and will also decline this year- only + sign, no fleury to worry about
5.Blue Jackets- nash will do great but losing whitney hurts

Detroit-This team won't be as flashy as years past and will probably get back to basics with a nice clean defensively sound game. Unfortunately I think the Federov loss is bigger than they think. I'll wait to see who they bring in after they ship out Cujo.

St.Louis-Of course they'll be in the playoffs they currently have the longest playoff streak in Sports. The unfortunate thing is they don't do nothing once they get there.

Nashville-I think they got a good mix of youth and veteran leadership. I think they may make the playoffs in a battle with San Jose and LA.

Chicago-On paper they look better than teams like Nashville and Columbus but on the ice is a different story. No playoffs for them.

Columbus-No playoffs this year but they will improve alot with the additions they made and Zherdev who is my early favorite for rookie of the year.

i agree with the point on the wings, predators- but they wont make the playoffs, blackhawks, and partly on the blue jackets- zherdev may have decent numbers but his defense will be so awful this year that his stats will be overlooked- nash was supposed to get rookie of the year this year but his +/- was so bad

losing fedorov is big but they might get lindros but sather also wants jiri fischer which might keep cujo away from new york