Joe Sakic, one of the more durable players in hockey, is back for his 20th season.

Calgary Flames

Goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff (2.69 goals-against average, .906 save percentage) has played in 70-plus games and won at least 35 in each of his three seasons with the Flames. Backup Curtis McElhinney saw action in only five games for Calgary last season. Expect Kiprusoff’s workload and numbers to remain the same.Led by star two-way defenseman Dion Phaneuf, the Flames can expect a lot of offense from their blue line. Phaneuf (17-43-60, plus-12) scored the second most goals among NHL defenseman last season. Ten of his goals were on the man-advantage. Veteran Adrian Aucoin (10-25-35, plus-13) scored five of his goals on the power play.

Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche is replete with veteran goal scorers up front. Ryan Smyth (14-23-37 in 55 games) had a down season. Smyth says he is healthy. If it stays that way for the entire season, expect 25 goals and 30 assists from the winger. The seemingly invincible Joe Sakic is back for his twentieth season. In only 44 games, the centerman tallied nearly a point-per-game with 13 goals and 27 assists for 40 points. Sakic is known for his health and durability. He played in all 82 games in each of the past two seasons before last. Milan Hejduk (29-25-54) rounds out Colorado’s veteran core. Hejduk has scored 25 or more goals in 7 of his nine seasons as a pro. The Avalanche’s top defensive pair rivals any in the conference. Colorado brought back 16-year veteran Adam Foote (1-15-16, plus-2) at last season's trade deadline. He has finished as a minus player in only four of his pro seasons. Two of those seasons were between 2005 and 2007 when he totaled a minus-33. A full year beside John-Michael Liles should resurrect Foote's career. Liles (6-26-32, +2) has not had a minus season during his four-year career.

Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers should be strong up the middle for years to come with second-year centers Sam Gagne and Andrew Cogliano ready to breakout. It took Gagne (13-36-49) until February to get going, tallying 28 points in the last 28 games of the regular season. Cogliano finished with 18 goals and 27 assists for 45 points in his rookie season and is ready to become a perennial 20-goal scorer. Edmonton’s young, offensive talent does not stop there. Ales Hemsky (20-51-71) will open the season alongside center Shawn Horcoff (21-29-50 in only 53 games played) on the first line. Horcoff has fully recovered from a shoulder injury that forced him to shut his season down after the all-star break. Winger Dustin Penner (23-24-47) signed a five-year contract in the offseason and should once again total around 50 points.

Minnesota Wild

The Wild have a lot of talent up front. The front office landed Andrew Brunette from the Avalanche in the offseason. Brunette is a true impact winger, and has not missed a regular season game since the '01-'02 season. Brunette (19-40-59) is coming off an off year. During the '06-'07 season, the playmaker totaled 27 goals and 56 assists for 83 points. Expect Brunette to have an impact on the power play. Seven of his 19 goals were on the man-advantage a season ago. Head Coach Jacques Lemaire preaches a defense first philosophy in Minnesota. Despite their depth up front, Minnesota finished 18th in the league with 2.68 goals-per-game. Much of the Wild's offense comes from the power play. Led by Marian Gaborik (42-41-83, including 11 goals on the man-advantage), the Wild finished second best power play in the conference. Much of their special teams scoring should come from the blue line. In the offseason, the Wild brought in defensemen Marc-Andre Bergeron (eight power play goals in 55 games) from the Ducks and Marek Zidlicky (5-38-43, including four goals on the power play) from the Predators. These two should team with veterans Kim Johnnson (4-23-27, two power play goals) and Brent Burns (15-28-43, eight power play goals) to round out one of the best offensive blue lines in hockey.

Vancouver Canucks


The Canucks showed how valuable Roberto Luongo is to the team by naming him captain, the first NHL goaltender to hold that responsibility in 61 years. Luongo (35-29-9, 2.38 goals-against-average, .917 save percentage, six shutouts) has started over 60 games in each of the past four seasons. Luongo has been called the best goaltender in the world by many and gives the Canucks a chance to win every night. Expect him to add at least another 35 wins to his career total. Winger Pavol Demitra was brought in from Minnesota during the offseason to help fill the void left by Markus Naslund’s departure. Demitra (15-39-45, plus-9 in 68 games) had his fewest points since the ’00-’01 season and had scored 20 or more goals in the previous nine seasons. His dip in production can be attributed to the Wild’s priority on playing a strong defensive system. The winger has had injury issues throughout his career but if he can somehow stay healthy, Demitra should finish with 20 goals.