I'm no Kreskin

Well, Bumf put himself out there and showed us how unpredictable the NHL can be. These were my predictions and below is how badly I fared in the prognosticating business (my picks in brackets):

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1. Buffalo Sabres (1)
2. New Jersey Devils (5)
3. Atlanta Thrashers (9)
4. Ottawa Senators (3)
5. Pittsburgh Penguins (12)
6. New York Rangers (2)
7. Tampa Bay Lightning (7)
8. New York Islanders (14)
9. Toronto Maple Leafs (11)
10. Montreal Canadiens (10)
11. Carolina Hurricanes (4)
12. Florida Panthers (13)
13. Boston Bruins (8)
14. Washington Capitals (15)
15. Philadelphia Flyers (6)

So, I didn’t get much right except for the easy ones, like Buffalo. Much like Bumf, I don’t think anyone could have predicted the rise of the Pens and the fall of the Flyers. The same could be said of the Hurricanes. I took a conscious leap with the Rangers because I was sure that they would battle for the top spot and that Shanny would make a huge difference. I was wrong (but it wasn’t Shanny’s fault).

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1. Detroit Red Wings (5)
2. Anaheim Ducks (3)
3. Vancouver Canucks (11)
4. Nashville Predators (1)
5. San Jose Sharks (4)
6. Dallas Stars (7)
7. Minnesota Wild (6)
8. Calgary Flames (2)
9. Colorado Avalanche (13)
10. St Louis Blues (14)
11. Columbus Blue Jackets (9)
12. Edmonton Oilers (8)
13. Chicago Blackhawks (15)
14. Los Angeles Kings (10)
15. Phoenix Coyotes (12)

Not much better here. In my mind, I felt that Detroit had lost too much (Yzerman & Shanny). Also, I really didn’t see the Flames battling for the last playoff spot and Vancouver being so strong. Shows what I know. As for the other teams, the West is so tight that I don’t really think I could have done much better.

Here are my (new) picks for individual award winners (old picks in brackets):

Hart: Crosby, PIT (Miikka Kiprusoff CAL)
Ross: Crosby, PIT (Sidney Crosby PIT)
Richard: Lecavalier, TB (Alexander Ovechkin WAS)
Norris: Lidstrom, DET (Niklas Lidstrom DET)
Vezina: Brodeur, NJ (Miikka Kiprusoff CAL)
Calder: Malkin, PIT (Evgeni Malkin PIT)
Selke: Pandolfo, NJ (Michael Peca TOR)
Byng: Fischer, OTT (Mike Fisher OTT)
Adams: Michel Therrien, PIT (Barry Trotz NAS)

Next up, my predictions for the 2007 playoffs. Let the (real) games begin…