After considerable thought, here is how the 2004/05 would have played out. It's just one guy's opinion. No offense is intended: just calling it as I see it. This has been a great mock draft and at least this one guy thinks he's got it right this time to at least contend to win it all late next spring. But, of course, there are other great teams, some wild cards, longshots and after last season's surprising, exceptional playoffs, one has to say anything goes!
In the Stanley Cup Finals:
The Vancouver Canucks have a good first line of scorers, as does every team in this league. Captain Naslund can play give and go with peaking Lang and sparkplug Vyborny. The difference is that the entire second and third line are Stanley Cup champions, with two-way skill and the strength to push rather than be pushed. Modin-Elias-Guerin will give defenses more than a handful and take away more than their share of pucks. Maltby-Holik-Rolston is an elite third line defensively, and yet capable of scoring regularly too. Gelinas-Peca-Cheechoo is a fourth line that is expected to make the difference over the long haul of a deep playoff run. The defensemen don't need to score much beyond Redden and Salo, each matched with solid giants Mike Rathje and Colin White. Timander-Staios add energy and will be substituted to shot block and help clear creases. A Finals appearance will depend on the continued great play of Robert Esche, with Thibault providing enough regular season support.
Game 7 to decide who will appear in the finals to play the Canucks will be:
:thrashers
versus 
The Thrashers may have limited postseason success in its talented first line of Kariya-Thornton-Gaborik, but five of the remaining forwards are playoff warriors: Langenbrunner and Holmstrom are clutch scorers, Lehtinen is "The Machine" defensively and can score too, Nieuwendyk and Linden have led teams to the finals before and bring two-way experience to the back lines. The postseason-minded core of forwards will do their job defensively and get offensive support from a good blueline. And behind that Hasek thrives on playing under pressure and Theodore can step in and show what he can do.
The Canadiens too have a great first line, as all teams do, but Bertuzzi may be something special over the long haul, assuming he's back to play by April. The second line sports clutch playoff scorer Drury between Morrow and Hull, three who'll show up to play an A-level game for sure. The best faceoff man in hockey last year was their third liner Brind'amour, who excels in big games and plays the crease as well as anyone. Perhaps the best fourth line centre in the game is Yelle, who also wins faceoffs and shuts down opponents, here with speedy and gritty Moreau and Laraque providing energy when needed. The fourth line doesn't have to score, as the team can simply shorten the bench and roll three lines when playing from behind. The defensemen Blake-Boumeester and Jackman-McLaren are big and talented and Sarich-Sutton are occasional role players as the fifth and sixth come playoff time. Khabibulin could repeat as Cup champion, and will have to be on top of his game because the backup Grahame should do no more than his role providing regualr season relief.
Final Four contenders could be:
The Bruins have a first line that could dominate in a league full of great first lines, in Lemieux-Forsberg-Mogilny, yet injuries might cripple the wingers and Forsberg may be running a golf course in Sweden. Add to that Nylander coming off of a broken leg and the youth of Zetterberg and Ryder on the second line, and there are questions galore. Plus third line wingers Bergeron and Reinprecht will have their hands full if matched against opponents first or second lines. The backend looks solid however. Pitkanen and Timonen are young gritty Finns who should do just fine on a blueline sporting Niedermayer and Foote. The goaltending Giguere-Weekes might be the difference between making the final four and going home in early May.
The Blackhawks have an above average set of centres in Fedorov, Modano, Primeau, Halpern though wingers of little playoff success in O'Neill, Hecht, Fisher, Axelsson, Malone, Horton. the defense nicely pairs experience with youth, grit with offense, in captain Stevens alongside Phillips, Schneider-Norstrom and Kaberle-Hatcher. Regular season success could be translated into a much longer season if Luongo-Gerber has the mustard when it matters most. If.
The Blues have experienced successful star centres in Sundin, Arnott and especially Draper, Madden. There is some question of maintained intensity among second and third line wingers LeClair, Palffy. Damphousse, Andreychuk, since each can disappear or dominate. The d-men will have a challenge against opponents defensively, with Leetch and Souray as the top pair, though Smith-Jonsson is solid and Hamhuis-Slegr is a good blend of experience and youth. Roloson-Aebischer may present a goaltending controversy since the backup has more playoff experience, not much, but more. Overall, the team should easily be playing after April.
Playoff participants at the very least:
The Capitals are rolling their dice with a second line of Bell-Allison-Demitra, and though they may not be playoff proven, it'd sure be entertaining for fans to see the fourth line of Calder-Staal-Tootoo. Ricci and Shanahan will need to be a stabilizing influence on that wild bunch of forwards. The blueline may be the league's best come the postseason, with captain Lidstrom paired with Witt, followed by Zubov-Carney and Chelios-Modry. Add Turco-Legace and that's a recipe for playoff success. This team is the wild card to go all the way.
The Penguins are captained by Kozlov, with Heatley and Hamrlik as alternates - an uninspiring bunch some would say. The forwards aren't very big and physical, though, if Hejduk is moved to the first line, then Heatley can join Morrison and Sturm on an effective second line of two-way play. The third line can't exactly shut down opponents but they might hold their own (an even plus-minus) given that they can play some d and regularly threaten to score with Gagne-Comrie-Satan. The blueline may be too green to help engineer sixteen playoff wins: Morris, Leopold, Gauthier, Mitchell, Visnovsky. Nabokov will have to steal some games and Cloutier better stay on the bench come the playoffs. All that said, the team is skilled enough to be a longshot to win it all.
The Oilers have an enviable first line, even in this smaller league, with Nagy-Sakic-Alfredsson, but after that, there's no two-way second line centre (Savard can't go against the top centres night and night out, or can he?), no true third line (Brunette-Zhamnov-Selanne seem out of place as third liners, at a position usually handed heavy checking responsibilities). And the team might want to adjust the defensemen alignment come playoff time, as Hannan-Zidlicky is presently listed as the 2nd pair and Malik-Rafalski as numbers five and six.
Competing for a playoff spot could be:
The Jets have gritty and experienced forwards led by captain Yzerman, but should Stevie be on the first line and alternate captain Smyth on the third? The other alternate, Pronger, will need to lead the young Stuart and Brewer and help the playoff play of Kuba and Niinimaa. Kolzig had better have another career year or else Lalime might have to prove his critics wrong.
The Red Wings have a decent core of defensemen and quality goaltending in Vokoun-Toskala but their second line Stillman-Yashin-Sykora could be a train wreck waiting to happen, since those three have been known to have awful games from time to time, especially defensively, not exactly inspiring confidence given a team's second line goes up against the opponent's first line night in and night out. The wingers bring a lot of energy and skill but playoff traffic may not suit Riberio, Dumont, Semin, McEachern.
The Leaf Make Believes seem to be an all-around well-sorted team, though not exactly brilliant in any area, typified by the third line Ekman-Conroy-Zubrus, 2nd pair of d-men Zhitnik-Boucher and goaltenders Raycroft-Denis. I'd be surprised if they didn't contend for the playoffs and equally surprised if they went deep into them.
Missing the playoffs barring a late season drive:
The Chiefs have as good a first line as any team in Jagr-Gomez-Iginla, though the next three lines don't even have first-round playoff experience as they usually play on poor teams. For instance, Erat-Arnason-Czerkawski is alright as a third line but doesn't stack up well against other third lines in this league. Alternate captain McCabe will be a force alongside Tarnstrom, but Berard with Sopel seems risky defensively speaking, and Brisbois-Poti might be a nightmare for the fans some nights.
The Nordiques have absolutely no Stanley Cup Final experience among its forwards (!) and has a young blueline, yet hot Kiprusoff with Garon should help them compete for a playoff spot and the team might gell a year or two earlier than expected.
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
