Teams in Best Shape for the Future

[sharkyz15]

When you look at the current roster, prospect pools, coaching ext.

What teams would you say are in the best shape for not just now but the future as well?


I would say that the Sharks are one of the teams atop this list seeing as their best players are still verry young and a good (not great) team of prospect they have waiting for a chance to crack the line up. Their payoll was about 36mil but it could be even lower in 05 or 06.

Ottowa is also in great shape. They have a new owner who wants to win, great core of young players and some pretty good prospects.

Two teams to keep an eye on is the Atlanta Thrashers and Florida Panthers. Both teams have some awsome young talent but most importnetly they have two great coaches to teach all those young players

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[Guig]

-Colombus with Nash, Zherdev, Klesla and 2004 4th overall pick
-Florida with Luongo, Bouwmeester, Horton, Weiss, Stewart and 7th overall pick
-Atlanta with Heatley, Kovalchuk, Lethonen, Coburn and 10th overall pick.

 

[guitaraholic*]

Florida, w/Keenan helping call the shots, can ruin as many young players as they develop. Keenan has that effect on young players. You can also bet that some of those young kids on Fla will be dealt for veterans.
Ottawa has the most *proven* young team in the NHL. It's impossible to say which team has the best future based on their prospects because a lot of them don't pan out. Ottawa has a team of young players that have pretty much proven they can perform at a high level in the NHL. The upside of their best young players far outdistances that of the Sharks best young players, IMO.
Atlanta is off to a great start with a couple of franchise players. Columbus has some high end young talent as well.

 

[Chimaera]

I think Tampa is for the next few years. As much as I hate to admit it. If they can't sign St. Louis, they still will have a lot of talent. Losing Khabibulin would be a big loss, but I think they could replace him with someone else who's good enough to allow them to continue to win hockey games.


I'll also second the Columbus choice. Similarly, Minnesota/Nashville/Atlanta could all be in decent standing in the future, if their players develop how they expect, and the CBA takes effect.


The Penguins, if they can stay afloat, have a lot of young talent, and a low payroll, which could set them up in a solid situation.

The Caps also have one of the better minor league systems, (which will only get infused with more talent this draft) and one of the lowest payrolls.

 

[Vic Rattlehead*]

Definately not top 10, but the Bruins have a pretty good future, considering that Thornton is turning 25 and Samsonov 26, a #1 goalie who is 23, A future second line center in Bergeron, Young, hard hitting d-man in Boynton, and a lot of decent prospects(Zinovjev, Evseev, Boyes, Hilbert(not quite) Jonsson, Alberts, Jurcina, Toivonen, and our future #1 d-man: Mark Stuart. ) Not top 10, but it is still quite good.

 

[EroCaps]

Atlanta, Florida, Tampa, San Jose, Montreal, Pittsburgh, and Washington.

 

[Rscorpio]

Montreal


The , Garon


Markov, Ryder , Ribeiro , Komo , AK-47 , Perez , Plekanec , Higgins , etc....

 

[MikeC]

The Avs are around 25th

 

[Ajacied]

The Avs are around 25th

Stars should be there as well..

 

[Clancy]

the flyers have a pretty strong group of young centers in carter,richards,umberger, and sharp

 

[nomorekids]

new name for this thread:

"tell everyone about how your team is in great shape for the future" :lol

 

[Don'tcry4mejanhrdina]

Pittsburgh has a lot of depth:
in goal:Fleury, Caron, Chiodo, Geopfert, Duba
Defence:Orpik, Whitney, Welch, Jackman, Bissonnette, Fernholm, Nemec, Lupaschuk, Malenkykh, ect...
Forwards:Malone, Kraft, Koltsov, Surovy, Murley, Eaves, Anshakov, Fata, Sivek, Beech, Stone, Bartschi, Christensen, Endicott, Armstrong, Talbot, Ouellet, Carcillo, ect...

The Pens don't have a potential star up front, hopefully they will get just that with Malkin. The have a lot of 2nd line scorers (Surovy, Malone, Koltsov, Bartschi, Eaves, Kraft, Anshakov, Ouellet) and 3rd/4th line grinders (Armstrong, Stone, Endicott, Talbot, Murley, Sivek, Carcillo) . The have a potential superstar in Fleury, while Caron and Chiodo both have played very well in the NHL so far. Whitney has a lot of potential on offence, as does Jackman. Orpik, Bissonnette and Malenkykh (if he crosses the pond) are very solid stay at home d-men, while Welch, Fernholm, and Nemec are all good two way d-men.
Washington will be scary with Ovechkin and if all their high picks this year turn out. Atlanta already has two superstars and most likely another two soon. Montreal and Florida also have VERY bright futures.

 

[Ruckus007]

new name for this thread:

"tell everyone about how your team is in great shape for the future" :lol

Word. :attn:

 

[Epsilon]

Florida, w/Keenan helping call the shots, can ruin as many young players as they develop. Keenan has that effect on young players. You can also bet that some of those young kids on Fla will be dealt for veterans.
Ottawa has the most *proven* young team in the NHL. It's impossible to say which team has the best future based on their prospects because a lot of them don't pan out. Ottawa has a team of young players that have pretty much proven they can perform at a high level in the NHL. The upside of their best young players far outdistances that of the Sharks best young players, IMO.
Atlanta is off to a great start with a couple of franchise players. Columbus has some high end young talent as well.

I don't think Keenan can ruin any players as long as he is just the GM. What he can of course do is, as you noted, simply deal them away elsewhere.

 

[KL*]

The Avs are in great shape for the future.

Tanguay, Hejduk, Liles, Aebischer, Sauve, a bunch of role players. Prospects like Boychuk, Skladany, Svatos, etc.

Plus, they have a rich owner and a great GM, which are the two most valuable things that an NHL team can have.

 

[Jacob]

Skladany is awful.

 

[KH1]

The Panthers are set for the future. Also, Buffalo isn't in bad shape.

 

[Chuckalinsky]

This is an unbiased view considering I am an Oilers fan. But if I had to pick three teams I liked for the future it would be Florida, Atlanta and Columbus. You can't deny the young talent on any one of these teams. In a few years I can see each one of them battling for top spots in their respective divisions. Brief summary:

Columbus has two superstars in Nash and Zherdev and are looking to get another one with the fourth overall this year. They also have Klesla on D which I haven't given up on yet and Denis and Leclaire in goal. I think most likely they will get their hands on Barker which will only make them stronger.

Atlanta once again has two undeniable superstars in Kovalchuk and Heatley, both under 25. They have the best goalie prospect in the world in Lehtenon and also have solid defensive prospects in Coburn and possibly another with the 10th overall this year.

Florida also is very strong in young talent. Luongo will be the best goalie in the league for years to come with Lehtonen giving him a run for his money. Plus they are loading on D with Bouwmeester, Krajicek and Van Ryn. They are also starting to add to their forward positions quite well with Horton, Stewart to go along with Weiss, Jokinen etc. And once again with the 7th overall this year, things only look to get better.

 

[Chuckalinsky]

Just noticed that I agree completly with GuiG. All the way!!

 

[HuskyFlames]

The Flames are looking much better now that Sutter has come to the team and helped. If he can help out and keep up his great drafting then the Flames will keep getting better.

Defense: Leopold, Regehr, Phaneuf, Ramholt
Offense: Iginla, Lombardi, Kobasew, Sapyrkin, Nystrom, Rhino
Goalies: Kipper

All of them are young and look promising. The Flames also have great 3/4 line players that are gritty and can help out once in a while.

Also, Sutter has been active with the undrafted players and looking at them in the previous camp.

 

[Jeffrey]

lots of good competion to see in the future that's for sure ..
I just think that some teams need more experienced player with good leadership in their lineup (even if the team has franchise player)
example: Atlanta IMO they need to land a good 2 way 2nd line center with leadership and a stud #4 d (good fit: Gauthier and Bonk)
Florida : They need a good #3 D with a very good physical type of player and a #1 experienced winger(best fit : Jason Smith and Palffy)
Columbus: They need a good #1/#2 defenseman with a good 2 way game relatively young and a good gritty 2nd line center(best fit : Tarnstrom,Zhitnik,Scatchard,O'neill)

some teams are already good and are still very young :
1- Ottawa
2- Calgary
3- San Jose
4- Tampa Bay
5- ... Montreal

 

[Freaky Habs Fan]

Montreal will do some dammage in 2-3 years. Koivu will still be the leader of the team, Markov and Souray are the sure bet on the left side and Komi along with Rivet(should be there) are the sure bet on the right side. To complete the defence, Hainsey, Korneev, Beauchemin, Bouillon...could all be there to.

For the fowards, Ribeiro, Ryder, Bulis, Begin, Koivu and Zednik are the sure bet. A couple of Higgins, Kastitsyn, Perehogin, Plekanec and Hossa should make some noise to and our duture draft choice could be there to.

In front of the net, Theodore and Garon will be the best duo in the league...

Bottom line, Montreal will probably become a contendre team in maximum 4 years...

 

[Mtl6]

Montreal all the way!

O: Ribeiro, Ryder, Higgins, Kastsitsyn, Perezhogin, Plekanec, Hossa (Koivu is still young-29)

D: Komisarek, Hainsey, Beauchemin, (Korneev), (Korpikari), (O'Byrne), (Flood) (a little bit less depth in d, that's why I hope we pick Green in 2004)

GTheo is still young-28), Garon, Danis, Halak

They're all under 25 years old! exept Theo Garon and Koivu!

 

[Classic Devil]

New Jersey.

 

[rnyquist]

Oddly enough the rangers aren't too bad. We have 7 picks this year and at least 4 next year in the first 2 rounds. Not to mention we still have Tjutin, Prucha and Balej with underrated prospects Baranka, Blackburn, Lundqvist, Prucha, Immonen, Kondratiev and Liffiton. Not to mention we have the biggest budget and can fill any hole needed.