Daily Archives: January 11, 2013

It’s great to be back and writing again. I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I think I speak for most of you when I say, Thank God the lockout is over! Finally we get to watch the sport we love and adore, and finally cheer on our favorite team.

Lately there have been a number of season previews and predictions surfacing, and here’s my outlook on players to keep your eyes on in the Southeast Division. I’ll be focusing on one player from each team in this division that will be counted on to be the “leader” or prime player for their respective team.

Although it seems like a distant memory, each team in the Southeast division has made some pretty significant moves. Many people see this division as either Washington’s or Carolina’s, however one thing for sure, each team is looking to snatch the crown off the Florida Panthers head.  The Panthers who made some of their own changes additionally, will have to rise to the challenge of “defending” their crown.

With the lockout finally over, the NHL has a planned schedule of 48 games for each team, with all games played in conference.  A slow start, is not what any team can afford to deal with, and cannot be used as an excuse since everyone has the same amount of time to prepare.  Those players who did nothing to stay in shape or who were even moderatly training will be behind the eight ball. There just is not enough time to fall down and get back up again. Also, with such a short time frame to play 48 games, teams will have to deal with fatigue, injuries, and slumps in a different manner  compared to an 82 game schedule.  Again, all 30 teams have this issue.

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