Just don't tell that to Pronger.
"Everything can always look good on
paper but you've got to go out and play the games," Pronger
said. "Until we go and do that, people can predict, project,
all the rest of that, but it all comes down to what you do
on the ice."
In other words, Anaheim has a few
things to deal with before getting fitted for rings,
including an improved Pacific Division with another
California-based team as its main rival.
The
San Jose Sharks had a
second-half run that was as good as Anaheim's thanks in no
small part to the arrival of
Joe Thornton from Boston.
Thornton, who went on to win the scoring title and MVP award
last season and turned right wing Jonathan Cheechoo into the
league's top sniper, gets a new, talented left wing named
Mark Bell on his line this season.
With a second line headed by Patrick
Marleau and impressive young wingers Steve Bernier and Milan
Michalek, San Jose has the size and scoring power up front
to do some real damage.
Last year's division winner, the
Dallas Stars, fell apart in
an ugly first-round playoff loss. But they have shifted a
few pieces, bringing veterans like Eric Lindros, Mike
Ribeiro and Darryl Sydor to join core players Mike Modano,
Marty Turco, Sergei Zubov and Jere Lehtinen, and should stay
in the mix this year.
Phoenix made Wayne Gretzky's debut
season as coach even tougher than it might have been. But
the
Coyotes upgraded their
defense significantly by adding Ed Jovanovski and Nick
Boynton while taking chances with some veterans who are
determined to prove they can still play the game.
In Los Angeles, the hope is that a new
coach with a Stanley Cup on his resumé can work some magic
with a young lineup that seems to be lacking in the skill
department.
"We'll try to be as positive as we can
with our group as we possibly can,"
Kings coach Marc Crawford
said. "This team is certainly going to be allowed to grow
and will have the opportunity for different guys to get a
lot of the quality ice on any given night."
Many of which will probably be very
long.
