So far this year there have been many teams, for better or for worse, that early in the season have been huge surprises. Some teams are underachieving and other are leading their divisions after spending last season in the basement. These picks are not in any specific order and as stated, include good and bad teams.
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are easily the biggest surprise this season. They currently are sitting in 3rd place in the Eastern Conference and are in 1st place in the Southeast division ahead of teams like the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning. The Panthers made many offseason additions such as Brian Cambell, Tomas Fleischmann, Kris Versteeg, and Jose Theodore. Theodore has been solid and Tomas Fleischmann is showing that his play in Colorado was no fluke. General Manager Dave Tallon and rookie coach Kevin Dineen deserve a ton of credit for this transformation from bottom dweller to contender. I hope they can keep it up for the rest of the season
Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks have been a mess this season, plain and simple. They are the second worst team in the NHL with 19 points, coming off a season finishing 4th in the Western Conference. Nothing has seemed to work for the Ducks leading them to fire head coach Randy Carlyle. Their star players such as Bobby Ryan, Corey Perry, and Ryan Getzlaf are not getting it done and Jonas Hiller has been average with a .900 save percentage and a 3.14 GAA. Hopefully Bruce Boudreau can help right the ship in Anaheim, but it is looking like it may be a long season in sunny Anaheim California.
Minnesota Wild
At the beginning of 2011-12 NHL season, no one in their right mind (except maybe Wild fans) would think the Minnesota Wild would be the best team (points wise) 26 games into the season. The Wild are a surprising 16-7-3 for 35 points. Minnesota made some big offseason moves giving up Martin Havlat and Brett Burns to San Jose, getting Devin Setoguchi and Dany Heatley in return . Cal Clutterbuck has been great for the Wild and the goaltending tandem of Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding has been stellar. The only thing the Wild have struggled to do is score goals, that said they are still 1 point better than the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL. That says a lot.
Toronto Maple Leafs
After the Leafs' great end to the season last year, the Leafs came into the season looking to show that it wasn't a fluke. The Leafs are lead by Phil Kessel, leading the league in both goals with 16 and points with 32 on the year. Along with Joffrey Lupul, the top line is producing points on a night to night basis. James Reimer was solid up to his injury and is looking like he will be back to face the Boston Bruins. The only thing that can stop the Leafs from making the playoffs is injuries and if Kessel cools down as the season rolls along and if Reimer cannot remain solid in net.
Phoenix Coyotes
After the departure of Ilya Bryzgalov, I felt that the Coyotes would take a major step back this season. Boy, am I wrong so far. It may be early, but the Coyotes currently sit in 8th place tied with Vancouver and Edmonton in a tough Western Conference. Free Agent signing, Mike Smith has been strong in net for Phoenix and Dave Tippet is still finding ways to get his team wins. Hopefully if they can make the playoffs this season again, fans in Phoenix will care enough to fill seats. If not, Quebec may be getting a solid team next year.
(Dis)honorable Mentions: Montreal Canadiens, Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals.
-Colorado Cross Checker
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