NHL Hockey Betting

Team-by-team capsules for the Western Conference, listed in 2008-09 season order of finish.

CENTRAL DIVISION

DETROIT RED WINGS

LAST SEASON: 51-21-10, 112 points. Lost to Pittsburgh 4-3 in Stanley Cup finals.

COACH: Mike Babcock, 5th season 213-77-38; 7th overall, 282-139-71.

ADDED: D Doug Janik, D Andy Delmore, RW Patrick Eaves, RW Jason Williams, RW Todd Bertuzzi.

LOST: RW Marian Hossa, RW Mikael Samuelsson, RW Aaron Downey, RW Darren McCarty, D Chris Chelios, G Ty Conklin.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Chris Osgood. He is 11 wins away from becoming the 10th NHL goalie with 400 wins. Osgood is 84-27-18 in the regular season and 29-12 in the playoffs since coming back to the Red Wings for a second stint before the 2005-06 season.

ICING: Nicklas Lidstrom had his run of three straight Norris Torphy wins snapped by Bostons Zdeno Chara, but was a finalist for the 10th time in 11 seasons with six trophy wins. Lidstrom, the only European captain of a Cup champion, was third among NHL defenseman with 59 points - including 16 goals. He needs three points to become the eighth NHL defenseman with 1,000. Lidstrom has had a plus rating in each of his 17 NHL seasons. Last season he was plus-31. Pavel Datsyuk was fourth in scoring with 97 points, matching the career high he set the previous season. He won multiple awards for the second straight year, taking the Lady Byng and Selke. He is the first player to win both in consecutive seasons.

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CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

LAST SEASON: 46-24-12, 104 points. Lost to Detroit 4-1 in conference finals.

COACH: Joel Quenneville, 2nd season, 45-22-11; 13th overall, 483-305-129.

ADDED: RW Marian Hossa, C Tomas Kopecky, C John Madden.

LOST: RW Martin Havlat, C Samuel Pahlsson, D Matt Walker, G Nikolai Khabibulin.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Marian Hossa. Now on his fourth team in three seasons, Hossa is still looking for his first championship ring. He left the runner-up Penguins last summer to join the Red Wings only to see Pittsburgh knock off him and his Detroit teammates in the finals rematch last season.

ICING: The Blackhawks 46 wins were their most since winning 47 in the 1992-93 season. Young forward Patrick Kane will face enormous pressure as he tries to rebuild his image after an offseason brush with the law. Kane scored 25 goals and finished second on the team in scoring behind Martin Havlat, who left via free agency. Team captain Jonathan Toews was first with 34 goals and led the team in his first year at the helm on a surprising run to the Western Conference finals.

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ST. LOUIS BLUES

LAST SEASON: 41-31-10, 92 points. Lost to Vancouver 4-0 in first round.

COACH: Andy Murray, 4th season, 101-85-32; 10th overall, 316-261-121.

ADDED: G Ty Conklin, D Brendan Bell, C Derek Armstrong.

LOST: D Jeff Woywitka, D Jay McKee, RW Dan Hinote, LW Steve Regier, G Manny Legace.

PLAYER TO WATCH: T.J. Oshie. The center was second among rookies in scoring from January until the end of the season. He had 12 goals and 23 assists in the final 45 games.

ICING: The Blues had the NHLs best record in the second half of the season, going 25-9-7 and moving up from last in the West to the No. 6 seed in the playoffs. St. Louis hadnt reached the postseason since 2004. Chris Mason starts the season as the No. 1 goalie after winning the job last season. Mason started the Blues final 33 games and went 24-8-6 with a 2.08 goals-against average and five shutouts down the stretch. He will be helped on defense by the return of 21-year-old Erik Johnson, who missed all of last season due to a freak preseason knee injury. Johnson topped Blues defensemen was second among rookies in scoring during the 2007-08 season despite missing 10 games early. He finished with five goals and 28 assists after being the top pick in the 2006 draft.

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COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

LAST SEASON: 41-31-10, 92 points. Lost to Detroit 4-0 in first round.

COACH: Ken Hitchcock, 4th season, 103-96-27; 14th overall, 511-323-149.

ADDED: C Samuel Pahlsson, G Mathieu Garon.

LOST: RW Jason Williams, C Manny Malhotra, C Chris Gratton, C Michael Peca, C Jiri Novotny, D Christian Backman, D Ole-Kristian Tollefsen.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Steve Mason. The reigning rookie of the year will be counted on to repeat his performance that included an NHL-leading 10 shutouts and a goals-against average of 2.10 that was seconf to Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas of Boston.

ICING: Mason had a franchise-record three straight shutouts in late December. His 8-2-4 record late in the season helped the Blue Jackets reach the playoffs for the first time. The stakes will now be raised in Columbus, where increased success is expected. C Samuel Pahlsson will help Columbus in the offensive and defensive zones. He has reached the West finals four times and the Stanley Cup finals twice in six seasons. He had seven goals and 11 assists in 65 games last season with Anaheim and Chicago. Rick Nash scored 40 goals and added a career high with 39 assists. He has been the teams top goal-scorer for five straight seasons.

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NASHVILLE PREDATORS

LAST SEASON: 40-34-8, 88 points. Out of playoffs.

COACH: Barry Trotz, 11th season, 364-342-114; 11th overall.

ADDED: C Colin Wilson, RW Ben Guite, LW Peter Olvecky, C Marcel Goc.

LOST: C Radek Bonk, C Vernon Fiddler, D Greg Zanon, D Ville Koistinen, C Scott Nichol, D Greg de Vries.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Steve Sullivan, who returned in January from a nearly two-year absence due to a back injury. He is the third player since World War II, joining Mario Lemieux and Jim Peplinski, to play 150 games with a team, miss at least 600 consecutive days, and then return to that team. Sullivan had 11 goals and 21 assists in 41 games last season and was given the Masterton Trophy which recognizes perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

ICING: Pekka Rinne earned wins in his first six decisions to gain the starting job in goal. He then played in 30 of the final 35 games. Overall he went 29-15-4 and tied for the eighth-most wins by a rookie goalie. Predators captain Jason Arnott established a team record by scoring 33 goals, doing it in only 65 games last season. That equaled his career-best goal total set when he was a rookie with Edmonton during the 1993-94 season. Arnott missed 11 games but came back to reach the 20-goal mark for the 10th straight season and 12th time in 15.

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NORTHWEST DIVISION

VANCOUVER CANUCKS

LAST SEASON: 45-27-10, 100 points. Lost to Chicago 4-2 in conference semifinals.

COACH: Alain Vigneault, 4th season, 133-86-27; 8th overall, 242-204-66.

ADDED: RW Mikael Samuelsson, G Andrew Raycroft, D Christian Ehrhoff, D Brad Lukowich.

LOST: C Mats Sundin, D Mattias Ohlund, LW Taylor Pyatt, D Ossi Vaananen, LW Jason Jaffray, D Rob Davison, C Jason Krog, G Jason LaBarbera, G Curtis Sanford.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Roberto Luongo was forced out of the lineup for eight weeks by a groin injury. but finished with 33 wins and nine shutouts. That kind of stellar play will be necessary for the Canucks, who will be on a long road trip before and after the Olympics come to town.

ICING: Luongo, who doubles as Canucks captain, posted a shutout streak of 242 minutes, 36 seconds, from Nov. 2-12 - before his injury - the longest run by an NHL goalie since Phoenixs Brian Boucher set the modern NHL record of 332:01 in the 2003-04 season. The Canucks will not play a home game between Jan. 27 and March 13 - a stretch of 14 consecutive road games that spans the NHL Olympic break. The newly re-signed Sedin twins will get some more help up front from Mikael Samuelsson, who left the West champion Detroit Red Wings for the Pacific Northwest.

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CALGARY FLAMES

LAST SEASON: 46-30-6, 98 points. Lost to Chicago 4-2 in first round.

COACH: Brent Sutter, 1st season; 3rd overall 97-56-11.

ADDED: D Jay Bouwmeester, RW Brandon Prust, LW Fredrik Sjostrom, RW Brian McGrattan, LW Nigel Dawes.

LOST: LW Mike Cammalleri, RW Todd Bertuzzi, D Jordan Leopold, D Jim Vandermeer, D Adrian Aucoin, LW Andre Roy.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Jay Bouwmeester. The defenseman moves to the West after six seasons with Florida. He led Panthers defenseman last season with 42 points, including 15 goals. He has played every game in five of his six seasons and owns the NHLs longest current consecutive games streak of 342.

ICING: Brent Sutter will feel more at home back in Alberta than he was as coach of the Devils in New Jersey. There is added security and familiarity with brother Darryl as general manager. Brent Sutter was the owner, president, general manager and coach of the Western Hockey Leagues Red Deer Rebels and went 314-194-68 as coach. Flames D Dion Phaneuf played there under Sutter. Calgary captain Jarome Iginla became the Flames career points leader in March. He also owns the goals record with 409.

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MINNESOTA WILD

LAST SEASON: 40-33-9, 89 points. Out of playoffs.

COACH: Todd Richards, 1st season; 1st overall.

ADDED: RW Martin Havlat, C Kyle Brodziak, D Greg Zanon, D Shane Hnidy, G Wade Dubielewicz, RW Petr Sykora.

LOST: RW Marian Gaborik, D Marc-Andre Bergeron, LW Stephane Veilleux, D Martin Skoula, LW Dan Fritsche, LW Peter Olvecky, C Krys Kolanos, D Kurtis Foster.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Martin Havlat, who topped the Chicago Blackhawks with career highs of 48 assists and 77 points and was second with 29 goals. He will need to offset the loss of Marian Gaborik, who left for the New York Rangers after eight seasons and five campaigns of at least 30 goals.

ICING: Todd Richards faces the tough task of replacing Jacques Lemaire, the only coach the Wild had since joining the NHL in 2000. Lemaire led the Wild to three playoff appearances and a run to the West finals in 2003. Richards comes over after a stint as an assistant with San Jose, which posted the NHLs best record last season. Richards was in charge of a power-play unit that was third in the league with a scoring rate of 24.2 percent. Mikko Koivu couldnt lure his brother Saku to Minnesota, but he can look to build on what was a stellar season for him. Koivu topped the Wild with 67 points, 47 assists, four short-handed goals, and 236 shots. Niklas Backstrom proved he could play goal in the NHL as well as he did in Europe. Backstrom played in 71 games and was third in the NHL with a 2.33 goals-against average and eight shutouts.

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EDMONTON OILERS

LAST SEASON: 38-35-9, 85 points. Out of playoffs.

COACH: Pat Quinn, 1st season; 20th overall, 657-481-180.

ADDED: G Nikolai Khabibulin, C Mike Comrie.

LOST: RW Ales Kotalik, C Kyle Brodziak, G Dwayne Roloson.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Nikolai Khabibulin. The goalie hopes to continue success built with the Chicago Blackhawks as he replaces Dwayne Roloson. Khabibulin, in his fourth season in Chicago after backstopping Tampa Bay to the 2004 Stanley Cup title, was 25-8-7 with a 2.33 goals-against average - fourth best in the NHL.

ICING: Pat Quinn brings his vast experience to Edmonton, and will have former New York Rangers coach Tom Renney as his top assistant on the bench. Quinn is fifth in career NHL games coached and wins (657). In this Olympic year, Canadians fondly remember the job he did in leading Canada to its first gold in 50 years - winning the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. Sheldon Souray powers the power play from the blue line. He scored 23 goals last season, three shy of his career best set in the 2006-07 season with Montreal. Mike Comrie, who left Edmonton in 2003 after a bitter dispute with the Oilers, is back in his hometown following several stops elsewhere. Comrie had career highs with 33 goals and 60 points with the Oilers in the 2001-02 season.

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COLORADO AVALANCHE

LAST SEASON: 32-45-5, 69 points. Out of playoffs.

COACH: Joe Sacco, 1st season; 1st overall.

ADDED: C Matt Duchene, G Craig Anderson, LW David Koci, D Kyle Quincey, D Tom Preissing.

LOST: LW Ryan Smyth, C Tyler Arnason, RW Ian Laperriere, RW Cody McCormick, C Ben Guite, G Andrew Raycroft, D Daniel Tjarnqvist (unrestricted free agent).

PLAYER NOT TO WATCH: Only one player fits into this category, longtime captain Joe Sakic who announced his retirement. His No. 19 will be raised to the rafters in Denver on opening night.

ICING: The Avalanche face a rebuilding process on and off the ice. Without Sakic, the face of the franchise for so many years, Colorado will try to get back to its winning ways. The Avalanche missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 1994 when the team was still the Quebec Nordiques. The won the Stanley Cup the following season, the clubs first in Colorado. C Matt Duchene, at No. 3 in this years draft, was the franchises highest pick since the team relocated. Sacco spent four seasons with the organization as an assistant and head coach ofn the teams AHL affiliates. He played 13 seasons in the NHL. Wojtek Wolski, Colorados first-round pick in 2004, went 10 for 12 in shootouts last season, tying the NHL record for goals in a season and leading the league in percentage (83.3).

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PACIFIC DIVISION

SAN JOSE SHARKS

LAST SEASON: 53-18-11, 117 points. Lost to Anaheim 4-2 in first round.

COACH: Todd McLellan, 2nd season, 53-18-11; 2nd overall.

ADDED: LW Dany Heatley, C Scott Nichol, C Dwight Helminen, RW Jed Ortmeyer, C Patrick White, D Daniel Rahimi, C Manny Malhotra.

LOST: RW Jonathan Cheechoo, LW Milan Michalek, D Christian Ehrhoff, RW Mike Grier, LW Travis Moen, C Tomas Plihal, C Jeremy Roenick, C Marcel Goc, D Alexei Semenov, D Brad Lukowich, LW Lukas Kaspar, RW Tom Cavanagh, RW Claude Lemieux, G Brian Boucher.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Dany Heatley. He got his wish to be traded by the Ottawa Senators, now he will be expected to change the Sharks playoff misfortunes. Heatley has topped 40 goals four times in his seven seasons and reached 50 twice. He led Ottawa with 39 goals last season, including 15 on the power play.

ICING: Just when it seemed the Sharks might be poised to make their long-expected deep run in the playoffs, they fizzled out again. Not even the clubs first Presidents Trophy mattered. The biggest move in the offseason shakeup came when RW Jonathan Cheechoo and LW Milan Michalek were dealt to Ottawa for Heatley. Joe Thornton played in every game last season and posted a team-high 86 points (25 goals, 61 assists), but he managed only one goal and four assists in the playoff loss to Anaheim. The Sharks are 189-82-33 in the regular season since Thornton was traded to San Jose by Boston on Nov. 30, 2005. He has 92 goals and 292 assists in 304 games, but San Jose hasnt gotten past the second round. With Dan Boyle and Rob Blake joining the team last season, the Sharks had the highest-scoring defense in team history. Boyle had 16 goals and 41 assists, and Blake added 10 goals and 35 assists. McLellan was the fifth rookie head coach since expansion to lead his team to the NHLs best record.

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ANAHEIM DUCKS

LAST SEASON: 42-33-7, 91 points. Lost to Detroit 4-3 in conference semifinals.

COACH: Randy Carlyle, 5th season, 180-107-41; 5th overall.

ADDED: RW Joffrey Lupul, D Luca Sbisa, C Saku Koivu, D Nick Boynton, D Steve McCarthy, RW Evgeny Artyukhin, D Steve Eminger.

LOST: D Chris Pronger, D Francois Beauchemin, LW Drew Miller, LW Rob Niedermayer, D Bret Hedican.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Scott Niedermayer. The defenseman is getting set for his 19th NHL season, but will have to do it without his brother Rob - a center who signed with New Jersey. Ironically, Scott Niedermayer left the Devils in 2005 to come to Anaheim to play with Rob. They teamed up to win the Stanley Cup in 2007.

ICING: Scott Niedermayer, who flirted with retirement in recent years, seems as strong as ever. He played in all 82 games last season and was third among NHL defensemen with 45 assists and 59 points. The 36-year-old, four-time Stanley Cup champion is the only player to win the Stanley Cup, an Olympic gold medal, world championship, World Cup, Memorial Cup and world junior title. Bobby Ryan should continue to show the promise he presented as a rookiewhen he topped first-year players last season with 31 goals and 57 points in 64 games. Ryan was picked second in the 2005 draft, right behind Sidney Crosby. Saku Koivu will wear a different NHL uniform for the first time after 13 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens. Koivu was captain for the last 10, tying Jean Beliveau for the longest run in Montreals century-long history. He scored at least 50 points for the sixth straight season, posting 16 goals and 34 assists.

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DALLAS STARS

LAST SEASON: 36-35-11, 83 points. Out of playoffs.

COACH: Marc Crawford, 1st season; 14th overall, 470-361-156.

ADDED: D Karlis Skrastins, D Jeff Woywitka, G Alex Auld.

LOST: C Brendan Morrison, D Darryl Sydor, RW Mark Parrish, RW Chris Conner, LW Steve Begin, RW Landon Wilson, C Joel Lundqvist, D Sergei Zubov, G Tobias Stephan.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Team captain Brenden Morrow, who sustained a season-ending knee injury on Nov. 20 after posting five goals and 10 assists in 18 games. His absence led to the Stars missing the playoffs for the first time in six seasons, one year after they reached the Western Conference finals.

ICING: Mike Modano is starting his 20th season with the Stars, the only NHL team with which he has played. He is also expected to be on the U.S. Olympic team, which would be his fourth appearance. Modano is the franchise leader with 543 goals, 786 assists, 1,329 points, and 1,400 games played. There have been only nine NHL players with more points for one team. Dave Tippett lost his job after the lost season, giving way to Crawford, who is 15th in career NHL games coached (987) and 16th with 470 wins. Mike Ribeiro had 22 goals and 56 assists last season, his second straight campaign with at least 20 goals and 50 assists.

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PHOENIX COYOTES

LAST SEASON: 36-39-7, 79 points. Out of playoffs.

COACH: Dave Tippett, 1st season; 7th season overall, 271-162-59.

ADDED: LW Stefan Meyer, D Jim Vandermeer, D Sami Lepisto, C Vernon Fiddler, G Jason LaBarbera, D Adrian Aucoin, LW Lauri Korpikoski, RW Radim Vrbata, LW Taylor Pyatt.

LOST: C Steve Reinprecht, RW Enver Lisin, LW Nigel Dawes, LW Joakim Lindstrom, D Dmitri Kalinin, LW Todd Fedoruk, D David Hale, D Ken Klee, RW Steve Goertzen, RW Brandon Prust, RW Brian McGrattan, C Garth Murray.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Jim Balsillie and his court fight with the NHL over who should own the Coyotes. The team will stay in Arizona for at least one more season. The future after that is unknown.

ICING: The Coyotes learned this week that coach Wayne Gretzky wouldnt return. He had been away from training and preseason games as the court battle over the team played out. RW Shane Doan has the unenviable task of trying to keep the team together on the ice. He is beginning his 14th NHL season and sixth as Coyotes captain. He scored 20 goals for the ninth straight season with a career high of 31. Matthew Lombardi (5 goals, 11 assists), LW Scottie Upshall (8 goals, 5 assists) and RW Petr Prucha (2 goals, 8 assists) trailed only Doan in scoring over the final 19 games after the Coyotes acquired them and three others at the trade deadline.

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LOS ANGELES KINGS

LAST SEASON: 34-37-11, 79 points. Out of playoffs.

COACH: Terry Murray, 2nd season, 34-37-11; 13th overall 394-314-111.

ADDED: C Brayden Schenn, D Rob Scuderi, LW Ryan Smyth.

LOST: D Kyle Quincey, D Tom Preissing, LW Kyle Calder, C Derek Armstrong, C Brian Boyle, D Denis Gauthier, LW Matt Moulson.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Jonathan Quick started 22 of the Kings last 27 games in his rookie season and 41 of the final 52 after being called up from the AHL. Quick was third among rookies with 21 wins (21-18-2), a 2.48 goals-against average, and four shutouts.

ICING: The Kings made pair of big moves with the addition of defenseman Rob Scuderi from the champion Pittsburgh Penguins and gritty forward Ryan Smyth from Colorado. Scuderi was first on the Penguins with a plus-23 and 164 blocked shots. Smyth scored 40 goals in two seasons with the Avalanche, including 26 last season. C Anze Kopitar scored 27 goals last season, his third straight season of at least 20. Luc Robitaille was the previous Kings player to do it. Kopitar led the club with 66 points and played in all 82 games.