Atlantic Divison
By Bob Grove

Since the NHL was realigned for the 1998-99 season, the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers have alternated winning the Atlantic Division title. The Devils also won two Stanley Cups in that span, while the Flyers twice narrowly missed a Finals berth.

It’s the Devils’ turn this time around, but it won’t be easy for them to get back to the top - not with the Flyers’ acquisition of Peter Forsberg and the Penguins’ free agent shopping spree. Here’s what you can expect from the Penguins’ division rivals in 2005-06:

Philadelphia

The Flyers and coach Ken Hitchcock have lost four of their top five scorers from 2003-04 in Mark Recchi, John LeClair, Tony Amonte and Jeremy Roenick. Alexei Zhamnov and Danny Markov are gone, too. As long as he can avoid the injuries that always seem to plague him, Forsberg will do more than his share to make up for those losses, as will rookies Jeff Carter and Mike Richards. Throw in solid two-way forwards Michal Handzus and Keith Primeau and dependable Mike Knuble and Turner Stevenson, and the only pressing question up front is whether Simon Gagne is ready to be a consistent performer.

The signing of Derian Hatcher, Mike Rathje and Chris Therien gives the Flyers a huge defense, and remember that Joni Pitkanen looks like a future star. Robert Esche is solid in goal, with Antero Niittymaki ready to provide backup. No one will even notice that Sami Kapanen will miss most of the first half with a shoulder injury. This could be the Flyers’ year.

New Jersey

With health problems putting Pat Burns out and Larry Robinson in behind the bench, there are plenty of questions about how the gritty Devils will play the game going forward. After all, open ice and an emphasis on skill has not exactly been their calling card. Leading scorer Patrik Elias will miss the start of the season with hepatitis, putting more pressure on Scott Gomez, Jeff Friesen and the enigmatic and oft-injured Viktor Kozlov up front. Alexander Mogilny is back to chip in and will be a factor if healthy, and we can expect promising Zach Parise to become a regular this season.

Gone are defensemen Scott Stevens (retired) and Scott Niedermayer (Anaheim), which means Brian Rafalski becomes the focal point on the power play. Vladimir Malakhov and Dan McGillis have been signed on defense, but they won’t exactly replace Stevens and Niedermayer. Colin White and Paul Martin, however, are underappreciated outside the Swamp.

Martin Brodeur will take care of business in goal but will be hurt by rules restricting where goaltenders can handle the puck.

New York Islanders

The Islanders have lost Adrian Aucoin, Michael Peca, Mariusz Czerkawski and Roman Hamrlik, which hits coach Steve Stirling in all areas: on defense, on the checking line and on the power play. But the team did pick up Miroslav Satan and Mike York up front, as well as Alexei Zhitnik, Brent Sopel and Brad Lukowich on defense. At $7.5 million between them, Satan and Zhitnik had better pick up their play.

The big question, as always, pertains to center and captain Alexei Yashin. The guy makes a zillion dollars a season (OK, it’s the maximum allowed, $7.6 million) but always comes up short in the end. This team has the speed and skill, especially with the emergence of Trent Hunter, to be a force in the league if Yashin ever delivered on his promise.

The defense lacks a little toughness, but goaltender Rick DiPietro may be able to make up for those deficiencies as he develops into one of the game’s best goaltenders.

New York Rangers

The Rangers and coach Tom Renney are in for a long season. The fun started just before camp opened when Jaromir Jagr turned down an appointment as captain, saying it should be a North American player serving in that capacity in the media capital of the world. Bobby Holik, Mark Messier and Eric Lindros are all gone, so the leadership question is a legitimate one.

The Rangers purged most of the roster near the end of the 2003-04 season, but they don’t have enough young talent to truly take the rebuilding road. So they’ve signed Martin Straka, Steve Rucchin, Martin Rucinsky, Michal Rozsival, Ville Nieminen and Marek Malik - second-line free agents at best.

Jagr will have a lot of Czechs to hang with, but he might not enjoy playing with them every night. The defense is a disaster waiting to happen, as it is anchored by Darius Kasparaitis (the second-highest paid player on the team at $3.3 million) and Tom Poti, not exactly known for their positioning.

Kevin Weekes is the No. 1 goaltender. Good luck, Kevin.