| The 2009-2010 NHL season has wrapped up with the | | | | the Blackhawks. They have Anze Kopitar and Dustin |
| Blackhawks taking the crown in a fast paced and | | | | Brown up front. They aren't at the level of Toews |
| excited Stanley Cup Finals. The question for hockey | | | | and Kane, but the Kings are superior on the back end |
| addicts, of course, is what can we expect next | | | | with two puck moving defensemen in Jack Johnson |
| season? Who will be the breakout team? Let's take a | | | | and Drew Doughty. The team also mirrors the |
| look. | | | | Blackhawks in the plethora of role players it has to |
| The NHL is current in a state of change. The | | | | do the grunt work. The Kings had a taste of the |
| dominant teams of the last five years are facing age | | | | playoffs this year, and one can imagine they will be |
| and salary cap problems. The Detroit Red Wings are | | | | primed for a deeper run next season. |
| getting very old, but will make one more run at it. | | | | The other choice might shock you - the Toronto |
| The Pittsburg Penguins aren't old, but they are | | | | Maple Leafs. One of the iconic franchises of the |
| starting to lose parts as the cap his of Crosby and | | | | league has fallen on hard times. Well, those times are |
| Malkin really begin to show [Goodbye Gonchar!]. At | | | | about to end. Bringing in Brian Burke was the first |
| the same time, new teams are starting to reap the | | | | good move for the franchise in a very long time. He |
| benefits of investing in the draft and their minor | | | | is building his usual bruising roster. This should work |
| league efforts. | | | | even better in the East which as become, dare I say |
| So, who will break out next season? A couple of | | | | it, soft. The Maple Leafs are no threat to make a run |
| teams look ripe. The Los Angeles Kings are perhaps | | | | to the Cup, but they should make the playoffs and |
| the most attractive choice. The team is young and | | | | leave a lot of teams black and blue along the way. |
| has dynamic players. In fact, they look very similar to | | | | |