Southeast Division Recap

Standings
Washington (48-23-11-107)
Tampa Bay (46-25-11-103)
Carolina (40-31-11-91)
Atlanta (34-36-12-80)
Florida (30-40-12-72)

Statistical Leaders
Goals- Steven Stamkos, TB (45)
Assists- Martin St. Louis, TB (68)
Points- Martin St. Louis, TB (99)
plus/minus- Alex Ovechkin, WAS (+24)
Save PCT- Cam Ward, CAR (.923)

All-Southeast First Team
LW- Alex Ovechkin (WAS)
C- Steven Stamkos (TB)
RW- Martin St. Louis (TB)
D- Dustin Byfuglien (ATL)
D- John Carlson (WAS)
G- Cam Ward (CAR)

All-Southeast Rookie Team
LW- Johan Harju (TB)
C- Jeff Skinner (CAR)
RW- Evgeni Dadonov (FLA)
D- John Carlson (WAS)
D- Jamie McBain (CAR)
G- Michal Neuvirth (WAS)

Division Awards
Hart Trophy- Martin St. Louis (TB)..Only player who had more assists or points than St. Louis had the last name Sedin.

Vezina Trophy- Cam Ward (CAR)..Led the league in games played (74), and faced more shots and stopped more pucks than anyother goalie in the league.  Also put up a more than respectable .923 Save PCT and 2.56 GAA.

Norris Trophy- John Carlson (WAS)..Had a rookie-high +21 rating to go along with 37 points.  Him along with Mike Green should prove to be a great top line in DC for the near future.

Calder Trophy- Jeff Skinner (CAR)..Led all rookies in points and was the lone rookie All-Star Selection.  Won the NHL Calder Trophy for that reason.

Lady Byng- Martin St. Louis (TB)..Won the NHL Lady Byng as well.

Selke Trophy- Nicklas Backstrom (WAS)..Had a +24 rating while blocking 64 shots and laying 69 hits in 77 games.

Jack Adams- Guy Boucher (TB)..Took a team that missed the playoffs in 2009-2010 to within one win of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Masterton Trophy- Dewayne Roloson (TB)..The 41-year old goaltender went down South from Long Island in January and led the Lightning to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals

Players in the Penthouse
Dustin Byfuglien (ATL)
Bryan Little (ATL)
Tobias Einstrom (ATL)
Andrew Ladd (ATL)
Eric Staal (CAR)
Jeff Skinner (CAR)
Tuomo Ruutu (CAR)
Erik Cole (CAR)
Cam Ward (CAR)
Tomas Vokoun (FLA)
Martin St. Louis (TB)
Steven Stamkos (TB)
Vincent Lecavalier (TB)
Teddy Purcell (TB)
Dwayne Roloson (TB)
Alex Ovechkin (WAS)
Nicklas Backstrom (WAS)
Alexander Semin (WAS)
John Carlson (WAS)

Players in the Elevator
Evander Kane (ATL)
Nik Anthropov (ATL)
Ondrej Pavelec (ATL)
Jamie McBain (CAR)
Brandon Sutter (CAR)
Stephen Weiss (FLA)
Mike Santorelli (FLA)
David Booth (FLA)
Ryan Malone (TB)
Domonic Moore (TB)
Sean Bergenheim (TB)
Brooks Laich (WAS)
Michal Neuvirth (WAS)

Players in the Doghouse
Johnny Odyua (ATL)
Zach Bogosian (ATL)
Joe Corvo (CAR)
Chad LaRose (CAR)
Dennis Wideman (FLA)

Thoughts on the 5 Teams

Atlanta Thrashers
- Sad to see hockey fail in Atlanta for the second time, but the fans have nobody to blame but themselves. If there are no fannies in the seats, they'll just move to a place where there will be fannies in the seats.  They did just that by going to Winnipeg.
- The Jets should have an exciting wave of young talent over the next few years if they can keep the core of solid guys together.  Of course that has been a problem for this franchise, not being able to retain guys like Healtey, Kovalchuk, and Savard, among others.

Carolina Hurricanes
- Ever since being the first post-lockout team to hoist the Cup, the Canes have been a bubble team nearly every year.  But when they get in, boy are they ever capable of making noise, with a goalie like Cam Ward, and playmakers in Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner

Florida Panthers
- Not really sure whats going on in Sunrise.  That 10-year playoff drought doesn't look like it's going to end anytime soon.
- Tomas Vokoun might be the best goalie nobody's talking about.

Tampa Bay Lightning
- They have one of the best young GMs in Steve Yzerman, one of the best young coaches in Guy Boucher, and one of the best young players in Stamkos.  This team isn't going away anytime soon.
- Rolo will most likely be gone, now it is all up Mike Smith, who has a ton of upside and is a great puckhandler.  Sure looked good in his limited minitues during the Eastern Conference Finals.

Washington Capitals
- This Caps team is beginning to come together as a Cup contender quickly, with a goalie with a high ceiling in Neuvirth, and if Mike Green comes back healthy, will make for a potent blue line with Carlson.
- Bruce Boudreau is the guy for this team.  He has won at every level and certainly hasn't disappointed in DC, despite the playoff disappointments.  The Cup coming to the nation's capital is a matter of when, not if, and this guy should be behind the bench for it without a doubt.