Storm chasers: Martin St. Louis and the Lightning shocked the NHL last season and now the rest of the division is trying to catch up - Eastern Conference Southeast Division

Hockey Digest, Nov, 2003 by Tom Worgo

A YEAR AGO IT WOULD HAVE been hard to imagine mentioning perennial NHL laughing stock the Tampa Bay Lightning as a Stanley Cup contender.

But if the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricane could advance to the Finals in recent seasons from the lightly regarded Southeast Division, then why not the Lightning now? After all, Tampa reached the second round of the playoffs last season for the first time in franchise history.

"We have to avoid being a one-hit wonder," Lightning GM Jay Feaster says. "If we don't respond with another playoff season, then you resurrect all those ghosts. I think we did a lot of good things last year to put that stuff to rest."

If Tampa stumbles, the race for the division title could be interesting.

In Washington, GM George McPhee couldn't find any takers for Jaromir Jagr, so he's back to lead a potent attack that includes Sergei Gonchar, Peter Bondra, and Robert Lang. But, while Washington appears to be in good shape on offense and in the net with Ollie Kolzig, can their defense handle the losses of long-time Capitals Calle Johansson (15 seasons) and Ken Klee (nine)?

Carolina GM Jim Rutherford thinks his team's dismal 2002-03 season, when they skated to the league's worst record, was just a fluke. He points out the Hurricanes still have plenty of players around from the Stanley Cup Final team of 2001 to go along with the franchise's best crop of young players in years. "Comparing to the year we went to the Finals, this team could end up being better," Rutherford contends.

Finally, the NHL can take the Atlanta Thrashers seriously. They finished the season with 30 wins, just nine points out of a playoff spot after three awful seasons. "We feel we will take the next step," Thrashers GM Don Waddell says.

The Florida Panthers' defense needs to step up of it could be another long season in South Florida. "We had the youngest defensive corps in the league last year," Panthers coach Mike Keenan notes. Florida does boast rising star Jay Bouwmeester on the blue line, but that's about it.

1. Tampa Bay Lightning

THE OFFSEASON SEEMED TO TAKE away a little luster from the team's memorable campaign. When Tampa failed to resign leading scorer Vaclav Prospal, head coach John Tortorella questioned the club's commitment to winning. Tortorella, in the final year of his contract, also made headlines when he complained about not getting an extension. Eventually, everybody kissed and made up because they know great things could lie ahead. With All-Stars Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, and Nikolai Khabibulin leading the way, this team could be better than last season. "The biggest thing that happened last year is that we felt we could win and we started to," Tortorella says. "We have the nucleus to keep doing it."

On the attack: Tampa Bay has a balanced offense. Lecavalier finally showed why he was the No. 1 overall pick in 1998, posting career highs in goals (34) and assists (44). St. Louis and Brad Richards also had stellar seasons, while Dave Andreychuk had yet another 20-goal campaign. Ruslan Fedotenko should improve on last season's 18 goals. GM Jay Feaster isn't worried about the absence of Prospal, having acquired Cory Stillman on draft day from the Blues to fill the void. "He can play on one of our top two lines and get 25 to 30 goals," Feaster says.

Under fire: Tampa lacks star power on the blue line, but the unit plays well together. Dan Boyle, Pavel Kubina, Brad Lukowich, Cory Sarich, and Jassen Cullimore aren't flashy, but they are steady. Boyle seemed to come out of nowhere to rank among the top defenseman in scoring (53 points).

Between the pipes: Feaster laughs away all the trade rumors about Khabibulin. Why would he want to trade Tampa Bay's MVP? Khabibulin was league's hottest goalie in the second half, finishing 30-22-11 with a 2.47 GAA and .911 save percentage. Feaster likes backup John Grahame so much he signed him to a three year, $3.75 million deal in July. "I think our goal-tending tandem is as good a 1-2 as any team in the league," Feaster says.

Behind the bench: Tortorella has been brilliant at helping the franchise reverse its losing ways. The runner-up coach of the year last season, Tortorella was able to patch up a strained relationship with Lecavalier to the benefit of all.

Bottom line: Tampa is a clear favorite to win the division. They're solid in all areas.

2. Washington Capitals

OWNER TED LEONSIS SOUGHT A box-office draw and a player capable of helping his team win a Cup. Enter Jaromir Jagr. Now the Capitals are stuck with him. No one wants Jagr and his $55 million contract. So, with Jagr weighing down the payroll, GM George McPhee reportedly shopped forwards Peter Bondra and Robert Lang. McPhee still couldn't find any takers. It left him little opportunity to upgrade his club as defensemen Ken Klee and Calle Johansson departed. Washington will revamp the blue line with less experienced players. "We will definitely be younger," coach Bruce Cassidy says.

On the attack: Jagr surpassed the 100-point mark in three of last four seasons in Pittsburgh. He has 79 and 69 in his two Capitals campaigns. Getting bounced between centers hasn't helped Jagr's numbers. Now Lang (69 points) and Michael Nylander (56) are the options. Forwards Bondra, Kip Miller, and Dainius Zubrus give Washington nice depth. Jeff Halpern, Mike Grier, and Steve Konowalchuk form one of NHL's best checking lines.