Frantic Atlantic

Thus far, in the time between the draft and the end of the first week of free-agent signings, no division has done more to alter its chemistry than the Atlantic Division.

The Flyers have performed yet another radical roster re-section, taking a quarter of the Predators' heart and soul, and a big sword-chunk out of the Sabres' offensive capability with the additions of Hartnell, Timmonen and Daniel Briere. Hartnell was introduced to the media yesterday, and all the pictures show yet another young matinee-idol face ready to ruin it for the good of the team and the city. Unfortunately, there are three too many forwards on the club, and it looks like Ben Eager, R.J. Umberger and Ryan Potulny are the most-likely candidates to be odd-man-out once training camp begins and the roster is solidified.

Westward looking, the Penguins made smart moves by retaining Mark Recchi and Gary Roberts on a pair of one-year deals. Even though Darryl Sydor is aging, his acquisition if nothing more than to sit in the press box on some nights and then teach the kids later, is incredibly valuable. So is taking the time now to lock up Sid the Kid for five more years. This year's first-round draft pick Angelo Esposito might be best served by at least starting the year in Wilkes-Barre, sort of a secret weapon when the first flu or injury bug hits the team. If the kids on the roster continue to mature at the same level as last season, it'll be another winning one.

The Devils have a new arena, but an incomplete roster and no head coach. They've not yet managed to adequately make up for losing Scott Gomez, though signing Kevin Weekes for those random eight games Martin Brodeur decides not to dress is a smart move. Defensively, bringing in Vitali Vishnevski is bound to give at least one coach massive bouts of indigestion. If Sheldon Souray comes back to the fold and is given even half the offensive license he had in Montreal, look out. If...

Things are looking up for both New York squads. The Rangers added Gomez and Chris Drury while bringing Brendan Shanahan back for one more year and keeping Henrik Lundqvist in net for the next three. The Blueshirts really didn't need much coming in, and, other than the gauntlet of a 32-game division schedule, their most likely obstacles this season will be health and the ability for three lines to mesh well. The Isles lost out big time with the departures of Ryan Smyth, Viktor Kozlov and Jason Blake with the buy-out of Alexei Yashin, but managed to recoup quickly by bringing in Bill Guerin, Ruslan Fedotenko, Jon Sim and Mike Comrie.

I think now, the Atlantic has the head-start on being the best division in the Eastern Conference. It still has a long way to go to match the Northwest Division for the best in hockey, even if the Oilers are the clear bottom-dwellers.