The East Division was dominated by the Philadelphia Phantoms, but a late season collapse allowed the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to capture another division title. Which team made the best upgrades this offseason in hopes of spring time success? Here’s a preview of the East Division.

EASTERN CONFERENCE – EAST DIVISION

Albany River Rats
2007-08 Record: 43-30-3-4, 93 points

Key Additions: Matt Murley (San Antonio Rampage)
Key Losses: Chris Blight (Denmark), Jamie Johnson (Finland), Keith Aucoin (Washington Capitals), Joey Mormina (Pittsburgh Penguins), Kiel McLeod (Pittsburgh Penguins), Michael Leighton (Carolina Hurricanes)

Season Outlook: After a magical 2007-08 season, the Albany River Rats have gone through major changes during the offseason. Several key players have departed for other teams or Europe, and starting goaltender Michael Leighton earned a promotion to Carolina. The 2008-09 season is going to be a rough one for the River Rats, who might easily go from a division contender to not even making the playoffs.

The River Rats will be looking for a new leading scorer this season since Jamie Johnson decided to depart for Finland, and clubhouse leader Keith Aucoin signed a two-year contract with the Washington Capitals. Brandon Nolan is expected to take on more of a leadership role after being the second leading scorer on the team last season. However, without the right mix of players, the River Rats will have trouble scoring all season. The River Rats needed to add a premier goal scorer, but failed to do so this offseason.

Albany’s defense should be in good shape. After showing excellence down the stretch last season from Brett Carson, Mark Flood, Casey Borer and Bryan Rodney, the River Rats should be stable on defense and improve upon their numbers from last season.

Justin Peters appears poised to win the starting net minding job out of training camp. After serving as Leighton’s backup for parts of last season, Peters will look to improve upon his seven wins from a season ago. Kevin Nastiuk will look to battle for the starting job, but ultimately will begin the season as the backup. Both goaltenders were rookies last season and only spent minimal time in the AHL, so how they fair in their first full season will be key to just how good, or bad, the River Rats will be in 2008-09.

Binghamton Senators
2007-08 Record: 34-32-9-5, 82 points

Key Additions: Brendan Bell (San Antonio Rampage)
Key Losses: Justin Mapletoft (Austria), Greg Amadio (Hershey Bears), Niko Dimitrakos (Sweden), Matt Kinch (San Jose Sharks), Lawrence Nycholat (Manitoba Moose)

Season Outlook: Even though the Binghamton Senators failed to make the playoffs for a third consecutive season in 2007-08, they have a lot to build on after a strong season. They battled into the final month of the season for a playoffs berth, but fell 10 points short. The only concern would be that they didn’t do enough this offseason to improve the team enough.

Leading scorer Denis Hamel returns for another season in Binghamton after leading the Senators with 55 points last season. Forty point producer Niko Dimitrakos signed to play in Sweden for the upcoming season. Binghamton should be in good shape, offensively wise, even though no major additions were made. They should be able to get increased production from Josh Hennessy, Alexander Nikulin and Ilya Zubov.

The defense is going to be a bit rocky this season. They were in good shape until the Ottawa Senators traded Lawrence Nycholat to the Vancouver Canucks. Matt Kinch and Greg Amadio are also gone with Amadio going to division rival Hershey Bears. So if the Senators are banking on defense to win them games this season, they better start doing an awful lot of praying.

The Senators have two very talented goaltenders, Brian Elliott and Jeff Glass, which will be returning for another season in Binghamton. Both players played well last season that neither one was given the official number one spot. Elliott might have the edge heading into the 2008-09 season after posting 18 wins and a 2.81 GAA last season.

Bridgeport Sound Tigers
2007-08 Record: 39-31-5-5, 88 points

Key Additions: Yann Danis (Montreal Canadiens), Brett Skinner (Boston Bruins), Kurtis McLean (Pittsburgh Penguins), Mike Iggulden (San Jose Sharks)
Key Losses: Mike Morrison (Austria), Kip Brennan (Finland), Matt Keith (Finland), Steve Regier (Peoria Rivermen), Drew Fata (San Antonio Rampage)

Season Outlook: The Bridgeport Sound Tigers came close to making the playoffs in 2007-08, but ultimately fell short in the tightly contested East Division. The New York Islanders made a lot of improvements during the offseason that should help the Sound Tigers contend for the division title in 2008-09.

The Sound Tigers welcome Yann Danis, Brett Skinner, Kurtis McLean, and Mike Iggulden into the mix of an already talented team. Skinner is a young defenseman on the rise in the AHL. He produced his best season in 2007-08, scoring seven goals and 40 assists in 68 games with the Providence Bruins. Iggulden is another young player on the rise. After spending the last three seasons with the Worcester Sharks, Iggulden posted his best numbers last season when he accumulated 66 points in 78 games.

The Sound Tigers are expected to have an impressive season up front with all the additions they made during the offseason. Even though Jeff Tambellini is ticketed for an entire season in New York, the return of Ben Walter with the addition of McLean and Iggulden will improve this offense from a season ago. Kyle Okposo is expected to fill a bigger role in his first full professional season.

Bridgeport’s defense appears to be in good shape for the upcoming season. Jamie Fraser and Mark Wotton return to sure up Bridgeport’s defense for another season. The addition of Brett Skinner to the blue line will add more scoring touch and give the Sound Tigers more options at the point on the power play.

The Sound Tigers said goodbye to Mike Morrison and hello to Yann Danis. Danis comes to the Sound Tigers after spending the four seasons with the Hamilton Bulldogs. It’s not much of an upgrade as Danis only won 11 games last season for the Bulldogs. Joey MacDonald is expected to battle Danis for the starting spot in Bridgeport.

Hershey Bears
2007-08 Record: 42-30-2-6, 92 points

Key Additions: Keith Aucoin (Albany River Rats), Greg Amadio (Binghamton Senators), Oskar Osala (Finland), Ben Helmer (San Antonio Rampage), Graham Mink (Worcester Sharks)
Key Losses: Ben Clymer (Belarus), Chris McAllister (Britain), Frederic Cassivi (Germany), Scott Barney (Germany), Ryan Flinn (Hamilton Bulldogs), Danny Syvret (Philadelphia Phantoms), Jason Morgan (Sweden), Louis Robitaille (Italy), Josef Boumedienne (Toronto Marlies)

Season Outlook: After fighting their way into the playoffs in 2007-08, the Hershey Bears seemed to go through major changes every week during the offseason. Whether it was players leaving for other teams, or players signing to play for the chocolate and white, the Hershey Bears made the right improvements to make a strong push to return to the Calder Cup finals.

The two biggest offseason acquisitions were Keith Aucoin from Albany and Graham Mink from Worcester. Aucoin spent half the 2007-08 season with Albany and the other half with the Carolina Hurricanes. Aucoin has been a proven AHL scorer over the past seven seasons; he will battle for a spot with the Washington Capitals, but will be a major lift for the Bears should he be assigned to Hershey. Mink returns to Hershey after spending the previous two seasons with the Worcester Sharks. Hershey fans most notably remember Mink as a member of Hershey 2006 Calder Cup winning team. He is the perfect type of player that the Hershey fans love; he gives 100% every shift. The Bears also have Alexandre Giroux, Chris Bourque, and Kyle Wilson returning along with young guns Andrew Gordon, Jay Beagle, and Andrew Joudrey.

Hershey’s defense will be a major question mark. Dean Arsene returns and so does Sami Lepisto if he doesn’t make Washington’s roster out of training camp. One of the Bears’ top defensemen from last season, Josef Boumidenne, wasn’t re-signed and signed with Toronto. The Bears signed Ben Helmer from San Antonio and Greg Amadio from Binghamton. This defensive corps will need to play at the top of their game since Hershey will have a group of young goaltenders.

The Bears have three possible choices in net to start the season. Daren Machesney, Simeon Varlamov, and Michal Neuvirth are all vying to be the number one goalie in Hershey. Machesney has the edge after spending last season in Hershey and seeing a majority of starts. Ultimately, the Capitals will decide which goalies they want in Hershey. Word from Washington is that they will not assign one of their goaltenders to the ECHL; instead they will more than likely loan one to another AHL team. Machesney seems the most likely to be loaned since he already has two years of AHL experience.

Norfolk Admirals
2007-08 Record: 29-44-2-5, 65 points

Key Additions: Wyatt Smith (Lake Erie Monsters), Janne Niskala (Milwaukee Admirals), Pete Zingoni (Philadelphia Phantoms), Mike McKenna (Portland Pirates), Zenon Konopka (Syracuse Crunch)
Key Losses: Mario Scalzo (Austria), Norm Milley (Germany), Steve Sterling (Germany), Marc Denis (Hamilton Bulldogs), Kyle Wanvig (Russia), David Schneider (Sweden), Mike Egener (Providence Bruins)

Season Outlook: After being one of the dominate teams in the East Division for the past couple of seasons, the Norfolk Admirals found themselves with a new affiliation in 2007-08 and a last place finish in the division. The Admirals made a few upgrades during the offseason, but their top two scorers from last season, Kyle Wanvig and Norm Milley, are off to Europe.

The Admirals are going to have a tough time this season putting goals in the back of the net. Their offense got worse with the loss of Wanvig and Milley, and Zingoni and Konopka aren’t the answers to solve Norfolk’s problems. Blair Jones is returning for another season in Norfolk after finishing last season as the team’s third leading scorer. Konopka and Wyatt Smith will add a spark, but it won’t be enough to get the Admirals out of last place.

Norfolk’s defense last season was awful. They allowed the most goals in the East Division and second most in the Eastern Conference. Janne Niskala will help make the Admirals defense better, but they still have some question marks that need to be answered on defense. Alexandre Picard could have added some life into a defense that saw most of its players finish with a negative plus/minus rating, but the Tampa Bay Lightning dealt him in the offseason to Ottawa. Mario Scalzo was Norfolk’s top defensemen from last season, but he is off to Europe this season.

Goaltending looks like a major problem for the Admirals. Marc Denis was let go and in comes Mike McKenna. McKenna is expected to step in and become the number one goalie right away after Jonathan Boutin struggled last season when he served as the number one netminder. Either way you look at it, Norfolk will be in for a long season between the pipes.

Philadelphia Phantoms
2007-08 Record: 46-27-4-3, 99 points

Key Additions: Danny Syvret (Hershey Bears), Sean Curry (Providence Bruins), Tim Ramholt (Quad City Flames), Nate Raduns (Worcester Sharks), Jean-Sebastian Aubin (Portland Pirates)
Key Losses: Ryan Potulny (Springfield Falcons), Rory Fitzpatrick (Rochester Americans), Darren Reid (Hershey Bears), Denis Gauthier (Manchester Monarchs), Pete Zingoni (Norfolk Admirals), Kyle Greentree (Quad City Flames), Denis Tolpeko (Russia), Martin Grenier (Russia), Stefan Ruzicka (Russia), Lars Jonsson (Sweden)

Season Outlook: The Philadelphia Phantoms surprised a lot of teams last season with their second place finish in the East Division. They actually led the division for most of the season until goaltender Brian Boucher signed a one-year contract with the San Jose Sharks in February. The Phantoms lost a lot of key players this offseason, and it could prove costly with the existence of the franchise unknown after this season.

Three of the top four point producers (Ruzicka, Greentree, and Potulny) are gone. Jared Ross and Jonathan Matsumoto are now the leaders of the Phantoms. The Phantoms didn’t do much during the offseason to make up for the offense they lost. Boyd Kane is getting older as his numbers have declined with the increase of injuries of the past few seasons. The offense is going to be one of Philadelphia’s biggest question mark.

The Phantoms did do a good job in upgrading their defense. The addition of Danny Syvret and Sean Curry will help to sure up a defense that allowed only 212 goals last season. Oskars Bartulis is expected to step into a leadership role and become the captain of Philadelphia’s defensemen. The loss of Lars Jonsson and Denis Gauthier on defense will be felt for the first few weeks, but should be fine after the new players get adjusted to playing under John Paddock.

Goaltending will be the biggest question mark this season. Scott Munroe and Martin Moule aren’t expected back, and the reigns have been turned over to recently signed J.S. Aubin. Aubin helped lead the Pirates to the Eastern Conference finals last season, but was slowed by injuries in that series. He is a good addition for Philadelphia – if he can stay healthy.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
2007-08 Record: 47-26-3-4, 101 points

Key Additions: Curtis Darling (Manchester Monarchs), Bill Thomas (San Antonio Rampage), T.J. Kemp (Springfield Falcons)
Key Losses: Kurtis McLean (Bridgeport Sound Tigers), Tim Brent (Rockford IceHogs), Nathan Smith (Lake Erie Monsters), Mark Ardelan (Finland), Alain Nasreddine (Germany), Ryan Lannon (San Antonio Rampage), Dennis Bonvie (Retirement)

Season Outlook: For most of last season the Penguins chased the Phantoms for the division lead, only to overtake them late in the season for another division title. The regular season success paid off with another trip to the Calder Cup finals, but was bested by the Chicago Wolves. The Penguins lost a lot of talent this offseason and a return trip to the finals is unlikely.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s top three scorers (Tim Brent, Kurtis McLean, and Nathan Smith) are all gone, and the Penguins didn’t exactly do enough to fill the void left by those three. Dave Gove is going to need to take on more of a leadership role and Chris Minard will need to find a way to get more points. Bill Thomas and T.J. Kemp were signed to help the offense, but they won’t be able to fill the void left by the big three.

The defense should be in good shape. Alex Goligoski, Ben Lovejoy, and Derek Engelland are back to solidify the defense, but Goligoski is a likely recall option for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Even though the loss of Mark Ardelan and Alain Nasreddine will be felt, the Penguins will be fine.

John Curry almost pulled off a stellar rookie season with a Calder Cup championship. Curry will improve even more this season and have a great season spending the entire season as the number one goalie. The Penguins did sign Curtis Darling to backup Curry. If Curry plays like he did last season and in the postseason, Curry will win some games on his own if his team struggles.

Predicted Division Standings

1. Hershey
2. Bridgeport
3. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
4. Philadelphia
5. Albany
6. Binghamton
7. Norfolk