#3 – TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

Apr 24, 2013; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Martin St. Louis (26) celebrates with teammates after scoring his second goal during the third period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Tampa Bay Times Forum. Tampa Bay defeated Toronto 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Douglas Jones-USA TODAY Sports

TEAM STRENGTHS:  Dynamic offensive talent on the wings

TEAM WEAKNESSES:  Defensive depth, goaltending questions still

HOCKEY’S FUTURE ORGANIZATIONAL PROSPECT RANK:  9th of 30 teams

UNDER CONSIDERATION:  Nathan MacKinnon

FANSIDED MOCK DRAFT PICK:  Bolts By The Bay selected Jonathan Drouin.

SENSHOT’S CHOICE:  Nathan MacKinnon from the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL.  Even if the Lightning had the first pick overall, they might have chosen MacKinnon.  In three years, the 1-2 punch up the middle of Stamkos and MacKinnon could be the equavalent of Crosby and Malkin.  The Lightning have a number of prospects on the wing in the system, and getting that dynamic centre to eventually replace Vincent Lecavalier (and maybe even improve on him) is the perfect fit for the Bolts.  Whether the Lightning get MacKinnon or Drouin (if Florida takes MacKinnon) the Lightning will be better offensively immediately and will have a solid core of young scorers. With the AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, in the AHL finals, there is obviously talent in the pipeline, which is bad news for the new divisional rivals, including the Ottawa Senators.

MOCK DRAFT TO DATE (click on team to view the selection):

“He’s an Enigma!”

March 2, 2012;Washington D.C., USA; Washington Capitals left wing Alexander Ovechkin (8) reacts after getting knocked down against the New Jersey Devils at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

The Southeast is the division that everyone underhandedly makes fun of. Call it a bit of sibling cruelty, but a lot of it stems from the “Why can’t out team be in that division” thoughts of fans. Historically, and for the purpose of the post, we’ll look at the Southeast from ’99 on, the division has produced a lot of top teams, but these teams have been 1 offs who never quite reach that plateau again. Take for example the fact that the division has had 2 Stanley Cup victories since ’99. The Carolina Hurricanes and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

While the teams have great individual players, they never compete on a consistent basis. This years standings speak to that point perfectly. Only 1 team finished in playoff contention this year, and 6 out of 14 possible seasons it has only been 1 team. Those other 8 seasons? 2 teams. The Capitals won the division title this year, which is only impressive because that marks their 7th Division title in 14 years. That should probably tell you a little something about the consistent compete level of the Southeast division. When 1 team has as many Divisional Titles as the 4 other teams in the division combined you know there’s a little problem.

Flip that over and compare it to other divisions, and we’ll take the Northeast, because we’re a Senators blog, and things get a little weird. The Northeast Division, while finishing with 3 of 5 teams in the playoffs more often than not (11/14) has only 1 Stanley Cup Champion coming from the division in the same time frame as the 2 from the Southeast. It’s a less competitive division that produces more Stanley Cup Champion teams.

I’m telling you, it’s an enigma. It’s the division that hits a crazy hot streak, and then fades. It lets Washington have its championships in a mediocre division and then a team blazes forward on an unholy hot streak and takes home the big prize.

In fan circles, you’re known as the South-Least Division, and we’re going to miss you and your obligatory playoff spot. We’re going to miss you Southeast Division, but not that much, because now we can watch Pavel Datsyuk on a regular basis.