How do West teams stand up? Hawks, Sharks big winners (ESPN.com)

[lesgardiens]

Los Angeles Kings
The Kings keep getting younger and younger, which means they are still a few light years away from being a contending team. Still, GM Dean Lombardi appears to have a plan. Now, if he only had a coach. After striking out in his attempts to hire top junior coach Pete DeBoer, who landed in Florida, it's believed Lombardi will hire Mike Johnston, who was an assistant to departed coach Marc Crawford. Not surprisingly, the rebuilding Kings weren't active on the free-agent market, building through trades in which they shed veteran defenseman Visnovsky, who is owed $28 million over the next four years, in exchange for Stoll and Greene. He also brought in one-time big hitter Denis Gauthier from Philadelphia after Gauthier had been banished to the AHL last season by the Flyers. Gauthier will get a chance to play a leadership role on the blue line now that Blake is gone. Greene will add size and toughness to a talented young defensive group that includes Jack Johnson, Tom Preissing, Kevin Dallman and, perhaps, Drew Doughty, the No. 2 pick in June's draft. Trending: Sideways

[sheisty]

The Kings will win the Stanley Cup!


...and yes, you are all welcome to have what im smoking.

[gescom]

Hawks and Sharks are big winners? two teams who paid enormously through the pocket or via assets to overhaul (and in Doug Wilson's case -- Au Revoir-haul ) their rosters...

eeeeenteresting.

[SicSemprTyranis]

Those teams are big winners this year but are f'd down the road....much like my buddy who bought pets.com stock in '98. He had one good year too...