NHL's Eastern Conference Bulking Up for the Competition

Last years Stanley Cup champions came from Anaheim of the Western Conference. The teams in the Eastern Conference are doing everything they can to make sure one of their teams makes it all the way next season. The Pittsburgh Penguins are among the teams that have made moves during the off-season to better their club. Along with the core group of young stars for the Penguins like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, and Jordan Staal, the Pens have made an effort to grab up all the veteran help they can afford. As free agents, Pittsburgh signed 35 year old Darryl Sydor and 30 year old Petr Sykora. Both of these veterans players provide experience and grit to Pittsburgh's club, and also are both previous Stanley Cup winners. They also decided to keep around veterans Mark Recchi and Gary Roberts. They will be backed by veteran defensemen Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney.

Among the Penguins, the Flyers, the Capitals, and the Rangers are all bulking up their rosters hoping they will be next seasons champs as well. The Flyers have overhauled their team with additions such as Buffalo's Daniel Briere, Kimmo Timonen, and Scott Hartnell. They also add veteran defensemen Jason Smith and young winger Joffrey Lupul. Mixed with the Flyers talented young players like Simon Gagne, Mike Richards, and Jeff Carter, the Flyers look to be a force in the East. The Rangers also want to get their feet in the playoff pool this season and hope their acquisitions in the off-season will help them along the way. The Rangers went out as soon as free agency began and swept up two of the top three centers available. The Rangers signed both former Devil Scott Gomez and last years co-captain of the Buffalo Sabres Chris Drury. Both of these players are deadly on the powerplay. Matched with the powerplay skills of Jaromir Jagr, the Rangers may just be unstoppable on the powerplay next season. Today's NHL relies so much on the powerplay as referees continue to call more penalties.

The Toronto Maple Leafs don't want to be left out of the mix either. They added former New York Islanders winger Jason Blake and hope he can help their club progress forward next season. If Blake can continue his successes of last season, we should see him break the 50 goal mark and possibly the 80 point mark also. The Washington Capitals also want to be part of the mix, as they signed former Ranger Michael Nylander. This provides the Capitals with a number one center to feed star winger Alex Ovechkin. Hopefully these two Europeans can team up to be a fantastic dynamic duo for the Caps. It's only the beginning of July and already the East is looking to be the big contender in the free agency race. Who knows, maybe the next cup winner will come from the East. On the other hand, maybe not.