For years, the winner of the NHL’s Southeast Division was given only grudging respect.
Made up of the Capitals and four fledgling teams in non-traditional hockey markets, the division long held a reputation as a weak sister despite producing two Stanley Cup champions (Tampa Bay in 2004 and Carolina in 2006). Crowds were small — even here in Washington once the glow of a new Verizon Center faded and the Jaromir Jagr-era crumbled. And the rivalries lacked the punch of those in Canada or the teams in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania that remained in the Atlantic Division when Washington departed in 1999.
Well, the Southeast appears poised to shed its loser reputation this season. The Caps (15-6-2, 32 points) — last year’s Presidents’ Trophy winners — are again tied for the league’s best record. But right with them is Tampa Bay (13-7-2, 28 points), which is in fourth place in the Eastern Conference and a likely playoff team.
Meanwhile, some shrewd trades helped the Atlanta Thrashers (10-9-3, 23 points) rebuild quickly after they jettisoned free agent star forward Ilya Kovalchuk in February. In the last week the Thrashers outscored Washington and Detroit, the Western Conference’s top team, by a 10-1 margin.
Since forming in 1999, the Southeast Division has never had three teams reach the Stanley Cup playoffs in the same season. Only twice have the Northeast or Atlantic divisions qualified fewer than three teams, and eight times those divisions have produced four playoff teams.
