Steve Downie Pit $1,000,000 – 72-14-14-28, plus-2, 238 penalty minutes, 108 hits

Cedric Paquette TB $633,333 – 64-12-7-19, plus-4, 127 hits

Brendan Gallagher Mon $685,000 – 82-24-23-47, plus-18, 254 shots

Speaking of getting Down(ie) and dirty, the Pens bad boy led the league in penalty minutes, yet he isn’t just a goon. In 2010-11, he scored 14 points in 17 playoff games for Tampa Bay and in his final year of junior hockey, he had 22 points in only nine playoff contests. Paquette is a rookie who has a habit of getting under the skin of players, just ask Zdeno Chara or Milan Lucic. He’s also one of the first forwards over the boards to kill penalties for Tampa. I initially wanted the Caps Joel Ward on this team, who surprisingly has 26 points in 39 career NHL playoff matches. However, when it became clear the Sens were going to make the playoffs, I needed to purge some salary, so Ward’s $3M stipend was one of the casualties. It doesn’t hurt the bottom line when a guy with Gallagher’s work ethic comes at such a cheap price. He plays bigger than his numbers suggest and he recorded 11 points in 17 playoff games last year.

Verdict:  Clear advantage West.

Defensive Pairings

West

Shea Weber Nsh $7,857,143 – 78-15-30-45, plus-15, 166 hits, 147 blocks, 237 shots

Roman Josi Nsh $4,000,000 – 81-15-40-55, plus-15, 209 blocks, 201 shots

Duncan Keith Chi $5,538,462 – 80-10-35-45, plus-12, 113 blocks, 16 power play points

Dustin Byfuglien Wpg $5,200,000 – 69-18-27-45, plus-5, 203 hits, 209 shots

Jacob Trouba Wpg $894,167 – 65-7-15-22, plus-2, 97 hits, 120 blocks

Hampus Lindholm Ana $894,167 – 78-7-27-34, plus-25

There was no way I was leaving the beast that is Shea Weber off my playoff list. Although he only has 20 points in 43 NHL playoff games, he had 12 points in 13 Olympic games and in the last World Championship he played in (2009), he recorded 12 points in nine games. Pairing him with real-life defensive partner Josi was easy. Josi finished with the second most blocked shots in the league. The second pair would be amazing as Keith’s sublime talents would complement Big Buff’s physical abilities. Keith has two Olympic gold medals, two Stanley Cups, two Norris trophies and 54 points in 93 career NHL playoff games. Another impact player, Byfuglien owns one Stanley Cup ring and has 25 points in 39 career NHL playoff games. He also had 124 penalty minutes and 17 power play points this season. The final set would be lucky to get 15 minutes of ice time with that top four. Trouba is a young up and coming future stud and Lindholm owns a ton of talent and plays a solid two-way game.

East

P.K. Subban Mtl $9,000,000 – 82-15-45-60, plus-21, 142 blocks, 21 power play points

Ryan McDonagh NYR $4,700,000 – 71-8-25-33, plus-23, 139 blocks

Erik Karlsson Ott $6,500,000 – 82-21-45-66, plus-7, 30 power play points, 292 shots

Johnny Boychuk NYI $3,366,667 – 72-9-26-35, plus-15, 171 hits, 149 blocks

Danny DeKeyser Det $2,187,500 – 80-2-29-31, plus-11

Matt Hunwick NYR $600,000 – 55-2-9-11, plus-17

You simply can’t leave off a difference maker in Subban, even with the stiff price tag. The guy owns an Olympic gold medal along with a Norris trophy and never lacks for confidence. He has 30 points in 43 career NHL playoff games, including 14 points in 17 games last year. Partnering him with a smart, responsible McDonagh would reap impressive results. He recorded 17 points in 25 playoff games last year with the Rangers. I had to leave off several really good players to include Erik Karlsson, but as much as Subban is a difference maker, so is Karlsson. He has to be the odds on favourite to win the Norris trophy this season and it would be criminal to leave him off this team. He has 232 points in 262 games over the last four seasons, a 73 point pace. The slick Swede was voted the best defenseman at the 2014 Olympics while garnering a silver medal. He also sports his own Norris trophy and has 15 points in 23 NHL playoff contests. Boychuk enjoys playing a physical game and would complement Karlsson’s style very well. He set career highs this season with nine goals and 35 points. He is a Stanley Cup winner and was the AHL’s top defender in 2008. The bottom pairing is admittedly weak in comparison, but the reality is they would only play 12 minutes a game max. DeKeyser averages the second most amount of minutes (20:55) on the Red Wings. Hunwick averaged 15:48 minutes per game in a similar role with the Rangers while finishing a healthy plus-17.

Verdict:  Too close to call.

Goaltending

West

Devon Dubnyk Min $800,000 – 36 wins, 2.07, 0.929, 6 shutouts

Frederik Andersen Ana $1,150,000 – 35 wins, 2.38, 0.914, 3 shutouts

Dubnyk has been a revelation for the Wild. In 39 games for the Wild, Dubnyk has a 27-9-2 record, a 1.78 goals-against average, 0.936 save percentage and five shutouts. His arrival was the turning point of Minnesota’s season. The former Oiler, Pred, Hab and Coyote has put up spectacular numbers with the Wild this year. It would be fun to see Price and Dubnyk go head to head in the actual playoffs. Frederik Andersen has played well for the Ducks, but he hasn’t been spectacular. That said, his 35 wins were good enough for eighth in the NHL.

East

Carey Price Mtl $6,500,000 – 44 wins, 1.96, 0.933, 9 shutouts

Braden Holtby Wsh $1,850,000 – 41 wins, 2.22, 0.923, 9 shutouts

What more can we say about Price? He’s a lock to win the Vezina trophy and should get serious consideration for the Hart. He’s been otherworldly this year. Clearly the best goaltender in the world right now. He was the top goaltender and MVP of the 2007 World Junior tournament for the gold medal Canadian squad. Later that season, he went on to be the AHL Playoff MVP for the Calder Cup winning Hamilton Bulldogs. And who can forget his performance for the gold medal winning Team Canada at the 2014 Olympic Games? Holtby’s game has improved markedly under the tutelage of Goalie Coach Mitch Korn and Head Coach Barry Trotz. It doesn’t hurt that Holtby has a very manageable cap hit as well. These two are tops in the entire NHL in wins and each have nine shutouts. A tough pair to beat to be sure.

Verdict:  Huge advantage East.

So to recap:

         West                                                                East

Forsberg-Getzlaf-Perry                                   Pacioretty-Crosby-Stone

Saad-Toews-Tarasenko                                   Kreider-Tavares-Tatar

Gaudreau-Monahan-Hudler                            Palat-T.Johnson-Kucherov

Bouma-Backes-Wheeler                                 Downie-Paquette-Gallagher

S.Weber-Josi                                                   Subban-McDonagh

Keith-Byfuglien                                              Karlsson-Boychuk

Trouba-H.Lindholm                                        DeKeyser-Hunwick

       Dubnyk                                                            Price

      Andersen                                                         Holtby

Head Coaches

Bob Hartley Cgy                                             Mike Babcock Det

While it’s hard to declare a clear winner here, the East has a decided advantage in goaltending. That’s where I’d put my money. Again, if you would do things differently, feel free to let me know below in the comments section.

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