Forecasting the new ice age: Our hockey expert tells you who to look out for this year

After years of mediocrity, this season’s Chicago Blackhawks have potential. Photo by neekinator on Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons. Rejoice, hockey fans, because after watching four months of sports played on non-ice surfaces, the coolest sport on Earth is back. Of course, some hockey fans are luckier than others. The followers of these six teams can look forward to seasons which should extend well into the spring. Detroit Red Wings: The defending champion Wings retained every key player from last year’s Stanley Cup run. Then, they upgraded their team by adding one of the best two way players in the game, forward Marian Hossa. Detroit has it all: a powerful offense led by point machines Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg and a tough defense spearheaded by the grace and guile of Nicklas Lidstrom and punctuated by... [read full story]