While we've covered the exit of the Ottawa Senators at some length we now have a quick look at the four other first round losers with a quick overview on their fast exits from the dance.
Minnesota Wild
What went wrong? Although the Wild were the higher seed this team was in tough against a surging Colorado Avalanche team that had added the likes of
Adam Foote and
Peter Forsberg to their team at the deadline. You can point a lot of the blame squarely at star player
Marian Gaborik who was only able to produce one measly assist in 6 games. Gaboriks scoring ability is vital to the Wilds success so with Adam Foote able to essentially erase Gaborik from this series they were all but done for. Also the injuries to the likes of
Kurtis Foster and
Nick Shultz were killers as replacements
Sean Hill and
Petteri Nummelin were simply horrible after a few games into the series. Goalie
Niklas Backstrom was solid but was unable to match the spectacular goaltending that the Avs received with
Jose Theodore.
Where do they go from here? This team has a solid nucleus with players like Gaborik,
Mikko Koivu, and
Brent Burns to build around so nothing too drastic needs to be done. Some of the dead weight will be shed, Hill and Nummelin and likely Keith Carney will be gone. Decisions will have to be made
on bringing back the likes of
Brian Rolston and
Pavol Demitra who will be free agents. And coach
Jacques Lemaire may not return as he has hinted at retirement. Although Lemaire is a hall of famer he is the only coach this franchise has ever known and it may be time for a fresh face to emerge.
Nashville PredatorsWhat went wrong? They were simply outmatched. After winning games 3 and 4 to even up the series the Preds were unable to sustain any momentum and looked burnt out by the end. It didnt help that their best center in
Jason Arnott received a concussion in game 4 when an over exuberant
Alex Radulov nailed Arnott into the boards in celebration of a goal. And of course the bouncing center ice goal in game 6 on
Dan Ellis by
Nicklas Lidstrom didn't help either. Somewhere out there
Dan Cloutier is having a bad fit of flashbacks.
Where do they go from here? After last years gutting of players the Predators will be content to stay put. There is solid nucleus of young players like
Shea Weber, Radulov,
Martin Erat, and goalie Dan Ellis among others. Also solid veterans
JP Dumont and Jason Arnott are signed to multiyear deals. Things can only look up for this team.
Anaheim DucksWhat went wrong? Proving how hard it is to repeat as Stanley Cup champions the Ducks were fairly easily dispatched by the Dallas Stars. This team never really seemed to get on track this season. The
Teemu Selanne and
Scott Niedermeyer retirements seemed to be a distraction till both finally decided to return late in the year. With less then a half year under their belts they never seemed to really find their groove. Big ticket items
Mathieu Schneider and
Todd Bertuzzi failed to impress as well this series.
Corey Perry's goal scoring was missed early on. Center
Doug Weight was a liability. With
Ryan Getzlaf being the only viable scoring option up the middle former Ducks center
Andy Mcdonald was missed more then ever.
Where do they go from here? For starters they will want quick decision by Selanne and Niedermeyer on returning for next year. There is no way they will go through another season with that type of distractions dogging them. They will also need to find a way to re-sign RFA Corey Perry before another team decides to try and steal him like the way
Dustin Penner was taken from them last year. There's a good chance GM
Brian Burke will be gone as well as he is expected to receive a massive contract offer courtesy of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
New Jersey Devils
Another higher seeded team that was quickly bounced. This teams lack of offensive depth was exposed against the stacked Ranger team. This team has a history of letting good players leave but this year after losing the likes of
Brian Rafalski and
Scott Gomez it was all a bit too much to overcome. Super pest
Sean Avery really seemed to unnerve the team getting under their skins with various antics as well as scoring some big goals himself.
Where do they go from here? Martin Brodeur is in the later stage of his career so the team will still be wanting to compete in this small window they have for the Stanley Cup. To do that they will need to add some firepower up front. They have a group of good wingers but up the middle they are hurting.
Danius Zubrus was a free agent bust and unless
Travis Zajac takes a big step in development next year they will need to add a good offensive center via the free agent market. If they are willing to spend the money, names like
Daymond Langkow,
Pavol Demitra, and
Patrick Marleau could all be interesting options.
Controversial!
has ever seen drove like Mario Lemieux. 
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