Break out the mullets and Molson, eh? It's hockey time. Personally, I don't think that the season really begins until the playoffs. That's when games literally bleed into two hours of ice time. Guys lose teeth on each and every check. And everyone gets all excited about playing hockey just in time for summer. In thinking it over, I would take hockey's version of Game 7 over any playoff game in any other sport. Period. But, enough about next spring. Afterall, that is just a future column. I promised you last week that I would bless you, both of my faithful readers, with my so-called expert predictions and analysis of the upcoming NHL season and here is part one: Western Conference.

We will start out in the largest division in professional sports, the Northwest. Teams have to travel through three time zones just to play. No matter how jetlagged the Colorado Avalanche may get, they still would have no excuse to be anything less than the division winner by year's end.

The Avs will go as far as their world-class goalie takes them. Patrick Roy must (and will) return to his regular season form after the game 7 debacle against the Red Wings in the conference finals. Somehow, Roy was easier to score on than Houston in the Houston 500. The blue-line will be plenty steady with three of the top defensemen in their conference: Adam Foote, Rob Blake and young Derek Morris, recently acquired from Calgary. The offense should also not worry coach Bob Hartley with the likes of Joe Sakic (99 points), Peter Forsberg (27 points in 20 playoff games) and rising star Milan Hedjuk (21 goals).

The rest of the division is too young to be legitimate contenders this year. The Canucks are just a legitimate goaltender short from being contenders for the Stanley Cup. Dan Cloutier is not playoff material. Which reminds me, isn't that the same name as they guy who played Joey on "Full House?" The Canucks could, in theory, overcome their goalie issues if they had a serious threat to score, but general manager Brian Burke was forced to trade forward Peter Schaefer to Ottawa. If it weren't for legalized pot, Vancouver might as well be like the bears and hibernate. Forever.

Calgary will be forced to endure a long winter as well. Unfortunately, hockey is all they had to look forward to since last May. Well, there is always next year. The Minnesota Wild and Edmonton Oilers will both continue to grow and give their minor league teams the opportunity to develop future players without the pressure of making the playoffs hanging overhead.

The Pacific division should remain the best in hockey with the resurgence of the Kings from their Gretzky years. Former Capital and Bruin, Jason Allison could lead the league in scoring and bring home his first Hart trophy as the league's MVP. Add a healthy Ziggy Palffy (hands down, best name in hockey) and serious contributions from rookie Alex Frolov and the Kings should be playing until late May. Felix Potvin needs to be stellar all season in order for the Kings to still be playing for something late in the playoffs. Coach Andy Murray is my early pick for the Jack Adams award for best coach.

The Kings, though, will not be alone in this real competitive group. In fact, the division could yield four playoff teams in the Dallas Stars, San Jose Sharks, and Phoenix Coyotes. I think the Stars will fall from contention this year after firing coach Ken Hitchcock and permitting the departure of goalie Ed Belfour to free agency. Adding Bill Guerin will surely give the team another proven scorer to go with Pierre Turgeon and Mike Modano. The only real question remains if they can outscore all of their opponents because their defense is shaky and I still don't trust Ron Tugnutt in between the pipes.

The Sharks will make another great stride this season towards becoming an upper echelon team. They will surely improve after losing no key players from a solid team last season. Team chemistry is not a problem for this tried bunch. Expect a great run in the playoffs if Owen Nolan can remain healthy. The Coyotes are loaded with hard-hitting experience at both offense and defense. Tony Amonte will only help bolster their scoring and Brian Boucher is a crunch-time goalie who is still wet behind the ears (really, what does that actually mean?). Anaheim will remain the division whipping post that continues to make roster changes each year without making serious improvements. Senior citizen Adam Oates is not a great free agent pick up for a team that is trying to remain youthful. Once again, the Mighty Ducks was a great movie, but makes for a poor hockey team.

If I was a betting man (and I am), I would definitely put my money on the defending champion Detroit Red Wings to run away with the division. There is no legitimate threat to their string of dominance from the ranks of the St. Louis Blues, Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, and Columbus Blue Jackets. In fact, Chris Pronger is the only player who would crack the Red Wing starting lineup. The Wings return just about everyone except the retired goalie Domenic Hasek and coach Scotty Bowman. Curtis Joseph will be fine and Sergei Federov can carry the team until Steve Yzerman returns from his playoff knee injury. The Wings somehow got younger without giving up any of their superstars.

The Hawks added Theo Fleury to the mix after losing the aforementioned Amonte to Phoenix. Fleury's track record, though, speaks for itself. He may score goals, but he also breaks down any team chemistry with his antics both on and off the ice. Top offensive star, Eric Daze, is out for the early part of the year with an injury and should return to a sub-.500 team. Brian Sutter faces a steep challenge in getting his young guns ready to make a major contribution for this season. The Blues also face some challenges after losing their lone offensive scorer in Scott Young. Al McInnis isn't getting any younger and Pronger has been over-utilized the past few years. Solid goaltending from Brent Johnson won't win the team many games without a breakout offensive season from a relative unknown like Sergei Varlamov.

Both the Blue Jackets and Predators are a half-decade away from seriously challenging anyone and will battle for a better draft slot rather than for a playoff position.

After the dust has settled and the regular season has come to an end, Los Angeles will be head of the Western Conference throne. The Avs will finish second, the Wings third. The Sharks, Coyotes, Canucks, and Stars will just make the playoffs and lose in the first round. In the end, Hollywood will make a star of Allison, and the Kings will parade the Cup down Wilshire Boulevard.