This article has been submitted by the debuting Ian Cass. Welcome, Ian.

For years, we have come to expect Western Conference domination in the NBA. In fact, since the Chicago Bulls’ dynasty of the nineties, the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs have claimed seven of nine championships. The NHL, on the other hand, has admirably avoided falling into a similar trend. Since the Montreal Canadiens’ championship victory in 1993 as members of the Prince of Wales Conference, the East and West have shared the hardware winning six and seven cups, respectively. But thus far in the 07/08 season, the West has clearly emerged as the cream of the NHL’s crop.

Detroit, Anaheim, Dallas, San Jose, Minnesota, and Calgary can all take on the best the East has to offer in a seven game series. Although a large part of the difference can be attributed to the superior goaltending in the West, the teams are deeper from top to bottom. One of these Western teams, however, stands out from the pack and will not be beat in the playoffs (more on that later). First, let’s take a closer look at the deadline.

With another 24 deals and 48 hours of continuous TSN deadline coverage come and gone, some impact players have found new homes.

In the West: Brad Richards is a great addition to a Dallas team that was looking to add some north-south speed. They won’t win as many shootouts without Jussi Jokinen but who cares? There are no shootouts in the playoffs. Brian Campbell is a smooth-skating, mobile defenseman built for the new NHL and will be a big difference maker on the Sharks’ blueline, especially if they go deep in the playoffs. Both deals are a result of former powers in the East unloading salary. The NHL’s balance of power is shifting west.

In the East: Bob Gainey is lucky that Montreal retired his number 23 the week before the deadline. Not only did he not follow through on his word to bring in an impact player, he moved the team’s number one goalie for a second rounder. Even though Gainey was almost certainly making room for a package with Marian Hossa and goaltender Johan Hedberg from Atlanta, the decision-making is questionable. Instead of his expected destination, Marian Hossa will be joining the NHL’s most exciting young team in Pittsburgh. Good luck to any team trying to stop Crosby, Malkin, Hossa, Gonchar, and Whitney on a power play.

In a wide-open Eastern Conference, the Penguins made the only real splash and have sent a message to the other teams atop the conference. But Pittsburgh management certainly paid a hefty price for a rental player who they will likely be unable to sign when he goes unrestricted on July 1st (To fellow Leafs fans: doesn’t it make you wonder what we could have got for Sundin?). Hossa has every right to expect a long-term deal with similar money to Danny Heatley’s $7.5M. He will have a hard time getting Penguins’ veteran GM Craig Patrick to commit that kind of money, even if the cap rises to its expected level of $53M. If Pittsburgh fails to win the cup, this deal will come back to haunt them. That being said, would I have made the deal? Absolutely. With the East as wide open as it is, you have to go for it.

Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, Ottawa, New Jersey, and the other hopefuls in the East, the West is too strong. There is no question that the Penguins have drastically improved their chances of coming out of the East and the Sens could easily turn it around with Bryan Murray back behind the bench, but it stops at the finals. If 65 games and the events of deadline day have told us anything, it’s that the cup is staying put in the West.

Here’s why: The Defending Champs.

Apparently management chose to remove the “Mighty” just at the wrong time because the Anaheim Ducks are setting themselves up as clear favorites to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. GM Brian Burke’s ingenious ploy to let Teemu Selanne and Scott Niedermayer rest for half of the season is paying off. The Ducks have won nine of ten since Selanne’s return.

As much as I disapprove of Todd Bertuzzi’s right to lace ‘em up every night, his addition, along with the veteran presence of Doug Weight, rounds out one of the deepest and most well balanced set of forwards in the game. On the blueline, Mathieu Schneider is the fourth defenseman. That should be enough said.

Ducks GM Brian Burke wins my “Most Under-rated Deadline Deal” award with the late acquisition of offensive defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron from Long Island. With Bergeron, O’Donnell, Beauchemin, Schneider, two Norris Trophy Winners in Pronger and Niedermayer, and Conn Smythe winner J-S Giguere between the pipes, no team is getting past them in four out of seven games. Heatley, Spezza, and Alfredsson were no real test last year, and Crosby, Malkin, and Hossa will be more of the same. The Ducks have only become stronger on the back end and more experienced up front.

All that being said, we have seen time and time again that nothing is guaranteed in the playoffs. So just for fun, here are some possible sleepers and things to watch for as the drive to the playoffs begins.

1. The Washington Capitals
Alexander Ovechkin is the most electrifying player to hit the ice since Cory Cross. With the additions of Segei Fedorov, Christobal Huet, and Matt Cooke, look for the Caps to make a serious run at the playoffs. Once they’re in, I just can’t wait to see what Ovechkin can do. If he can make a hole-in-one his first time on the golf course, we can only imagine what he’ll do the first time he makes the playoffs. Don’t count them out in the East.

2. The Philadelphia Flyers
Vinny Prospal could be the medicine this team needs to turn it around. We know they can be good; they just need a little jump. They might have gotten it with Prospal and a big comeback win in Buffalo so look out for the Flyers. They’ll climb FAST.

3. The New York Rangers
No one talks about the Rangers but Tom Renney has his team right where he wants them. I wouldn’t want to play them in the playoffs.

4. The Colorado Avalanche
Patrick Roy is coming back!!! Just kidding, but Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote are back in town. When Forsberg’s healthy there’s no one better so don’t count the Avalanche out of the playoff run.

5. Martin Brodeur
He’s doing it again. The Devils can NEVER be counted out of it and he is the reason. There are a lot of players who can steal games, but only Brodeur can steal a series.

Enjoy the ride to the cup! (Anaheim in 5)

This article has been submitted by the debuting Ian Cass. Welcome, Ian.