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We're going to try and find the good in each team's summer moves. However, if you expect we'll ignore the potentially bad and ugly consequences of their new directions, welcome to your first Screen Shots column. Come for the comments, stay for the snark. This week, we finish up with the Western Conference.

Dallas Stars

The Optimist Says: Buying out Bill Guerin and adding former Capitals mainstay Jeff Halpern will improve a defense that collapsed in front of Marty Turco during the 2005-06 playoffs.

The Pessimist Says: Not-so-fun fact -- the last team new Stars Eric Lindros and Matthew Barnaby played on together was the 2003-04 New York Rangers. The Rangers won 27 games that season. If they couldn't make it there, can they make it anywhere?

The Apocalyptist Says: Centers Jason Arnott and Lindros are similarly sized, aged and skilled, but the former left Dallas and signed a five-year, $25-million UFA contract with Nashville, while the latter settled on a one-year, $1.5-million deal with the Stars. If injuries cost Lindros any significant amount of time -- remember, he's played just 72 games in the last two seasons combined -- the discrepancy in salaries will be perfectly understandable, and the Stars will be as desperate for goals as they were against Colorado last April.

Detroit Red Wings

The Optimist Says: Let's see, um, well, Detroit's press conference tribute to retiring legend Steve Yzerman sure was touching.

The Pessimist Says: Yzerman clearly was a depreciating physical asset, but Brendan Shanahan's 40 goals will be missed at least as much as the former captain's much-heralded leadership. Also, the Red Wings will have 10 players aged 31 or older by season's end. Gulp.

The Apocalyptist Says: The condition of Dominik Hasek's groin -- at this stage, more fragile than Axl Rose's ego and R. Kelly's defense strategy -- could be the difference between Detroit finishing atop the Central Division, or missing the playoffs for the first time since 1990. Letting Manny Legace go for Hasek's world-renowned distraction act was a big mistake.

Edmonton Oilers

The Optimist Says: The offense receives a sizeable boost with hometown kid Joffrey Lupul and ex-Ranger Petr Sykora on board.

The Pessimist Says: Nine veterans from Edmonton's glorious Stanley Cup run are now gone, including Chris Pronger, Jaroslav Spacek, Michael Peca, Sergei Samsonov and Georges Laraque. This may be more of a young man's game, but let's not get carried away.

The Apocalyptist Says: It isn't just that coach Craig MacTavish has lost his top two minute-munching defensemen (Pronger and Spacek), it's that we're now supposed to believe Jason Smith and Steve Staios are No. 1-and-2-caliber NHL blue liners. Because The Hockey News expressly forbids its employees to accept bribes, that's just not going to happen.

Los Angeles Kings

The Optimist Says: The best offseason transaction was the hiring of GM Dean Lombardi and coach Marc Crawford, two of the game's more productive player developers. Returning blue-line star Rob Blake and Alyn McCauley won't hurt, either.

The Pessimist Says: Deleting Pavol Demitra and Mark Parrish from the equation means their power play (tied for 28th in the league last year) won't improve in the short term. And other than Alex Frolov and Mike Cammalleri, the Kings' wings are hurting, and not in a requiring-medical-attention way.

The Apocalyptist Says: Any longtime L.A. fan who remembers inconsistent Kings netminder names (such as Jamie Storr, Stephane Fiset, Felix Potvin and Roman Cechmanek) was likely plenty underwhelmed by the acquisition of former Canuck Dan Cloutier. But it's good to get that first sense of "is that all there is?" out of the way early, so it won't seem near as much of a shock when Cloutier frustrates them again during the season.

Minnesota Wild

The Optimist Says: Team owner Bob Naegele Jr. finally retired the miser routine and spent money to improve and retain the Wild's talent. At forward, Marian Gaborik is re-signed for three years, Pavol Demitra is around for at least two, and native Minnesotan Mark Parrish is locked up for five. On the blue line, former Flyer Kim Johnsson and Keith Carney add puck-movement and stay-at-home skills respectively. Not too shabby, GM Doug Risebrough.

The Pessimist Says: For all Risebrough's savvy wheeling and dealing, the Wild don't have a wealth of depth at any position. Thanks to a payroll of more than $41-million, they also don't have much in the way of cap room to get much deeper.

The Apocalyptist Says: Armed with a newfound abundance of offensive weaponry, coach Jacques Lemaire will be pressured to prove he's a whiz in more places than his own end and the neutral zone. That last sentence may sound vaguely obscene, but the always-gracious Minnesota fans could get far nastier if the Wild misses the playoffs for the third straight season.

Nashville Predators

The Optimist Says: Jason Arnott enjoyed a career year (32 goals and 76 points) in Dallas last season, and could improve on it with speedsters Paul Kariya and Martin Erat on either side of him. J.P. Dumont adds more bulk to a forward corps that suffered for lack of it in the playoffs.

The Pessimist Says: In not re-signing Brendan Witt and Danny Markov, GM David Poile entrusted much of his blue line to youngsters Dan Hamhuis (23), Ryan Suter (21) and Shea Weber (21). All three may yet become frontline defenseman, but on a team with championship contender pressure, that could be too much to ask.

The Apocalyptist Says: Now that the Ducks have improved their look, can we please put the Preds first in line for revamped uniforms? Surely we can agree a Stanley Cup-champion franchise with unspeakably hideous mustard yellow third jerseys isn't a situation that behooves anybody.

Phoenix Coyotes

The Optimist Says: Mike Barnett brought in Ed Jovanovski and Nick Boynton via unrestricted free agency and a trade, respectively; as a result, the GM has given coach Wayne Gretzky the NHL's best young defense corps (which also includes Derek Morris, Zbynek Michalek and Keith Ballard) to work with. The presence of new 'Yotes Jeremy Roenick and Georges Laraque provides Phoenix's marketing team two of the league's best mouths to work with.

The Pessimist Says: Curtis Joseph turns 40 in April. His projected backup, 23-year-old David LeNeveu, had a 3-8-0 record and .886 save percentage in 15 games with Phoenix last year. Next in line are Mike Morrison and Philippe Sauve, who combined for 14 wins and an .882 save percentage last year. The moral of the story? Stay healthy, Cujo.

The Apocalyptist Says: Owen Nolan will turn 35 in February, has a bum right knee and hasn't played an NHL game since March 27, 2004. He's no candidate to win Little Miss Sunshine in the dressing room, either. Man, a one-year, $1.2-million contract doesn't get you as much as it used to.

San Jose Sharks

The Optimist Says: Adding Mark Bell to play on San Jose's top line with Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo is like injecting a squad of cheerleaders with vials of Red Bull, not entirely necessary, but the heightened kicks are guaranteed to please. Unrestricted free-agent acquisitions Mike Grier and Curtis Brown will enhance a penalty-killing unit that was 23rd in the league last year.

The Pessimist Says: The Sharks' blue line is heavy with youngsters (21-year-old Matt Carle and 24-year-old Christian Ehrhoff being two examples); Thirty-two-year-old Patrick Traverse isn't the kind of experienced blue-liner San Jose fans hoped would even things out in that regard.

The Apocalyptist Says: Vesa Toskala stole Evgeni Nabokov's No. 1 job in goal last year, and the prospect of a $5-plus-million-a-year veteran grumbling on the bench isn't especially comforting to either of the Wilsons (GM Doug and coach Ron).

St. Louis Blues

The Optimist Says: Manny Legace, who the Blues got on the cheap, and Jay McKee, who the Blues got on the expensive, are large upgrades in goal and on defense. New team president John Davidson is an even larger upgrade on the PR front.

The Pessimist Says: St. Louis' projected second line -- Petr Cajanek at center, Vladimir Orszagh and Dallas Drake on the wings -- amassed 16 NHL goals in 2005-06. Come back 15-goal-scorer Dean McAmmond, all is forgiven.

The Apocalyptist Says: GM Larry Pleau signed Doug Weight (15 goals and 57 points in 70 games last year), and Bill Guerin (13 goals and 40 points in 70 games). If coach Mike Kitchen uses them alongside winger Keith Tkachuk, their line will be a combined 108 years old at season's end.

Vancouver Canucks

The Optimist Says: If Roberto Luongo's career .919 save percentage doesn't dip -- and since he's out of Florida, where he routinely saw more rubber than the Goodyear museum, there's no reason to believe it will -- the Canucks are set in net for years.

The Pessimist Says: Gone from an already-thin blue line are Ed Jovanovski, Bryan Allen and Nolan Baumgartner. Their replacements are Willie Mitchell, Lukas Krajicek and Yannick Tremblay. Luongo's sterling save percentage may not be so safe after all.

The Apocalyptist Says: Vancouver wasn't good enough to make the playoffs last year, and they've since removed Bertuzzi (25 goals, 71 points) and Carter (33 goals, 55 points), replacing them with Jan Bulis (20 goals, 40 points) and Marc Chouinard (14 goals, 30 points). Do the math, then wish you didn't.

Adam Proteau's Screen Shots appears every Monday only on thehockeynews.com. Want to take a shot at Adam Proteau? You can reach him at aproteau@thehockeynews.com.

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