EAST DIVISION
- Philadelphia Wings (11-5): Loaded for bear, as usual. The only red flag on this team is goaltending. They have the sheer firepower to win the division and be dangerous in the playoffs, but need at least one of their goalies to step up his play to be considered the clear Champions' Cup favorites.
- Buffalo Bandits (10-6): Not a lot of new faces on the defending champs, but then why mess with success? They narrowly lose out to Philly in the East race, but with better netminding they look like the more likely of the two teams to actually make it to the Cup final.
- Rochester Knighthawks (9-7): Bye-bye Junior, hello (again) Gary Gait. The '07 champs underachieved last season, but I doubt either Junior (now an assistant coach) nor Gait (a de facto coach on the field) will let that happen this year. And as you may have noticed, they have a few other guys who can play.
- New York Titans (8-8): The "Little Orphan Annies" of the NLL still can't catch a break as far as landing a permanent home arena is concerned. That may be the one thing holding this up-and-coming team back from being a real powerhouse already. Even so, they get back into the playoffs and may even be good for another first-round upset.
- Boston Blazers (6-10): With the Shamrox out of the picture, the new kids on the NLL's block inherit the title of the East's dark horse. I don't think they're deep enough to be serious contenders yet, but with Dan Dawson, Daryl Veltman and now Anthony Cosmo falling into their laps, Blazers v2.0 should at least get off to a respectable start.
- Toronto Rock (5-11): With Jim Veltman gone from the turf to the front office, this looks like a "changing of the guard" season in Toronto. Bob Watson is one of the game's best netminders, but if goaltending is your team's strongest suit then you're still in trouble. I wonder if an Edmonton-style "extreme makeover" might not be on the horizon for this franchise.
- Minnesota Swarm (10-6): Moving West after a breakthrough season in '08, and being talked up as Cup contenders for the first preseason in their short history. They definitely have the depth and the pieces in place for a playoff run, but can they peak at the right time this year?
- Colorado Mammoth (9-7): You can never count out this bunch of wily veterans who made it to the top of the mountain just three seasons ago. But is the window starting to close for the current Mammoth roster, one of the oldest in the league?
- San Jose Stealth (8-8): They won a crappy division with a 9-7 record last season. Alas, the West isn't quite as crappy anymore. And dealing away Cosmo sends up more red flags than a May Day parade in Beijing. But the Stealth do still have a solid nucleus with Doyle and Zywicki and won't go away quietly.
- Portland LumberJax (7-9): They won't set the NLL on fire, but even without Dan Dawson they've still got plenty of ballers in Portland, who have to be hungry as heck for the Cup after their insane playoff run last season. This year they won't wait quite as long to start making some noise.
- Calgary Roughnecks (7-9): Like the Stealth, it's not so much that the Riggers have slipped, as that the West looks to be a lot tougher this year. Still, Calgary remains a shot or two off the crossbar away from beating out the Stealth or the Jax for a playoff berth.
- Edmonton Rush (6-10): After starring in "Extreme Makeover: NLL Edition", it's finally time for the Rush to "Move... That... Bus!!!" All their new blood and new attitude should do the franchise some good, and they could even sneak into the playoffs, but are still too thin offensively to be legitimate contenders, especially as long as Andy Secore remains sidelined with his bum knee.