The Buffalo Sabres open their season 7:30 p.m. Friday against the Montreal Canadiens at HSBC Arena, and many of WGR's staff weighed in with their picks for the 2008-09 campaign.

Howard Simon, Jeremy White, The Bulldog, Brian Koziol, Dan Hager, Greg Bauch, Dennis Williams and Nick Mendola have their predictions

Northeast Division
Nick Mendola: Montreal "Cristobal Huet was taken for granted, but Carey Price can be that much better. Another year under this team's belt is terrifying, and a captain like Saku Koivu will not let this team lose focus, nor will Guy Carbonneau, who knows a thing or two about winning Stanley Cups."

Howard Simon: Montreal
Jeremy White: Montreal
Dan Hager: Montreal
Bulldog: Montreal
Mike Schopp: Montreal
Greg Bauch: Montreal
Brian Koziol: Montreal
Dennis Williams: Montreal
Paul Hamilton: Montreal

Atlantic Division
Brian Koziol: NY Rangers "It's Drury's team now, while Henrik Lundqvist still doesn't get enough credit."

Howard Simon: Philadelphia
Jeremy White: NY Rangers
Dan Hager: Pittsburgh
Nick Mendola: New Jersey
Mike Schopp: New Jersey
Bulldog: NY Rangers
Greg Bauch: NY Rangers
Dennis Williams: NY Rangers
Paul Hamilton: NY Rangers

Southeast Division
Greg Bauch: Carolina "I'm not buying Caps stock yet... and I hate everyone else in the division."

Howard Simon: Washington
Jeremy White: Washington
Dan Hager: Washington
Nick Mendola: Tampa Bay
Mike Schopp: Washington
Bulldog: Washington
Brian Koziol: Washington
Dennis Williams: Carolina
Paul Hamilton: Washington

Central Division
Dan Hager: Detroit "The Blackhawks will give them a run for a bit."

Howard Simon: Detroit
Jeremy White: Detroit
Nick Mendola: Detroit
Bulldog: Detroit
Mike Schopp: Detroit
Greg Bauch: Nashville
Brian Koziol: Detroit
Dennis Williams: Detroit
Paul Hamilton: Detroit

Howard Simon: Calgary "I'm a little concerned about their offensive capabilities but they have a bruising defense, Kiprusoff in goal and Iginla is still on the team. Plus their arena looks cool when everyone wears red."

Jeremy White: Colorado
Dan Hager: Colorado
Nick Mendola: Vancouver
Bulldog: Calgary
Mike Schopp: Edmonton
Greg Bauch: Calgary
Brian Koziol: Minnesota
Dennis Williams: Colorado
Paul Hamilton: Calgary

Pacific Division
Greg Bauch: Dallas "They're always one of the best defensive teams and having Brad Richards for a whole season will help."

Howard Simon: Anaheim
Jeremy White: San Jose
Dan Hager: San Jose
Nick Mendola: Anaheim
Bulldog: Dallas
Mike Schopp: San Jose
Brian Koziol: San Jose
Dennis Williams: Dallas
Paul Hamilton: San Jose

Sabres rank in Northeast Division
Howard Simon: Second I still don't know how they finished behind Boston last season and I think Ottawa will take another step back this season even though many believe Emery was their only problem last season.

Jeremy White: Second
Dan Hager: Second
Nick Mendola: Third
Bulldog: Third
Mike Schopp: Third
Greg Bauch: Second
Brian Koziol: Third
Dennis Williams: Second
Paul Hamilton: Third

Sabres rank in Eastern Conference
Nick Mendola: Eighth "Even at No. 8, there's a chance I'm being too optimistic. The only non-issues in the entire conference are Atlanta, the Islanders and Toronto. The fact of the matter is that Sabres fans need to hope Ryan Miller really was exhausted. Craig Rivet is a legit captain, even if I thought the honors would go to Jason Pominville. If the team fails to thrive, there are four unrestricted players who will fetch a collective young fortune at the deadline — Spacek, Connolly, Afinogenov and Kotalik."

Howard Simon: Fifth
Jeremy White: Fifth
Dan Hager: Sixth
Bulldog: Eighth
Mike Schopp: Eighth
Greg Bauch: Sixth
Brian Koziol: Seventh
Dennis Williams: Sixth
Paul Hamilton: Ninth

Sabres in playoffs
Dan Hager: Lose in second round "I think they'll lose to Montreal, the team to beat in the East."

Howard Simon: Lose in first round
Jeremy White: Lose in second round
Nick Mendola: Lose in first round
Bulldog: Lose in first round
Mike Schopp: Lose in first round
Greg Bauch: Lose in second round
Brian Koziol: Lose in first round
Dennis Williams: Lose in second round
Paul Hamilton: Out

Final Four
Nick Mendola: Montreal, Washington, Detroit, Anaheim
"How can I pick Washington to make the final four, but not win the Southeast? It's easy, actually, Ted Leonsis opens his wallet at the deadline again, and plugs in that missing defensive piece or two that will have them behind the loaded Lightning for most of the year."

Howard Simon: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Anaheim, San Jose
Jeremy White: Montreal, NY Rangers, Detroit, Dallas
Dan Hager: Montreal, Pittsburgh, Detroit, San Jose
Bulldog: Montreal, NY Rangers, Detroit, Dallas
Mike Schopp: Montreal, New Jersey, Detroit, San Jose
Greg Bauch: NY Rangers, Montreal, Calgary, Nashville
Brian Koziol: NY Rangers, Montreal, Detroit, San Jose
Dennis Williams: Montreal, NY Rangers, Chicago, Detroit
Paul Hamilton: NY Rangers, Washington, Detroit, Calgary

Stanley Cup
Howard Simon: Anaheim over Philadelphia "I think the Ducks had a Cup hangover issue last season. They were a much better team over the second half of the season and I think they'll have an edge back to their game. I think Philly has enough weapons on offense and has improved their mobility on defense plus Marty answered the 'Can he win in the playoffs?' question last season."

Jeremy White: NY Rangers over Detroit
Dan Hager: Montreal over Detroit
Nick Mendola: Montreal over Detroit
Bulldog: Detroit over Montreal
Mike Schopp: New Jersey over Detroit
Greg Bauch: Nashville over Montreal
Brian Koziol: Montreal over San Jose
Dennis Williams: NY Rangers over Detroit
Paul Hamilton: NY Rangers over Detroit

Most goals in the NHL
Nick Mendola: Alexander Ovechkin "But I want to say Jarome Iginla so very badly."

Howard Simon: Alexander Ovechkin
Jeremy White: Alexander Ovechkin
Dan Hager: Alexander Ovechkin
Bulldog: Alexander Ovechkin
Mike Schopp: Alexander Ovechkin
Greg Bauch: Alexander Ovechkin
Brian Koziol: Alexander Ovechkin
Dennis Williams: Alexander Ovechkin
Paul Hamilton: Alexander Ovechkin

Most goals by a Sabre
Brian Koziol: Derek Roy "He really matured last year, and will continue to stay hot."

Howard Simon: Thomas Vanek
Jeremy White: Thomas Vanek
Dan Hager: Thomas Vanek
Nick Mendola: Thomas Vanek
Bulldog: Thomas Vanek
Mike Schopp: Thomas Vanek
Greg Bauch: Thomas Vanek
Dennis Williams: Thomas Vanek
Paul Hamilton: Thomas Vanek

Most points in the NHL
Howard Simon: Alexander Ovechkin "Even though there are less in division games this season, he can still fatten up vs the Southeast. Keep an eye on him, he's really good. You heard it here first."

Jeremy White: Sidney Crosby
Dan Hager: Sidney Crosby
Nick Mendola: Alexander Ovechkin
Bulldog: Sidney Crosby
Mike Schopp: Alexander Ovechkin
Greg Bauch: Joe Thornton
Brian Koziol: Alexander Ovechkin
Dennis Williams: Alexander Ovechkin
Paul Hamilton: Sidney Crosby

Most points by a Sabre
Jeremy White: "Derek Roy, but I want to say Connolly if he stays healthy... hahaha... nevermind."

Howard Simon: Derek Roy
Dan Hager: Derek Roy
Nick Mendola: Jason Pominville
Bulldog: Derek Roy
Mike Schopp: Derek Roy
Greg Bauch: Derek Roy
Brian Koziol: Jason Pominville
Dennis Williams: Derek Roy
Paul Hamilton: Derek Roy

Worst record
Nick Mendola: Atlanta "Rick DiPietro is better than Lehtonen/Hedberg."

Howard Simon: NY Islanders
Jeremy White: NY Islanders
Dan Hager: NY Islanders
Bulldog: NY Islanders
Mike Schopp: Toronto
Greg Bauch: Florida
Brian Koziol: NY Islanders
Dennis Williams: Florida
Paul Hamilton: Los Angeles

Presidents' Trophy
Howard Simon: Philadelphia "I think the West is top heavy and it will be tough for one team to have the overall points lead."

Jeremy White: Detroit
Dan Hager: Detroit
Nick Mendola: Montreal
Bulldog: Detroit
Mike Schopp: Detroit
Greg Bauch: Obama
Brian Koziol: Montreal
Dennis Williams: NY Rangers
Paul Hamilton: Detroit

Email: nick@wgr550.com