The Los Angeles Kings looked pretty strong offensively, opening the season scoring four goals against Sean Burke. Their power play was No. 1 last year, and it's carrying over. Do you think a hot start, coupled with the San Jose Sharks missing Evgeni Nabokov and Brad Stuart, and the Dallas Stars clearly needing to establish chemistry, will be enough for the Kings to win the Pacific? -- Ben Cooper, Boston

	Guerin

Melrose: The Kings are a good team -- certainly a playoff team -- but I don't think they can win the Pacific Division. Dallas is a much better team this year. The Stars have added Billy Guerin and Scott Young to the mix; they're going to rebound. It will be a great race. Los Angeles should make the playoffs but look for them to finish second or third in the Pacific.

There seems to be some very talented rookies in this year's crop (Henrik Zetterberg, Stanislav Chistov, etc...). Who are the real Calder candidates? -- David Scarborough, Dorr, Mich.

Melrose: There are some great, young, exciting rookies in the NHL this year. Whoever plays with the best players and gets the most ice time will win Rookie of the Year. At only 18, Rick Nash looked great and made some fantastic moves in Thursday night's opener. The Kings love 21-year-old Alexander Frolov. He'll do some damage in L.A. Also watch for Florida's Jay Bouwmeester and Calgary's Chuck Kobasew to make an impact.

A lot of people have made predictions about what is going to happen this year, but it seems to me the Western Conference finals will be the Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings again. Does any team in the West have a shot at upsetting either of these teams? Also, do you think the Vancouver Canucks could be this year's Carolina Hurricanes? -- T.J., Spokane, Wash.

Melrose: Dallas has a chance to upset Colorado and Detroit. The Stars are very good team and have all the right ingredients to win again. If the Canucks were in the East, they could be the next Carolina Hurricanes. They've got a good team, but I don't think their goaltending is good enough to emerge in the West. The West is just too strong. But if there is one team out West that no one is giving a chance, it's Vancouver.

Hey Barry, do you think the New York Rangers are for real this year? Or are they once again teasing the fans? -- Josh Gruenbaum, Teaneck, N.J.

Melrose: I picked the Rangers to win the East, so they better be for real. They've got too much talent to not make the playoffs. There is a ton of pressure on the Rangers. The players are finally being held accountable. And there are no great teams in the East, it's wide open. So, the Rangers should make the playoffs this season.

How on Earth did Jacques Lemaire not make your list of top five coaches? How many more Stanley Cups does he need? Lemaire gets more out of the talentless Minnesota Wild than the coaches on your list or Scotty Bowman would have. Oh yeah, in his only head-to-head matchup with Bowman, he swept him! -- Joe Jurcazak. San Antonio, Texas

Melrose: Unfortunately, I had to narrow my list to five coaches. It's tough because Lemaire could have easily been one of them. He won a Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils and he's doing a good job in Minnesota. But if you check the list that's there, all of those guys are proven, good coaches. Darryl Sutter has risen San Jose's point total for five straight years and has a better chance at winning the Stanley Cup. It's all subjective. But I'll tell you what, the next list I do, I'll throw Lemaire on there to make you happy.

Which teams and individual players benefit most from the new rule changes? -- Rich Waszak, Chicago

Melrose: Any team with mostly skilled players will benefit from the rule changes. Speedy, small players who aren't very strong physically and have trouble fighting through checks will benefit. Pavel Bure should really excel in this style. And it will also help fast players like Joe Sakic.

I'm a fan of NHL2Night and SportsCenter. I've got a simple question for ya buddy. I think Ray Ferarro is great, but where did the nickname "Chicken Parm" come from? What's the history to it? -- Aaron, Roanoke, Va

Melrose: One of the first nights Ray appeared on NHL2Night, he ate chicken parmesan and spilled it all over his shirt. He also eats chicken parmesean all the time.

(Editors Note: For the complete story check out John Buccigross' column, "From a pool of marinara, a star is born." )

What's your take on the Theo Fleury situation and the NHL substance abuse policy? Jere Karalahti was recently in the same situation but he refused to go into the program. I'm happy that Theo is trying to get better. -- Ilari Ahokas, Helsinki, Finland

Melrose: I cheer for Theo. I know his background and I know where he comes from. I know he has deamons that he's fighting hard to beat. He's broken the rules and must abide by the consequences. A gutsy, exciting player, I hope he gets back to the NHL. I would love to see him overcome these things in his past, fight through it and get on with his career. I'm pulling for Theo.

Can it get any worse for the Pittsburgh Penguins? I'm very afraid that the opener was just the tip of the iceberg. -- Brian Wooley, Orlando, Fla.

Melrose: It is just the tip of the iceberg for the Pittsburgh. It's not quite as large as one that sank the Titanic, but it's a decent size iceberg. The Penguins aren't very good and they're going to be facing teams that are better than them. Mario Lemieux looked excellent but he has no one who can finish. He set up Aleksey Morozov and Jan Hrdina a couple of times, but they just can't finish the way Ron Francis, Rick Tocchet, or Jaromir Jagr could. I think it's going to be a long tough year for the Penguins. Although I did like the new jerseys.

Barry Melrose, a former NHL defenseman and coach, is a hockey analyst for ESPN.