TEAM BY TEAM : EASTERN CONFERENCE (In predicted order of finish)

1. BUFFALO SABRES

Coach: Lindy Ruff, third season.

1998-99: 37-28-17, 91 points.

Who’s new: Left wing Maxim Afinogenov, goalie Martin Biron (rookies).

Outlook: Dominik Hasek, the Vezina Trophy winner five of the last six seasons, plans to retire after the season. That gives him and the Sabres incentive to press for the Cup championship they felt was stolen last spring on Brett Hull’s controversial Game 6 overtime goal. A return to the finals is not impossible. They’re young, fast and deep, blessed with a mobile defense and toughness. They could use size and scoring up front, but that didn’t hurt last season until the finals, when two-way center Michael Peca (27 goals, 56 points) wore down and scoring leader Miroslav Satan (40 goals, 66 points but still unsigned) struggled. Afinogenov has already inspired comparisons to Pavel Bure.

2. NEW JERSEY DEVILS

Coach: Robbie Ftorek, second season.

1998-99: 47-24-11, 105 points.

Who’s new: Assistant coach Larry Robinson, center Scott Gomez (rookie).

Outlook: They have skill galore, a superb goalie in Martin Brodeur (2.29 goals-against, .906 save percentage) and had the best record in the East last season. Why did they fold in the playoffs again and lose to Pittsburgh in the first round? Because their character players and their scoring disappeared. Promising young forwards Patrik Elias and Brendan Morrison were unsigned and their speed will be missed. Veteran defenseman Scott Stevens is slowing but may have another big year left. Robinson and Viacheslav Fetisov offer experience and knowledge; if they could lace up their skates and play, the Devils would be better off.

3. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

Coach: Roger Neilson, third season.

1998-99: 37-26-19, 93 points.

Who’s new: Goalie Neil Little, center Simon Gagne (rookies).

Outlook: Ron Hextall’s retirement ends an era, but that may not be bad. The Flyers were first-round flops the last two seasons, and it’s time for Eric Lindros (40 goals, 93 points) to lead them. He recovered from the collapsed lung that ended his season early but missed most of camp because of a back problem; John LeClair (43 goals, 90 points) also had a back injury. Rod Brind’Amour (24 goals, 74 points) broke his foot and will end his streak of 484 consecutive games played, and Keith Jones (20 goals, 53 points) begins the season with knee problems. They need more than 16 goals from Mark Recchi. Defense may be a weakness because youngster Dmitri Tertyshny died in a boating accident.

4. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

Coach: Kevin Constantine, third season.

1998-99: 38-30-14, 90 points.

Who’s new: Owner Mario Lemieux.

Outlook: Lemieux’s rescue of the bankrupt Penguins put the club on solid financial ground. Constantine and his players did a great job focusing on hockey last season, none more than scoring champion Jaromir Jagr (44 goals, 127 points). Retreads Martin Straka (35 goals, 83 points), German Titov (11 goals, 56 points) and Robert Lang (21 goals, 44 points) also played key roles in making the Penguins one of the NHL’s highest-scoring teams. Jagr finally accepted Constantine’s defensive restrictions, knowing discipline enabled the Penguins to compete. Darius Kasparaitis, who re-signed Wednesday, brings muscle to the defense corps.

5. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Coach: Pat Quinn, second season.

1998-99: 45-30-7, 97 points.

Who’s new: Goalie Jimmy Waite (free agent).

Outlook: Their move to the East was the key reason they improved by 28 points and made it to the conference finals, and they will struggle to stay at that level. Led by Mats Sundin (31 goals, 83 points), Steve Thomas (28 goals, 73 points) and surprising Sergei Berezin (37 goals, 59 points), the Maple Leafs led the NHL with 268 goals--but gave up 231. A contract dispute with Dimitri Yushkevich creates a hole on defense. The forwards must play tighter defensively, but the Maple Leafs have little grit. Curtis Joseph (2.56 goals-against, .910 save percentage) was better than his numbers indicate, but he faded in the playoffs.

6. OTTAWA SENATORS

Coach: Jacques Martin, fifth season.

1998-99: 44-23-15, 103 points.

Who’s new: Goalie Patrick Lalime (trade with Mighty Ducks), center Rob Zamuner (compensation from Tampa Bay for releasing General Manager Rick Dudley), GM Marshall Johnston.

Outlook: They took the high moral ground by suspending center Alexei Yashin (44 goals, 94 points), who has refused to honor the last season of his contract. However, they’re sunk without him because they’re small up front. They have plenty of skill and speed, and left wing Marian Hossa will exceed the 15 goals he scored in 30 games after returning from knee surgery. Right wing Daniel Alfredsson will improve on the 11 goals and 33 points he scored in an injury-marred season. The defense has some good elements but isn’t physical.

7. BOSTON BRUINS

Coach: Pat Burns, third season.

1998-99: 39-30-13, 91 points.

Who’s new: Center Mikko Eloranta (rookie), left wing Dave Andreychuk (free agent).

Outlook: Penny-pinching GM Harry Sinden is holding the financial line with restricted free-agent goalie Byron Dafoe, who was among the NHL leaders with a 1.99 goals-against average, .926 save percentage and 32 victories and had a league-leading 10 shutouts. He wants $4 million a year; they won’t pay more than $3 million. Rob Tallas will have to step up. Goals were scarce for the Bruins and will be more difficult to come by since they let center Dmitri Khristich (29 goals, 71 points) walk away after he won an arbitration decision. Sinden judged Khristich and top scorer Jason Allison (23 goals, 76 points) too soft, but at least they produced. Sergei Samsonov (25 goals, 51 points) established himself as a threat.

8. NEW YORK RANGERS

Coach: John Muckler, third season.

1998-99: 33-38-11, 77 points.

Who’s new: Right wing Theo Fleury, left wing Valeri Kamensky, center Tim Taylor, defensemen Stephane Quintal and Sylvain Lefebvre, goalie Kirk McLean (free agents), left wing Jan Hlavac (trade with Calgary), defenseman Kim Johnsson (rookie), Mike York (rookie).

Outlook: Their $67-million free-agent spending spree bought a lot of talent but didn’t fill every need. With Wayne Gretzky retired, Petr Nedved (20 goals, 47 points in 56 games) becomes the first-line center, a role he has never played and may be too inconsistent to fill. Teenager Manny Malhotra isn’t ready to be the second-line center. Fleury (40 goals, 93 points with Calgary and Colorado) adds feistiness.

9. WASHINGTON CAPITALS

Coach: Ron Wilson, third season.

1998-99: 31-45-6, 68 points.

Who’s new: Owners Ted Leonsis, Jonathan Ledecky and Richard Patrick, center Ulf Dahlen (free agent), goalie Craig Billington (trade with Colorado), Ken Sutton (waiver draft).

Outlook: They can’t be as bad as they were last season, when they fell from East champions to playoff spectators and lost more than 500 man-games to injuries. Or can they? They have veteran talent in Peter Bondra (31 goals, 55 points) and Adam Oates (12 goals, 54 points) and a good second-line center in Andrei Nikolishin (eight goals, 35 points), but youngsters Richard Zednik and Yogi Svejkovsky must grow up fast. The defense is solid, with Calle Johansson, Joe Reekie, Brendan Witt and Dmitri Mironov at its core. Goalie Olaf Kolzig, who was instrumental in the team’s 1997-98 success, must improve on last season’s 2.58 goals-against average and .900 save percentage.

10. FLORIDA PANTHERS

Coach: Terry Murray, second season.

1998-99: 30-34-18, 78 points.

Who’s new: Goalie Trevor Kidd (trade with Atlanta), defenseman Lance Pitlick (free agent).

Outlook: Right wing Pavel Bure’s recovery from major knee surgery progressed well, but he won’t be in top form at season’s start. The Panthers need his speed and game-breaking ability. They also need a stronger work ethic. Ray Whitney (26 goals, 64 points) shouldn’t be any team’s top scorer; center Rob Niedermayer has more talent than his 18 goals and 51 points suggest but doesn’t always use it.

11. CAROLINA HURRICANES

Coach: Paul Maurice, fifth season.

1998-99: 34-30-18, 86 points.

Who’s new: Goalie Eric Fichaud (trade with Nashville), Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena.

Outlook: The Hurricanes were first in the Southeast Division--the NHL’s weakest--and made the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons. They lost to the Bruins in six games, and they don’t figure to get any further. They did nothing to improve the NHL’s worst power play last season (11%) and haven’t signed power forward Keith Primeau, their top scorer with 30 goals and 62 points. Ron Francis had the worst full season of his fine career (21 goals, 52 points), and at 36 must prove he can still play at an elite level.

12. MONTREAL CANADIENS

Coach: Alain Vigneault, third season.

1998-99: 32-39-11, 75 points.

Who’s new: Center Trevor Linden (trade with New York Islanders), defenseman Barry Richter (free agent), right wing Jim Cummins (trade with Phoenix).

Outlook: Another grim season looms for Les Glorieux, who ranked 26th in offense last season with 184 goals and were the only team without a 20-goal scorer. Defenseman Vladimir Malakhov, a catalyst on their power play, may be out until December after undergoing major knee surgery, and Patrice Brisbois is out indefinitely because of back problems.

13. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

Coach: Steve Ludzik, first season.

1998-99: 19-54-9, 47 points.

Who’s new: Ludzik, owner Bill Davidson, General Manager Rick Dudley, goalie Dan Cloutier (trade with New York Rangers), left wing Andreas Johansson (trade with Ottawa), left wings Shawn Burr and Steve Guolla and defenseman Andrei Zyuzin (trade with San Jose).

Outlook: They can only get better after finishing last overall for the second successive season. No longer stuck behind Mike Richter in New York, Cloutier is a potential star who should strengthen the Lightning’s goaltending, which posted a league-worst 3.52 team goals-against average last season. Tampa Bay scored a league-low 179 goals last season, and center Darcy Tucker’s 43 points were the fewest for any team’s top scorer. He had 21 goals, nine more than teammate Stephane Richer.

14. NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Coach: Butch Goring, first season.

1998-99: 24-48-10, 58 points.

Who’s new: Goring, center Olli Jokinen, left wing Josh Green and defenseman Mathieu Biron (trade with Kings), center Tony Hrkac (free agent), Jamie Rivers (waiver draft).

Outlook: Massive salary dumping left a bad team worse. Until owners Howard Milstein and Steven Gluckstern sell the club--a group headed by former Ranger executive Robert Gutkowski appears to be the front-runner--little can be done. In a move designed to evoke the franchise’s glory years, former Islander Goring was hired, but he alone won’t rebuild crowds that dwindled to a 26th-ranked 11,258. Goring plans to build around the low-salaried kids, one of whom--Jokinen--reported to camp overweight. The Islanders insisted Jokinen had to be part of the deal when they traded Ziggy Palffy to the Kings, but Jokinen may be nothing more than a third-line center.

15. ATLANTA THRASHERS

Coach: Curt Fraser, first season.

1998-99: This is franchise’s first season.

Who’s new: Everyone.

Outlook: The NHL returns to Atlanta, home of the Flames from 1972-73 through 1979-80. Owner Ted Turner got a mixed bag for his money. Fraser was a successful coach in the IHL and General Manager Don Waddell is highly regarded. The Thrashers have a proven goalie in Damian Rhodes (2.44 goals-against, .905 save percentage with Ottawa) and a capable defense that includes Kevin Dean (New Jersey) and Gord Murphy (Florida). Right wing Kelly Buchberger, who was Edmonton’s captain, will be counted on for leadership. Offense is a glaring weakness: the most goals any Thrasher scored last season was 13, by Ray Ferraro with the Kings and Nelson Emerson with three teams.