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On the final day of the 2016-17 Chirps from Center Ice AHL Previews, we find ourselves in familiar territory. It’s the Atlantic Division and the division where the Penguins will play the most amount of games. The only changes here is the old Portland Pirates team being sold to the Florida Panthers and their relocating the prospects to AHL League Headquarters residing in Springfield, Massachusetts. In keeping with yesterday’s North Division, home games for the Penguins are listed in bold.

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NHL Affiliation: New York Islanders

Record: 40-29-4-3 (87 pts., 5th place Atlantic Division)

Playoffs: Played as the five seed out of the Atlantic Division on account of having a higher points percentage than fourth place Syracuse in the North Division and were swept by the Toronto Marlies in the North Division Semifinals.

Head Coach: Brent Thompson

Arena: Webster Bank Arena

ECHL Affiliation: Missouri Mavericks

Offseason Moves: Kellen Jones

The Case For: In this division, with the caliber of teams in it, I’m not finding one.

The Case Against: Please keep reading.

Media Coverage: The Great Mike Fornabaio for the Connecticut Post

Twitter: @TheSoundTigers

Facebook: /soundtigers

Instagram: soundtigers

Broadcaster: Alan Fuehring

vs. WBS: 11/5, 11/18, 11/25, 11/26, 12/11, 4/15

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NHL Affiliation: New York Rangers

Record: 41-32-3-0 (85 pts., 6th place Atlantic Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: Ken Gernander

Arena: XL Center

ECHL Affiliation: Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Offseason Moves: Michael Paliotta, Philip McRae, Matt Carey, Sean Sullivan

The Case For: Solid veteran signings made by Hartford here.

The Case Against: Four teams make the playoffs. Pennsylvania is a lock. That leaves room for one more team. Is Hartford it?

Media Coverage: Mitch Beck for the blog Howlings Today

Twitter: @WolfPackAHL

Facebook: /HartfordWolfPack

Instagram: hartford_wolfpack

Broadcaster: Bob Crawford

vs. WBS: 10/15, 11/13, 12/14, 1/3, 3/5, 3/10, 3/21, 4/8

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NHL Affiliation: Washington Capitals

Record: 43-21-5-7 (98 pts., 1st place Atlantic Division)

Playoffs: Played as the one seed playing out of the Atlantic Division and were swept by the Lake Erie Monsters in the Calder Cup Finals.

Head Coach: Troy Mann

Arena: Giant Center

ECHL Affiliation: South Carolina Stingrays

Offseason Moves: Hubert Labrie, Dominic Monardo, Joe Cannata, Darren Dietz, Christian Thomas

The Case For: Bears return the Bourque brothers in Ryan and Chris, Zach Sill, along with these solid signings. The Bears are the division champion favorites until another team comes and knocks them off.

The Case Against: Is this an upgraded Bears team that got swept by the Monsters in the Calder Cup Finals or baseline upgrades to a team in whose in-state rivals upgraded big time?

Media Coverage: Kyle Mace for the blog Chocolate Hockey

Twitter: @TheHersheyBears

Facebook: /TheHersheyBears

Instagram: thehersheybears

Broadcaster: Zack Fisch

vs. WBS: 10/23, 11/19, 11/23, 12/9, 12/10, 1/6, 1/8, 1/18, 1/21, 2/10, 3/4, 4/14

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NHL Affiliation: Philadelphia Flyers

Record: 34-35-4-3 (75 pts., 7th place Atlantic Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: Scott Gordon

Arena: PPL Center

ECHL Affiliation: Reading Royals

Offseason Moves: T.J. Brennan, Will O’Neill, Andy Miele, Greg Carey

The Case For: Brennan and Miele were 1-2 in the offseason AHL Big Board ran here on the blog in the summer. The Phantoms can’t mess up the season with these all-stars can they?

The Case Against: If history is any indicator, Lehigh Valley will find a way to mess things up and be irrelevant by January.

Media Coverage: Stephen Gross for The Morning Call and @KRAM209 for The Horn and Bell blog.

Twitter: @LVPhantoms

Facebook: /LehighValleyPhantoms

Instagram: lehighvalleyphantoms

Broadcaster: Bob Rotruck

vs. WBS: 11/16, 1/20, 2/4, 2/14, 2/25, 3/8, 3/17, 3/18, 3/25, 4/1, 4/7, 4/12

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NHL Affiliation: Boston Bruins

Record: 41-22-9-4 (95 pts., 2nd place Atlantic Division)

Playoffs: Played as the two seed out of the Atlantic Division and were swept in three games by the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins in the Atlantic Division Semifinals.

Head Coach: Kevin Dean

Arena: Dunkin’ Donuts Center

ECHL Affiliation: Atlanta Gladiators

Offseason Moves: Alex Grant, Anton Khudobin, Tim Schaller

The Case For: Veteran defense and goaltender added to the mix for Kevin Dean. Bruins have been around for a bit, but this feels like a dawning of a new era in Providence.

The Case Against: We’ll believe the hype when we see the Bruins in the second of the playoffs.

Media Coverage: Mark Divver for the Providence Journal

Twitter: @AHLBruins

Facebook: /providencebruins

Instagram: ahlbruins

Broadcaster: Craig Durham

vs. WBS: 11/6, 11/12, 12/30, 2/19, 3/11, 4/9

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NHL Affiliation: Florida Panthers

Record: 41-27-6-2 (90 pts., 4th place Atlantic Division playing as the Portland Pirates)

Playoffs: As the Portland Pirates and playing as a four seed out of the Atlantic Division, lost in five games to the Hershey Bears in the Atlantic Division Semifinals.

Head Coach: Geordie Kinnear

Arena: MassMutual Center

ECHL Affiliation: None.

Offseason Moves: Ryan Horvat

The Case For: Should be a better campaign for Springfield fans as Florida moves their prospects in. Panthers have been trending upwards, so maybe the Thunderbirds can play upset.

The Case Against: Healthy doses of Providence, Hershey, Wilkes-Barre and we’ll go ahead and throw Lehigh Valley in for the Thunderbirds can’t bode well for Springfield’s playoff chances.

Media Coverage: MassLive.com

Twitter: @thunderbirdsahl

Facebook: /thunderbirdsahl

Instagram: thunderbirdsahl

Broadcaster: Ryan Smith

vs. WBS: 10/21, 10/29, 12/17, 12/27, 2/18, 3/31

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NHL Affiliation: Pittsburgh Penguins

Record: 43-27-4-2 (92 pts., 3rd place Atlantic Division)

Playoffs: Playing as the three seed out of the Atlantic Division, lost in overtime in Game Seven in the Atlantic Division Finals to the Hershey Bears.

Head Coach: Clark Donatelli

Arena: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

ECHL Affiliation: Wheeling Nailers

Offseason Moves: Stuart Percy, Cameron Gaunce, Chad Ruhwedel, Garrett Wilson, Thomas DiPauli, Ryan Haggerty

The Case For: Deepest blue line in the division, if not the conference, if not in all of the AHL. Penguins will win a lot because the other team may not score.

The Case Against: Shallowest forward corps in the division. Beyond the top two lines, who will score? Penguins may not win a lot because they can’t score.

Media Coverage: The best in the business. Seth Lakso for the Citizens Voice, Tom Venesky for the Times Leader, and you know who for you know what blog. Probably the most covered AHL team in the league with two daily newspapers and a full time blog covering the team from every angle.

Twitter: @WBSPenguins

Facebook: /WilkesBarreScrantonPenguins

Instagram: wbspenguins

Broadcaster: Mike O’Brien with Nick Hart on color.

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If you have a team going Friday, good luck. Pens open their eighteenth season Saturday at home against Hartford. The Gameday setup for that will hit the blog Saturday afternoon at 3.

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Rolling right along here on Preview Week here on the blog and today we find ourselves in the North Division. We looked at the Pacific Division on Monday and the Central Division Tuesday. Today, we find ourselves in a more familiar territory.

No affiliation changes for any teams in this division. The Penguins play everyone in this division at least twice, once home and once away. Home games will be listed in bold.

Let’s get started.

NHL Affiliation: New Jersey Devils

Record: 46-20-8-2 (102 pts., 2nd place North Division)

Playoffs: Played as the two seed out of the North Division and lost in seven games to the Toronto Marlies in the North Division Finals.

Head Coach: Rick Kowalsky

Arena: Times Union Center

ECHL Affiliation: None.

Offseason Moves: Carter Camper, Andrew MacWilliam, Karl Stollery, Brian Gibbons

The Case For: This Devils team put up 102 points last season and if they were playing in any other division they would have won that division. Expect Albany to contend again this season.

The Case Against: I think the Devils biggest obstacle this season is the same team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year, Toronto.

Media Coverage: Pete Dougherty for Albany Times Union and Tracey Lake for the blog Thoughts Inside the Box.

Twitter: @AlbanyDevils

Facebook: /AlbanyDevils

Instagram: albanydevils

Broadcaster: Josh Heller

vs. WBS: 10/26, 2/17

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NHL Affiliation: Ottawa Senators

Record: 31-38-6-1 (69 pts., 7th place North Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: Kurt Kleinendorst

Arena: Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena

ECHL Affiliation: Wichita Thunder

Offseason Moves: Chad Nehring, Mike Blunden

The Case For: Ottawa brought back and Binghamton re-signed a lot of key contributors for the B-Sens last season while adding Nehring and Blunden. Sens should be more competitive this season.

The Case Against: Goaltending has to improve vastly or else it will be another long season on the Southern Tier.

Media Coverage: Matt Weinstein for The Ithaca Journal

Twitter: @SenatorsAHL

Facebook: /binghamtonsenators

Instagram: senatorsahl

Broadcaster: Grady Whittenburg

vs. WBS: 11/4, 12/26, 12/31, 1/7, 1/28, 2/11

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NHL Affiliation: Buffalo Sabres

Record: 34-38-3-1 (72 pts., 6th place North Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: Dan Lambert

Arena: Blue Cross Arena

ECHL Affiliation: Elmira Jackals

Offseason Moves: Justin Falk, Erik Burgdoerfer, Taylor Fedun, Derek Grant, Tyson Strachan

The Case For: See above. The incoming crop of signings made by parent Buffalo, should they make it down to Rochester, should bolster the Amerks into a contending team in 2016-17.

The Case Against: John Muse better eat his Wheaties. Amerks fans can’t be too confident in any combination of Jason Kasdorf and / or Linus Ullmark in goal for any extended period of time.

Media Coverage: Kevin Oklobzijia for the Democrat and Chronicle

Twitter: @AmerksHockey

Facebook: /RochesterAmericans

Instagram: amerkshockey

Broadcaster: Don Stevens

vs. WBS: 12/16, 1/13

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NHL Affiliation: Montreal Canadiens

Record: 32-33-8-3 (75 pts., 5th place North Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: Sylvain Lefebvre

Arena: Mile One Centre

ECHL Affiliation: Brampton Beast

Offseason Moves: Zach Redmond, Philip Samuelsson, Jeremie Blain

The Case For: Solid defensive signings made by St. John’s here should help the IceCaps this season.

The Case Against: St. John’s was a mediocre team in a division filled with heavyweights. Don’t expect that to change this season.

Media Coverage: Brendan McCarthy for the St. John’s Telegram

Twitter: @IceCapsAHL

Facebook: /stjohnsicecaps

Instagram: stjohnsicecaps

Broadcaster: Brian Rogers – only broadcaster in the AHL who is not on Twitter and this is a shame. Rogers would be an instant classic.

vs. WBS: 12/3, 12/4, 2/3, 2/8

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NHL Affiliation: Tampa Bay Lightning

Record: 32-29-11-4 (75 pts., 4th place North Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify. Were beat out by the Bridgeport Sound Tigers for the crossover spot, on percentage points.

Head Coach: Benoit Groulx

Arena: Oncenter War Memorial Arena

ECHL Affiliation: Kalamazoo Wings

Offseason Moves: Adam Comrie, Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, Gabriel Dumont, Mike Halmo, Jeremy Morin, Michael Bournival

The Case For: I like these offseason signings made by Syracuse, which got beat out on percentage points due to a silly crossover postseason rule last season. Syracuse can push Albany and Utica for the top team in New York.

The Case Against: After Kristers Gudlevskis in goal the Crunch have Adam Wilcox and Nic Riopel in goal. Gudlevskis better be built for 40+ starts this year.

Media Coverage: Lindsay Kramer for The Post-Standard and Brandon Curtis for the blog Raw Charge

Twitter: @SyracuseCrunch

Facebook: /syracusecrunch

Instagram: syracusecrunch

Broadcaster: Dan D’Uva

vs. WBS: 10/22, 10/30, 1/14, 1/16, 1/25, 3/24

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NHL Affiliation: Toronto Maple Leafs

Record: 54-16-5-1 (114 pts., 1st place North Division)

Playoffs: Played as the one seed out of the North Division and lost in five games to the Hershey Bears in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Head Coach: Sheldon Keefe

Arena: Ricoh Coliseum

ECHL Affiliation: Orlando Solar Bears

Offseason Moves: Marc-Andre Cliche, Colin Smith, Spencer Asuchak

The Case For: Pencil Toronto in as another playoff contender. You just don’t fall off after putting up a league best 114 points last season.

The Case Against: Said this about Albany and will bring it back here, the biggest threat for the Marlies may be Albany. Also, the way Hershey disposed of Toronto in the playoffs may give teams a blueprint on how to solve this Marlies machine.

Media Coverage: Kyle Cicerella for The Canadian Press

Twitter: @TorontoMarlies

Facebook: /TorontoMarlies

Instagram: torontomarlies

Broadcaster: Todd Crocker

vs. WBS: 11/11, 1/11

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NHL Affiliation: Vancouver Canucks

Record: 38-26-8-4 (88 pts., 3rd place North Division)

Playoffs: Played as the three seed out of the North Division and lost in four games to the Albany Devils in the North Division Semifinals.

Head Coach: Travis Green

Arena: Utica Memorial Auditorium

ECHL Affiliation: Alaska Aces

Offseason Moves: Derek Hulak, Jayson Megna, Michael Chaput, Borna Rendulic

The Case For: Call the offseason signings made by Vancouver / Utica an upgrade.

The Case Against: Are these upgrades enough to contend with Albany / Toronto and enough to collect maximum points out of rival Syracuse? Maybe, but consistently?

Media Coverage: Ben Birnell for The Observer-Dispatch

Twitter: @UticaComets

Facebook: /UticaComets

Instagram: uticacomets

Broadcaster: Andy Zilch

vs. WBS: 1/27, 2/24, 3/26, 4/2

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Back to wrap it up tomorrow with the Atlantic Division Previews Thursday at noon.

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Welcome back to Day 2 of the Chirps from Center Ice AHL Previews. Yesterday we checked out the Pacific Division and today we find ourselves finishing out the Western Conference in the Central Division. As the previews advance, you can find the links at the top of the blog in the menu bar under “AHL Previews.”

The only change comes from the Central Division is the name of the defending champion Cleveland Monsters, who last season played under the name of Lake Erie Monsters. The Penguins don’t play anyone in this division either, so keep dreaming.

Here we go.

NHL Affiliation: Carolina Hurricanes

Record: 36-32-3-5 (80 pts., 5th place Central Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: Ulf Samuelsson

Arena: Bojangles’ Coliseum

ECHL Affiliation: Florida Everblades

Offseason Moves: Andrew Miller, Kevin Raine, Mitchell Heard

The Case For: Charlotte can be a team to watch this season. Expect Milwaukee and Grand Rapids to contend for the division, but Charlotte can play upset.

The Case Against: Iowa is retooled, discount Cleveland at your peril. There may be too many cooks in the contenders kitchen for the Checkers to make it to the postseason.

Media Coverage: Jenni Probst for the blog Chasing Checkers

Twitter: @CheckersHockey

Facebook: /charlottecheckers

Instagram: checkershockey

Broadcaster: Jason Shaya

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NHL Affiliation: St. Louis Blues

Record: 33-35-5-3 (74 pts., 6th place Central Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: Craig Berube

Arena: Allstate Arena

ECHL Affiliation: None

Offseason Moves: Kenny Agostino, Alex Friesen, Brad Hunt, Andrew Agozzino, Morgan Ellis, Wade Megan

The Case For: A team that was expected to contend last season never got out of second gear and was forgotten about. Don’t expect that this season.

The Case Against: Central is shaping up to be the most competitive division again in the AHL. Do the Wolves really have all the horses to contend?

Media Coverage: The Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times 

Twitter: @Chicago_Wolves

Facebook: /ChicagoWolves

Instagram: chicagowolveshockey

Broadcaster: Jason Shaver

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NHL Affiliation: Columbus Blue Jackets

Record: 43-22-6-5 (97 pts., 2nd place Central Division)

Playoffs: Won Calder Cup. Played as the two seed out of the Central Division and swept Hershey in four games.

Head Coach: John Madden

Arena: Quicken Loans Arena

ECHL Affiliation: None

Offseason Moves: Aaron Palushaj

The Case For: Defending champs look to avoid the championship hangover. I get the sense that Cleveland will field another competitive club again this season.

The Case Against: Don’t expect a repeat though.

Media Coverage: Cleveland Plain Dealer

Twitter: @monstershockey

Facebook: /monstershockey

Instagram: monstershockey

Broadcaster: Tony Brown

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NHL Affiliation: Detroit Red Wings

Record: 44-30-10-4 (90 pts., 4th place Central Division)

Playoffs: Played as the four seed out of the Central Division and were swept by the Milwaukee Admirals in three games in the Central Division Semifinals.

Head Coach: Todd Nelson

Arena: Van Andel Arena

ECHL Affiliation: Toledo Walleye

Offseason Moves: Matt Ford, Carter Sandlak, Ben Street, Matt Lorito

The Case For: Solid, big time signings for Grand Rapids and Todd Ford to tinker with. The Griffins disappointed last year with some growing pains last season. Expect things to run a bit smoother this season with these signings and Nelson’s second season.

The Case Against: Will be the same with any contending team in this division, any run of bad luck can get you buried in a hurry.

Media Coverage: Pete Wallner for Grand Rapids Press

Twitter: @griffinshockey

Facebook: /grgriffins

Instagram: griffinshockey

Broadcaster: Bob Kaser

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NHL Affiliation: Minnesota Wild

Record: 24-41-5-6 (59 pts., 8th place Central Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: Derek Lalonde

Arena: Wells Fargo Arena

ECHL Affiliation: Quad City Mallards

Offseason Moves: Patrick Cannone, Victor Bartley, Alex Stalock

The Case For: Re-tooled lineup for Iowa. Do not expect the Wild to be a team you can just steamroll anymore.

The Case Against: We will believe the Wild’s facelift when we see it.

Media Coverage: Des Moines Register and Tom Witosky, Independent

Twitter: @IAWild

Facebook: /IAWild

Instagram: iowawild

Broadcaster: Joe O’Donnell

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NHL Affiliation: Winnipeg Jets

Record: 26-41-4-5 (61 pts., 7th place Central Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: Pascal Vincent

Arena: MTS Centre

ECHL Affiliation: Tulsa Oilers

Offseason Moves: Kevin Czuczman

The Case For: The AHL is all about developing talent for the purposes of getting to the next level. The Moose will develop their talent, beyond that?

The Case Against: I can’t say anything nice, so I won’t say anything at all.

Media Coverage: Patrick Williams

Twitter: @ManitobaMoose

Facebook: /ManitobaMoose

Instagram: manitobamoose

Broadcaster: Mitch Peacock

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NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators

Record: 48-23-3-2 (101 pts., 1st place Central Division)

Playoffs: Played as the one seed out of the Central Division and lost in six games to the Lake Erie Monsters in the Central Division Finals.

Head Coach: Dean Evason

Arena: UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena

ECHL Affiliation: Cincinnati Cyclones

Offseason Moves: Matt Irwin, Michael Liambas, Harry Zolnierczyk

The Case For: Another strong team ready to take over the Central Division rests in Milwaukee. The Admirals should contend out of the gate. If they sustain dominance, they can run away with this division.

The Case Against: I wouldn’t expect a runaway from the Admirals. A playoff team? Yes. A Cup contending team though?

Media Coverage: Admirals Roundtable, who have a blog and a twitter feed and Dave Boehler, who writes for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Twitter: @mkeadmirals

Facebook: /mkeadmirals

Instagram: mkeadmirals

Broadcaster: Aaron Sims

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NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks

Record: 40-22-10-4 (94 pts., 3rd place Central Division)

Playoffs: Played as the three seed out of the Central Division and were swept in three games by the Lake Erie Monsters in the Central Division Semifinals.

Head Coach: Ted Dent

Arena: BMO Harris Bank Center

ECHL Affiliation: Indy Fuel

Offseason Moves: Sam Carrick, Jeremy Langlois, Daniel Ciampini

The Case For: Look for Cleveland to have a hangover, Chicago and Manitoba to struggle. Iowa is an unproven commodity. You can probably pencil in Rockford as a playoff team and contender.

The Case Against: The Central Division was the most competitive division last season, don’t expect that to change. A couple bad weekends strung together and Rockford can be on the outside looking in.

Media Coverage: Rockford Register Star

Twitter: @goicehogs

Facebook: /RockfordIceHogs

Instagram: rockfordicehogs

Broadcaster: Bob Mills

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Back in more familiar territory Wednesday as we tackle the North Division.