We are back, as less than one-week separates us from the start of preseason hockey. Starting today, we will be ranking teams by division. We are starting off with the Pasific Division. My criteria is purely based off of speculation on how much success I believe these teams will have.
8: San Jose Sharks (Finished 8th Last Season)
(My projected roster):
Eklund – Celebrini – Smith
Skinner – Misa – Toffoli
Kurashev – Wennberg – Graf
Goodrow – Ostapchuk – Reaves
Orlov – Klingberg
Dickinson – Liljegren
Ferraro – Leddy
Askarov
Nedeljkovic
In many ways the Sharks are a better team than last season, where they finished last in the NHL. They have added to their roster through free agency with several contributing veterans such as Jeff Skinner, Dmitry Orlov, and John Klingberg. Their young stars from last season are all one year older, and closer to their primes (Macklin Celebrini, William Eklund, and Will Smith). On top of that I expect them to have several of their top prospects make the jump to being full time NHLers this season (Michael Misa, Sam Dickinson, and Yaroslav Askarov). Despite all of this, I still see several glaring wholes on their team. They lack depth on offense and defense. They are relying on young players and rookies to take a big leap in production. The Sharks certainly have one of, if not the best future in the NHL. However, I believe they are still two or three seasons away from being competitive for a playoff spot.
7: Calgary Flames (Finished 4th Last Season)
(My projected roster):
Huberdeau – Kadri – Coronato
Farabee – Frost – Zary
Coleman – Backlund – Sharangovich
Lomberg – Pospisil – Klapka
Bahl – Andersson
Hanley – Weegar
Bean – Parekh
Wolf
Cooley
I anticipate the Flames taking a step backward this season. Last season the Flames managed to finish with nearly 100 points, but I beleive last season was a fluke. Throughout last season they struggled to score. They had just two players score over 50 points and only 4 over 40. They still lack high end skill, and they don’t have great secondary scoring either. Last season Dustin Wolf was most responsible for the Flames success, having a stellar rookie season between the pipes. Expecting Wolf to replicate his rookie season success is asking a lot considering how weak I expect the Flames defense to be this season. Especially when you consider the fact Rasmus Andersson will likely be dealt at some point earlier in this season. There will be more preassure on Wolf to play more games this season, as there backup has only 6 NHL games under hus belt and has a .870 Save% and nearly a 5 goal against average. There are some reasons for optimism. They have a couple young players that are capable of taking the next step (Matt Coronato, Connor Zary). Last season Jonathan Huberdeau was able to rebound to an extent, and maybe this season he’ll take another step in the right direction. Most of all, they have a very skilled, young goalie who is capable of stealing games for them.
6: Anaheim Ducks (Finished 6th Last Season)
(My projected roster):
Vatrano – McTavish – Terry
Gauthier – Carlsson – Granlund
Kreider – Strome – Killorn
Johnston – Poehling – Colangelo
LaCombe – Gudas
Mintyukov – Trouba
Zellweger – Helleson
Dostal
Mrazek
I see the Ducks taking a step forward this season. Being a year older will help, and I can see several players have break out seasons. However, I think they are still a season or two away from being a playoff team as they are still very young. Especially their defense, 4/6 of my projected starters on defense are 24 or younger. On top of that they lack high-end skill as their top young stars are not there yet. It will be interesting to see how the Joel Quenneville coaching hire affects the team this season, and what players will take the next step.
5:LA Kings (Finished 2nd Last Season)
(My projected roster):
Fiala – Kopitar – Kempe
Foegele – Byfeild – Moore
Kuzmenko – Danault – Laferriere
Perry – Turcotte – Armia
Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci
Kuemper
Forsberg
I can see the Kings not being as good as last season. Having Drew Doughty healthy this season is huge for them obviously. However, last season they got very strong goaltending from Darcy Kuemper. I am skeptical if he can continue that great play. The last couple of seasons he has faced some injury problems. With him being 35 years old, the injuries likely won’t disappear. Star veterans Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty are now 38 and 35 years old and can take a step back in production any season. Losing Vladislav Gavrikov is a big loss on defense. Despite all my concerns, I still think they can make the playoffs. They are very strong down the middle. They have some skilled players upfront, with some solid offensive depth. If the things I am concerned about do not happen they will be a top team in the division again.
4: Seattle Kraken (Finished 7th Last Season)
(My projected roster):
McCann – Stephenson – Eberle
Marchment – Beniers – Kakko
Schwartz – Wright – Tolvanen
Kartye – Gaudreau – Nyman
Dunn – Larsson
Oleksiak – Montour
Lindgren – Evans
Daccord
Murray
The Kraken made a couple key additions in the offseason bringing in Mason Marchment and Ryan Lindgren. They have strong depth and have a solid defensive core. Joey Daccord has been reliable in net for them the past couple of seasons. I also think the coaching change from Dan Bylsma to Lane Lambert is a shake up the team needed. In a lot of ways, the Kraken are one of the most well-balanced teams in the division and I can see them bouncing back and pushing for a playoff spot. They do not have as much skill as some of the other teams in the division, but their strengths take them a long way.
3: Vancouver Canucks (Finished 5th Last Season)
(My projected roster):
DeBrusk – E.Pettersson – Boeser
Kane – Chytil – Garland
Hoglander – Raty – Sherwood
Aman – Blueger – O’Connor
Hughes – Hronek
M.Pettersson – Myers
E.Pettersson – Forbort
Demko
Lankinen
The Canucks were a hard team to rank, I can see their season go very well or very poorly. Last season it felt like everything went wrong for them. Elias Pettersson had a down season in production, Thatcher Demko missed most of the season, and their locker room was poisoned with bad chemistry to the point they had to trade JT Miller. The reason I can see them have a bounce back season is because of how good Quinn Hughes is. It is hard to be bad with a player that dynamic. I also anticipate Elias Pettersson being better this season, he added 13 pounds of muscle in off-season which helps. The Canucks need Demko to stay healthy. When healthy he is one of the top goalies in the league and is a huge part of the team. While the team has a strong upside, I see some weaknesses and concerns. First, they lack secondary scoring. Their top forwards have had issues with consistency on a season-to-season basis. There are also a lot of rumors of Quinn Hughes not returning after his current contract ends, which can be a distraction for the team. They are also relying on Pettersson to have a bounce back season, and Demko staying healthy. If these things do not happen it is hard to see them having all that much success.
2: Edmonton Oilers (Finished 3rd Last Season
(My projected roster):
Nugent Hopkins – McDavid – Hyman
Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Mangiapane
Howard – Henrique – Savoie
Frederic – Janmark – Kapanen
Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Kulak
Walman – Emberson
Skinner
Pickard
As long as Connor McDavid and Lean Draisaitl stay healthy it is hard to see a world where the Oilers are not among the best in the Pasific division. Their defense is exceptional at the transition game, further amplifying their top forwards. At times defending has been and will likely continue to be a weakness. The offensive depth might be weak unless one of their rookies steps up. They still have Stuart Skinner as their starter, which is a big question mark. It is not flawless, but having the high-end talent they have makes up for it.
1: Vegas Golden Knights (Finished 1st Last Season)
(My projected roster):
Dorofeyev – Eichel – Marner
Barbashev – Hertl – Stone
Saad – Karlsson – Smith
Howden – Sissons – Kolesar
Theodore – Whitecloud
Hanifin – McNabb
Lauzon – Korczak
Hill
Schmid
Coming in at first, I have the Golden Knights, and it was not particularly close. Losing Alex Pietrangelo to what is likely a career ending injury is a major blow to the defense, but they were able to make up for it by signing top Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) Mitch Marner. Vegas has high end skilled players, depth, physicality, and solid goaltending. I can see them winning the Stanley Cup this season.
