LOS ANGELES – The Pacific Division is difficult division to preview. Every team starts the regular season with hope and delusions of grandeur. Teams in the Pacific have more delusions than most; some teams at an unhealthy level. It’s probably because an expansion team won the division last year.
The San Jose Sharks (1) are looking for a historical season this year. Sharks acquired Erik Karlsson form the Ottawa Senators. Two of the four best defensemen in the NHL now play for the Sharks. Karlsson and Brent Burns will be on the ice for at least two thirds of the game. Add Marc-Edouard Vlasic and the big three are now in San Jose not Nashville. Up front, Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture are in their primes. Tomas Hertl and Joonas Donskoi continue to score and improve overall games. Sharks hope Joe Thornton returns from injury and Evander Kane lives up to his new contract. Martin Jones is an underrated goalie. He rarely has off nights.
The Vegas Golden Knights (2) were one of the biggest and best stories in sports history last season. They went from expansion to Stanley Cup Final. The Knights will be even better this season. Vegas has added coveted free agent center Paul Stastny and traded for high scoring winger Max Pacioretty. They lost James Neal but still have the lethal top line of William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith. Defenseman Nick Holden was another summer pickup. He will solidify the back end. The defense will be undermanned the first twenty games of the season due to Nate Schmidt’s PED suspension. Hall of Fame goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was sensational last season. Fleury only played in 46 regular season games and the Knights still had 109 points. A healthy Fleury will erase any concerns about this team not being able to match or top last season’s success.
The Los Angeles Kings (3) started 2017-18 on fire. It looked like new coach John Stevens reinvented the two-time Cup champs. Superstar Anze Kopitar returned to form. Former captain Dustin Brown also was rejuvenated, but Jeff Carter was hurt. The 70’s line of Carter, Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson fizzled. The team cooled off and got swept in the playoffs. Ilya Kovalchuk was signed from Russia with a big contract and expectations. The Kings need Adrian Kempe and Alex Iafallo to avoid sophomore slumps. Drew Doughty is a Norris Trophy defenseman. The rest of the blueliners are a combination of experienced bordering on old and young and inexperienced. Goaltender Jonathan Quick is still one of the best in the business but the Kings need to score and not depend on him to win games 1-0.
The Anaheim Ducks (4) are depending on goaltender John Gibson to remain healthy. He is a great goaltender when healthy but he’s injured too often. Anaheim begins he season with top nine forwards Corey Perry, Ryan Kesler and Nick Ritchie not in the lineup. Ryan Getzlaf, Rickard Rakell and Jakob Silfverberg are playing. They will need help from talented rookies Sam Steel, Troy Terry and camp sensations Max Comtois and Isac Lundestrom. Anaheim’s defensemen Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm, and Brandon Montour create offense from the rear guard. Josh Manson is underrated offensively. He also inherited the Manson family violent streak.
The Calgary Flames (5) fired Head Coach Glen Gulutzan and hired Bill Peters. GM Brad Treliving moved Dougie Hamilton ad Micheal Ferland for Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm. The Flames signed sniper James Neal. The Flames have improved everywhere but in net. They’re still relying on ancient Mike Smith. Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Matthew Tkachuk and Mikael Backlund will score . Mark Giordano, T J Brodie and Travis Hamonic will defend but can Mike Smith stop the puck.
The Edmonton Oilers (6) have arguably the best player in hockey Connor McDavid. Unfortunately, he has received little help. McDavid’s Robin/Scottie Pippen Leon Draisaitl did not live up to his contract last season. Milan Lucic doesn’t look slow, he doesn’t look like he’s moving. The Oilers desperately need someone other than Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to be able to play wing in Edmonton. Darnell Nurse has as little help on defense as McDavid has upfront. Nurse is never off the ice. Goaltender Cam Talbot made the Oilers pay for most of their numerous mistakes. He can’t play worse than he did last season.
Arizona Coyotes (7) goaltender Antti Raanta may not be able to play any better than he did at the end of last season. The Coyotes resigned Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Niklas Hjalmarsson on the blue line. Jason Demers and Alex Goligoski around out a solid top four. Head Coach Rick Tocchet needs Alex Galchenyuk to mesh with Clayton Keller and become a top line. Derek Stepan is a number two center on a true playoff contender.
The Vancouver Canucks (8) no longer have Henrik and Daniel Sedin on their team. They will be in the Hall of Fame in five years. It may take that long for the Canucks to reach the playoffs. Brock Boeser is a scoring machine. Bo Horvat is legit top six center but the Canucks need more. Vancouver needs scoring. GM Jim Benning chose to add grit and menace over the summer. Antoine Roussel, Jay Beagle and Tim Schaller will be most valuable in March, as trade pieces at the deadline. The Vancouver defense has been mediocre for years. Chris Tanev and Alexander Edler are always on the block because nobody wants them, The Canucks will have to improve to be mediocre in net.
You must be logged in to post a comment.