Oilers: What would a season in the pacific division have looked like?
By Jim Lynch
The Pacific Division had a year of this past season due to realignments because of the pandemic.
So next season we might see the usual Pacific Division back together with the new addition of the Seattle Kraken. How would this season have gone for the Edmonton Oilers against those old divisional teams?
For starters here is how the standings would have shaped up:
Vegas Golden Knights – 40-14-2 (82 Points)
Edmonton Oilers – 35-19-2 (72 Points)
Calgary Flames – 26-27-3 (55 Points)
Arizona Coyotes – 24-26-6 (54 Points)
Vancouver Canucks – 23-29-4 (50 Points)
Los Angeles Kings – 21-28-7 (48 Points)
San Jose Sharks – 21-28-7 (48 Points)
Anaheim Ducks – 17-30-9 (43 Points)
Now obviously we do need to take into account that these teams that were not in the same division did not play each other once this season, but at the same time, I think this is pretty accurate to how things would have shaken out except that maybe Vancouver would have sneaked into the playoffs over Arizona.
That playoff matchup of Edmonton vs Calgary would have been exciting to see, and it would have featured two teams so far off in points. Look at how close the middle four teams are in this division. The difference between making the playoffs and being a contender for the draft lottery is not that far off.
Next season is going to be interesting for the Edmonton Oilers. Should the teams be back in their usual divisions, things are wide open for them to take the top spot within the Pacific. While Vegas is a great hockey team. they are getting made fools of right now by the Colorado Avalanche. If the Oilers are going to be the top team in the Pacific they need to use the cap space they have to fix their team quickly otherwise this next season could feature Edmonton being one of the bubble teams looking to sneak into the playoffs.
The Oilers are lucky to play in the divisions they have been in the past couple of seasons. The North was relatively overlooked, and while it was not the easiest division around, they still had a pretty easy path to the playoffs. And the same is true for the Pacific Division in normal years the past few seasons.
So if this was the division I would bet that we would be watching some Oilers playoff hockey right about now while Edmonton takes on Vegas in round two of the playoffs. How do you think the season would have went in the classic pacific division?