There has been lots of changes throughout the Pacific Division. Add the fact that half the teams haven’t played each other in over a year, this is going to be one of the toughest divisions to predict. That being said taking a look at the rosters and standings from last year, I think there is two groups teams, the contenders and the pretenders.
Contenders
- Edmonton Oilers
- When you have Connor McDavid on your team you are going to be a favorite going into almost every game.
- Vancouver Canucks
- I think if the Canucks didn’t get hit by COVID last year they would have passed both Calgary and Montreal and took the 4 playoffs spot in the North
- Vegas Golden Knights
- Doing nothing to make the team worse I believe they are still going to be the team to beat in the Pacific.
Pretenders
- Anaheim Ducks
- Being the second-worst team in the league and making almost no changes is not a good plan. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were the worst team in the NHL this year, but there is always Buffalo.
- Calgary Flames
- I don’t think the Flames have enough skill on their team to be considered a contender. I think they will be in a battle of a Wild Card spot if they want to make the playoffs this year
- Los Angeles Kings
- If the Kings want to make another run, this could be the last year before they have to enter a rebuild. They have gotten better, I just don’t think it was better enough.
- San Jose Sharks
- Hopefully for the Sharks’ fans sake I hope the San Jose Sharks can give up less goals this year. Their goaltending and defense need to be much improved if they want to have success. I personally don’t think there is going to be much improvement.
- Seattle Kraken
- Welcome to the NHL Seattle. It is a tough league to have success in, and I don’t think you will have the success that the Golden Knights had. Other NHL general managers were not as nice this time around having learned lessons the first time. I still think the roster is pretty balance and will cause some teams trouble.
My Standing Prediction
- Vegas Golden Knights
- Edmonton Oilers
- Vancouver Canucks
- Los Angeles Kings
- Calgary Flames
- Seattle Kraken
- San Jose Sharks
- Anaheim Ducks
Edmonton Oilers: No excuses this year for Dave Tippett
The Edmonton Oilers will have no excuses this coming season with Dave Tippett needing to find another level with this team.
This will be an interesting division for sure. Let me know in the comments how you think the division will line up and at the end of the regular season, we can all look back and see how we did.