Previewing the Pacific Division- A Deep Dive

Last year the Pacific Division came down the final couple weeks of the season. Eventually, the Vancouver Canucks ended up in first, the Edmonton Oilers second, Los Angeles Kings third then the Vegas Golden Knights found themselves in a wildcard spot. To finish out the non-playoff teams it went the Calgary Flames, Seattle Kraken, Anaheim Ducks, and then the San Jose Sharks.

That was last season though, all team have made changes in the offseason. Some teams on paper have gotten better and other have gotten worse. That is why I think right now is a good time to take a deep dive into what types of changes each team have made. For us at Oil On Whyte we tend to focus on the Oilers, so we know what changes have been made by Oilers and we have our opinions on how the Oilers have done this offseason.

In this article though I will not just focus on the Oilers, but on every other team in the Pacific Division. Last season the Edmonton Oilers came out of the Pacific by beating the Kings in the first round the defeating the Canucks, before eventually losing to the Florida Panthers in game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Looking back, I wonder what would have happened if the Knights would have finished ahead of the Kings, could the Oilers have beaten them like they did the Kings?

This is why the regular season is important. The Kings finished one point ahead of the Knights and because of that faced the Oilers instead of the Dallas Stars. For the Knights if they would have been a bit better, they would have faced the Oilers, a team they have had success against in the past, instead they were eliminated in the first round.

It is a long 82 game season and lots of things can change the outcome of the standings, but for game one most teams will be starting with their full roster. That is why I am now going to start by looking at all these teams today. While it is obvious that some of these teams are going to be better and some worse.

Anaheim Ducks

While the Anaheim Ducks finished 12 points ahead of the Sharks, they still have a lot of work to do to find their way to the playoffs as they finished 39 points behind the Vegas Golden Knights, the second wildcard team. Like the Sharks, the Ducks are mostly built on younger players but still have a couple of veterans on their team.

The younger players like Trevor Zegras, Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish are one year older now. For a team that is looking to turn the corner sooner rather than later, it will be up to these players to help this team move in the right direction. The Ducks also have a few older players that hopefully can help this team stay focused if they do end up heading in the wrong direction in the standings.

The veterans, Ryan Strome, Radko Gudas and Cam Fowler have been in this league for a long time and have played their share of playoff games. The Ducks are hoping that these players can help to bring the younger players along. Even if the Ducks missed the playoffs this year, they will need to show growth and the veterans, will need to help guide the youngsters in the right direction.

Prediction

For all the teams in the Pacific Division I think that it is going to be the Anaheim Ducks that make the biggest improvement. While I do not think they will end up with a playoff spot when all is said and done. I do honestly think that they will be battling it out for a wild card spot this year. I picture them having a similar season to what the Flames and Kraken had last year.

The Ducks still do not have the depth or top-end talent to make them a contender, but I think in a couple of years, if all their young players mature properly, the Ducks are going to be a team to watch out for.

Seattle Kraken

For me, the Seattle Kraken are a team that has in the past shown a glimmer of growth, but unfortunately for them, they have also shown the opposite. Two seasons ago the Kraken were able to eliminate the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs and forced the Dallas Stars to game 7 in the second round. Then less than a year later they failed to come close to making the playoffs.

So the real question for the Kraken are what team will we see this season? They have made a couple of small tweaks this offseason, but as a whole, the majority of their team is the same. They will be led by Matty Beniers and Jared McCann. These two players both took a dip in production last season. Beniers went from 57 points down to 37 and McCann went from 40 goals to 29 goals.

If this team wants to have any hope of making the playoffs then they are going to need to have all their top players contribute as they are expected to. The Kraken are a team that doesn't have any player that can shift the game in one way or another. McCann and his 62 points led the team last year. This is a team that needs to do things by a committee and they have the ability and personnel to do it, it comes down to whether will they do it.

Prediction

Last season Kraken finished 6th in the Pacific Division, this year I think they will move up on that list and end up in 5th. A little bit because I think they will improve, but mostly because the Calgary Flames will be much worse this season and as an Oilers fan that is music to my ears. So, while I still do not think that the Kraken will make the playoffs, I do think they will be knocking on the door once again.

Calgary Flames

Of all the teams in the Pacific Division the Calgary Flames are the only team that is getting worse. Since the Oilers eliminated the Flames from the Playoffs a couple of years ago the Flames have been getting worse. The two major losses of Gaudreau and Tkachuk, have started a domino effect that has led to a lot of that team no longer being on this Flames team.

Even this past offseason the Flames off-loaded two more high quality players. Both Jacob Markstrom and Andrew Mangiapane were major parts of this team, but it is now clear that the Flames have shifted into rebuilding mode. The problem with the Flames trying to head into rebuilding mode is they have a couple of contracts that do not look good and are only going to get worse as time goes on.

The worst contract is the Huberdeau contract, this $10.5 million contract is stuck with the Flames till 2031. One of the main pieces in the Tkachuk trade Huberdeau, got 115 points in his last season with the Panthers. Since arriving in Calgary though he has only put up 55 and 52 points in the last two seasons. Which is just not good enough if he is getting paid $10.5 million a year. Oilers fans may complain about the Darnell Nurse deal, but I think this contract is worse than that.

If you take a look at the expected Calgary Flames lineup it is clear to see that they are not going to have a very strong season, which means when it comes to the trade deadline, they will be selling off their better players once again to get younger prospects and draft picks. The problem is they don't have that many players that contending teams will even want, which as an Oilers fan you love to see.

Prediction

Last season the Flames finished 17 points behind the 2nd wildcard team. This season I would expect that number to be even higher than that. While I still think they are better than the San Jose Sharks, there is no guarantee that they will finish higher than any of the other teams in the Pacific Division. So, expect the Flames to end up at the bottom of the division, which is crazy to say cause just a couple of seasons ago they finished atop the Pacific.

Vegas Golden Knights

Coming into this season the Vegas Golden Knights are a team that intrigues me quite a bit. While there is no doubt, they are still a good team, I don't think they are the powerhouse team that they once were. While they still have an excellent defensive core, their forward depth is not as good as it once was.

The Golden Knights have been a well-managed team ever since they came into the league and after only being in the league for a couple of years, they have accomplished quite a bit in their short life as a franchise, but the NHL is cyclical, and I am starting to think that the sun is starting to set on the Golden Knights.

From an Oilers point of view, I was always a little bit scared to face the Golden Knights if they were to meet in the playoffs, but now I don't know if it is because the Oilers have gotten better or if the Knights have gotten worse, but the Knights just don't scare me anymore.

This doesn't mean that the Knights aren't a threat though. I still think the Knights will make the playoffs and I think they might finish better than they did last season. If by some miracle Mark Stone stays healthy for the whole season, then the Knights will be better the issue is I cannot remember the last time he played a whole 82 games season. (I looked it up, he has never actually played a whole 82 game season)

Prediction

I think the Knights will finish 3rd in the Pacific this season. I believe that they will have a slightly better season than last year, mostly because I think they saw what happens when you finish in a wild-card spot. Having to play one of the Division winners makes for a hard first round. They will push harder in the regular season to make their postseason easier. Plus, having a fully healthy team should help them out this season.

Los Angeles Kings

The Los Angeles Kings are a team that in my opinion is stuck in the middle, they can't quite seem to get over the hump of the playoffs. Now it is fairly bad luck for them that they have faced the Edmonton Oilers in the first round for the last couple of seasons, and the Oilers are no doubt a better team than the Kings, but the Kings are honestly no better than many of the teams that make the playoffs.

This year's team is no exception to that, the Kings this year are once again going to be a bubble team in the playoffs. Plus, the injury to Drew Doughty is only going to make things worse. A team that was once known for its high-end defensive play is no longer that. With Jim Hiller taking over as the head coach of this team, he has vowed to change the way this team plays. Whether or not this will help the Kings or not has yet to be seen.

The Kings did improve in one area this past offseason though and that is in net. Acquiring Darcy Kuemper was a good move by the Kings, as that was an area of weakness for them in the past couple of seasons. Having a goalie that has in the past proven to be a number one will be a major improvement for them. Unfortunately, a goalie can't score goals for you, and I think that is the area the Kings will struggle the most.

Prediction

At this point, I do not know if the Kings will make the playoffs. I think right now it will be a battle for them to get a Wild Card spot. The bad news for the Kings is if they do make the playoffs and land in a wild card spot, I do not think they will make it out of the first round once again. They are missing quite a few pieces if they do indeed hope to make a deep playoff run and they aren't really in a spot where they can take a risk and make a bunch of moves at the deadline to bring in those missing pieces. Cause as I mentioned above they are a bubble team and bubble teams can't sell the future to have a chance to make the playoffs just to get knocked out in the first round.

Vancouver Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks are a team on the rise, and they have gotten better this offseason just like most of the division. The only major question mark for the Canucks is the fact that Thatcher Demko is still having health problems. When Demko is healthy he adds an extra level to this Canucks team, but with him being sidelined the Canucks lose a major part of their team.

After finishing at the top of the Pacific Division last season the Canucks ended up losing the Oilers in the Pacific Division final. It was a tight series that could have gone either way but the Oilers eventually got their game together and were able to defeat the Canucks. The main reason I think the Canucks lost was due to their goaltending and depth-scoring.

The Canucks did some work on their depth scoring by bringing Jake DeBrusk. He should add at least 20 goals to this Canucks team, which should help them in that area. For the goaltending though they are hoping that Demko gets healthy. While Silovs isn't a bad option in the net, Demko would be their preferred option, especially heading into the playoffs.

The Canucks should also be getting growth from within as their homegrown talent, like Hughes and Pettersson will be one more year older. Not only that they have now gotten some playoff experience under their belt. Some teams take a step back after their first playoff action, but I do not think that is going to be the case with the Canucks.

Prediction

I expect the Canucks to have similar success to last season, perhaps taking a bit of a step back due to not having Demko for the whole season. I also, do not expect them to win the Division this season, strictly because I expect the Edmonton Oilers to have an improved season. That being said I expect the Canucks and Oilers to finish within 5 points of each other again.

Edmonton Oilers

I will not be diving into this as much cause since you are reading this on Oil On Whyte I am going to ask you to scroll around and read the other articles we have breaking down every little thing regarding the Oilers, but for the sake of it being a Pacific Division breakdown, I will quickly go over what to expect from the Edmonton Oilers this upcoming season.

After losing in game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals I am expecting this team to come back hungry. They learned a lot from last season and the mistakes they made last year, and I do not expect to see them again. The biggest mistake the Oilers made last season was having a terrible start to the season. Luckily, they were able to turn the season around, but they will not need to do that this season.

The Oilers are the oldest team in the NHL, while this might give off the initial read that they are going to be old a slow, I think this team is built for nothing but speed. Their top 6 is in my opinion one of, if not the best in the league. Their bottom six is also good. The bottom six is built of players who know their role and are good at playing it. No one in the bottom six is going to make any bad mistakes, they are smart NHLers. Mistakes are what can kill a team in any game and right now there are not many players in the forward group that are going to be making mistakes.

The issue for the Oilers is their blueline though and it is no secret. The good news is the Oilers should have the cap space to add a high-end defenseman at the deadline. Once that move is done the Oilers will secure their spot as Cup favorites.

Prediction

While this may come off as a bit of a homer take, I think the Oilers are the best team in the Pacific Division. I expect them to win the Division and honestly at this point for the franchise everything, but a Stanley Cup win will be a disappointment. The route to the Cup starts on October 9th and I think the Oilers are going to put the pedal to the metal and not look back this season.