Puck Prose
Fansided

NHL: 1 bold prediction for each Pacific Division team’s offseason

By David Quadrelli

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 16: Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers skates against the New York Islanders at Barclays Center on February 16, 2019 the Brooklyn borough of New York City. New York Islanders defeated the Edmonton Oilers 5-2. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 16: Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers skates against the New York Islanders at Barclays Center on February 16, 2019 the Brooklyn borough of New York City. New York Islanders defeated the Edmonton Oilers 5-2. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 8
Next
nhl pacific division
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images /

As the NHL offseason gets underway with the draft and free agency just around the corner, I’d like to give a bold prediction for each Pacific Divison team’s offseason.

The 2019 NHL offseason should be an exciting and unpredictable one. Seeing as how the Pacific Division is one of the weakest divisions, their teams are a bit more desperate than others. This could lead to some bold moves. Here’s a bold prediction for each of the Pacific Division teams.

Allow me to begin with a bit of a disclaimer. I’m not saying that these are the best moves for each team to make, nor am I saying that I think each of these will come to fruition. I’m simply trying to think outside the box and make a bold prediction for every team.

Calgary Flames pursue a true number one goaltender

More from Puck Prose

David Rittich wasn’t necessarily a problem for the Calgary Flames this season, in fact, he was one of the main reasons that the Flames were able to finish 1st in the Pacific Division, after offseason acquisition Mike Smith just wasn’t working out in the starter’s role right from the get-go.

Smith had a subpar .898% save percentage this season, and Rittich had a .911 save percentage. Rittich isn’t exactly a starter, and the Flames have some serious talent that they could trade in order to bring a true number one goaltender. But who should they target? I’m not going to sit here behind my keyboard and crank out trade proposals.

That being said, it wouldn’t be the craziest thing in the world for the Flames to make a change to their goaltending situation. That being said, it wasn’t solely the performance of Smith in the playoffs that caused the Flames to be eliminated in the first round by the St. Louis Blues, but some stronger, yet proven goaltending certainly wouldn’t be something the Flames would be opposed to.

The first of my bold predictions is that the Flames make a serious play for a new goaltender. Maybe a free agent such as Sergei Bobrovsky would suffice? It would be a longshot to land the Russian netminder, but a move that big would certainly improve the Flames as a whole.

Home/Pacific