Way Too Soon NHL Power Rankings for the Pacific Division
(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
With the new Stanley Cup Champion crowned in the Tampa Bay Lightning, it’s time to take a look ahead to the offseason and study the Pacific Division.
It is early, too early, but I am here to power rank the teams in the Pacific division. The Pacific Division was represented by five teams in the NHL bubble last season, with the Coyotes sneaking in from the round of 16 after defeating the Nashville Predators. The Vegas Golden Knights made quite a run to the Western Conference final before falling to the Dallas Stars in five games.
The Knights were the best team in the division last year and look to repeat again this year. With a couple of key additions in net, the Calgary Flames look like the team most poise to battle Vegas for the top spot in the division. I also wouldn’t sleep on the Edmonton Oilers after a couple of strong additions to a team that already has the best player in the league.
Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf is in the final year of his contract, and this will more than likely be the last year in Anaheim for the aging center.
Look for the team to maybe shop him at the deadline this year. In a surprise move, the Ducks signed defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk to a three-year deal this offseason. Not sure of the reasoning seeing that the Ducks don’t seem to be in any position to compete for at least a couple of years.
The Ducks have quite a few top prospects that will get valuable playing time next year, and they hope it will help the development of the youngsters. But look for it to be another rough year in Anaheim.
The Los Angeles Kings boast possibly the best prospect pool in the entire league, but since their run of two cups in three years, it’s been a battle of mediocrity for LA.
Over the last two years, the Kings have finished seventh and eighth in the Pacific. The rebuild will continue this year as the Kings will continue to incorporate young guys into a lineup that still has Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar on the top line. The two stars play has been declining, Browns maybe more so over the past couple of years.
With that being said, the system they are building is going to pay off in a couple of years and make them a dangerous team for many years after that.
The San Jose Sharks had a pretty rough season last year, finishing at the bottom of the Pacific division just a year after finishing with 101 points, good for second in the division.
Brent Burns finished with his lowest point total (45) since the 2013-14 season, where he finished with 48 points. Erik Karlsson played less than 60 games for the second straight year as he continues to battle injuries.
The Sharks re-signed Patrick Marleau to a one-year, vet minimum contract to surely set him up to retire with San Jose, a team he spent much of his illustrious career with. A trade with the Minnesota Wild saw Devan Dubnyk and Ryan Donato come to San Jose. Dubnyk will likely back up Martin Jones, and Donato will likely join Hertl and Meier on that second line.
The award for most bizarre and tumultuous offseason goes to the Arizona Coyotes.
From having to renounce the draft rights to Mitchell Miller, hiring a new GM, shopping their captain, and losing Taylor Hall to the Buffalo Sabres, there haven’t been many positives for Arizona these days.
As far as the offseason goes, the Yotes essentially just replaced their third and fourth line, with Vinnie Hinostroza, Michael Grabner, and Brad Richardson all signing elsewhere. Arizona signed Dryden Hunt, Tyler Pitlick, John Hayden, and Johan Larsson to sure up the bottom six.
You could make an argument they improved the bottom six, but they still lack the top-end scoring needed to compete with the top teams in this division.
The Vancouver Canucks finished last year third in the Pacific with 78 points in 69 games.
With the departure of Tyler Toffoli and Jacob Markstrom this offseason, the Canucks chose to sign goalie Braden Holtby and defenseman Nate Schmidt. Holtby will most likely slide into the starting goaltender job, and Schmidt looks to slide into the right side on the top defensive pairing with young stud Quinn Hughes.
I see them slotting back into fourth in the division, still battling for a playoff spot. Their young studs look to get one year older and improve.
At number three, we have the Calgary Flames.
The Flames looked to add some depth to their crease with the signings of Louis Domingue and Jacob Markstrom. Calgary is hoping to lower their GA/G from their 3.06 mark from a year ago, good for third-worst in the division.
The forward group will again be anchored by the likes of Matthew Tkachuk, Johnny Gaudreau, and Sean Monahan. They lost a couple of important pieces on defense but hope the signing of Chris Tanev will offset the production lost.
Enter the Edmonton Oilers.
Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and company are joined this year by defenseman Tyson Barrie, forward Kyle Turris, and forward Tyler Ennis. Ennis and Turris will add depth to a forward group that is home to two of the best players in the league.
Edmonton may have the most depth lines 1-4 than any team in the division. The Achilles’ heel of the Oilers for the past couple of years, however, was their defense. Adding a player of Tyson Barrie‘s caliber will help to make the Oilers a more complete team. Look for them to challenge the Golden Knights for the top spot in the division next year.
The Vegas Golden Knights finished last year, losing to the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Finals. They will look to make it yet another year with a long playoff run.
While losing a couple of key players such as Deryk Engelland, Nate Schmidt, and Paul Stastny may leave a bit of a gap in production, the addition of defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and their existing depth will more than makeup for those losses.
Do you have a better way too soon power ranking of the Pacific Division? Let us know in the comments section below!