Way Too Soon NHL Power Rankings for the Pacific Division
. . . San Jose Sharks. 6. team. 120
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.
. . Arizona Coyotes. 5. team. 121.
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.