The state of California is home to the best hockey teams in the Pacific Division. LA won the Stanley Cup last year and Anaheim is a Cup contender. The Sharks are still a good team, although they’ve proven they are maybe the biggest choke artists in the history of hockey. Outside of California, the rest of the teams don’t look as strong. Vancouver is going through some major changes, Calgary is rebuilding, Edmonton is a mess, and the Coyotes are now the Arizona Coyotes.
Here are 5 things to watch in the Pacific Division.
1. What’s the plan in San Jose?
The Sharks blew a 3-0 series lead in the first round of last year’s playoffs against the Kings. Joe Thornton’s stunned reaction by the bench after the series ended said it all.
Thornton and Patrick Marleau have been a part of a lot of good regular season teams that just seem to fall apart in the playoffs. They’re not the sole two players to blame for the collapses but there’s no doubt something is up with the core group of the Sharks.
The owner decided not to fire GM Doug Wilson or head coach Todd McLellan after another playoff choke. Instead Wilson decided the Sharks were going to be a “tomorrow” team. Whatever that means. He let Dan Boyle walk in free agency and bought out Martin Havlat. Both moves he may have made regardless of how the team ended the playoffs. Wilson also signed John Scott for some reason and announced Brent Burns was going back to defense.
San Jose will also have new captains this season, as Joe Thornton was stripped of the C. Will these moves make the Sharks good in the playoffs? Probably not.
2. LA repeat
No team has won the Stanley Cup two years in a row since the Red Wings did it in 1997 and 1998. The odds are against the Kings. No team has done it in the salary cap era. One thing the Kings might have going for them is the lack of roster turnover from last year. The biggest loss being Willie Mitchell. Marian Gaborik signed a new long term deal after fitting in perfectly with the Kings during the cup run. The Kings opted not use a compliance buy out on Mike Richards, which could be a move GM Dean Lombardi regrets if Richards doesn’t have a better season. Jonathan Quick could be ready to start the season after having wrist surgery in the offseason.
The Kings are still going to be a good team and winning the Stanley Cup this season would solidify them as a dynasty. Chicago couldn’t do it last year and the Kings will have just as tough as a time in the loaded Western Conference.
3. Ryan Kesler
Anaheim GM Bob Murray made an effort to trade for Ryan Kesler at the trade deadline last season. He didn’t get him then and didn’t get anyone else which hurt the Ducks’ chances in the playoffs. This summer he finished the deal trading Nick Bonino, Luca Sbisa, and draft picks to Vancouver for Kesler.
Kesler had wanted out of Vancouver for a while and going to a cup contender is a good landing spot for him. He slots in nicely behind Ryan Getzlaf at center and will make the Ducks a very tough team to match up against. Kesler’s last three seasons haven’t been ideal and his one 40 goal season may be an anomaly, but he’s still good for 25 goals and 50 points. He can also play tough minutes against other team’s top players. The Kings/Ducks games should hit another level of intensity this year with Kesler in the mix.
4. New era in Vancouver
The Canucks missed the playoffs for the first time in five seasons last year. As a result, GM Mike Gillis and head coach John Tortorella were shown the door. Canucks legend Trevor Linden was named the new Team President and he hired Jim Benning as the GM. Benning then hired Willie Desjardins as the new head coach. One of Benning’s first moves was to trade Ryan Kesler to the Ducks. He may not have gotten a ton in return but he removed a player from the locker room who no longer wanted to be there. Benning also signed Ryan Miller and Radim Vrbata during free agency. Eddie Lack had a decent enough season for the Canucks last year in net but he’s still unproven and Miller gives them a solid tandem. Vrbata will most likely play on a line with Henrik and Daniel. Benning also traded Jason Garrison to Tampa Bay for a second round pick.
Lots of the focus this season will also be on how first year coach Willie Desjardins does with his new team. He just won the AHL Calder Cup with the Texas Stars and he is known for being a guy players respect. And with John Tortorella still fresh in everyone’s mind, a coach like Desjardins and all the other changes will be welcomed.
5. Can Edmonton make the playoffs?
Edmonton has been a serious disappointment the last few years. With all the young talent and high draft picks, one may have thought they’d be a playoff team by now. They made a few OK signings this summer with Benoit Pouliot and Mark Fayne but that still might not be enough to get this team in the playoffs.
They’re better at goalie than they were to start the season last year. Ben Scrivens and Viktor Fasth will both get a shot at winning the starting job or they’ll just split time. But the defense is still unimpressive, the Oilers lack a real bonafide number one d-man. They aren’t that strong down the middle of the ice either. Beyond Ryan Nugent Hopkins, Boyd Gordon and Mark Arcobello just don’t seem good enough compared to what the better teams in the West have at center. One of the few positives going into this year is first round pick Leon Draisaitl may make the team and could center the second line.
If this team wants to have any shot at the playoffs, they’ll have to get off to a better start than they had last year. 8 out of their first 11 games are at home so they have a chance to start out strong.
