Predicting the 2021-22 Pacific Division Standings
With the NHL finally back on track to start the new season in October, we wanted to take a look at the pacific division and where we believe each team will stack up. The pacific division will be an interesting one this season as they are being joined by the NHL’s newest franchise, the Seattle Kraken. The addition of the Kraken to the pacific division will be very interesting as many of the division would be considered by most hockey fans to be mid to lower tier teams as of right now, with the exception of the Vegas Golden Knights
8. San Jose Sharks
The Sharks have been on a steady decline for a few years now. They still have their key pieces such as Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson and Logan Couture but all of them are on the back end of their careers. They do have a bit of a younger core in players like Kevin Lebanc, Tomas Hertl, and Timo Meier but the question is will they be enough for the Sharks to be successful this season? San Jose is also hurting in the Goaltender department after losing Martin Jones to the Flyers this offseason. Something else the Sharks have on their plate is the whole Evander Kane situation. Some players have already said that they wouldn’t be very happy if he came back which could be another roadblock in the Sharks road back to success.
7. Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks have been rebuilding for a few years now but they seem to still have a year or two before they get back to being considered contenders. Their biggest addition this season will be Trevor Zegras making the full time jump to the Ducks roster. He showed great promise in his 24 game stint with the ducks last season. Meanwhile, Maxime Comtois seems to be finding his game in the NHL so that is another positive for the Ducks. Until those two fully develop it looks like Veterens Ryan Getzlaf, Jakob Silfverberg and Rickard Rakell will be the most prominent players for Anaheim offensively. Despite a relatively low ranking they do have a chance to shock the division if their younger players have good seasons, these players being Jaimie Dysdale, Sam Steel, Max Jones, Isaac Lundestrom and of course Zegras and Comtois. The Ducks do have a chance to shock the league with a loaded line up of young guns but it will most likely take a few more years before they are able to make a noticeable impact.
6. Seattle Kraken
Coming into their inaugural season Seattle will most likely have a very tough time replicating what Vegas did back in the 2017-18 season. Looking at positives first, Seattle does a great goaltending duo in Philipp Grubauer and Chris Driedger. They also have a lineup full of valuable playoff experience with players such as Yanni Gourde, Jordan Eberle and Jaden Schwartz. They also do have a solid defensive core headlined by Adam Larsson and Mark Giordano along with the giant Jamie Oleksiak. The problem with Seattle’s line up is the fact that they do not have a player who has been an elite scorer in their career yet. Seattle similar to Anaheim could shock many and end up meshing very well and being a good team but to replicate an inaugural season similar to Vegas will be very difficult.
5. Los Angeles Kings
The Kings look like they are at the tail end of their rebuilding phase and have potential to be a playoff team if they have a good year. They have had some key rookies developing for a few years now such as Alex Turcotte, Gabe Villardi, and Arthur Kaliyev. Quinton Byfield is fairly new to the organization but after developing for a year down in Ontario he seems ready to make an impact. Aside from rookies the Kings also added Phillip Danualt in the offseason who will be helpful down the middle. A weak point of the Kings is their defense as former elite D-man Drew Doughty is on the decline and they don’t have much else going. They did just draft Brandt Clarke but he’ll most likely have to develop for a year or two before he’s NHL ready. Cal Petersen has been developing behind Jonathan Quick the past few years and he is looking more and more like the clear #1 goalie. The Kings are looking like a much better team than the last few years so it will be interesting to see if they can put together a winning squad.
4. Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames have potential to make a playoff push this year pending performance. They still have their top talents such as Johnny Gaudreu, Matthew Tkachuk, and Elias Lindholm but may suffer after losing their captain of 8 years Mark Giordano. Their defense will probably be lead by Noah Hanifin and the new addition Nikita Zadorov. Some new depth additions on offensive include Blake Coleman and Tyler Pitlick. Even with these additions they may have a hard time defending against big names in Connor Mcdavid, Leon Draisaital, Elias Petterson and Brock Boeser. They do have a very solid goaltender in Jacob Markstrom who if healthy all season, will definitely make a big impact.
3. Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks looked primed to have a solid year after their biggest addition came in the form of Connor Garland via Arizona. He will be a deadly addition to an already good Vancouver Offense. They will also look to new edition Oliver Ekman Larsson on defense after they lost Alexander Edler to Los Angeles. Elias Petterson and Brock Boeser also have another year of experience under their belts and should have a good season as long as they stay healthy. Quinn Hughes will also look to have another good year as he comes into his 3rd year in the league. Goaltending still looks strong as Thatcher Demko is the clear number one in Vancouver while he has a solid but aging Jaroslav Halak behind him. As long as the Canucks can stay healthy this season, they have a deep lineup with a solid fairly young core who can lead the way.
2. Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers who have struggled in recent years to make a deep playoff run may be able to push deeper this year after they signed former Maple Leaf Zach Hyman. Hyman is a very versatile player who could fit almost anywhere in the line up. In addition to Hymen, they also signed former Conn Smythe winner Duncan Keith from Chicago. Although Keith is probably in the last few years of his career he has still shown the ability to play at a high level, he will also bring a ton of veteran experience and leadership to the locker room. One cannot talk about the Oilers without mentioning Connor Mcdavid. Coming into his 7th year in the league he will almost undoubtedly have another stellar season along side fellow star Leon Draisaitl. Aside from those top two the Oilers also have budding stars in Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto. Both former 1st round picks have somewhat struggled to be impact players in the NHL but with another year of experience under their belts maybe this will be the year we start to notice them more. Goaltending and defense are heavily outshined by the offensive talent of the Oilers but will it finally be enough to give them a deep playoff run? Only time will tell.
1. Vegas Golden Knights
It goes without saying that Vegas has been a powerhouse in the Pacific Division ever since they emerged in 2017. They have kept a lot of their core together and will probably look to make another deep playoff run this season. They have quite a few new additions in Nolan Patrick and Evgeni Dadonov. The change of scenery may be good for Patrick who has been on and off with injuries and never got into a groove ever since he was drafted by the Flyers with the 2nd overall pick back in 2017. Evgeni Dadonov will also be a good depth addition for Vegas and will hopefully have success similar to his time with the Panthers. Despite numerous additions they also suffered a pretty big loss by losing Marc Andre Fluery to Chicago. This will put most of the goaltending weight on Robin Lehner, he has shown he can handle the number 1 position just fine. Backing him up is Laurent Brossoit who is coming over from Winnipeg. Over the summer there have also been many trade rumors linking Jack Eichel to Vegas. If this came to fruition, that would make Vegas even more deadly. Overall, Vegas has the best roster in a relatively weak division with a good amount of depth as well.