The Puck Stops Here
Next entry: Predictions: Central Division
Previous entry: Predictions: Northwest Division
Predictions: Pacific Division
by PuckStopsHere on 10/02/08 at 01:10 PM ET
Comments (9)
Yesterday, I posted my Northwest Division predictions and today I will proceed with the Pacific Division. The Pacific Division has the most serious contenders of any West Conference division. They could very easily have more playoff teams than any other division in the conference.
1. Anaheim Ducks The Ducks were the team who looked most likely to win the Stanley Cup, aside from Detroit. Once Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne rejoined the team, they were very strong. It did not work out for them and they lost in the first round of the playoffs, but they return with essentially the same team that won the 2007 Stanley Cup. They have two very good young rising stars on offence in Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry and the best group of defensive forwards in the NHL today. They have a very strong group of defencemen with Chris Pronger, Niedermayer and Francois Beauchemin expected to get most of their ice time and they have a very good goalie in Jean-Sebastien Giguere. This is a team to watch out for and a team that might be able to win the Stanley Cup should Detroit fail.
2. San Jose Sharks The Sharks have been the best team in the NHL to not have a significant playoff run in the last few years. This cost Ron Wilson his job. He was replaced by Todd McLellan, who will likely be a step backward at coach (as Wilson is one of the better coaches in the NHL). They have a good group of forwards built around Joe Thornton, who include Milan Michalek, Patrick Marleau and Jonathan Cheechoo (the latter two are coming off poor seasons). Their defence is solid, but might have some question marks as high profile newcomers Dan Boyle and Rob Blake showed defensive lapses last season. Their goaltender, Evgeni Nabokov, was a workhorse last season who got more credit than he deserved for his work (he should not have been a serious Vezina candidate). This team looks likely to once again be one of the top teams in the NHL, but will need some upsets to have a protracted playoff run.
3. Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars had an up and down year last season. At times they were one of the hottest teams in the league and at other times one of the coldest. They had a significant playoff run, making the semi-finals. Offensively, they look for Brad Richards to bounce back into form in his first full season in Dallas. He joins Brenden Morrow, Mike Ribiero (who probably overachieved last year) and an aging Mike Modano as the top forwards. On defence aging veterans Sergei Zubov and Philippe Boucher are the anchors. Both are injury risks. Marty Turco is a very good goalie who gives the Stars strength in goal. This team will likely be more consistent this season, but it is not clear that their point total will improve.
4. Phoenix Coyotes Phoenix made a big step forward last season when they acquired Ilya Bryzgalov on waivers to be their goaltender. With strong goaltending the team showed a real improvement. They acquired Olli Jokinen in an off-season trade to bolster their offence. He joins Shane Doan and Peter Mueller as legitimate scorers. They have a strong defensive group as well led by Ed Jovanovski and Derek Morris. This is a team on the rise, but it will be tough to catch the top three in the division.
5. Los Angeles Kings It is clear that the Kings are not planning on being in the running this season. The spent all summer to barely reach the salary floor. They do have a good group of young forwards including Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown and Alexander Frolov, but little depth. Their defence should be porous, with second year man Jack Johnson given the chance to be the go to guy. Jason LaBarbera performed admirably behind a weak defence last year and will have to do it again this year. This is a team in the race for a lottery draft pick. Trading away Lubomir Visnovsky and Mike Cammalleri this summer may have weakened an already bad team.
The best three teams in the Pacific Division are probably the best three teams in any division in the league. Phoenix is gaining fast and could be there if any of them falter. Los Angeles is an also ran.
Filed in: | The Puck Stops Here | Permalink
Tags: Anaheim+Ducks, Dallas+Stars, Los+Angeles+Kings, Pacific+Division, Phoenix+Coyotes, San+Jose+Sharks,
Comments
I would like to thank this Kings fan for their comment that they made here (and emailed to me twice in the past 3 minutes). I think the comment shows just how desperate the Kings are this year. In trying to argue they have depth at forward, 4 players are listed. These 4 players scored 18 goals total last year. At defence, players like Drew Doughty, an 18 year old with zero NHL experience and Sean O’Donnell an aging bit player last year who scored 9 points and was basically given up for free are offered.
This is exactly why I think Los Angeles will not compete this season.
Posted by PuckStopsHere on 10/02/08 at 12:45 PM ET
This one I agree with Puck. Nice run-down of the Div. I’d like to see Phoenix make the post-season, but it’s going to take a bad run from Chicago, Vancouver, and possibly Nashville to do it.
And I totally agree with your Nabokov assessment. He’s a great goalie, but not up with the top 4 or 5.
Posted by 41 Long Ones from Edmonton on 10/02/08 at 12:56 PM ET
Can’t really argue with the prediction here, but then I also wouldn’t argue if it was Sharks, Ducks, Stars or Sharks, Stars, Ducks or Stars, Sharks Ducks. All three have the potential to dominate and all three have the potential to underacheive.
Posted by Garth on 10/02/08 at 01:38 PM ET
I would like to hear your explanation for the Nabokov comment ("he should not have been a serious Vezina candidate") ? He was at the top of most statistical categories and playing in the toughest division last year with low goal support by his team.
As for the sharks: Even with 3 of their top players (Marleau, Michalek, Cheechoo) having off years and Ryan Clowe being out for most of the season, they had the second most points in the league last year behind Detroit. Assuming their top players play like they should, they should up there with Detroit.
Posted by Jeff from San Jose, CA on 10/02/08 at 05:21 PM ET
I’m with Jeff on this one. You’ve got my support bud
Posted by dickshilling on 10/02/08 at 05:29 PM ET
Here is what I wrote about Nabokov last year just after the awards.
Posted by PuckStopsHere on 10/02/08 at 05:31 PM ET
I wasn’t going to address this again but here I am because I do appreciate your reply. Not sure how my initial comment shows how desperate the team is but oh well. I only listed 4 forwards because off the top of my head while at work that is who I came up with. I didn’t go player by player or peruse the training camp roster to refute your points. Incidentally, those 4 players are all great prospects that I am sure other teams would love to have. To point to their low goal totals when the majority are rookies is a bit silly. We all have to start somewhere, right? I didn’t even mention O’Sullivan who is another top-6 forward once he agrees on a contract.
On defense, again, I did not go player by player but only mentioned Doughty because off the top of my head I thought a player who was judged most ready to step into the NHL and play full time deserved mention. You seem like the type who would bag on Crosby coming into his rookie year because the year before he would have had zero NHL points.
In goal you ignore the comment on Ersberg so I assume you agree. I didn’t even mention Bernier will be recalled from the minors once his injury heals and there is another stud player at a key position. Does everything have to fall in to place for the Kings to have a quality season? Perhaps. But the wheels are not coming off the cart as your doom and gloom forecast indicates. In fact, those in the know would argue that the team is better set up now than it has ever been....
Posted by laurie on 10/03/08 at 12:40 PM ET
You are basing your prediction on the Kings from the past. They are younger, bigger, and faster. They finally have depth at forward on all 4 lines because guys like Simmonds, Moller, Purcell, Boyle, and Moulson are all pushing for spots. These guys are young but they have played together and all have blue-chip talent. I am still weary of the defense but Jack Johnson looks poised to take-over, Doughty looks like he belongs, and adding size and experience with Greene and O Donnell will certainly improve a smallish weak defense from last year. Gauthier and Preissing are my question marks. Goaltending is also a suspect position. LaBarbara trained hard this off-season to be a good #1 but he needs to believe in himself and stay healthy. Ersberg really impressed me at the end of last year and I was wishing he had a chance to play from the start because he finally stabized and improved the defense and we earned some points and climbed out of last place. The Kings also have there Lombardi system in place after 3 years and players, coaches, and scouts all seem to be working together. Terry Murray brings a calm deamoner to the game and the players will probably respond better to him than Marc Crawford. Crawford liked to yell and call players out for mistakes where as Murray will correct the player in a positive manner. I believe the Kings will sneak up on teams this year. We will only know unti the end of the season when the Kings are either in the play-offs or competing for a spot all year or in last place waiting to get either Tavares or Hedmen. I’ll take the play-offs.
Posted by Jordy from Los Angeles on 10/04/08 at 02:41 AM ET
Add a Comment
Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.
Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.
Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.
Most Recent Blog Posts
The Flip Side To Best Teams Pre-Lockout
Future Hall Of Famer Brendan Shanahan Retires
About The Puck Stops Here
The Puck Stops Here was founded during the 2004/05 lockout as a place to rant about hockey. The original site contains over 1000 posts, some of which were also published on FoxSports.com.
Who am I?
A diehard hockey fan.
Why am I blogging?
I want to.
Why are you reading it?
???
Email:
Donate to Kukla’s Korner
You obviously know nothing about the Kings and what they are doing so why analyze them and prove how foolish your comments are?
The Kings are in fact loaded up front behind Kopitar, Brown and Frolov. Offensive depth is something they finally have with guys like Stoll, Boyle, Moeller, Purcell, etc. joining the big show.
Defensively, besides a stud in Johnson they have a youngster in Doughty who is ready to step in to a full time role in addition to O’Donnell who was just added from the Ducks and the capable Preissing. In goal you ignore Ersberg who was the star the second half of last season.
Cammalleri was a cancer who needed to go and would not have returned after this season anyway, and that trade enabled the Kings to move up in the draft and select Teubert on defense who will be here in a year or two. Visnovsky is coming off a terrible season and drafting similar players in Doughty and also Hickey the year before made him expendable while allowing the Kings to acquire the second line center in Stoll that they lacked and a tough defenseman in Greene. The trades improved the team by far and in 2 years the Kings will be competing for the playoffs with the other teams in the division. How about doing some homework the next time?
Posted by laurie on 10/02/08 at 12:28 PM ET