Predict The Pacific Standings

[WetcoastOrca]

Im worried about the canucks back end and if Hughes misses ANY time that back end is extremely vulnerable.

Yep. Same with Edmonton if Eckholm misses any time. Except one guy is 34 years old.
I’d have the Oilers as favourites even though I think the shakeout from management’s offer sheet blunder weakens their D somewhat no matter which option they choose. But we saw what can happen last year with these predictions.

 

[DingerMcSlapshot]

Wishful thinking pal.

Yeah, Calgary might finish last.

 

[SJSharksfan39]

Maybe I have my Sharks colored Glasses on, but I expect them to be much improved this year. Maybe not playoff contenders, but I don't think they finish last in the division. If I were to rank them:

Edmonton
Seattle
Vancouver
LA
Vegas
Anaheim
San Jose
Calgary

 

[VainGretzky]

Edmonton
La
Vegas
Vancouver
Seatle
Calgary
Anaheim
San Jose

LA is wildly underrated. One of the best analytical teams the last 2 years and got rid of their locker room cancer

This

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

Damn, crazy prediction for Seattle that high.

I suppose it is, although it looks more surprising on paper. Even if they were to finish 2nd, we're potentially talking about a few points separating them and teams behind them and then come playoff time you'd probably favor the likes of Vegas.

But I do really like the lineup

McCann - Beniers - Eberle
Schwartz - Stephenson - Burakovsky
Tolvanen - Gourde - Bjorkstrand
Kartye - Wright - Tanev

Dunn - Larsson
Oleksiak - Montour
Evans - Borgen

Grubauer
Daccord

If Beniers bounces back and maybe even plays his best hockey to date like a 3rd year player should, Burakovsky gets back to form after his injuries and the rest just play the way they are able to, Seattle is back to having the same strengths as a team they had 2 years ago with balanced scoring and a team that rolls lines, except this time they have Stephenson and Montour added to the mix, two guys who fill roles this team really needed. Wright is a wild card as well potentially adding more talent and depth to the fold.

I have no idea what to expect from Bylsma these days but he should be a pretty good motivator, on top of a disappointing last season, so the hunger should be there right from training camp.

I had a deja vu with the 18-19 Flames that won the Pacific division after missing the playoffs, I remember liking that team too to bounce back strong but went with a conservative prediction in the standings like everyone else. This time I decided to go out on a bit of a limb.

 

[Rowlet]

Did I say Oilers fans should bet on the Oilers winning the division?


How is it insecure to point out that I dont think Van will win the division? Methinks though protesteth too much

Well the Canucks just won the division so they're a pretty good guess...

 

[Mobiandi]

Vegas might miss the playoffs. They don't look great on paper

 

[wetcoast]

Yep. Same with Edmonton if Eckholm misses any time. Except one guy is 34 years old.
I’d have the Oilers as favourites even though I think the shakeout from management’s offer sheet blunder weakens their D somewhat no matter which option they choose. But we saw what can happen last year with these predictions.

I think that the Canucks are way more dependent on Hughes than the Oilers are on Ekholm and it's not even really all that close to be honest.

 

[ThePlanet]

1. Edmonton
2. Vancouver
3. Seattle
4. Anaheim
5. Los Angeles
6. Las Vegas
7. Calgary
8. San Jose

 

[Jason316]

1. Edmonton
2. Vancouver

3. Vegas
4. Seattle
5. LA

6. Calgary
7. Anaheim
8. SJ

 

[WetcoastOrca]

I think that the Canucks are way more dependent on Hughes than the Oilers are on Ekholm and it's not even really all that close to be honest.

Fair point. The equivalent in Edmonton would be losing McDavid or Drai. They’d be in big trouble as well.
I also think their D is more dependent on Elckholm than you think.

 

[wetcoast]

Fair point. The equivalent in Edmonton would be losing McDavid or Drai. They’d be in big trouble as well.

I also think their D is more dependent on Elckholm than you think.

No I understand how good he is and was a fan of his from Nashville days but Bouchard is elite enough at this point compared to the Canucks second best defender who would be Hronek.

The Oilers situation is in flux with the offer sheets as well but if they keep Broberg the Canucks depth on the backend is more worrisome.

 

[The Panther]

For those who are optimistic about L.A. next season, I'm wondering... er, why? It's not that I dislike the club or anything, but I just don't see them improving at this point. But am I wrong? What's the cause for some people picking them to finish 2nd?

 

[JPeeper]

Flames finna do something REAL stupid and lost our top 10 draft pick and prolong the re-build a decade.

In my head I think only San Jose finishes worse than the Flames, but Flames gonna Flames.

 

[nucks88]

Fair point. The equivalent in Edmonton would be losing McDavid or Drai. They’d be in big trouble as well.
I also think their D is more dependent on Elckholm than you think.

Hanging your hat on a 34 year old D man...what could go wrong?

 

[Fatass]

Oilers
Canucks
Kings
Knights
Kraken
Ducks
Flames
Sharks

 

[bland]

For those who are optimistic about L.A. next season, I'm wondering... er, why? It's not that I dislike the club or anything, but I just don't see them improving at this point. But am I wrong? What's the cause for some people picking them to finish 2nd?

Byfield's growth, Clarke breaking in, a renewed physicality and more youthful enthusiasm in the lineup than in recent years.

But the top end of the lineup is stagnant and won't offer any more than what we have seen. Kuemper is a regular season downgrade to Talbot.

I predict a better, more inspiring and enjoyable season for Kings fans without much change to the overall results.

 

[Connor McConnor]

Edmonton
Vegas
LA
Vancouver
Seattle
Anaheim
San Jose
4-1

 

[Bank Shot]

Fair point. The equivalent in Edmonton would be losing McDavid or Drai. They’d be in big trouble as well.
I also think their D is more dependent on Elckholm than you think.

Or Canucks losing Demko, who apparently might not be ready to start the season which is pretty huge news two weeks from the start of training camp.

I'm thinking the scoring regression to the mean comes back to bite the Canucks as well.

1.Edmonton
2/3. Vegas/Los Angeles
4.Vancouver
5.Seattle
6. Calgary
7.Anaheim
8.San Jose

 

[HighLifeManIsHigh]

7. Calgary - I don't see the hype here. They sold off a lot last year and just look bad to me

lol what hype?? We’re rebuilding and we’re going to suck

 

[SirPaste]

Vancouver
Vegas
Edmonton
LA
Seattle
Anaheim
Calgary
SJ

 

[kingsfan28]

1. Edmonton
2. Vancouver
3. Seattle
4. Anaheim
5. Los Angeles
6. Las Vegas
7. Calgary
8. San Jose

No f-ing way. They are a long way from a playoff spot, no matter how many high picks are playing.

The top 4 in the west from last season will mos likely be same, but possibly in a different order. Vegas is the real outliner here, they could easily miss with all the changes they made.

 

[Raistlin]

I think that the Canucks are way more dependent on Hughes than the Oilers are on Ekholm and it's not even really all that close to be honest.

Yeah, but the trajectory btw the two players' game cannot be more different. Ekholm needs to play even more next year, need to play physical after an already long playoff run, will be 35,

Hughes plays keep away for 25 mins, and aims to be as elusive as possible, will spend a good chunk of time walking the line on the PP, and at the end of the day, is 10 years younger than Ekholm. I know who I want to lean on.

Whoever gets that top4 D midseason will determine how far they go coming out of the west. Whether it be Pettersson or Matheson someone else.

 

[Nucker101]

I suppose it is, although it looks more surprising on paper. Even if they were to finish 2nd, we're potentially talking about a few points separating them and teams behind them and then come playoff time you'd probably favor the likes of Vegas.

But I do really like the lineup

McCann - Beniers - Eberle
Schwartz - Stephenson - Burakovsky
Tolvanen - Gourde - Bjorkstrand
Kartye - Wright - Tanev

Dunn - Larsson
Oleksiak - Montour
Evans - Borgen

Grubauer
Daccord

If Beniers bounces back and maybe even plays his best hockey to date like a 3rd year player should, Burakovsky gets back to form after his injuries and the rest just play the way they are able to, Seattle is back to having the same strengths as a team they had 2 years ago with balanced scoring and a team that rolls lines, except this time they have Stephenson and Montour added to the mix, two guys who fill roles this team really needed. Wright is a wild card as well potentially adding more talent and depth to the fold.

I have no idea what to expect from Bylsma these days but he should be a pretty good motivator, on top of a disappointing last season, so the hunger should be there right from training camp.

I had a deja vu with the 18-19 Flames that won the Pacific division after missing the playoffs, I remember liking that team too to bounce back strong but went with a conservative prediction in the standings like everyone else. This time I decided to go out on a bit of a limb.

There's a real lack of top line firepower up front and it's not even like their depth is amazing up front. Beniers just put up an abysmal 24 non-pp points despite 1st line minutes, that's actually tough to do lol. So even if there was some bad puck luck, he has to have a huge bounceback just to get back to 2nd line level production, let alone top line.

Eberle is solid but 34 years old. Schwartz is 32 and declining already. Stephenson didn't look as explosive with Vegas last year, he relies a lot on speed and is 30 years old. Burakovsky if he can stay healthy should bounceback. Tolvanen, Gourde and Bjorkstrand I'll give you that as being a very nice "3rd line".

I'll take EDM, VGK, VAN, LAK's forward groups over this though.

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

There's a real lack of top line firepower up front and it's not even like their depth is amazing up front. Beniers just put up an abysmal 24 non-pp points despite 1st line minutes, that's actually tough to do lol. So even if there was some bad puck luck, he has to have a huge bounceback just to get back to 2nd line level production, let alone top line.

Eberle is solid but 34 years old. Schwartz is 32 and declining already. Stephenson didn't look as explosive with Vegas last year, he relies a lot on speed and is 30 years old. Burakovsky if he can stay healthy should bounceback. Tolvanen, Gourde and Bjorkstrand I'll give you that as being a very nice "3rd line".

I'll take EDM, VGK, VAN, LAK's forward groups over this though.

The lack of superstars is why I can't see them contending for the cup, but you don't need them to be effective offensively as a team. They were #6 in GF 2 years ago with only 2 forwards exceeding 60 points.

I believe Beniers can get to around 60 this season. Sophomore slumps happen but it rarely means that the player stops progressing. Eberle, Schwartz and Stephenson don't need to do anything spectacular, just be reliable veterans.

Technically every player in the top 9 can and probably should get to 40 points in 82 games. Dunn and Montour from the back-end as well, both projected to play on the PP.

Only 1 team in the League had 10 players hit 40 points this past season and that was Dallas, and their strength was their depth. So I'd disagree, Seattle has strong depth and if they're going to be successful that will be their x-factor.

Obviously to do that a lot has to go right in terms of health, and they can't have any guys falling off a cliff. But those are things I can't really predict in the summer.