Division Previews – Pacific Division

Most of the readers will only be checking for one team here, and that is the Edmonton Oilers. Not so fast folks, the Oilers, Ducks, Flames, Coyotes, Sharks, and Canucks will all be attempting to dethrone the Kings in the new pacific division.

1. Los Angeles Kings: Two years ago this team won the Stanley Cup and really embarrassed every team they went up against. Last season the Kings lost to the eventual champion Blackhawks in five games in the western conference finals. Bottom line is this team is loaded. Jonathan Quick in net, Drew Doughty leading the blue line, and Anze Kopitar leading the forwards puts the Kings in a place where they will be competing for the Stanley Cup this season. The Kings will run away with this division if they avoid any major injuries.

2. San Jose Sharks: Every year we hear this is the Sharks year and they will finally break through and win the cup giving Joe Thornton the one thing he doesn’t have. Well this year the cup won’t be in San Jose but the Sharks are a very good hockey team. Last season they swept the Canucks in the first round and lost to the Kings in seven games in the second round. A pretty decent run for them. Led by Thornton, Marleau, Pavelski, and Couture the Sharks are loaded up front and in net Antti Niemi proved to be a solid goalie. The Sharks are weak on the blue line and that’s what will eventually hold them back but the Sharks will be in the postseason yet again.

3. EDMONTON OILERS: No, I am not just saying this to please the wonderful people of Edmonton. The Oilers top 6 forwards of Hall, RNH, Eberle, Yakupov, Gagner, and the best off-season addition, David Perron are some of the best in the business. The City of Edmonton hasn’t seen the postseason since 2006. They are weak on the blue line, but adding Andrew Ference will help. Even more so in the locker room than on the ice. Ference has been in winning programs over the past few years in Boston and can teach the young players of Edmonton how to win. Dubnyk is either love or hate among Oiler fans. Quite frankly the Oilers playoff hopes lie within the hands of Devan Dubnyk. This is a bold prediction. If not this year then I’m not sure when so with that mindset I see the Oilers taking a step and making the postseason this year.

4. Anaheim Ducks: Last season the Ducks were a surprise team ending with the two seed in the western conference. The Ducks proceeded to get bounced in the first round against the Red Wings. The Ducks even, after the Bobby Ryan trade, still have great top end talent in Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. Defender Francois Beauchemin is there and if Cam Fowler steps up then they will be decent on the blue line but overall its a weak point on the Ducks. Jonas Hiller is above average in net. The only reason the Ducks will finish fourth is because of how bad this division is.

5. Phoenix Coyotes: The most boring team in the NHL resides in Phoenix. The team who can’t score plays their home games in Phoenix. Finally one of the best coaches in Dave Tippett and general managers Don Maloney work in Phoenix. Put all these things together and you have the defensive structure of the Coyotes. The Yotes will be competitive but not good enough to make the postseason. A few years ago they were a scary team because they would score just enough to beat teams but now they have lost their ability to do that. Bottom line is the Yotes will be losing games 2-1 or 3-2 but will be in every game. If the Coyotes can acquire a legit goal scorer then they would be in business.

6. Vancouver Canucks: For all of you baseball and football fans, do you remember last year’s Red Sox team and last year’s Jets team? They were both a circus and now it looks like the Circus will be heading to Vancouver. Bobby Valentine was a loud mouth in Boston, and Rex, well he was Rex in New York, and we all know what coach Tortorella is like. Can’t you see it now. Torts yelling at the Sedin’s to block shots and rough it up in the corners, or calling out Luongo in a post game press conference? Some of the softest players in the league against a tough old school coach is a recipe for a disaster. But lets look on the ice. Good talent up front with both Sedin’s and Ryan Kesler. A average blue line with Kevin Bieksa and Alex Edler too. Luongo has talent but we all know the head case he can be. In Boston we heard well the Sox have talent and in New York the same things were said about the Jets. A loud mouth head coach with players like the Canucks is a recipe for disaster.

7. Calgary Flames: The Flames won’t be a circus, they will just be terrible. The Flames maybe have one guy who would play on the first line of a legit cup contender. Their blue line is suspect at best. With Kiprusoff retiring, the Flames don’t have that rock in net anymore. Sorry Ramo, you don’t count. Calgary will have the worst record in the league this year, book it. Granted this team is young with a lot of draft picks coming up but this will be a rough year in Calgary.

Finally I will be previewing the Atlantic division next. For all of you Oiler fans who want to praise me and all of you Canucks fans who want to rip me follow me on twitter @Brendan_McLean5.