The Golden Knights are back at home in the Pacific Division where they have dominated the competition over the past four seasons. A lot has changed since 2019 though. The NHL’s newest team, the Seattle Kraken, are now in the Pacific, Arizona has left for the Central, the Canadian teams all look much different now, and the trio of California teams each ready to see if their rebuilds can start taking shape.
Everyone here already knows all about the Golden Knights and the Kraken are a complete wild card heading into this year, so let’s take a look at the key additions and subtractions from each of the other six teams in the Pacific.
Anaheim Ducks
Add: Greg Pateryn, Danny O’Regan
Subtract: Haydn Fleury, Danton Heinen, Andy Welinski
For a team that is supposed to be in the middle of a rebuild, this was a shockingly boring offseason for the Ducks. They still have a bevy of prospects that could break through at any moment, but looking at what we saw last year coupled with the mild offseason, Anaheim is probably the worst team not only in the Pacific but in the entire NHL.
Calgary Flames
Add: Blake Coleman, Nikita Zadorov, Tyler Pitlick, Trevor Lewis, Andy Welinski
Subtract: Mark Giordano, Josh Leivo, Derek Ryan, Dominik Simon
Losing Giordano hurts, a lot, but they did well to bring in usable players to replace what went out this offseason. Coleman will likely be an excellent option to play somewhere in their strong top-six and it will allow for a bit more depth through what has been a fairly weak 12-man forward group the last few years. One of these times Zadorov is going to find the right fit and become the player most believe he can become, and this certainly might be it. The rest of it is somewhat of a depth reshuffle which is always good for a team that struggled the year before. Calgary likely won’t challenge Vegas atop the division, but they could be a sneaky tough team and they are always a pain in the butt to play against.
Edmonton Oilers
Add: Zach Hyman, Derek Ryan, Warren Foegele, Duncan Keith, Cody Ceci
Subtract: Adam Larsson, Ethan Bear, Dimitry Kulikov, Jujhar Kharia, Caleb Jones
What a weird offseason Ken Holland had with the Oilers. Adding Hyman, Ryan, and Foegele will definitely make them better but losing Bear, Larsson, and Jones and replacing them with Keith and Ceci is befuddling. Their forward group will still strike fear in any opponent and they got stellar goaltending a year ago. In theory, this should be the Golden Knights’ biggest threat to the Pacific Division crown. In reality, this is a team that could easily finish anywhere from 1st to 6th.
Los Angeles Kings
Add: Viktor Ardivsson, Phillip Danault, Alex Edler
Subtract: Matt Luff, Kurtis MacDermid
Of all teams across the entire NHL, the Kings had the best offseason for me. All three additions listed here are brilliant for LA and if they get significant contributions out of a few of their very deep prospect pool, they could vault into the playoff picture easily.
San Jose Sharks
Add: Nick Bonino, Andrew Cogliano, Adin Hill, James Reimer
Subtract: Martin Jones, Patrick Marleau, Ryan Donato
The focus this offseason for San Jose was clearly between the pipes, and it’s pretty clear they improved in that area. The problem is their issues went so much deeper than that last season and as much as you can love Bonino and Cogliano, they aren’t fixing what was missing from San Jose in 2021. Competent goaltending likely puts them above Anaheim, but it’s still close. This team truly is still terrible.
Vancouver Canucks
Add: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Conor Garland, Jason Dickinson, Philip di Giuseppe, Luke Schenn, Tucker Poolman, Jaroslav Halak, Brad Hunt
Subtract: Alex Edler, Nate Schmidt, Braden Holtby, Antoine Roussel, Loui Eriksson, Jay Beagle, Jalen Chatfield
What an overhaul the Canucks went through in the last few months. Looking at it as a whole it appears they improved quite a bit too. My love for Conor Garland is well documented so of course I love that move, but beyond that Ekman-Larsson could be a game-changer for them. The subtractions look much more significant in name than they do in performance (at least in Canuck jerseys). The depth adds are good too. If you had to pin me down to one team that scares me the most from a VGK perspective, it’s Vancouver.
Tim
Ken were still in the driver seat in the Pacific division these other teams are’t close except it looks like Edmonton could be the best of the rest. I always hear about all these Pacific division teams having a bevy of young prospects show me. So many of theses kids will bust as Cody Glass did and our present recycle projects in Patrick and Howden. Until they prove themselves there just prospects as much as these teams want to appease there fan base that these studs are going to turn them around are just bullshit until they do.
Richard Santomauro
I think that everyone is completely underestimating the fact that both LAK & SJS came on pretty strong toward the end of the year. Both teams added some young players who look like they will add value this year. Indeed, LAK had the best off season and despite what you think about Edmonton, the Kings will be fighting for the top of the division come the end of the year along with Edmonton and the Golden Knights.
I am going to go out on a limb here with the following prediction:
Pacific Division
1st- LA
2nd- Edmonton
3rd – Golden Knights
4th- Vancouver
5th- San Jose
6th- Calgary
7th- Seattle
8th- Anaheim
I think that if things don’t pan out at all with the off season moves, and the power play doesn’t get fixed the Golden Knights could slip to 4th or even 5th place in the division.
If the players acquired produce and we get production out of some of the youngsters the Knights could challenge for 2nd place.
But, right now, I believe that the LA Kings will take the Pacific Division and it won’t even be very close. 8 to 10 points of room…
THE hockey GOD
seattle has a near all star line up and great goalie, they will not finish 7th
Ulf
They man not finish 7th, but calling Seattle’s roster “all-star” is a serious stretch – like to the next county kind of stretch.
THE hockey GOD
i said “near all star” try to get it right next time Oaf son of Oaf.
ulf
lol, well all-star or near all-star…here’s the roster…
Schwartz-Gourde-Eberle
McCann-Wennberg-Appleton
Tanev-Johansson-Donskoi
Twarnyski-Blackwell-Jarnrok
spares: Geekie, Henman, Lind, True
Giordano-Larsson
Oleksiak- C. Fleury
Dunn-Carrick
spares: H. Fleury, Cholowksi, Borgen, Soucy
Grubauer
Driedger
spares: Daccord, Bibeau
even if you swapped some spares up to play out of position – that’s nowhere near an all-star roster.
Good goalies, some decent 2nd liners, an ageing #1 D and a couple of promising youth, surrounded by plumbers.
Oliver
@ulf
So… The Knights year 1? Hell, Seattle has a Vezina finalist starting and an actually competent, proven goalie in its #2 spot. That’s better than Vegas had in its first year. Seattle’s defense is also better on paper than year 1 Vegas.
Do I think they’ll make the same run? No. But to say they’ll be 7th in the division is just disingenuous.
Daryl
@Oliver,
What some seem to forget, hockey is more about chemistry than it is about stars. In year 1, VGK had players who had desire, determination, and something to prove. They had players the played well together on the ice. You can put 6 #1 draftees on the ice together and if they can’t play together they aren’t going to be very good.
I agree with you, they have the talent to not finish last and I personally think they will finish somewhere in the middle. But it all depends on how well they can learn to play alongside one another
ulf
@oliver and @Daryl
Where they’ll end up is a good question and they’ll have the benefit of a weak division that is starting to see some life (aside from VGK, up and comers LA, Vancouver, maybe Edmonton will finally get it together…).
I mainly answered in regards to labelling that team as “near all-star”, which it’s not.
As someone who’s played junior hockey and been a fan for over 40 years, I’m well aware of the magic that certain teams with more chemistry than skill can achieve. NHL history is full of teams like that, and I’d call VGK one of them. But 9 times out of 10 they still end up losing to the more skilled team in the playoffs 🙂
Daryl
@Ulf
9 out of 10 times sounds for right. Teams that play well together can really only get so far, especially in a series.
Ulf
This is a good take – while I don’t think the Kings are quite there yet and will finish lower than 1st, they have a scary good set of star young players coming up.
VGK has something like the 18th ranked prospect pool and I think it’s going to be tough to replicate success for long at his rate – so Foley’s declaration of a cup in 6 – which is a very hard thing to do – may realistically be the best chance to get one in the near future. I just don’t know with this team.
And all die respect to the other poster – but Seattle has an “all star team”??
Ulf
That was “all DUE respect”, natch 🙂
Tyler Durden
Wow, I’m a huge Kings fan and I’m not that optimistic. I have LA in 3rd. I think in 2-3 years they will be back in the Stanley cup conversation.
ulf
Got Byfield in my hockey pool – that guy is gonna be great in 2-3 years. You guys have some good times to look forward to.
THE hockey GOD
he’s a gangster goon in mold of reaves, he isn’t going anywhere. Your hockey acumen is well less than average.
Ulf
Ok is that a racist comment? I’m no Reaves fan but Byfield was rookie of the year in both the OHL and the CHL same year. He got 82 points in 40 games last year and there’s a reason he was drafted second overall.
I wasn’t going to respond to such a a weird comment but someone who calls himself a “hockey god” while calling Seattle’s team linear all-star” has been drinking too much kool-aid. No offense, seriously.
Ulf
That was “near all-star”, dang auto correct. The kraken lineup posted earlier in this stream shows it’s not near at all.
Hdbiker7851
As much as l love and support the local knights Richard it won’t be a surprise if you are close to being correct. In my opinion mgt has done a good job of destroying any chemistry that did exist. I dont believe they have helped themselves to any degree and the Cup is further away than before. They seem to have pinned their hope’s on cast offs and paid a significant price getting there. I would be interested to read where Ken and crew believe how the Blackhawks will do this coming year.
Richard Santomauro
I will be 100% behind VGK. I am a season ticket holder and despite missteps in the front office, the Golden Knights put on a great show with a competitive team and have done so since year 1. Things are not bleak. If you want bleak just look at poor Toronto or Anaheim.
I think I will definitely take a look at both the Blackhawks and Rangers this year. The Rangers added fan favorites Gallant and Reaves. Of course we will all be rooting for the Flower in Chicago. One thing is for sure, #29 will keep Chicago competitive in every game this year.
THE hockey GOD
moving billy buckner and loser reaves hardly “destroys any chemistry that did exist (which is an oxymoronic statement, in and of itself. It either existed or it did not exist. Can’t have it both ways)
one slice
one bite
everybody knows the rules
Daryl
They lose Billy Buckner and now have floppy Walrus…
knights fan in minny
love it daryl
Blitz
I disagree with you and even watched an ex misfit the other day, in an interview, say that he was shocked they got rid of Flower. I don’t remember the exact wording etc, but that Fleury is the heart and soul of the team and he even mentioned that he can’t believe they got nothing in the trade. I was yelling at my tv remembered words from my fellow sin binners, “but they got salary cap, they got salary cap”, then under my breath “for which they over paid for a couple of old guys and an insurance goalie, but not a center that can beat out Stephenson for c1”.
THE hockey GOD
if billy buckner is or was heart and soul, God help them.
they didn’t “get nothing in the trade” they dumped salary cap. This ex misfit is an idiot and doesn’t even understand the rules in his own sport.
The reason for this trade was the idiotic betmann nhl salary cap, money for nothing = socialism at it’s “best”. A very poor policy.
Daryl
Let’s be honest here… There really isn’t any real competition for VGK in this Division. LAK picked things up but not enough to make it close.
On the flip side, I wouldn’t be surprised to see VGK finish 3rd or worse either, but if that happens it won’t be b/c of the talent from other teams
Richard Santomauro
I actually do believe that both Edmonton and LA are going to be competitive due to their rosters. Combine the improvements of these two teams with what VGK did in the off season you can see at least a 3 way race for 1st place.
We got worse in goal, and the other moves that were made are not awe inspiring at all. Sprinkle in all of the front office drama and an unhappy fan base on top of that.
I will be supporting Lehner, but I fully expect to hear boo birds when the Panda takes the ice for the first time this year. I cannot wait for Chicago to come to town in January. WOW, that’s going to be telling. By then we will pretty much know where VGK is at in terms of standings and goal tending.
Definitely makes for an interesting year.
Daryl
Which is somewhat my point… VGK with the roster they had last year’s kills this division. VGK with the roster they have this coming season should still come in 1st, but I wouldn’t be surprised 3rd either
Blitz
I enjoyed the write up. It’s nice to see the other teams listed in a cohesive way. I know about or have seen these trades over the off season, but I don’t sit there and think about it per team in a collective way.
I think people are down-playing Edmonton. I think they are going to be one or two in the pacific. LAK made big improvements, but I still need to see how they bring it all together. Good moves though. I am guessing 3rd in the pacific. Just for fun here is my list:
1. Edmonton
2. Vegas
3. LA
4. Seattle
5. Vancouver
6. Calgary
7. Anaheim
8. The Sharts
I think Seattle and Van are toss up’s for the 4th spot. Vancouver got better, but maybe it doesn’t matter. They were pretty bad last year. Seattle of course is the mystery. They have giant d men and they’re a pretty solid all around team. Wouldn’t be surprised at all if they grab a playoff spot.
Then, of course, there is SJ bringing up the rear. Where I live there isn’t alot of hockey fans. If I do run into one its is always an SJ ass hat. I hope that team implodes.
DOC (Go Knights Go)
First: I will be watching Ranger games when available to see how REVO does.
Second: I would expect Fleury to do ok …. but many times he barley faced 20 shots behind the VGK last season. We’ll see what he does when facing 40+ shots a night.
Last: Of course the Knights will win the division. I WILL be interested on seeing how the Krakens do!
knights fan in minny
we will be interested when you leave
DOC (Go Knights Go)
Tick ….. tick ….. tick………
knights fan in minny
tick tick is that you and your buddy blunder joes head exploding
jason mason
Chicago last year averaged about 32 shots against. I think Fleury will be fine having to face a few more shots, as I think it will keep him a bit more engaged. He often stated it could get boring only facing the number of shots he’s been facing, so I think he’ll do well enough to make us miss him.
THE hockey GOD
@jason
if his knees hold up and he doesn’t have any more billy buckner lapses.
Tim
It looks like there’s not a lot of love for the Knights winning the division I don’t see it but we all have an opinion. Like I’ve said we know what our regulars could do but the unknown is Patrick, Krebs, Howden, Dugan, and whoever could change the whole team complexion. I’m just excited to get training camp going.
Richard Santomauro
That’s exactly right! Patrick, Krebs, Howden and Dugan are keys. I am totally disgusted that Logan Thompson wasn’t brought up as the backup. He is as ready as he can be and would have been a cheap addition. Another mistake by M&M in my opinion.
The goalie position is also going to be a question mark. Panda didn’t play all too well last year, especially in that one game that he got hammered in.
We will know for sure by January if keeping Panda was the right move or not.
THE hockey GOD
the starting roster has not even been determined, you have no clue if Logan Thompson will be back up or not.
The opener is months away.
Get your head straight. !
Richard Santomauro
You missed the point altogether. FO could have offered Logan a lot less than what they paid for Brossoit ($2.325 million). Thompson, the top goalie in the AHL last year, is signed for $800K to play at The Orleans for Henderson.
Brossoit has started 65 total games in his 6 year career winning 32 and losing 32. His sav% of .908 doesn’t inspire anyone.
This move was just as bad as keeping the Flopping Whale.
Take a look at the current roster.
Only 4 players remain from the expansion draft, and only 1 player has made the roster through the draft.
Acquired via trade: *****12****
Another 5 signed on as free agents.
Out of the $81,151,667 cap hit, just 15,591,667 are for players drafted. That’s less than 20% of the total. That pretty much sums up what VGK thinks of its program development despite the fact that their AHL affiliates have been at the top of the league for several years.
This is a sad commentary on the VGK front office and its complete lack of faith in player development. If you are in the VGK farm system your chances of making the VGK roster are not very good at all.
THE hockey GOD
“This is a sad commentary” no it isn’t, your post is filled with conjecture, mis information, mis statements, hyperbole.
The starting roster is months away, you have no idea what is going to happen between now and then.
Daryl
All thg is saying VGK just might have wasted another #2m on a backup goalie and still bring up Thompson
Blitz
@thg – not months. You keep saying months. Oct 12th is 6 weeks away. I figure if you are going to keep flinging mud at people then you should at least know when the season starts.
Mark
Saw Reaves at the gym today, he was working out next to me. I didn’t say hello or anything but he will be missed, I don’t want to be pushed around. It’s a tough call, we should take the division. It’s on Lehner and our top guys.
Blitz
I am ok with Reaves moving on for what he lacks offensively and defensively. He hasn’t fit well in PETERS system and we NEED to get better in the bottom six. He was and will be better in Turks offense. I agree getting pushed around is going to suck. This team is pretty soft and Kolesar/Mcnabb are not the answer when another team is running you down.
Richard Santomauro
Reaves posted a nice farewell to Vegas message on instragam. He announced that he will retire here in Las Vegas.
If he could have delivered 20 or 30 pts per game….. but that’s never been his game.
THE hockey GOD
so far I am disappointed at depletion of depth in this organization. They lost a good many of players from Henderson roster and have not filled that depth. Furthermore, after the NHL the VGK normally sign a few college players and undrafted players. So far they have signed no one as far as I know to fill these vacancies. I understand they do not count against the salary cap.
What gives ? Has the shiny bobble of coming to VEGAS lost it’s luster (don’t give me this FO BS which many of haters keep pushing). Or is it just plain that VEGAS suck$ as a destination to come to, as the Russian player(s), Perron, Neal, etc alluded to earlier by opting out.
Tim
THG, Just to clear up a few things let’s start with Neal he wanted close to 6 million that wasn’t going to work. The Russian was like a fish out of water. Perron wanted to stay in Vegas he stated that with an interview with Ally the year after he was traded. To your worries about depth on the team let’s just sit back and see how training camp goes. One thing you know about the Splash Brothers is there not stupid and if they see a gaping hole they’ll fix it.
THE hockey GOD
@Tim, Perron couldn’t wait to get back to St Louis, his history says so. He and Neal hated Vegas. Neal couldn’t stand the gangster goon on team. Perron was the same having been in St Louis. They couldn’t wait to get back to familiar environment.
and blitz, what’s two weeks difference between friends ? Ok six weeks, it’s two weeks shy of two months. Still a long time to decide an opening roster considering that training camp hasn’t even started yet. And NHL teams need an experience back up goalie. We went through this before several times.
Tim
THG, This is not second hand info when we played St. Louis in St. Louis the year after he left Ally our girl road around St. Louis showing her the sights. He matter of factly told her in the TV camera that he wanted to stay in Vegas but they never offered him a contract. I’m sure I’m not the only one that watched it. So forget all the fake news this is fact.
THE hockey GOD
sure, he isn’t going to say I hate it in vegas and really want out. His actions speak louder than his words.
Richard Santomauro
No, they’re stupid. Especially McCrimmon. His only claim to fame is QMJHL.
Daryl
I’m with Doc on Perron and Neal…. I’m not familiar with the interview you are referring to but he has stated several times he did want out of VGK. Neal said he wanted to stay at one point, but VGK never approached him to work out a deal. He later made comments about management and how they ran things.
You say the splash brothers will fix a gaping hole if they see it, which tells me one thing…. They must be blind. There is no way they can’t see the need of a top Center, or any good Centers. It wouldn’t have been a huge pickup, but Staal would have fitted in nicely in VGK
Daryl
And from what I remember and looked up, Neal wanted between $5.5 and $5.75, which is exactly what he got from Cgy. I think what he wanted was a little high also, but his numbers the season before supported it. Look at VGK now, Smith is getting around 5, Patch 7, Karlsson almost 6, Theo over 5, and Lehner, March and Petra all getting 5. Neal wanting $5.5 is right around the right ballpark
THE hockey GOD
top centers are mostly home grown and come at a very high premium, wishing is one thing acting is another
the organization can not afford it at this point in time.
they picked a goalie instead, a seven million dollar a year goalie, you can’t have a goalie and top center at same time with bettman’s salary cap.
The seven million dollar man did not get the job done, he gone.
Daryl
Yeah, VGK probably couldn’t have gotten a #1 Center but there were #2 Centers out there and better #3 Centers than what we have.
Not sure exactly how they “picked” a $7m goalie instead of a Center but if you say so.
And to say you can’t have both is pure BS.
The Pens had Crosby, Malkin and MAF.
O’Reilly/Binnington
MacKinnon/Brubaur
Trucheck/Nedeljkovic – Car had several I could choose from
Barkov/Bubrousky
Backstrom/Vanacek
Matthews/Campbell
Point/Vasilevskiy