The Arizona Coyotes won’t make the NHL playoffs this season. Neither will the Chicago Blackhawks.
Both teams are in tank-and-rebuild mode. Both will keep selling off talent until further notice.
But the other 14 Western Conference teams should remain relevant and a dozen of them will be legitimate playoff contenders.
The Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche still reign as favorites despite losing forwards Nazem Kadri and Andre Burakovsky plus goaltender Darcy Kuemper as salary cap casualties. They could slip closer to the pack, though — and that pack will be huge.
To appreciate the intensity of that crowding, let’s go to the back and work our way forward.
The expansion Seattle Kraken took the opposite route of the Vegas Golden Knights. They conceded Year 1 and sank to the cellar like expansion teams of years past.
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But now the Kraken are competitive. The addition of dynamic rookie Matty Beniers and veterans Burakovsky and Oliver Bjorkstrand doubles their front-line firepower.
New San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier unloaded Brent Burns to start the team’s overdue overhaul. But new coach David Quinn still has Timo Meier, Thomas Hertl, Logan Couture and Erik Karlsson to drive play while younger players develop.
After a years-long rebuild, the Anaheim Ducks are back. Veteran forwards Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano arrived to give the talented young nucleus (Trevor Zegras, Troy Terry, Jamie Drysdale) significant help.
The Vancouver Canucks went 32-15-10 after coach Bruce Boudreau took over last season. With a full year of Boudreau they make the playoffs with rising goaltender Thatcher Demko and a dynamic attack led by forwards J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson and defenseman Quinn Hughes.
The Winnipeg Jets were a serious Cup contender just a few years back. They lost their way, though, and now old-school coach Rick Bowness is trying to tighten their team defense to support star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. Bowness stripped Blake Wheeler of his captaincy and sought buy-in from first line forwards Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Nikolai Ehlers. If he gets it, this could be the NHL’s most improved team.
Willy-nilly management decisions knocked the Golden Knights from Cup-contending status. The loss of goaltender Robin Lehner to a season-long injury added additional uncertainty. But Jack Eichel should deliver a big payoff for last season’s trade and the defense led by Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore remains a strength.
The Los Angeles Kings still have Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty and Jonathan Quick from their Stanley Cup-winning days. To rebuild around them, the Kings found value in the marketplace. They added center Phillip Danault and Victor Arvidsson to create an effective second line. Then they added 85-point scorer Kevin Fiala to pump up the top line.
The Dallas Stars skillfully retooled around forwards Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn (and their cumbersome contracts) and kept competing. They developed young stars Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz up front and got surprising mileage from 900-year-old Joe Pavelski. Under new coach Peter DeBoer, expect defenseman Miro Heiskanen to break out offensively and goaltender Jake Oettinger to settle in as Ben Bishop’s successor.
When Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin bought out Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, he created a salary cap crunch that forced him to trade Fiala to the Kings. To overcome this loss, the Wild had to develop good young players working on entry-level contracts. Mission accomplished: Winger Matt Boldy, forward Marco Rossi and defenseman Calen Addison bolster an attack led by megastar Karill Kaprisov.
The Nashville Predators will also fight the Blues for the Central Division’s No. 2 seed. Smashville’s hit squad found another scoring gear last season with Matt Duchene’s revival, Filip Forsberg’s breakout and Roman Josi’s surge. The offseason addition of winger Nino Niederreiter and defenseman Ryan McDonagh made the team even sturdier in front of star goaltender Juuse Saros.
But the hottest race will be atop the Pacific Division, where the Battle of Alberta rages on. Hope seemed lost for the Calgary Flames when Johnny Gaudreau fled to Columbus in free agency and Matthew Tkachuk forced his trade to Florida.
But Flames general manager Brad Treliving recovered by acquiring 115-point scorer Jonathan Huberdeau and defenseman MacKenzie Weegar for Tkachuk and adding Kadri in free agency. So the Flames could actually improve.
Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland won his gamble on Evander Kane, adding still another weapon to join Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. If his bet on goaltender Jack Campbell pays off as well, the Men of Oil could pose the largest threat to the Avalanche.
“We’re very much aware that we’re a really good team, that we still have another level and we have another step,” Edmonton winger Zach Hyman said. “Seeing Colorado, it’s not like you go from the bottom of the hill to the top. You’ve got to build to it.”
At least a dozen conference teams are trying to do the same, so the jostling in this race could be fierce.
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October 10, 2022 at 08:30PM
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Gordo: Western Conference also-rans gain speed, create crowded playoff race - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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