Jack EichelEthan Miller/Getty Images
Anaheim Ducks: Go for No. 1
The pingpong balls were not in the Ducks’ favor in the offseason, and despite having the worst record in the league, they landed the No. 2 pick in the draft. They selected Leo Carlsson, and while he’ll make a great center for them in the years to come, the Ducks need more top talent if they’re going to fly high once again.
To that end, the Ducks’ aim this year should be to try for No. 1 once more—and they may not have to try terribly hard to make it happen. Having Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry to go along with Jamie Drysdale and Cam Fowler gives them a handful of very good players. But because they’re lacking depth and with the number of younger players who will get extended looks, it may be difficult for them to maintain the success they do have.
John Gibson in goal gives them a fighting chance nightly, but the amount of overall improvement they need to not be in the conversation for the top pick is substantial.
Calgary Flames: Find their smile once again
After Calgary’s players had such a miserable time with Darryl Sutter last season, a big part of this year’s success hinges upon them all finding joy in the game again. From Jonathan Huberdeau to Nazem Kadri to impending UFAs Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev, they could all use more goals and more wins to get them feeling good about the situation.
On top of all that, a more positive situation centers around Jacob Markstrom returning to his previous Vezina Trophy-finalist form as well. It’s a lot to work out for new coach Adam Huska, but he knows his roster has a lot of talent, and getting them back to a place where they can lean into their strengths can get them right back into the playoff picture. After so many frowns and grumpy dispositions under Sutter, getting some sunshine back in the roster’s life would go a long way.
Edmonton Oilers: Prove themselves to others
The Oilers can score a ton of goals, it’s true. Especially on the power play. These are facts that are never in doubt, and they’re true again so far this year. Of course, they’ve also dropped their first two games to Vancouver and even got embarrassed 8-1 in the season opener, so it’s not all rosy off the hop.
Edmonton getting shut down by Vegas last season despite having an offense that left everyone’s heads spinning should’ve been yet another “ah-ha!” moment for its leadership that while scoring at will on the power play can take you a lot of places, it can’t quite take you all the way. They’ve got to prove to themselves they can do everything else winning teams do to win in many different ways.
Winning games at even strength shows what you’re really made of and how nasty a team can be in the postseason. Same goes with being able to clamp things down when needed or knowing how best to win when nothing goes right. If they can prove that over the course of a season, they can prove to the rest of the league they’re ready to take that leap.
Los Angeles Kings: Beat the Oilers
For the past two seasons, the Kings showed they’re back as one of the more dangerous teams in the Western Conference, but the only thing that could stop them were the Oilers. Sure enough, that’s who’s knocked them out of the playoffs in the first round the past two seasons, and now it’s time for them to slay that particular dragon.
The Kings were done in by their lack of discipline against the Oilers and allowed Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl plenty of opportunity to beat them on the power play. Despite having elite players of their own in Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty, they weren’t able to corral McDavid and Draisaitl.
Although Vegas presents its own challenges in the Pacific, the Oilers are L.A.’s nemesis right now. And while they’ve given the Oilers fits of their own, they haven’t found a way through just yet. It would be easy to point at goaltending and say that’s the difference for the Kings, but discipline in multiple ways helped put their goaltending at a disadvantage and they’ve got to change that to go deeper into the playoffs.
San Jose Sharks: Race for the bottom
The Sharks’ half-in/half-out approach to a rebuild has them ensnared in a trap of sorts, and if they’re going to get anywhere down the road a little quicker, they’ve got to take aim on Davy Jones’ locker in the Pacific right away.
Although San Jose will have young guys like Thomas Bordeleau, William Eklund and Filip Zadina in their lineup this year, they’ll still have a few veterans in the mix who will keep them afloat in a slightly weaker Western Conference. Guys like Anthony Duclair, Mackenzie Blackwood and Jan Rutta will play well and play hard for this group but won’t help them bridge the gap to make the postseason or make a hard run at the No. 1 pick.
The Sharks are in the mix with a pile of teams that will be hovering near the bottom for the best odds at No. 1, but with a few choice deals later on, they could be the front-runners far and away.
Seattle Kraken: Follow Vegas’ footsteps
Even though the Kraken have built their franchise their own way, their success last season has put them on the same path as their expansion cousins in Vegas, who won the Cup in their sixth season last year. Although Seattle is doing things in a more organic fashion, six seasons isn’t an unrealistic goal for them to make an honest run at winning their own Stanley Cup.
They put up 100 points last year with a lineup that threatened to score from all four lines and a defense that was effective at moving the puck and defending. They added complementary players like Kailer Yamamoto and Brian Dumoulin from successful teams, and while they have areas to improve upon (penalty kill in particular), they showed in the playoffs their style of play and deep lineup can win a playoff series.
The Kraken aren’t going away, and they’re learning how to win together. A return to the postseason and perhaps a run to the Western Conference Final would show they’re absolutely on the Golden Knights’ road to success.
Vancouver Canucks: Silence the naysayers
Very few teams had as negative a season as Vancouver did last year, and this year the tone is different—although with some of the same worries lingering. Things are feeling good after the Canucks beat Edmonton in their first two games of the season, and their key players have shown up in a big way as well.
Vancouver allowing guys like Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson, Andrei Kuzmenko and JT Miller to lead the way while Thatcher Demko locks it down in goal (riddled with the flu or not) shows it’s got a lot of talent and that much of the negative attention toward them is perhaps a bit too harsh.
They’re not a deep team, sure, but their top talent is excellent, and top players can win games on their own sometimes. Coach Rick Tocchet is clearly pulling some of the right switches with the lineup. If they can make a smart deal regarding Conor Garland, they could add even more help to their roster. We’re not saying it’s a playoff team, but we are saying the Canucks could cause a lot of teams a lot of sleepless nights instead.
Vegas Golden Knights: Do it all over again
When a team wins the Stanley Cup, the only goal for them is to do it again, right? That’s where Vegas is at, and fortunately for the Golden Knights, despite some losses to the roster, they’re right there in the mix again.
They had to trade Reilly Smith, but after the extended audition Ivan Barbashev got last season when he showed he was a natural fit to the roster, that move didn’t hurt quite so bad—especially when he teamed up with Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchesseault.
Adin Hill and Logan Thompson provide solid play in goal, and the Golden Knights defense with Alex Pietrangelo leading the way is as good as it was last year. Even more so, Vegas has succeeded even though it has been tasked with an impossibly high bar to meet since it began play in the NHL.
The pressure is sky high there, and yet the Knight have won the Cup and are top contenders for it once again. Good thing, too, because from now on, anything else is a letdown.
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