Season Preview: The Pacific Division

Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

The NHL season is less then twenty four hours away as Toronto and Montreal faceoff in the first game of the regular season. But we’re going to be heading out to the Western Conference. The far west, and we’ll be taking a look at the newly formed Pacific division who have a couple new teams, as the Northwest Division is now defunct and a few teams from that division have now joined the Pacific division party.

Here’s the preview from that division, including players to watch for, as well as projected line combinations.

Here’s the division rankings and who I think will make the playoffs.

1. Los Angeles Kings
2. Anaheim Ducks
3. San Jose Sharks
4. Vancouver Canucks*
5. Edmonton Oilers
6. Phoenix Coyotes
7. Calgary Flames

*Denotes that they will gain a wildcard spot

Anaheim Ducks
Last Season: 30-12-6 (2nd in Western Conference; First in Pacific Division – Lost in the first round)

Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

The Ducks this year will be a very different team, most notably due to the fact that star forward Bobby Ryan is no longer on the team, due to salary cap issues. They shipped him over to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Jakob Silfverberg, and a few prospects. Silfverberg will start the season on injured reserve, but he plans on be on a line with Teemu Selanne, who made a splash of his own, by announcing via YouTube, his retirement.

Questions will be once again asked about the goalie tandem, as Jonas Hiller and Viktor Fasth are expected to split duty once again. Hiller, an expected Free Agent at the end of the year, may be on the trading block during the course of the season due to Fasth’s strong play, and the team slowly last year leaning towards him.

Player to Watch: Teemu Selanne
In what is expected to be the final season for the Finnish Flash, Selanne should go out on top for the Ducks, with another strong 70-80 point season. He’s a very strong leader, and very good at teaching the young kids a strong two way game. Expect his last season to be nothing different as he plans on leading them to hopefully another Stanley Cup.

Now that would be a way to go out on top.

Projected Lines
Corey Perry – Ryan Getzlaf – Matthieu Perreault
Jakob Silfverberg – Saku Koivu – Teemu Selanne
Emerson Etem – Andrew Cogliano – Dustin Penner
Matt Beleskey – Daniel Winnik – Kyle Palmieri

Francois Beauchemin – Cam Fowler
Bryan Allen – Ben Lovejoy
Sami Vatanen – Mark Fistric

Jonas Hiller – Viktor Fasth

Games vs. Rangers
Thursday Oct. 10 @Anaheim
Monday Nov. 4 @New York

Calgary Flames
Last Season: 19-25-4 (13th in Western Conference – 4th in Northwest Division – Missed Playoffs)

Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

The Flames start their first full season without Miikka Kiprusoff, who retired right before training camp started, but was all but certain he was going to. Also, this will be the first full season without former captain Jarome Iginla, who after failing to make the Stanley Cup Finals with Pittsburgh, will now join the team who originally acquired him during last seasons trade deadline, but then didn’t, and the runner up in the Stanley Cup Finals — the Boston Bruins.

Holes to replace Iginla’s leadership has already been addressed, as Mark Giordano was named the 19th captain in team history, and Kari Ramo is expect to be the opening night starter for the Flames, as he impressed in the games he started for the Flames during the preseason. Yet, this will be a difficult rebuilding year, as the team will surely struggle, as their attempt to match young talent with their proven veterans.

Player to Watch: Kari Ramo
Playing a few years in the KHL did him a  good job, as well as strong play during the preseason to earn the right to be the starting goaltender for the team, as the other two goaltenders didn’t do enough to prove themselves worthy. He has a lot to prove though, meaning that he has to be consistent. He does have big shoes to fill to replace Kiprusoff, but expect him to play up to expectations due to the team that’s around him.

Projected Lines
Matt Stajan – Mike Cammalleri – Curtis Glencross
Lee Stempiak – Jiri Hudler  – TJ Galiardi
David Jones – Sean Monahan – Lance Bouma
Brian McGrattan – Tim Jackman – Ben Street

Mark Giordano – Dennis Wideman
Shane O’Brien – TJ Brodie
Chris Butler – Christopher Breen

Kari Ramo – Joey MacDonald

Games vs. Rangers
Sunday Dec. 15 @ New York
Friday Mar. 28 @ Calgary

Edmonton Oilers
Last Season: 19-22-7 (12th in Western Conference – 3rd in Northwest Division – Missed Playoffs)

Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

The Edmonton Oilers, are a inching ever closer to making a playoff birth, thanks to their young talent stepping up to the plate, and really pushing hard for the team to make the playoffs yet again. Yet, they’ll come up short as other teams in the Pacific division are really positioned well to make the playoffs for at least the next few years.

The Oilers youth should help them win games, due to speed and endurance. Acquiring a few older pieces have helped the veteran presence in the locker room, yet I don’t think Dallas Eakins, and crew are ready for prime time yet.

Player to Watch: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
RNH will continue to grow and prosper as a young NHL center, and will continue to grow under Dallas Eakins. He’ll miss the first few months of the season due to an injured shoulder, but expect him to come back, and continue his rise as he certainly will be under the microscope thanks to a new deal he signed during the offseason.

Line Combinations
David Perron – Taylor Hall – Jordan Eberle
Ryan Symth – Mark Arcobello – Ales Hemsky
Jesse Joensuu – Boyd Gordon – Nail Yakupov
Luke Gazdic – Will Acton – Mike Brown

Ladislav Smid – Jeff Petry
Andrew Ference  – Justin Schultz
Nick Schultz – Anton Belov

Devan Dubnyk – Jason LaBarbera

Games vs. Rangers
Thursday Feb. 6 @ New York
Sunday Mar. 30 @ Edmonton

Los Angeles Kings
Last Season: 27-16-5 (5th in Western Conference – 2nd in Pacific Division – Lost in Conference Finals)

Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The Kings are one of those teams, who can start of very slowly, yet come back when the season gets tough, and surprise many people. Much like they did in 2012, when they won the Stanley Cup as the 8th seed in the west, they can come at you like a pack of wolves, give hard two way play, and can chip in a few goals when it matters the most. Most analyist call this team the New York Rangers of the West, can block shots, can play solid defensively, and have a world class goaltender as well in Jonathan Quick.

Yet, with the way the division is now a little bit more stacked, their could be some issue with the Kings actually making it out of the division alive. 1-0, 2-1 games may not be enough for the team, yet coach Daryl Sutter, knows how to get the team where he needs them at any given time. Is there a reason to worry in LA yet? No.

Player to Watch: Jonathan Quick
We all knew he was going to be a starter in the NHL. Yet, he had a goalie wanting to take his job, or at least share the starting job with him in Jonathan Bernier. He also has a lot to prove, as he is in contention for the US Olympic Hockey Team, and better yet. The starting position. All eyes will be on him, as he has a lot to prove if he wants to take a hole country under his wing.

Projected Lines
Dustin Brown – Anze Kopitar – Justin Williams
Mike Richards – Jeff Carter – Jarret Stoll
Trevor Lewis – Colin Fraser – Dwight King
Daniel Carcillo – Jordan Nolan – Matt Frattin

Robyn Regehr – Drew Doughty
Alec Martinez – Willie Mitchell
Slava Voynov – Jeff Schultz

Jonathan Quick – Ben Scrivens

Games vs. Rangers
Monday Oct. 7 @ Los Angeles
Sunday Nov. 17 @ New York

San Jose Sharks
Last Season: 25-16-7 (6th in Western Conference – 3rd in Pacific Division – Lost in Second Round)

Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

The San Jose Sharks are a team, you can expect to do well in the regular season, can expect to shock a lot of teams. Be in the middle of the pack, and when it comes to the playoffs they fizzle out.

Yet, they’re looking for the spark to jumpstart their playoff lives, hoping for them to carry on success, and really bring in a good crowd come playoff time. They have the talent and the roster to make the finals. They have that team, yet. There’s something missing? Leadership? No, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau are there leading the way. Even Danny Boyle. But yet, something is missing for this team.

Their lack of scoring in the post season has a lot of teams not too worried about them, yet everyone expects them to be on top. We’ll see what happens.

Player to Watch: Joe Pavelski
Signed to a long term deal in the offseason, Pavelski has a lot of offensive upside to him, and should continue to flourish with this team for many years to come. He could quite possibly be the captain in waiting for this team, when Thornton decides to leave. But, the spotlight will be directly on him.

Projected Lines
Patrick Marleau – Joe Thornton – Martin Havlat
Logan Couture – Joe Pavelski – Tyler Kennedy
Adam Burish – Andrew Desjardins – Brent Burns
Tommy Wingels – James Sheppard – Freddie Hamilton

Dan Boyle – Brad Stuart
Jason Demers – Scott Hannan
Justin Braun – Marc-Edouard Vlasic

Antti Niemi – Alex Stalock

Games vs. Rangers
Tuesday Oct. 8 @ San Jose
Sunday Mar. 16 @ New York

Vancouver Canucks
Last Season: 26-15-7 (3rd in Western Conference – 1st in Northwest Division – Lost in First Round)

Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

New coach, yet a very familiar face to many Ranger fans, as former Rangers coach John Tortorella now takes his shot blocking ways to way up north. He expects to see everyone block shots, yes that includes the Sedin twins, and we expect the same style to buckle Vancouver, the way it sort of did the Rangers.

Was the condition test there? Oh you bet, as crazy as ever too. But, the Canucks do have something the Rangers didn’t. Firepower, offensive firepower. And that’s something the Canucks have that should be in Tortorella’s advantage. Should be a fun offensive year for someone many people around the league see as defensive minded.

Player to Watch: Roberto Luongo
Last year, he wanted to be gone, he wanted to get traded, or have his contract bought out. Yet, he saw his friend, and teammate Cory Schneider traded to New Jersey. So all this hate, and resentment had to be bottled up, and now he’s the guy in Vancouver. After a rough few starts in the preseason, Robbie Lou looked spot on in their preseason game against the Rangers, yet we’ll see how strong he looks when the puck drops.

Projected Lines
Daniel Sedin – Henrik Sedin – Alexandre Burrows
Chris Higgins – Ryan Kesler – Jannik Hansen
Hunter Shinkaruk – Mike Santorelli – David Booth
Tom Seisto – Bo Horvat – Brad Richardson

Alexander Elder – Kevin Bleska
Dan Hamhius  – Christopher Tanev
Frank Corrado – Yannick Weber

Roberto Luongo – Eddie Lack

Games vs. Rangers
Saturday Nov. 30 @ New York
Tuesady Apr. 1 @ Vancouver