Ahead of the NHL season, Sport Arena evaluates the prospects of each league team. Next in line is the West Division
Oleg Shimansky
The West is a division with a clear leader and contender for the Stanley Cup, and with such interesting star newcomers as Kirill Kaprizov and Trevor Zegras. Battles involving Nathan McKinnon, Vladimir Tarasenko, Mark Stone should definitely please the fans.
Anaheim Ducks
Key changes in the off-season:
- Atwalked Eric Goodbranson
- Came Kevin Schatenkirk
The Anaheim Ducks are still in a state of rebuilding and it is not clear how long it will continue. The main problems of the team last season were low performance and a very poor game in unequal lineups. As a result, none of the attacking ducks managed to exceed the mark of 45 points scored.
The absence of a pronounced leader in the attack cannot but sadden Anaheim fans. Perhaps in the new season this leader can become Trevor Zegras, who just now ignited for the US team at the World Youth Championships. Much of the team’s results will depend on goalkeeper John Gibson – if he can show a confident game, then the ducks may have chances for the playoffs. Also of interest is whether a newcomer can Kevin Schatenkirk significantly strengthen the defense of the team and become its leader. But the heavy load of a large number of players on contracts that are bad for management can become the stone that will not allow the team to rise from the bottom.
Forecast: 7th-8th place in the division and not qualifying for the playoffs
Arizona Coyotes
Key changes in the off-season:
- Out: Taylor Hall, Carl Cederberg and Vince Chinostrosa
Coyotes in recent years have had similar one-on-one seasons. They start pretty well, but then by the deadline they lose their chances for the playoffs. Given the losses in offense, the team will pay more attention to the defense of their goal and the key to success should be the goalkeeper Darcy Kumper. Oliver Ekman-Larson, who is the undisputed leader of the defense, asked for an exchange from the manager, but the club management considered that it would be difficult to solve the most ambitious tasks without the Swede. The main role in the attack is now played by young people, it will be interesting to watch Clayton Keller and Christian Dvorak.
Forecast: 4th-6th place in the division and the fight for the playoffs
Colorado Avalanche
Key changes in the off-season:
- Gone are Matthew Nieto, Nikita Zadorov
- Devon Toews and Brandon Saad came
Avalanches enter the new season as one of the contenders for the Stanley Cup. The smart tactics of general manager Joe Sakic in recent years have allowed cavelance to reach a new level of results. Sufficiently low amounts in the contracts of the leaders, relative to other clubs, allow creating a fairly large depth of the squad.
At the same time finding the triple Nathan McKinnon – Gabriel Landeskog – Mikko Rantanen on the ice strikes terror into the hearts of the fans of any opposing team. Having one of the most talented pool of prospects allows Colorado to constantly add talented rookies on small contracts to the roster (a prime example is defenseman Cale Makar, who has already become the main player of the squad, spending more than 20 minutes per match). Before the start of the season, it seems that only injuries or a lack of alignment of the stellar team can prevent Colorado from taking first place in the division.
Forecast: 1st place in the division and confident access to the playoffs
Los Angeles Kings
Key changes in the off-season:
- Olli Mäyatta and Andreas Athanasiou came
The team that won two Stanley Cups in the second decade of the 21st century (in fairness, we note that the last one was already back in 2014) has been in a state of restructuring in recent seasons. Los Angeles has no problems with the salary cap, only 5 players have contracts for more than 3.5 million dollars, and how the team will perform in the new season largely depends on them.
If to Anze Kopitaru (probably the only player in the last season, to whom there were practically no questions from the fans of the kings) no one will join, then the new season will not be easy. Much will also depend on Jonathan Quick, an undeniably talented goalkeeper who had a very unconvincing last season. The game of kings in defense will be determined by Drew Doughty – A hockey player whose salary exceeds $ 10 million a year simply has to play much better compared to last season. It will be interesting to look at the second number of the last draft Quinton Byfield, at the MFM, a young Canadian plays just great. A distinctive feature of the current Kings roster is its youth – there are only 5 players on the roster over 27 years old.
Forecast: 7th-8th place in the division and not qualifying for the playoffs
Minnesota Wild
Key changes in the off-season:
- Departed Alex Galchenyuk, Devan Dubnik, Eric Staal
- Markus Johanson, Cam Talbot, Nick Bonino and Kirill Kaprizov came
The not entirely clear management actions of the savages in recent years make Minnesota a kind of dark horse in this division. It will be interesting to see if Alex Stallock become the main goalkeeper of the team; whether the main defender will continue to progress in his game Jared Spurgeon.
But the most important expectation of this season for Minnesota is an NHL debut. Kirill Kaprizova. Will he be able to immediately become the leader not only of his club, but of the entire league? The composition of the team does not look weak, but the final result will largely depend on the coaching staff, whose task is to select the right partners for the team’s newcomers.
Forecast: 4th-6th place in the division and the fight for the playoffs
San Jose Sharks
Key changes in the off-season:
- Aaron Dell, Melker Carlson and Joe Thornton are gone
- Came Matthew Nieto, Devan Dubnik
This past season has been a real disappointment for Sharks fans as the team that played in the conference finals against eventual 2019 Stanley Cup winners St. Louis finished last in their conference. The upcoming season also brings anxiety to the hearts of fans.
Will the defenders be able to return to the previous level Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson, which for two eat up almost 25% of the club’s payroll? On paper, they are the best defensemen in the league, but last season made that doubtful.
What will happen to the goalkeeping line in the new season (in the last championship, goalkeepers did not overcome the mark of 91% of saved shots) and will this be one of the main obstacles to getting into the playoffs? Will it continue to progress? Timo Mayer, will he be able to become a true leader of the San Jose attacks? With the right combination of circumstances, positive answers to these questions will help the team impose a fight for the playoffs in this division.
Forecast: 4th-6th place in the division and the fight for the playoffs
St. Louis Blues
Key changes in the off-season:
- Alex Pietrangelo and Jake Allen are gone, Alexander Steen retires
- Came Tory Krug and Mike Hoffman
Blues fans can look forward to another successful season. The loss of Alex Pietrangelo could have looked significant if not for the replacement in the face Tory Krugawho consistently scored points in Boston.
An important change compared to last season will be the return to the Vladimir Tarasenko. Team results are highly dependent on one of the team leaders, but it is equally important to find out how the appointment of team captain will affect Vladimir Ryan O’Reilly (in his interview, Tarasenko noted that he was upset by this news). In general, the bluesmen are in good shape for the season and will clearly fight for at least victory in their conference.
Forecast: 2nd-3rd place in the division and advance to the playoffs
Vegas Golden Knight
Key changes in the off-season:
- Nate Schmidt and Paul Stasny are gone, Derek Engelland retires
- Alex Pietrangelo has arrived
The key question for Vegas in the new season may be whether it will cost the team too much to acquire Alexa Pietrangelo? On the one hand, an elite-level defender came who will determine the game for years to come, but, on the other hand, 2 weeks before the start of the championship, the team did not settle the issues with the salary cap. Rumor has it that management is looking for a solution to the problem by exchanging one of the leaders of the attack, Jonathan Marchesseau or Max Pacioretti (although the owner of the club has repeatedly stated that the question of exchanging Pacioretti is not worth it).
Undoubtedly, the line of defense of the knights now looks elite, but will they be able to support the attack? The departure of Paul Stasny to Winnipeg raises the question of the lack of a good second line center. And if you remember the big contract of Marc-Andre Fleury, whom he pushed into the background with his confident play Robin Lehner, it becomes clear that this season will obviously not be easy for Vegas management. At the same time, it is hardly worth worrying about the place of the Knights in the playoffs.
Forecast: 2-3 place in the division and advance to the playoffs.
Source: Sportarena
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
