SAN JOSE – Back are the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Vancouver Canucks. Gone are the Arizona Coyotes, and in comes the expansion Seattle Kraken.
No, the Pacific Division isn’t exactly how the San Jose Sharks and their fans remember it being prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. But that doesn’t necessarily mean things will be any easier for the Sharks after they played in a thrown-together West Division with Anaheim, Arizona, Colorado, Los Angeles, Minnesota, St. Louis, and Vegas last season.
The Sharks finished seventh in that division, missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
“Do you call it tougher than last year? I don’t know,” Sharks coach Bob Boughner said of the Pacific. “We haven’t seen some of these teams in a while and haven’t played against them, so there are a lot of unknowns.”
This season, the playoff format reverts back to what it was from 2013-14 to 2019-2020, when the top three teams in each division automatically qualify, and two other spots in each conference are filled by the next two highest-placed finishers based on regular-season record.
“It doesn’t matter who you’re playing or in what division in this league, there’s so much parity,” Boughner said. “Let’s face it, you’ve got to get 95 points-plus to be a playoff team probably, and that’s not easy to do.”
Here’s a look at the Pacific Division, in predicted order of finish.
1. Vegas Golden Knights
2020-2021 RECORD: 40-14-2 (second in West Division)
COACH: Pete DeBoer, third season
LEADERS: F Mark Stone, F Max Pacioretty, D Alex Pietrangelo, G Robin Lehner
TOP NEWCOMERS: F Evgenii Dadonov, F Nolan Patrick, G Laurent Brossoit
KEY DEPARTURES: G Marc-Andre Fleury, F Ryan Reaves, F Cody Glass
ANALYSIS: Barring a spate of injuries, the Golden Knights are the favorites to win the division. They acquired Dadonov to help improve their power play and brought in Patrick to solidify their center depth. Perhaps there’s a question about the Golden Knights’ goaltending, as the Vezina Trophy-winning Fleury was traded to Chicago for salary cap reasons. Lehner, with a career .918 save percentage, takes over the unquestioned No. 1 goalie with Brossoit as the backup. Lehner hasn’t played more than 50 games in a season since 2017-18 with Buffalo, and will likely be asked to play the bulk of the games this year, so it’ll be interesting to see how he handles the extra work. Reaves’ departure could be felt as well, particularly in the locker room.
2. Edmonton Oilers
2020-2021 RECORD: 35-19-2 (second in North Division)
COACH: Dave Tippett, third season
LEADERS: F Connor McDavid, F Leon Draisaitl, D Darnell Nurse, G Mike Smith
TOP NEWCOMERS: F Zach Hyman, F Derek Ryan, D Duncan Keith
KEY DEPARTURES: F James Neal, D Adam Larsson, D Ethan Bear
ANALYSIS: The Oilers have only made it to the second round of the playoffs once since they drafted McDavid in 2015. They’ve tried to address some of their forward depth issues with the signings of Hyman and Ryan, and hope Keith’s winning pedigree rubs off on some other players. Still, there’s one wonders about the depth on the back end, and whether a 39-year-old Smith can have another strong year in net. Edmonton will make the playoffs but might not be ready to be considered among the NHL’s elite just yet.
3. Calgary Flames
2020-2021 RECORD: 26-27-3 (fifth in North Division)
COACH: Darryl Sutter, second season
LEADERS: F Johnny Gaudreau, Elias Lindholm, F Matthew Tkachuk, G Jacob Markstrom
TOP NEWCOMERS: F Blake Coleman, D Nikita Zadorov
KEY DEPARTURES: D Mark Giordano, F Derek Ryan
ANALYSIS: The Flames drastically underachieved last season as they missed the playoffs for the second time in five years. Sutter took over midway through last season and as longtime Sharks fans are aware, likes to have his teams play a tight-checking style. But do the Flames have the personnel to match that identity? Also, who will replace Giordano, their captain since 2013, as their locker room leader? The Flames have the talent to make the playoffs, but it could also be a season of upheaval with Gaudreau a pending UFA.
4. Vancouver Canucks
2020-2021 RECORD: 23-29-4 (eighth in North Division)
COACH: Travis Green, fifth season
LEADERS: F Brock Boeser, D Quinn Hughes, F Elias Pettersson, G Thatcher Demko
TOP NEWCOMERS: D Oliver Ekman-Larsson, F Conor Garland, G Jaroslav Halak
KEY DEPARTURES: D Nate Schmidt, D Alexander Edler, F Antoine Roussel, G Braden Holtby
ANALYSIS: The Canucks have a terrific young core, led by Boeser, Hughes, Pettersson, and Nils Hoglander, and a goalie in Demko, who, given the chance to a No. 1 for a full season, could prove to be one of the NHL’s best. But huge questions remain about their defense corps, which thins out pretty quickly after Hughes, Tyler Myers, and Ekman-Larsson. Still, Garland is an upgrade over Roussel, and Vancouver’s top nine will be one to reckon with.
5. Los Angeles Kings
2020-2021 RECORD: 21-28-7 (sixth in West Division)
COACH: Todd McLellan, third season
LEADERS: F Anze Kopitar, F Dustin Brown, F Alex Iafallo, D Drew Doughty,
TOP NEWCOMERS: F Phillip Danault, F Viktor Arvidsson, D Alexander Edler
KEY DEPARTURES: D Kurtis MacDermid
ANALYSIS: The Kings signaled their intention to come out of their rebuild with the signings of Danault and Edler and the acquisition of Arvidsson from Nashville. Los Angeles has a stable of impressive prospects, and players like Arthur Kaliyev and Vladimir Tkachev could be ready to make an immediate impact. Cal Petersen is the new No. 1 goalie. There’s every reason to believe the Kings will be better this season, especially if the players from the Stanley Cup years continue to produce. But they might be another year away from being serious playoff contenders.
6. San Jose Sharks
2020-2021 RECORD: 21-28-7 (seventh in West Division)
COACH: Bob Boughner, third season
LEADERS: F Logan Couture, F Tomas Hertl, D Erik Karlsson, D Brent Burns
TOP NEWCOMERS: G Adin Hill, F Nick Bonino, F Jonathan Dahlen, F William Eklund
KEY DEPARTURES: G Martin Jones, F Ryan Donato, F Patrick Marleau
ANALYSIS: Can a new goaltending tandem, better forward depth and an improved culture key a return to the playoffs? That’s what Team Teal hopes for, but major questions still loom. Is Adin Hill ready to be a No. 1 goalie in the NHL and play 45-55 games? Can players like Karlsson, Burns, and Couture still produce as they did in years past? What’s going to happen with Evander Kane? If they stay healthy and all goes well, the Sharks should remain in the mix for a playoff spot. More than likely, the Sharks are looking at a third straight year of no postseason play.
7. Seattle Kraken
2020-2021 RECORD: n/a
COACH: Dave Hakstol, first season
TOP NEWCOMERS: F Jaden Schwartz, F Jordan Eberle, D Mark Giordano, G Phillip Grubauer
KEY DEPARTURES: n/a
ANALYSIS: The expansion Kraken won’t be as good this season as the Golden Knights were in 2017-18. Not even close. But Seattle does have enough quality pieces to make for a not-dreadful year. Grubauer was stellar for the Colorado Avalanche last season and might prove to be the Kraken’s MVP. Seattle has some flash with Eberle, but this is going to be a blue-collar team that needs to grind to have success. It remains to be seen if Hakstol is the right coach for this group after an unspectacular tenure as the Philadelphia Flyers’ coach from 2015-2018. Seattle won’t be easy to play against, especially at home, but the playoffs seem to be at least one or two more years away.
8. Anaheim Ducks
2020-2021 RECORD: 17-30-9 (eighth in West Division)
COACH: Dallas Eakins, third season
LEADERS: G John Gibson, F Max Comtois, F Rickard Rakell, F Ryan Getzlaf, D Cam Fowler
TOP NEWCOMERS: F Benoit-Olivier Groulx, F Mason McTavish
KEY DEPARTURES: G Ryan Miller, F Danton Heinen
ANALYSIS: Ducks general manager Bob Murray finally admitted last month that the Ducks were in a rebuild. It’ll be another year of playoff-less hockey in Orange County, but there is more hope for the future with top-end prospects like Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, and McTavish eager to make their mark. Rakell, Hampus Lindholm, and Josh Manson are pending unrestricted free agents, so Murray has to decide whether to extend any of them or sell one or more at the trade deadline for future assets. He also has to decide if Eakins is the one to lead the rebuild. Will it get worse before it gets better?
