As the free agent market has mostly been decided, Alexander Semin notwithstanding, it is time to look at the Western Conference as far as the playoffs go.
Last year, five teams had 100 points or more in the playoff picture. The final standings looked like this:
1. Vancouver- 51 wins, 111 points
2. St. Louis- 49 wins, 109 points
3. Phoenix- 42 wins, 97 points
4. Nashville- 48 wins, 104 points
5. Detroit- 48 wins, 102 points
6. Chicago- 45 wings, 101 points
7. San Jose- 43 wins, 96 points
8. Los Angeles- 40 wins, 95 points
9. Calgary- 37 wins, 90 points
10. Dallas- 42 wins, 89 points
11. Colorado- 41 wins, 88 points
12. Minnesota- 35 wins, 81 points
13. Anaheim- 34 wins, 80 points
14. Edmonton- 32 wins, 74 points
15. Columbus- 29 wins, 65 points
Most improved this offseason has obviously been Minnesota with Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. They appear poised for a playoff run at the very least. The only question about them is how well their prospects play at the NHL level. If they don't, specifically Granlund, the Wild could be left with one big scoring line.
There's also the Dallas Stars to consider. A team that surprised numerous times last season and fell just short of the playoffs has added two aging veterans, Ray Whitney and Jaromir Jagr, to their club. It is interesting to note that the team for which Jagr has played has not missed the playoffs (counting his KHL years) since the Rangers did in 2003-04.
Anaheim could also rebound under coach
Randy Carlyle Bruce Boudreau, with or without Bobby Ryan. Must of their team is still the same, though their defensive ranks have thinned considerably since the 2007 Stanley Cup.
Colorado made a strong late push even without star center Matt Duchene 100 percent healthy and a banged up Steve Downie. Their goaltending tandem is solid with the veteran Jean-Sebastien Giguere helping the younger Semyon Varlamov to grow. They added some depth and toughness last year with Steve Downie and Jamie McGinn and could have been poised for a playoff run if not for a 4-8-1 November. They also have one of the younger teams, teams which are typically hard to predict where they will finish.
On the other end, Calgary has been staving off their impending rebuild thanks to Jarome Iginla and Mikka Kiprusoff. They could still be dangerous, especially since most people are writing them off.
Edmonton's defense and goaltending is still a big question mark but their offense will be dynamite, literally. Teams will get blown away by Edmonton and don't be surprised if they jump out to a great record as the Avalanche and Coyotes did in 2009-10.
Columbus is a long shot but who knows what kind of package Rick Nash will get (once Howson actually decides to trade him) and they could be a surprise.
The question now is who drops out of the playoffs? Can Phoenix continue to defy the odds and make the playoffs? Will Nashville feel the loss of Suter more than we think? Can Detroit, the perennial playoff team, survive without Nicklas Lidstrom? Are their prospects good enough to fill that role? Can Chicago deal with/find a solution to their goaltending issues?
What about San Jose whose points totals the last three years have gone from 113 to 105 to 96? If they drop another 8-9 points, they will be squarely out of the playoff picture.
Vancouver, St. Louis and cup-champion Los Angeles will probably be locks for the playoffs, just looking at their roster. Though Vancouver will have tougher competition in the division this year, they are still good enough to make the playoffs regardless.
While at least three teams that did not make the playoffs last year are looking improved, the teams that did make the Western Conference have not dropped off a cliff. If anything, the west will be tighter and wins will be harder to come by, to say nothing about the playoffs.
It's your say:
Who makes the playoffs after missing this year? Who falls out of the playoffs? 
Colorado Avalanche Blogger • 
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