Follow @SMaloughney Welcome back for part two of my Pacific Division breakdown. In the first group we looked at the Ducks, Coyotes, Flames, and Oilers and listed reasons for and against each team making the playoffs. Grab a coffee, double check to see if your boss is paying attention and let's get to it.
LA KINGS WHY THEY WILL MAKE IT It's funny how quickly we forget. The Kings had a couple of rough years with some bad luck mixed in and suddenly people seemed shocked when a team with Drew Doughty, Jonathan Quick, and Anze Kopitar made the playoffs. The skill does not stop there, Jeff Carter missed almost all of last season and will be back in the lineup to start the season. The Kings ended up being the winners in the Kovalchuk sweepstakes 2.0 and are expecting him to bring his goal scoring ways. Doughty gets all the attention from outside media but Jake Muzzin is a fantastic player in his own right. The Kings have a strong group and has one of the most veteran cores in the league.
WHY THEY WON'T They have one of the most veteran cores in the league. Seriously, go and look at the ages of the Kings top players as well as how long they are signed for. I would not want to be the next General Manager in LA. On top of that, a big part of the success of the Kings last year came from a number of players having career years they are not likely to repeat. Kopitar is an elite player but he shot 17.5% last season. Dustin Brown, who has averaged less than 30 points the past 5 seasons had 62 points. The age and history of these players expect a harsh fall back to earth.
SAN JOSE SHARKS
WHY THEY WILL MAKE IT Umm because I'm going to have a hard time trying to write a "why they won't."
The Sharks are my only lock for the playoffs in the Pacific. With the departure of Marleau and Thornton beginning all of his stories with "back in my day," I expected the Sharks to enter a stage of rebuilding. Doug Wilson had other ideas in mind and has effectively changed the dynamic of this roster without sacrificing the here and now.
From top to bottom the Sharks are a good team. A combination of proven high end producers like Pavelski, Couture, and Kane up front and the likes of Burns and Vlasic on the back end along with a secondary group of guys like Meier, Donskoi, Karlsson, Ryan, and Braun. Throw in Martin Jones for good measure and this team stacks up pretty darn good.
WHY THEY WON'T Injuries is really all I have to say here. Logan Couture has missed plenty of hockey throughout his professional career, and Thornton played barely over a half season last year. A serious injury to a top pairing defender like Burns or a starting goaltender like Martin Jones could be catastrophic but one could say that to any team.
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
WHY THEY WILL MAKE IT
The NHL passes a vote making it illegal for any team not named Vancouver to make the playoffs.
WHY THEY WO....
Okay fine I'll play nice.
Truly, I don't mean to rag on the Canucks as much as I do. The Canucks find themselves in a similar position to the Oilers of the early 2010's; a team with some exciting young talent but does not have the ability to shelter or develop them due to a lack of proven veteran skill.
Elias Pettersson, drafted 5th overall in 2017 should make his NHL debut and pundits are already talking about him winning the Calder. Petterson coming in will give the Canucks a boost of offense and add to an exciting mix of players like Horvat and Boeser. Young players like Virtanen and Baertschi could take massive steps forward and the likes of Eriksson and Sutter regain their prior form. Throw in a Vezina worthy performance from Markstrom and the Canucks making the playoffs would become the story of the NHL.
BUT SERIOUSLY HERE IS WHY THEY WON'T
Too many holes in too many positions. The future is exciting in Vancouver and I believe this team could be playoff bound in the next 2-3 years. In the meantime there will be hiccups, lapses and mistakes made when rookies and second year players are the leaders of your team. The Canucks will likely find themselves in lottery contention this season and have the chance to add another player to their growing young core. VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
WHY THEY WILL MAKE IT
Because it is folly to bet against the Golden Knights. I bet against them before last year started, throughout the season, and all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. The Golden Knights inaugural season wasn't just the best story in hockey; it was the best story in sports. Fleury is the obvious first player to discuss. What he accomplished in the post season was the largest factor in their miraculous run. Fleury will be back between the pipes and hopefully will not miss any time like he was forced to last year.
Few teams can hope to come together like this rag-tag team did. Marchessault and Reilly Smith were two parts of one of the best lines in hockey (nice going Florida) and William Karlsson who's previous career high was 25 points scored 43 goals last year. Derek Engelland turned out to be a guy who could play 20 minutes a night, Colin Miller scored 41 points on the backend.... I could go on about every player on this roster.
WHY THEY WON'T Lightning doesn't strike the same place twice... right? This is the narrative for the Golden Knights this year, "can they do it again." With a whole new level of expectations on this roster, things become much tougher. Karlsson signed a one year deal because even his GM isn't certain he can do it again. Prior players who played key roles like Perron and James Neal are gone.
Add to this the issues surrounding key defenseman Nate Schmidt. Schmidt was a key player in the top four and will miss the first 20 games of the season for violating the leagues Substance Abuse Regulations. The Golden Knights need to find a way to hit the ground running and a slow start could kill their season before October is done.