In this edition of the hotstove we share our picks to finish atop the Western Conference in the regular season.
Todd Cordell: Anaheim Ducks The Ducks are the safe pick but I also think they're the right pick so I'm going to go with them.
They lost a couple notable players (Kyle Palmieri, Francois Beauchemin) but I really like the addition of Carl Hagelin. I thought Mike Santorelli was an underrated signing and Kevin Bieksa should be able to help, too.
I like both Frederik Andersen and John Gibson and think the latter is in line for a breakout year. I also expect Hampus Lindholm, Sami Vatanen, Rickard Rakell and their young players will continue to get better.
The Ducks always seem to finish near the top of the league and I don't see any reason why we should expect that to change this season.
Tim Chiasson: Anaheim Ducks The Ducks are even better entering 2015-2016 than they were for the 2014-2015 season when they finished with the first seed in the Western Conference.
Of the other teams that finished with at least 100 points in the West I think St. Louis took a step back, so did Chicago and definitely Vancouver. Minnesota and Nashville I don't think are good enough to topple the Ducks and the rest of the West is still too far off to really challenge Anaheim over 82 games.
They're a dangerous offensive team and they've got solid goaltending. I'm going with the Ducks to finish first in the West and finally get back to the Stanley Cup Finals as the West rep.
John Jaeckel: Anaheim Ducks Why? In broad terms, they were the second best team in the Western Conference last year. The team ahead of them probably got worse, and the Ducks appear to have slightly improved.
I like the addition of Carl Hagelin, and even Kevin Bieksa and Shane O’Brien as depth additions on defense. And this could be the year John Gibson steps up and emerges as one of the league’s leading netminders. Either way, between Gibson and Fredik Andersen, the Ducks are at least solid in net.
I’m not predicting a Cup for the Ducks, because like the Blues, I’m not sure their leadership chemistry (or in the Ducks’ case, coaching) is the best. But this roster should be good enough to capture the President’s Trophy this season.
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