It is probably the most "in-flux" division in Hockey and yet its teams possess some of the best records of all divisions in the NHL in the last decade.
Every team can be looked at from a different angle and every fanbase in this division is VASTLY different from each other.
These Kings have won 2 Cups in 4 years and could win 3 in 5. Or they could fall out of the playoffs.
These Ducks have done everything BUT win a Stanley Cup and their talent level continues to increase.
The Sharks missed the playoffs last season for the first time in a few years, but have a new coach, new goalie, and are still stacked.
The Canucks weren't suppose to be a playoff team last year in the incredibly hard West, and yet a new coach and revival from some stars found them back in the dance. But they have done very little to improve.
The Flames over-performed and showed incredible resilience while proving they were ahead of schedule again by making the playoffs last year...and they really are only starting to come into their own.
The Oilers have continually been the benefactor of the best talent on the planet, added a new front office, a new goalie, a new "next one," and still sent Darnell Nurse to the farm...when most expected to see him help the Oilers' uncertainty on the blue-line.
Perhaps the only team with certainty is the Arizona Coyotes...who have bottomed out but only after years of incredible over achievement amidst intense uncertainty regarding their existence. They are in the rebuild. They are the team most likely to land Arizona native Auston Matthews....that is unless Edmonton is in the lottery again....
Also please be sure to enter your team for another season of the HockeyBuzz Super League Fantasy Game! Sign ups are locked Oct 7th.
Sign up here: HBSL sign up
It's the best fantasy game every created. Of course, we're a little biased. The HBSL is a hybrid between a salary cap game and a head-to-head fantasy game. Each week you create your 20 man roster based on the $71.4M NHL salary cap and the actual salary cap hits. You then face-off with a fellow hockey fan. At the end of the regular season, we throw the best 128 teams into a 7-week playoff.
There is a Season Ticket Holder bracket and a Free bracket.
HBSL STH Bracket Entrants who were season ticket holders at the start of the NHL season are eligible for the following prizes:
Grand Prize: HDTV Runner-up: Replica Stanley Cup Semi-Finals Losers: Customized NHL Jersey Quarter-Finals Losers: HockeyBuzz Shirt & $25 Amazon.com Gift Card
HBSL Free Bracket Entrants that were NOT season ticket holders at the start of the NHL season are eligible for the following prizes:
Grand Prize: Customized NHL Jersey Runner-up: HockeyBuzz Shirt & $25 Amazon.com Gift Card Semi-Finals & Quarter-Finals Losers: HockeyBuzz Shirt
Good luck! HBSL sign up
We will discuss all this division and fan expectations and much more on today's Buzzcast at 1pm ET