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Todd Cordell
I think San Jose will win the division. They have essentially the same roster as the one they went to the Stanley Cup with. If anything, this year's team has more talent. Mikkel Boedker isn't a great 5 v 5 player but he is strong on the PP, an area San Jose already excelled in, and has a history with Pete DeBoer (he coached him in junior) so I think the Sharks will get the most out of Boedker. They also replaced Roman Polak, one of the worst players on their roster, with a solid possession driving defenseman in David Schlemko. As long as Martin Jones provides at least average goaltending, which he surely will, I see no reason why San Jose can't win the division by at least a handful of points.
San Jose
Los Angeles - I think they're a little top heavy but their top guys in Anze Kopitar, Tyler Toffoli, Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin and co. are spectacular.
Calgary - Sam Bennett is going to have an awesome year and Brian Elliott/Chad Johnson will provide them the quality goaltending they desperately needed.
Anaheim - They are somewhat shallow up front, and the loss of Bruce Boudreau will hurt, but they still have Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. They also have an extremely deep and talented blue line headlined by Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen.
Edmonton - Connor McDavid will lead the league in scoring but I'm not sure he can single handedly get the Oilers into the playoffs in a tough conference.
Arizona - They are heading in the right direction but won't take a huge step forward this year, I don't think.
Vancouver - Loui Eriksson will help the Canucks but I don't see them competing for anything other than the 1st overall pick.
Jason Lewis
Anaheim
Why? Because they are the roster with the least amount of question marks? If they get good years from Perry and Getzlaf, Rakell, and guys like Silfverberg or Ritchie, they have a really really good defense and a decent goaltender. That doesn't mean their roster doesn't have question marks. However, with LA facing a little bit of transition, San Jose facing the shortest offseason in recorded history for them (And several aging players in the world cup no less), and teams like Edmonton/Calgary not QUITE there yet...Anaheim is probably the team that does it for me. It will be extremely tight though.
Anaheim
Los Angeles
San Jose
Edmonton (Playoff team)
Calgary
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Arizona
Vancouver
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