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Ranking The Pacific Divisions Offseason So Far |
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Instead of doing a prediction for the Pacific Division standings based on the moves that each team has made, I thought I would try something different and instead rank how successful of an offseason I believe each team has had, based on addressing their needs. This doesn't mean I think for example, Seattle will finish higher than the Golden Knights, just that the Kraken have made better adds and decisions so far in the off-season.
With that all being said, here are my rankings:
1) LA Kings
The Kings did not have an overly exciting first day of Free Agency, mainly bringing back players like Brendan Lemieux and Carl Grundstrom but bringing in a highly skilled player in Kevin Fiala without having to give up any roster players and subsequently signing him to a long term deal, gives the Kings the first place spot here. Fiala is only 25 years old and coming off of an 85 point season. The Kings needed to acquire an elite forward to help push them forward and they brought one in who is just entering the prime of his career. Add in a decent gamble on extending Kempe at 5.5 million on a four year deal and the Kings are setting themselves up nicely to compete for a playoff spot once more.
2) Edmonton Oilers
The pessimistic take on the Oilers offseason thus far would be they have not improved because they simply brought back players that were on the team last season. Looking deeper however, the Oilers were able to bring back two key pieces in Kane and Kulak on team friendly deals; especially compared to some of the signings around the NHL on Wednesday. Kulak in particular; a top four defenseman on a four year deal at under 3 million a year looks like the steal of the day.
Add onto that a good bet on Jack Campbell who has put up steady numbers throughout his career and will give Edmonton more or less the same performance every night, as opposed to the Jekyll and Hyde we saw regularly from Mike Smith. Holland brought these three pieces in at a total of 13 million a season, leaving the team with cap room to still make more adds.
3) Seattle Kraken
Again, this is where I need to note that I don't think Seattle is a playoff team yet. However, having Shane Wright fall to them, combined with adding a number of other talented prospects in the second round of the draft, and closing it out with a couple good free agent signings in Burakovsky and Justin Schultz has made this a more well rounded team that should on many nights look like they have the skill to challenge any team in the NHL. There is far more depth here than a year ago and if Ron Francis can still find a way to bring in someone like a John Klingberg I might have to rank this team higher.
4) San Jose Sharks
Rookie GM Mike Grier did a solid job at the NHL Draft, particularly in the trade which sent the 11th overall pick in exchange for a later first and two more 2nd round picks. Trading 23 year old John Leonard and a pick for more proven Luke Kunin was a good little trade as well. In Free Agency, adding Lindblom, former Flyer was an astute pickup and Nico Sturm is a solid depth player.
The best move of the day for the Sharks however is trading Brent Burns, giving the team more cap relief that will help in the rebuilding process the Sharks are going through.
5) Vancouver Canucks
This is where things start to get a little murkier in the Pacific. I really like the Canucks pick of Jonathan Lekkerimaki in the draft as I think Vancouver got an absolute sniper in this guy. In addition the Canucks won the sweepstakes for Russian forward Andrei Kuzmenko. Adding Ilya Mikheyev at 4.75 million a season for four seasons might be a little rich but if he can produce at a 20 goal pace over 82 games than that will be a solid addition.
The looming decision on J.T. Miller is what will either increase or decrease the Canucks stock in the standings here. It is no secret that Vancouver is searching for the best package to move Miller for but so far no trade has come to fruition. How Patrik Allvin handles that situation will be a huge factor in how the Canucks perform this season.
6) Anaheim Ducks
The direction of the Ducks still alludes me. There are some brilliant young players that they are building around in Zegras, Terry, Comtois, and Drysdale but it's clear their offseason remains a work in progress. Ryan Strome on a 5x5 deal gives the Ducks another legitimate NHL option, albeit a slightly overpaid one. Perhaps if Dylan Strome can be enticed to join his brother in California than the Ducks will look like a more threatening team. Anaheim has 30 million in expected cap space right now. Seeing how the team spends that money in the next few weeks will give us a better idea at what to expect.
7) Vegas Golden Knights
The Golden Knights continued their tradition of ruthlessly casting players aside, trading away Max Pacioretty for "future considerations" in order to free up more cap space. Vegas will still likely be a far better team than they were last season, barring another highly improbable run of key injuries and Bruce Cassidy is a far better coach than Peter DeBoer but in terms of offseason additions, the Vegas team has had a meh summer.
8) Calgary Flames
Lose your franchise player for nothing? Check. Lose him to a team that offered over 12 million less in total contract? Check. Lose him to a team that really isn't that close to his home... the reason he said he wanted to go to Free Agency? Check, check and check.
It's been an ugly 48 hours for the Calgary Flames and their fanbase. Gaudreau signing in Columbus of all places sent confused shockwaves across the NHL. The remainder of the Flames Free Agency consisted of signing fringe, depth players such as Kevin Rooney, Trevor Lewis, and Nicolas Meloche while bringing back veteran defender Nikita Zadorov on a 2 year deal worth 3.75 million a season.
Right now the team has over 18 million in cap space and are left with more questions than answers. Will they extend Tkachuk long term or will Brad Treliving decide now is the time to engage in a full rebuild and trade the physical winger for a hefty package. All in all it's unfortunate to see the Oilers divisional rival suffering so much after the Battle of Alberta was finally starting to become exciting again.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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