New group of challengers await Golden Knights

WESTERN CONFERENCE

LOS ANGELES — The Vegas Golden Knights established a blueprint for how to run an expansion team, becoming a huge box-office draw while they shocked the hockey world and reached the Stanley Cup Final. Now, what do they do for an encore?

Their path won’t be easy. The West became tougher when the San Jose Sharks, loading up for a Cup run, acquired defenseman Erik Karlsson from Ottawa. The Kings signed freeagent winger Ilya Kovalchuk, who has been out of the NHL since 2013, in hopes he can score enough to support their solid defense.

Two young teams are looking to make turnarounds. The Edmonton Oilers, a flop last season despite the exploits of NHL scoring leader Connor McDavid, need help on defense but figure to be better than 12th in the conference. And the young Arizona Coyotes might finally have the legs and skill to challenge for a playoff spot.

Here are the big questions in the Western Conference leading into the season:

They won’t have the element of surprise, and they’ll start without steadfast defenseman Nate Schmidt, who was suspended by the NHL for the first 20 games of the season for testing positive for a performanceenhancing substance. In addition, restricted free agent Shea Theodore missed most of camp before signing a new contract. On the plus side: They acquired left wing Max Pacioretty, who will replace departed free agent James Neal, and they signed playmaking center Paul Stastny. Their speed and scoring should keep them in the conference mix.

Adding an offense-oriented Norris Trophy winner to a group that includes Norris winner Brent Burns and shutdown specialist Marc-Edouard Vlasic makes the Sharks formidable. Tomas Hertl is coming off a career-best 22 goals, and Logan Couture, who signed an eight-year extension in July, had a career-best 34 goals last season. Winger Evander Kane had nine goals and 14 point in 17 games after San Jose acquired him from Buffalo and he fit in well. Joe Thornton, 39, didn’t play after he injured his knee in January but signed a one-year deal. He should help on the power play; anything beyond that would be a bonus.

A career-best season from Anze Kopitar (35 goals, 92 points), the revival of Dustin Brown (from 14 goals to 28, Among the new players on the Golden Knights are left wing Max Pacioretty, center, and center Paul Stastny, right. They join returning defenseman Shea Theodore, left. with 61 points) and Jonathan Quick’s Jennings Trophywinning season got them a first-round playoff exit. No more excuses for Tanner Pearson (15 goals), Tyler Toffoli (six goals after the All-Star game) or Adrian Kempe (no goals in his last

33 games, including playoffs). The Kings are gambling Kovalchuk can score 25 goals in a league that’s faster and younger than when he left. If he can’t make big contributions they’ll struggle, but having a healthy Jeff Carter is an immediate improvement.