Where team fits in against some of league’s elite
The forecast for the NHL’S realigned West Division doesn’t appear to be too complicated.
Three teams at the top fighting for first place, followed by five teams battling for the fourth and final playoff spot.
With the northern border closed to non-essential travel, the NHL created four new divisions — one with all seven Canadian teams, and three others with eight American teams each. So instead of being in the same division as Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, the Sharks now have Colorado, Minnesota and St. Louis to contend with, along with usual rivals Anaheim, Arizona, Los Angeles and Vegas.
Teams will play each other eight times for a 56game season that starts Wednesday and ends May 8.
The top four teams in each division make the playoffs. In the first round, the first-place finisher will play the fourth-place team, and No. 2 will face No. 3. The winner of those two series will play each other for the right to advance to the semifinals.
Here’s a look at the West Division, in predicted order of finish.
1. Colorado Avalanche
2019-2020 RECORD >> 42-2010, second in Central Division
COACH >> Jared Bednar, fifth season
LEADERS >> F Nathan Mackinnon, F Andre Burakovsky, D Cale Makar
TOP NEWCOMERS >> F Brandon Saad, D Devon Toews KEY DEPARTURES >> F Matt Nieto, F Colin Wilson, D Nikita Zadorov
ANALYSIS >> The Avalanche’s Stanley Cup window is wide open right now. General manager Joe Sakic was aggressive in the offseason, dealing for a top four defenseman in Toews and a scoring winger in Saad, adding to a core that includes a Hart Trophy candidate in Mackinnon and a likely future Norris Trophy winner in Makar. Goaltending might be the biggest question mark, but if Philipp Grubauer stays healthy, don’t be surprised to see the Avalanche win the division.
2. Vegas Golden Knights
2019-2020 record: 39-248, first in Pacific Division COACH >> Pete Deboer, second season
LEADERS >> F Mark Stone, F Max Pacioretty, D Shea Theodore, G Robin Lehner TOP NEWCOMER >> D Alex Pietrangelo
KEY DEPARTURES >> D Nate Schmidt, F Paul Stastny, F Cody Eakin
ANALYSIS >> It’s Stanley Cup or bust for the Golden Knights. They landed the offseason’s biggest free agent in Pietrangelo and kept playoff starter Lehner around on a long term deal. Schmidt and Stastny had to be traded for salary cap reasons, but that was the price Vegas was willing to pay to try and get over the hump. The Golden Knights are deep and well coached, and
appear to be a lock for the playoffs. But the only thing this team will be satisfied with will be a Stanley Cup.
3. St. Louis Blues
2019-2020 RECORD >> 42-1910, first in Central Division COACH >> Craig Berube, third season
LEADERS >> F Ryan O’reilly, F David Perron, F Brayden Schenn, F Jaden Schwartz TOP NEWCOMERS >> D Torey Krug, F Mike Hoffman, F Kyle Clifford, G Ville Husso KEY DEPARTURES >> D Alex Pietrangelo, F Alex Steen, D Jay Bouwmeester, ANALYSIS >> The Blues are still feeling the sting of their first-round playoff exit and are trying to use that as motivation for this season. As Pietrangelo was making his decision about where he wanted to play long term, St. Louis went out and signed Krug, arguably the secondbest UFA defenseman on the market. Still, a couple question marks remain about the
Blues — whether they can get the dangerous Vladimir Tarasenko back healthy and how their goaltending will perform. They should still comfortably make the playoffs.
4. Minnesota Wild
2019-2020 RECORD >> 35-277, sixth in Central Division COACH >> Dean Evason, second season
LEADERS >> F Kevin Fiala, D Ryan Suter, F Zach Parise, F Mats Zuccarello
TOP NEWCOMERS >> F Marcus Johannson, F Nick Bonino, F Kirill Kaprizov, G Cam Talbot
KEY DEPARTURES >> F Luke Kunin, F Eric Staal, G Devan Dubnyk, F Ryan Donato ANALYSIS >> Wild GM Bill Guerin shook things up after his team lost in the play-in round last summer. While some veterans like Johannson and Bonino were brought in to provide depth and leadership, the most tantalizing addition is former KHL star Kaprizov, who figures to give Minnesota some much-needed pizzazz on offense. The Wild does have question marks about its center depth, but should be in the mix for a playoff spot.
5. Arizona Coyotes
2019-2020 RECORD >> 33-29-8, fifth in Pacific Division COACH >> Rich Tocchet, fourth season
LEADERS >> F Nick Schmaltz, F Clayton Keller, F Phil Kessel, D Oliver Ekman-larsson, G Darcy Kuemper TOP NEWCOMERS >> F Tyler Pitlick, F Johan Larsson, F Derick Brassard, F Drake Caggiula
KEY DEPARTURES >> F Taylor Hall, F Derek Stepan, F Carl Soderberg
ANALYSIS >> The Coyotes have formed a certain identity under Tocchet and have made gradual improvements over the last three years. Two players from their top six forward group are gone in Hall and Stepan, but a solid core remains. Although the Coyotes might struggle to score goals at times, they have a goalie in Kuemper who has also proven he can be elite when he’s healthy. The Coyotes aren’t world-beaters by any stretch, but they might have enough to finish in the top four.
6. San Jose Sharks
2019-2020 RECORD >> 29-365, eighth in Pacific Division COACH >> Bob Boughner, second season
LEADERS >> F Logan Couture, F Tomas Hertl, D Erik Karlsson, D Brent Burns TOP NEWCOMERS >> G Devan Dubnyk, F Ryan Donato, F John Leonard
KEY DEPARTURES >> F Joe Thornton, F Melker Karlsson, G Aaron Dell ANALYSIS >> The Sharks will be in the mix for a playoff spot this season if they stay healthy, if their best players can once again be elite, if they commit to defending well as a team, if they get better goaltending and if they can survive a roadheavy start. That’s a lot of ifs, but the Sharks feel as through they’ve taken steps to correct what happened last season. Some young faces will have to be relied on as well to contribute, but a playoff spot isn’t out of the question.
7. Anaheim Ducks
2019-2020 RECORD >> 29-339, sixth in Pacific Division COACH >> Dallas Eakins, second season
LEADERS >> F Ryan Getzlaf, F Adam Henrique, D Cam Fowler, G John Gibson TOP NEWCOMERS >> D Kevin Shattenkirk, D Kodie Curran
KEY DEPARTURES >> F Ondrej Kase, D Erik Gudbranson ANALYSIS >> The Ducks expect to take a step forward this season and be in the mix for a playoff spot after they missed in 2019 and 2020. That might be wishful thinking on their part, at least for this season, but there should some excitement for the future. Forward Trevor Zegras and defenseman Jamie Drysdale have the potential to be stars in the NHL for a long time, and are just two of Anaheim’s promising prospects.