BOLD PREDICTIONS PART 4- PACIFIC

Evan Davis, Jared Rotenberg, Mario Russo

In our fourth and final segment of DSN’s bold predictions, a trio of writers take turns pitching their predictions for each of the remaining eight NHL teams in the series. Russo, Rotenberg and Davis highlight each squad’s strengths and weaknesses so far this season, making the games to come that much more memorable.

Has the Crown Been Restored?

The LA Kings somehow currently sit 2nd in the Pacific Division, three points back of Calgary. It’s a huge turnaround for the Kings given the fact they had a top seven pick in last year's draft. The Kings were very active in the offseason, trading two draft picks for Victor Arviddson and signing shut down center Philip Danault to a six-year deal. Todd Mcclellan has this team playing a different way since the calendar flipped to 2022, with the most notable change being that reimagined second line, consisting of Trevor Moore, Philip Danualt, and Viktor Arviddson. Since Jan. 1st, the line has combined for 55 points and has an overall +/- rating of +37. With the trade deadline looming around, Jakob Chychrun is a name that has been floating around within the Kings organization given the lack of depth they have at defense with injuries to Sean Walker and Alex Edler. The Kings are consistently ranked as the #2 prospect pool so it is interesting to see the identity of this team moving forward. I do have them making the playoffs as a top three team in the division given how weak the Pacific is, but I do see them losing in the first round to either Vegas or Calgary.

It’s Knight Time

The Golden Knights have been ridiculed with injuries since the start of the regular season, yet they are still 3rd in the Pacific Division given how weak it is. Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty have each played less than 30 games this season, Alec Martinez has only played 11 games this season, William Karlsson has only played 37 games this season. Even Robin Lehner has missed significant time with injury. It’s safe to say that this hasn’t been the most ideal season for the Golden Knights. They have finally been able to get a taste of newly acquired All Star center Jack Eichel, who has three points in four games this season. The Golden Knights do have the third easiest schedule moving forward, which helps the team immensely given that Max Pacioretty and Evgeni Dadanov left last night's game vs Arizona with injuries. It feels like a wasted season for Vegas, but as long as you make the playoffs, you have a chance. If the Golden Knights are fully healthy going into the playoffs, I can see them going all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.

Edmonton Oilers - Oil Spill

The Edmonton Oilers currently have two of the top three scorers in the NHL, with superstars Connor McDavid (73 points in 50 games) and Leon Draisaitl (73 points in 51 games) consistently leading the charge in the league’s point scoring race. Still the Oilers are just barely clinging onto the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference. Despite their star power upfront, it is quite obvious by anyone even slightly knowledgeable on the sport of hockey the reason as to the Oilers struggles. Depth-scoring, defense, and goaltending. Those simple three factors, and more so, the Oilers lack of them, have created a top-heavy team that is incredibly flawed, and impossible to bet on for that simple reason. Even though they have made the playoffs in the last few seasons, they have a shocking lack of playoff success based on their talent level, and these factors are to blame for that. A terrible offseason by General Manager Ken Holland only made the Edmonton Oilers problems worse, as he avoided adding a goalie, instead opting to acquire aging defenseman Duncan Keith, and Cody Ceci. There were goaltenders on the market last offseason, including Marc-Andre Fleury, who ended up being shipped off for a prospect, but instead of doing this, Ken Holland decided to spend his money in other places, and he is feeling the consequences of that decision. The one good offseason addition he made is winger Zach Hyman, who definitely improved their forward core, however, one expensive forward, and a pair of aging defenseman was not nearly enough to make the Oilers competitive, and it's simple to see why. The blame does ultimately go to the GM for the moves he has made since running this franchise, however, considering he was only signed in 2019, and as well based on the fact that he is currently their President of Hockey Operations, it is hard to imagine he will be fired. That is, however, unless my bold prediction ultimately comes true, and the Edmonton Oilers do in fact miss the playoffs, which is what I believe will end up happening. If they do ultimately miss the playoffs, this will most definitely fall in the hands of General Manager Ken Holland. It is quite simply a shame that two of the best players in the world right now may end up on the outside looking in, however, it is a real possibility that this may happen, all the more evidence that managerial changes may be coming. It is my belief that this utter disaster of a season will leave them searching for an alternative option to guide their franchise towards the future.

Calgary Flames - On Fire

The Calgary Flames are in a completely different situation than their Alberta counterpart, as they have been essentially unstoppable all season long. Phenomenal seasons from Johnny Gaudreau (64 points in 50 games), Matthew Tkachuk (56 points in 50 games) and a great defensive style of play, you can see what makes the Flames so dangerous to play against. Top that off with a Vezina-caliber season from Jacob Markstrom, and it is clear that the Flames just may be a team destined for greatness. Despite their amazing season this year, they are still somewhat of an intriguing team and difficult team to measure when trying to predict how they will do in the postseason, this being because they missed the playoffs entirely last season, and in general have been a first round exit in their last three playoff series, being bounced out in the first round in seven of their last eight playoff series. History aside, they are a team that has been playing a very strong defensive game, which is something you need come playoff time, a huge argument in their favour to be a team capable of making playoff noise. For this reason, as long as they can continue getting amazing play in net from goaltender Jacob Markstrom, great offensive production, and strong defensive play from their players, while also avoiding a matchup with the Vegas Golden Knights or Colorado Avalanche, I see no reason why the Calgary Flames can’t make do come playoff time. I ultimately have them winning at least a playoff round, and even contending for a spot in the Western Conference Finals, purely dependent on who they have to play. The Flames are exactly the type of team that tends to succeed in the NHL playoffs, and with the way they are playing, winning a playoff round is something that they should be very capable of doing, leading to my prediction. I do think the top dogs in the Western Conference will ultimately be too strong for the Flames to really go on a run deeper than this. However, if there is any team in the Western Conference that I can see pulling off an upset against these heavy favourites, it would be the Calgary Flames, and I could definitely see them at the very least pushing either of these teams to the brink of elimination. With their shutdown style, and coach Darryl Sutter behind the bench ensuring that they work hard each and every night, doubting the Calgary Flames is something that I am very much struggling to do.

Seattle Krak'en The Top Pick in the Draft

You wanna know what the hardest thing on planet earth is? Standing in the sunset and trying to match the size of your own shadow. Now that I got you embarrassing yourself in the middle of your driveway, you now know exactly how it’s felt to be the Seattle Kraken all season long. Being the leagues 32nd and newest franchise, Ron Francis and the Kraken have struggled mightily in trying to live up to their predecessors in the novel Vegas Golden Knight. Debuting in the summer of 2017, the city of Vegas built up an average lineup from the expansion draft, and sprinkled in some much needed salt and pepper through their offseason acquisitions in Mark Stone, Shea Theodore and Max Pacioretty to name a few. With full knowledge of what the Golden Knights did in their respective expansion year, Ron Francis took a page out of the Vegas sports book and tore it into a thousand pieces, passing up on numerous NHL stars such as Vladimir Tarasenko, Taylor Hall and even Jonathan Quick (who recently joined the top five in goaltender wins by an American born player). A distastorious summer headed even more south during the regular season, with the team failing to post wins and in many cases have been a losing bet on a nightly basis. The only silver lining lying deep in the Seattle coastline is the team obtaining the number one pick in this year’s NHL draft. Expect projected first-overall pick Shane Wright to become a staple in the Kraken’s lineup next season, while Seattle recovers from a cruel summer the year prior.

Meier Fires 100th Point

Very few players have resembled the consistency of Timo Meier this season, especially when you factor in the talent he’s been playing with all year long. Meier has been the shiniest pebble on San Jose’s beach this season, a team that has really struggled as the tide of the season moved along. The Sharks exceeded expectations throughout the opening months of the regular season, finishing three games over .500 by the end of November. The Sharks have spent brief stints sitting atop the open pacific division every now and then this season, but as soon as the weather cooled down, so too did the production from this group. Timo Meier- in his most noble attempts- has tried to revive the team as they now sit on the outside looking in towards the postseason picture. With the playoffs becoming less of a certainty with every loss, the only element of the Sharks game that will never skip a beat is Timo Meier finding the scoresheet. Already with 52 points on the ledger, expect the 25-year old to shatter his previous career high (66 points) and hit the 100 point mark. Despite this being one of the series' boldest predictions to date, Meier’s season is shaping out to be one of the grandest breakout years in recent memory.

The Ducks Miss Out on the Postseason by a Matter of Points

When unpacking the Anaheim Ducks, everything up till now has been a success story that very few expected heading into the year. The word “playoffs” never made its way around the hockey world, nor did the possibility of Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras breaking the 70 point mark cross any minds. If you were to tell me the Ducks would be sitting higher than the Winnipeg Jets heading into March I would label you as crazy and not come within six meters or your delusional mind. Yet at the time of writing, Anaheim is in a position to challenge team’s holding either a playoff spot in the division or through a wild card. Regardless, the postseason ticket is in their hands, with the only thing left to do is punching it and locking down a postseason spot. Unfortunately, you can expect to see the Ducks infamous division rivals in the Edmonton Oilers take the final playoff spot from the Ducks, leaving the team on the outside looking in by just a matter of points.

Vancouver Loses some Big Pieces

If you like rollercoasters and wild rides, try walking in the shoes of the Vancouver Canucks over the last calendar year. Following a pandemic plagued condensed season last year, the Canucks opened up the 2021-22 season with very little success and a lot of angry fans. With the names of GM Jim Benning and head coach Travis Green both becoming entangled with nasty swears, the team decided to move on and replace the verbal diarrhea at Rogers Arena with verbal praise in the “bruce there it is” chant. Since Bruce Boudreau took over the ship, he has steered the team away from troubled waters, highlighting his debut with seven straight wins. Since Boudreau’s historic start with the club, the Canucks have come back down to earth and brought a pair of names with them that could very likely be trade bait come the trade deadline. One of the names that has popped up numerous times in trade talks is J.T Miller- a versatile forward that is under contract both this season and next. The 28-year old leads the Canucks in points this season and is a driving force on the teams top line. Miller alongside teammate Brock Boeser are both up for grabs, with the latter being a free agent this upcoming season. Trading one or even both of these players will show which direction Jim Rutherford wishes to take this group going forward. You can expect to see one gone at the deadline, and the other following suit this upcoming summer.