Like OP alluded to, the biggest question mark going into the season for me is goaltending. Smith stood on his head for the first half of the season and we didn't build any kind of a lead in points in a pretty weak division.
I am unsure if Smith can even repeat his stat-line from last year, let alone be better. However, what gives me hope is that I think Rittich is going to be a solid backup (compared to Lack, who was a mess) and having him for a whole year playing 20-25 games is going to help Smith a lot too. I think our forward depth improved significantly and I don't think we took that big of a hit, if any, on defence.
My projections:
SJ
Calgary
Vegas
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Edmonton
LA
Arizona
Vancouver
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