Talking About the Pacific Division

[djsFlames]

Father time is also going to hit LA right in their adult diapers soon too. They'd better hope Kovy gives them enough of a boost to make noise in the next year or two cause the outlook looks precarious after that.

That team is the present day iteration of the 2007-2009 Flames. Hell they even have Phaneuf.

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by d_phaneuf

Obviously not going to be a popular opinion here but I think they are a bit of a post hype sleeper

Strong goaltending

I think figuring out RNH with mcdavid and draisaitl on the 2nd line makes them a lot stronger on both of the top 2 lines. Rattie and Rieder arent great players but are good enough to contribute a bit as those right wings, if yamamoto makes the team, it would be probably on the 2nd line and his playmaking should help drai, so one of rattie or rieder improve the bottom 6

They will have the best 1st line in the division, 2nd line should be above average and they just need to tread water on the bottom 6.

Defense doesn't have a superstar, but nurse looks to finally be showing what got him picked that high, sekera, larsson, klefbom are all very dependable 2nd pairing guys.

Thinks like the PK which crushed them last year are improvable and pk save percentage which is super variable from year to year shouldnt be anywhere near as bad

I get what you are saying, but their first line put up tons of point last year as well. I could be wrong but hoping Yamamoto is the key to give them two lines of offense is a pretty big ask. Between that and a normalized PK, it still may be a difficult task to make up the 18 points they were short of the WC, let alone divisional seed.

[Dan403]

1) San Jose
2) Calgary

Anaheim
LA
Vegas


6) Arizona
7) Edmonton
8) Vancouver

[jlh2640]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Actually the Kings by most measures are a great team to predict in sliding. They were average in possession, scoring chance splits, terrible WAR team, almost all advanced stats say they got away with murder last year.

Plus gettin older with little cap room

[TheIronMaiden]

Originally Posted by d_phaneuf

Obviously not going to be a popular opinion here but I think they are a bit of a post hype sleeper

Strong goaltending

I think figuring out RNH with mcdavid and draisaitl on the 2nd line makes them a lot stronger on both of the top 2 lines. Rattie and Rieder arent great players but are good enough to contribute a bit as those right wings, if yamamoto makes the team, it would be probably on the 2nd line and his playmaking should help drai, so one of rattie or rieder improve the bottom 6

They will have the best 1st line in the division, 2nd line should be above average and they just need to tread water on the bottom 6.

Defense doesn't have a superstar, but nurse looks to finally be showing what got him picked that high, sekera, larsson, klefbom are all very dependable 2nd pairing guys.

Thinks like the PK which crushed them last year are improvable and pk save percentage which is super variable from year to year shouldnt be anywhere near as bad

Interesting, Goal tending for me is the biggest question mark. Talbot has to have a good year if they are to succeed. You make a good point about improvements to their special teams. that was a huge problem, and if it is fixed than they are likely to do better. Still, depth is an issue for the oilers. A lack of backup goal tending will hurt them. Also, a sketchy third pairing will wear the top pairing defence out down the stretch. I just don't see the Oilers being any sort of threat in the playoffs. That said, they will likely compete for a wild card spot and have a fair shot at making it.

[Corral]

It is an annual tradition for CP to predict the demise of California. This has yet to be realized, and likely never will. Those teams generally draft well and always have first pick at FAs because of location. They will each have the odd bad year, but collectively one or more of them will always be contending. Can probably add Vegas to that list now.

[Robbob]

Originally Posted by jlh2640

Plus gettin older with little cap room

Plus my money is on Brown not to repeating what he did last year. Those 61 points were a new career high, eclipsing his previous best season back in 2007-08 by 1 point.

[Mattman]

1) Vegas
- They, once again, prove everyone wrong and have another insane year, and are Pacific champs again.
2) San Jose
- Out for blood and still a very competitive team. Jones carries them.
3) Calgary
- The have success early on and grind it out to place 3rd in the Pacific.

4) Anaheim
- The team that once dominated the Pacific struggles to get in, potentially in a wild card.

5) Edmonton
- To their credit the don't totally suck, but they suck enough to enjoy 5th in the Pacific.
6) Los Angeles
- An aging roster, they end up having team issues either with injuries or managment. Looking to blow it up.
7) Arizona
-They are on the right track with the new team, but still missing some leadership and fail to beat put the teams above them.
8) Vancouver
-If isn't Edmonton...

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by d_phaneuf

Obviously not going to be a popular opinion here but I think they are a bit of a post hype sleeper

Strong goaltending

I think figuring out RNH with mcdavid and draisaitl on the 2nd line makes them a lot stronger on both of the top 2 lines. Rattie and Rieder arent great players but are good enough to contribute a bit as those right wings, if yamamoto makes the team, it would be probably on the 2nd line and his playmaking should help drai, so one of rattie or rieder improve the bottom 6

They will have the best 1st line in the division, 2nd line should be above average and they just need to tread water on the bottom 6.

Defense doesn't have a superstar, but nurse looks to finally be showing what got him picked that high, sekera, larsson, klefbom are all very dependable 2nd pairing guys.

Thinks like the PK which crushed them last year are improvable and pk save percentage which is super variable from year to year shouldnt be anywhere near as bad

Really if you took McDavid away does their roster look markedly better than the Canucks from top to bottom? After RNH and Draisaitl their forward depth drops off a cliff. Their blue line is below average as a group. Lots of 2nd and 3rd pairing guys but not a true 1st pairing defender. The only reason they made the playoffs a couple of seasons ago was because Talbot was saving their bacon night after night and when he stopped stealing games they were no better than the Canucks for a lot of last season. I'm willing to bet Talbot improves but that won't be enough as he needs to go back to stealing games for them and if McDavid for whatever reason misses more than ten games to injury you can stick a fork in them. They very well may hover around a playoff spot for a lot of the season but an awful lot has to go right for them just to hang around in the 6-10 area of the conference as this is not a roster that can afford any key players underachieving or missing considerable time. Doesn't sound like the kind of team I would rank as upper echelon in any Division.

[Erick Estrada]

For me I'm not going to get overly invested in offseason moves as we have seen teams like the Flames have great looking off-seasons only to disappoint on the ice. Lots of variables with the Flames from new coaching to new players so I think they have the most potential to make a big move up the standings but I'll remain cautious.

Sharks
Ducks
Knights
Flames
Kings
Oilers
Coyotes
Canucks

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by d_phaneuf

Thinks like the PK which crushed them last year are improvable and pk save percentage which is super variable from year to year shouldnt be anywhere near as bad

As crazy as the PK was last season (1st in road PK, Historically bad home PK), it wasn't what hurt the Oilers the most. The difference between The Oilers and the median PK goals against was 8.

The PP was what buried the Oilers. They were 30th in PP % and 30th in PP opportunities. Their 31 PP goals was the worst in Oilers history. Worse than all the last place teams and worse than the 12/13 Oilers that only played 48 games.

The Oilers were -29 in goal differential last year, and were 21 goals behind the median number of PP goals scored. Even with all of the regressions and goalie trouble, the Oilers still may have been in spitting distance of the playoffs with a league average PP.

I'm not sure I agree with Talbot being the biggest wildcard in the division either. He's had 5 years in the league. 4 of them have been average to above average.

Even if you ignore his time with the Rangers, he's had two seasons as the Oilers starter with a good enough save %, versus one below average season.

I don't see it being unrealistic to expect some kind of bounce back closer to his career norms.

[Fire]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

The PP was what buried the Oilers. They were 30th in PP % and 30th in PP opportunities. Their 31 PP goals was the worst in Oilers history. Worse than all the last place teams and worse than the 12/13 Oilers that only played 48 games.

Don't worry. They hired a PP specialist in Gulutzan to right the ship.

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by Fire

Don't worry. They hired a PP specialist in Gulutzan to right the ship.

Is he bad at coaching a PP? Flames were top ten in 16/17.

I kind of lean towards the PP being 50% talent and 50% randomness.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

I kind of lean towards the PP being 50% talent and 50% randomness.

Flames had that versteeg/gaudreau combination the previous year which for whatever reason worked well.

With how static the approach and personnel choices on the pp were here last season after versteeg went down, despite minimal to no results, it wouldn't shock me if GG shared your view on special teams.

All I can say is... have fun with that.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

Is he bad at coaching a PP?

How much do you think player movement, one-time shots, variety, adjustments, and cross-ice passes contribute to a solid PP? Because GG thinks those don't matter.

[tfi racing]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

For me I'm not going to get overly invested in offseason moves as we have seen teams like the Flames have great looking off-seasons only to disappoint on the ice. Lots of variables with the Flames from new coaching to new players so I think they have the most potential to make a big move up the standings but I'll remain cautious.

Sharks
Ducks
Knights
Flames
Kings
Oilers
Coyotes
Canucks

Looks and sounds realistic, I will go with the same prediction as last season(I was not even close) Flames will barely squeak into the playoffs, win one game in the series,be eliminated and be back on the golf course early spring as usual.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by d_phaneuf

3 tiers

Anaheim
SJ
Edmonton

LA
Calgary
Vegas

Arizona
Vancouver

Calgary has improved their roster from last season
Edmonton is even at best

Calgary finished higher than Edmonton last year...Anything is possible but to have them on different tiers? Something tells me you are just trying to get a rise

[Kickazzflames]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Calgary has improved their roster from last season
Edmonton is even at best

Calgary finished higher than Edmonton last year...Anything is possible but to have them on different tiers? Something tells me you are just trying to get a rise

Well yeah, the Oilers solved their goaltending, defense and winger depth issues this off season. Right?

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

As crazy as the PK was last season (1st in road PK, Historically bad home PK), it wasn't what hurt the Oilers the most. The difference between The Oilers and the median PK goals against was 8.

The PP was what buried the Oilers. They were 30th in PP % and 30th in PP opportunities. Their 31 PP goals was the worst in Oilers history. Worse than all the last place teams and worse than the 12/13 Oilers that only played 48 games.

The Oilers were -29 in goal differential last year, and were 21 goals behind the median number of PP goals scored. Even with all of the regressions and goalie trouble, the Oilers still may have been in spitting distance of the playoffs with a league average PP.

I'm not sure I agree with Talbot being the biggest wildcard in the division either. He's had 5 years in the league. 4 of them have been average to above average.

Even if you ignore his time with the Rangers, he's had two seasons as the Oilers starter with a good enough save %, versus one below average season.

I don't see it being unrealistic to expect some kind of bounce back closer to his career norms.

Edmonton doesn't have the personal to have two pp's let alone a top 6. on top of that they've got maybe one blueliner who I think would be a decent pp guy in Klefbom.


I would fully expect that the Oilers will have a dreadful special teams next year, mainly due to a lack of talent.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Calgary has improved their roster from last season
Edmonton is even at best

How is Edmonton decent, their top 6 outside of Draisaitl and McDavid is dreadful. Their bottom 6 is worse then Calgary's based on the fact that Calgary has a semblance of a competent third line, Their blueline is miles behind the Flames even with the trade of Hamilton, its not even close. Talbot is probably the better goaltender, though I've been told by experts that it can take years to recover from shell shock, which Talbot suffered from last year.

Originally Posted by dino7c

Calgary finished higher than Edmonton last year...Anything is possible but to have them on different tiers? Something tells me you are just trying to get a rise

Calgary finished ahead of the Oilers last year and most years in modern history, I'll give you the fact that a couple of years ago the Oilers finished ahead in a season where everything went right, they pretty much had career years from everyone and the NHL gave them a butter soft schedule. So based on that result and that the Oilers slid back to the mean, and they couldn't even surpass a Flames team that had major injuries to their starting goaltender top line center and second line LW'er among other things, and Calgary has improved their roster while Edmonton added some random hot garbage in Reider and Brodziak has every atom in my being and my eternal soul screaming that yes, Calgary is on a different tier, and Edmonton is the Snoke of this division. Like Snoke they think they're all powerful and oh so smart. Like Snoke they wear a ridiculous and ugly wardrobe. And like Snoke, they are this divisions red shirts, and in line for an ugly result.