EHEC Season Preview - Pacific Division

[Jungle Cats]

Walla Walla, WA (ZP) - Continuing coverage of the 2014-15 EHEC Season and EHN's season preview as follows. Goal scoring totals are inflated for hype value. Get hype.



The Pacific Division

1) Arizona Coyotes
Last Two Seasons -
12/13 54 25 3 111 Lost in WCF
13/14 53 23 6 112 Lost in WCQF

The Coyotes, the one true towering juggernaut of the Western Conference, in an effort to bring even more fans into their tent, have re-branded themselves the 'Arizona' Coyotes. They needn't have bothered. The Coyotes are a big tent team now, and show no signs of letting up.

Keys to Success - As Roberto Luongo settles in for his first full season with the 'Yotes, the 35 year old netminder has to be among the most cup-hungry players in the league. The Coyotes' top three centres (M Richards, E Kane, J Staal) give them a strong core to build from on offense, and strong two-way wingers like Doan (going strong at 37), Connolly and Kartayev make the Coyotes a force to be reckoned with. On the blueline, Oliver Ekman-Larsson continues to grow into one of the top defenders in the game, and defensive specialists Alt and Quincy are meshed with offensive specialists Wideman and Kaberle. In the bottom half of the lineup, penalty killers and body smashers abound, and there's no real deficit anywhere on the roster.

Questions/Concerns - Lu, sorry bud, but until you win, you're not a winner. Prove me wrong, bucko.

Top Five Scorers
Richards (35+50)
Connolly (30+40)
Doan (35+35)
Kane (25+40)
Ekman-Larsson (15+50)

2) Los Angeles Kings
Last Two Seasons -
12/13 48 27 7 103 Lost in WCSF
13/14 47 30 5 99 Lost in WCQF

The LA Kings have been a model of consistency since the inception of EHEC, though last year they slipped below 100 points for the first time in 5 seasons. This last off-season saw the departure of Sidney Crosby, who was swapped to Tampa Bay for veteran defensive specialist Ryan Kesler and swingman Brent Burns. Burns, who had just finished his second tour with the Lightning, would have started his second tour with LA, but ended up a cap casualty as the Kings swapped him for depth and futures to Anaheim. That said, there's a remarkable amount of continuity with the Kings core, something that should bode well as the Kings look to return to the elite.

Keys to Success - As above, the core of the Kings remains the same: Jack Johnson, Paul Stastny, Dustin Brown, Andrew Ladd, Jon Merril and Steve Mason are all still here, and some of the newer pieces - Ceci, Kesler, Hoefflin - add depth in crucial areas. The Kings have depth all around, and two killer scoring lines.

Questions/Concerns - While not hugely concerning, given the rest of the roster, there is some room for improvement nearer the bottom of the depth chart, but the Kings are well stacked. The only person particularly concerned about the Kings is new coach Ron Hextall, who knows he's got a honeymoon period, but not much other slack on his leash.

Top Five Scorers-
Stastny (40+55)
Brown (35+45)
Perron (30+35)
Johnson (15+45)
Ceci (10+50)

3) Calgary Flames
Last Two Seasons -
12/13 53 23 6 112 Lost in SCF
13/14 53 25 4 110 Lost in WCSF

Rick 'Selke' Nash is a dynamite offensive force, a catalyst for change, electrified air and fire on a stick. Also particularly good? Alexander Ovechkin, Nash's new linemate. The two former Hart Trophy winners are the hydra at the heart of this year's model of the Calgary Flames, and good gravy that's exciting.

Keys to Success - Sam Gagner is a capable playmaker and an accomplished defensive player who looks to have the honour of centering the two superstars. If he's up to it, the Flames should score a lot of goals. If he's not, Jaden Schwartz will gladly do it. Or if Nash and Ovi want a center to themselves, that would also work. With that nastiness on offense, DiPietro in the pipes, and the wizened Scott Niedermayer on defense, there's not a lot not to like.

Questions/Concerns - There's not a lot of depth left on the Flames after this off-season, and while obviously there's a good support structure around Nash and Ovi, a prolonged absence for either would knock the Flames down a few pegs.

Top Five Scorers-
Nash (40+50)
Ovechkin (45+45)
Gagner (30+55)
Schwartz (25+35)
Niedermayer (10+50)

4) San Jose Sharks
Last Two Seasons -
12/13 51 24 7 109 Lost in WCQF
13/14 53 22 7 113 Lost in WCQF

Last year's Golden State Champs, the Sharks are still armed to contend for Californian Supremacy, though it's a hard road they're travellin'.

Keys to Success - Enter Ilya Kovalchuk. San Jose sees Ovi, Nash and Luongo incoming and goes Nuclear. Despite a down year with the Devils last season, few would argue that the 31 year old Kovalchuk isn't the pinnacle of modern weaponry, and he joins countryman Alex Radulov on the wing of Jumbo Joe Thornton, as quality a playmaker as they make 'em. The Sharks follow that trio with Getzlaf and Cogliano, and while their depth is not overwhelming, there are good role players all through the roster.

Questions/Concerns - Derek Forbort is the standout on the Sharks blueline, and while he did mail 50 points home last year, if you're looking for reasons why San Jose is ranked below LA, you're looking at the difference between Jack Johnson and Forbort. The goaltending platoon of Bernier and Pavelka should do the trick, but neither is a game stealer.

Top Five Scorers -
Kovalchuk (40+65)
Radulov (45+50)
Thornton (40+50)
Getzlaf (30+40)
Cogliano (30+35)

5) Edmonton Oilers
Last Two Seasons -
12/13 35 44 3 73 Did Not Qualify
13/14 42 35 5 89 Did Not Qualify

Dat big body presence. The Oilers have a lot going on in terms of truculence, pugnacity, active sticks, taking the body and winning those battles. Definitely not a team to take lightly on those long western road trips, and a team on the rise.

Keys to Success - Unterluggauer. Well, not really. But with Schenn, Summers, Chara and Trouba causing havoc on the back-end, a solid offensive showing by a puckmover like Unterluggauer could help the Oil get the most out of new acquisition Michael Frolík, a premium two-way forward looking to rebound after a lacklustre season with Vancouver.

Questions/Concerns - The Oilers have a lot of new faces on the team, players who were acquired halfway through the last campaign, and while an injection of talent that includes the likes of Vanek, Frolík, Kadri, Stoa, Bjugstad and Chara should always be a good thing, one hopes they'll be given enough time to gel. In the 'interesting' category - Marty Turco returns to contend for the starting position after a year in the phantom zone, the thirty nine year old 'tender has impressed thus far, and at the very worst should support young Cal Pickard and teach him a few things about life in the process, a la Tuesdays with Morrie.

Top Scorers -
Vanek (40+50)
Kadri (35+45)
Frolík (35+45)
Bjugstad (30+50)
Stoa (35+40)

6) Anaheim Ducks
Last Two Seaons
12/13 38 36 8 84 Lost in WCQF
13/14 40 32 10 90 Lost in WCF

Better than this ranking indicates, Ducks fly together. Anaheim doesn't have the same firepower as some of their division rivals, but there's a lot to like on a team that came within two games of the Finals.

Keys to Success - The Ducks will (and will have to) be stronger defensively this season, led by Brent Burns and Braydon Coburn on the blueline, and a host of strong defensive forwards through the bottom 9. Anaheim was a minus team last year despite their success, and not regressing to the mean starts with keeping the puck out and away from their own net. The Ducks plan to be stingier this year.

Questions/Concerns - It's entirely possible the Ducks will have some unforeseen issues with scoring - depth may have been sacrificed to even out the backend. A platoon of Dubnyk/Larsson is slightly below average in the Western Conference.

Top Five Scorers -
Zetterberg (40+40)
Cammalleri (35+40)
Namestnikov (30+40)
Teravainen (25+40)
Zherdev (25+30)

7) Vancouver Canucks
12/13 32 46 4 68 Did Not Qualify
13/14 26 49 7 59 Did Not Qualify

One expects the Canucks could not get tremendously worse, but the Pacific, on the whole, looks to have gotten a lot better. And while the Canucks have an eye on keeping pace a little better with their rivals, it's a tall order to fill.

Keys to Success - A quick return for Jordan Eberle will help Vancouver ice a reasonably deadly topline - and good performances out of fellow new acquisitions Ellis, Burmistrov and especially Vasilevski will go a long way toward getting the Canucks, if not out of the basement, into maybe a spear-closet or something.

Questions/Concerns - Vancouver's running a more 'old school' defensive group than most of the powers in the West - they've got stay-at-home guys and they've got powerplay specialists, and maximizing their skills while covering their deficiences will be an interesting balancing act. There's a bit of a gap in skill in the forward lines, but it could again come down to tactics.

Top Five Scorers -
Eberle (30+40)
Burmistrov (25+35)
Shroeder (25+35)
Ellis (15+45)
Forsberg (30+25)

[Calgary.Flames]

Toughest division in hockey.

[SharksGM]

I question your concerns, and furthermore heretofore and henceforth, verily and forsooth, suck it.

And for real, if Calgary and SJ's top scorers actually finish like that, how would the Flames make up a 30-40 difference in GF?

[AnaheimGM]

With the stupid ''Betman'' standing, it will be really difficult to get a playoff spot this year!

[Singin the BLUES]

Walla Walla, WA (ZP) - Continuing coverage of the 2014-15 EHEC Season and EHN's season preview as follows. Goal scoring totals are inflated for hype value. Get hype.

[Calgary.Flames]

And for real, if Calgary and SJ's top scorers actually finish like that, how would the Flames make up a 30-40 difference in GF?

Name's Boyle, Brian Boyle.