NHL Northwest Division Offseason Report Card (Part One)

It's the duty of every general manager to make the moves that he believes will push his team to the next level during the offseason. GMs have the June Draft, the July 1 Free Agent period, and the following few months to make adjustments before training camp opens. 

Of all the NHL divisions this offseason, the Northwest is poised to see the greatest shakeup in standings compared to last year's final point totals—thanks to not only moves that were made, but those that were not made during the offseason. 

The Edmonton Oilers, while failing to land a big-name free agent despite throwing huge amounts of money around, have still made some impressive moves to bolster an already up-and-coming lineup, while the Vancouver Canucks look to be chasing the Leafs for the draft lottery next June.  

Let's have a look at the offseason moves, and what they will likely mean for each respective team:

Calgary Flames

The Flames have the luxury of having a great core of top-notch players, but are facing the same problem that has handcuffed Tampa Bay—huge sums of money committed to a few players.  

The Flames have some of the best goaltenders, defensemen and goal scorers in the league, but once again failed to live up to fan expectations last year. One must question if they have made enough offseason moves to change their fortunes. 

Adding Mike Cammalleri will likely help, but his production will only replace the talented and departed Kristian Huselius.  The departure of Alex Tanguay to the Montreal Canadiens will further hinder an already goal-challenged offense. 

Edmonton's loss is Calgary's gain, as the addition of Curtis Glencross will fit into the aggressive checking style the Flames have built their team around. And Todd Bertuzzi will replace the hole left by Minnesota's signing of Owen Nolan. 

Still, the Flames likely have taken a step backwards in the offseason with the departure of Huselius and Tanguay, and are hindered by the salary cap from making any major additions that could push them over the top.

With limited young talent in their farm system, the Flames likely have peaked in their progress and will face another year of underperforming expectations. 

Prediction: Third in the division, eighth in the conference.  First-round playoff elimination.  93 points.

Vancouver Canucks

Say what you will about the Canucks—the one-time jewel of the Northwest Division and perennial Cup contender—but one can't help now but to think they are trying to take over from the Toronto Maple Leafs in the most inept management department. starting with the hiring of a GM who has no experience and is disliked around the league by other general managers, thanks to his aggressive tactics as a player agent. 

Being a Vancouver fan right now isn't easy—and with the departure of pretty well all of their key nucleus players aside from the twins, Vancouver is a skeleton of the mighty team they were only a few seasons ago, when things looked so bright with the arrival of Roberto Luongo.   

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?