3. Minnesota Wild

They might not be worthy of a three-seed, but no team in northwest is really worthy of a three-seed—the Wild just have the best team in the northwest. Minnesota lost two of their top four scorers in the offseason, not a great way to go into the next season.

There is also lots of confusion as to whether Marian Gaborik will be around after this season. But the Wild still have one of the best goalies in the NHL in Niklas Backstrom and a great young backup in Josh Harding.

The Wild’s defense is a great blend of youth and experience with tons of scoring power. Brent Burns had a great fourth year in the NHL finishing with 43 points while playing in all 82 games—look for the young defenseman to improve upon those numbers this season.

4. San Jose Sharks

They will certainly give Anaheim a run for their money in the Pacific division. The reason they might not win the division is due to a couple of factors. Evgeni Nabakov might not be as good this year—more than likely, he will not be. The same defense in not in front of him.

Losing Brian Campbell, even though he was only in San Jose for roughly 30 games, is a big loss. The Sharks were 16-2-2 in 20 regular season games with Campbell in the lineup. Dan Boyle is a good attempt at a replacement, but Campbell could play both offense and defense, whereas Boyle was -29 last year with Tampa Bay.

Also, Jonathan Cheechoo needs to “show up” this year if the Sharks want to win the Pacific.

5. Dallas Stars

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