NHL Pacific Division: State of Each Franchise This Season and Moving Forward

Last year, the Pacific Division proved to be the best in the NHL.

The San Jose Sharks led the way with 105 points and a second-place finish in the Western Conference, but the Anaheim Ducks, Phoenix Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings had brilliant seasons as well, all finishing seventh in the west with over 98 points.

The Dallas Stars were eliminated on the last day of the regular season, but still finished over .500 with 42 wins. They finished last in the Pacific, but with 95 points, they would've finished everywhere from fourth to as high as second in every other division.

Going into this season, the competition looked less even. This was largely due to three factors: the departure of franchise players in Phoenix (Ilya Bryzgalov) and Dallas (Brad Richards), the returning strength of last year's two top teams (San Jose and Anaheim) and the big additions made in L.A. (Mike Richards and Simon Gagne).

So far this season, every team is somewhere very different than where they were at this point last year. Some of the change is surprising, some is not and some is surprising many despite obvious warning signs.

Here is a look at the state of every franchise in the Pacific Division, both this season and beyond.

Anaheim Ducks

After winning the Stanley Cup in 2007, the Ducks began a steady decline. Their 110-point 2006-07 season was followed by 102-, 91- and 89-point campaigns.

Very few thought that Anaheim looked like a playoff team heading into last season. The Ducks turned a lot of heads, using a potent power play and multiple career years to finish with 47 wins and 99 points, good enough for fourth in the Western Conference.

Despite home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, Anaheim was thoroughly defeated by the Nashville Predators in six games.

Many thought that their playoff cameo was going to become a full-time role moving forward. The Ducks had the makings of a dangerous team: an elite top-six forward corps, big-time numbers from three blueliners and a young stud in net who was only going to get better and healthier.

But rather than contending for the Pacific Division crown this year, the Ducks have dropped straight to the cellar. They have won five of their last six games, but before that, were an NHL-worst 10-22-6.

Blame has bounced around. Bobby Ryan was the subject of many trade rumors early in the season, but he has been the Ducks' most consistent player five-on-five. Randy Carlyle was fired and replaced by the fired coach of a less flawed and therefore more underachieving team in Bruce Boudreau. Jonas Hiller and Ryan Getzlaf have both been questioned as competitors.

The fact is, this Anaheim team is more deeply flawed, and last year was a slight anomaly. Corey Perry had an MVP season. Lubomir Visnovsky played like it was 2005 and stayed healthy like he wasn't Lubomir Visnovsky. Tony Lydman was a plus-32 after never being over a plus-10 in 10 NHL seasons. They were 13-4 in overtime and shootouts.

With age, the injury problems that come with it, a defensively-challenged blue line and no scoring depth, a bad season was to be expected. Combine that with some subpar efforts from relied-upon sources and you have a mess.

Moving forward, Anaheim is in for some tough decisions. Their best player is still Teemu Selanne, and he will not be around much longer. Nor will Saku Koivu, Jason Blake, Visnovsky, George Parros, etc.

There is very little young talent, with only the disappointing-thus-far Cam Fowler looking like a potential franchise-changer.

As tough as it may be, Anaheim may have to rebuild. The only valuable chips they have are Getzlaf, Perry, Ryan and Hiller. While breaking up their core may be difficult, it appears to be the next step for a franchise that's never been happy with mediocrity.

Dallas Stars

In 25 seasons of existence, the Minnesota North Stars won two division titles. Five years after moving to Dallas, the Stars had already won their third division title and brought home the franchise's first and only Stanley Cup.

They continued to dominate the Pacific Division (under Ken Hitchcock and later Dave Tippett) until the Sharks took over over as the big boys five seasons ago. After 12 playoff appearances in their first 14 seasons in Dallas, the Stars have missed the party in four straight.

They came awfully close last year, but the loss of Brad Richards during the offseason seemingly took Dallas out of the picture. That is, seemingly to those who gave Richards too much credit and his teammates too little for Dallas' success.

Richards, who wasn't even the Stars' best forward last year, bolted for greener pastures. But the rest of Dallas' potent top six remained intact, and Michael Ryder was brought in to enhance the team speed and add a scoring threat.

The addition of Ryder, the maturation of Jamie Benn and the ever-brightening star of Loui Eriksson has Dallas as a much improved team five-on-five. Mike Ribiero, Brenden Morrow and Steve Ott provide leadership at forward to complement a veteran blue line.

Dallas' skater depth should be enough to keep them competitive, but it has been a career year from Kari Lehtonen that has the Stars sitting at 24-19-1.

That isn't to say that the Stars have the star power necessary to contend for a cup, nor that Brad Richards wouldn't give them just that. But those who thought Dallas was headed towards the cellar are biting their tongues.

Moving forward, the Stars are looking solid. Benn, Eriksson, Alex Goligoski and Lehtonen are guys to build around, and Dallas is a big-time center away from becoming a contender. But if Brad Richards didn't stay, how will a franchise in a hockey-indifferent city and climate attract this type of player?

Unless they can work out a trade that gets this team a leader in the middle, they will be a bubble team indefinitely.

Los Angeles Kings

From 2002-03 through 2008-09, the Kings averaged 78 points a season. During this time, however, they racked up a boatload of high draft picks, and in 2009-10, they took a quantum leap, finishing with 101 points.

The Kings entered last season looking to many like the new top dogs in the Pacific. With a blue line and goaltender rivaled by no other team in the division and a core of three-zone entering their prime, what wasn't to like?

Well, the Kings didn't quite have the size to dominate in front of the net or on the forecheck.

A trade-deadline acquisition of Dustin Penner was supposed to solve this, but did not. The Kings still finished with 99 points and competed valiantly with San Jose, but ultimately were bounced in the first round again.

Dean Lombardi looked at his team, and realized that they were simply not good enough to win a Stanley Cup. Like all the great GMs in this league, Lombardi didn't sit on what he had. He moved a future star in Brayden Schenn along with Wayne Simmonds, and brought in an elite forward to center the second line in Mike Richards.

Many people thought that this move, along with the Simon Gagne signing, made the Kings instant cup favorites. What these people failed to recognize is that L.A. still had a lack of punch on the wings and an even greater lack of forward depth.

While the defense is among the league's best and Jonathan Quick is probably the best goalie in the Western Conference, the offense is dead last in the NHL at this point. This has the Kings sitting at a pedestrian 22-15-9. The drop-off in record could be over-analyzed, but the real reason is essentially that L.A. is 3-5 in shootouts after going 10-2 last year.

What about Simon Gagne? Fine, he's a decent top-six winger, but does he play with the tenacity and grit of the departed Ryan Smyth? What about Mike Richards? Yeah, he improves the second line, but the loss of Simmonds and Michal Handzus has the forward depth looking thin.

It looks like Anze Kopitar and the defense will carry this team to the playoffs, but a Stanley Cup run is still a while away. While fans will claim this means the Mike Richards acquisition was a failed deal, Dean Lombardi knew exactly what he was doing.

While this team is still not the class of the Pacific Division, they have the young leadership on the ice (Kopitar, Quick, Drew Doughty) and the veteran leadership off of it (Darryl Sutter, Lombardi) to continue to build a team that could hoist a Stanley Cup within the next few seasons.

Phoenix Coyotes

The desert is not an ideal place to ice skate. Since moving from Winnipeg and changing their name 15 years ago, the Phoenix Coyotes have yet to win a playoff series.

A lack of fan support, owner support and inability to draw in free agency has led to a greatly ignored hockey team. Most things left on their own don't survive in the desert, but Dave Tippett has been a miracle worker since taking over for Wayne Gretzky at the helm.

Tippett has squeezed whatever he can out of his rosters. In 2009-10, Tippett coached a defensively-minded team that finished with 50 wins and 107 points despite an extreme lack of offense. With a weakened blue line the next year, Tippett emphasized the offensive end, leading his team to an increase in scoring, better faceoff numbers and a 99-point season.

Losing Ilya Bryzgalov would seemingly be too much for Tippett to handle. In fact, Mike Smith has been stellar in net for the Yotes in 2011-12, but it is the age of the roster and loss of Ed Jovanovski that may have finally done this team in.

Phoenix is 20-18-7, and while a return to the playoffs is still possible, the team is not controlling the game five-on-five like they have over the last couple seasons. Tippett may have another trick up his sleeve, but it is becoming quite clear that this franchise is not looking to make a move towards the division title, let alone the West's elite.

The future is tough to predict for Phoenix. A chance to move back to the relative oasis that is Winnipeg turned out to be nothing more than a mirage for the Coyotes, as the Thrashers provided the city with a better option.

Being stuck in the desert was already bad enough, but now the small fanbase can't even pretend their team wants them.

San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks are commonly thought of as a choking franchise. Yet what they should be thought of, first and foremost, is an ultra-successful expansion team. They have made the playoffs in 14 of their 19 seasons (including the last seven), and won at least one playoff series in 10 of those years.

The Sharks have also won the Pacific Division in each of the last four seasons. In the last two, they have gone to the conference finals twice. And while many predicted the Los Angeles Kings or Anaheim Ducks to unseat the Sharks this year, San Jose is still clearly the class of the division.

They have the best home record, road record and are plus-23 better than any other team in the Pacific. They are 25-12-5, and are at the top of the division both offensively and defensively.

The top six is among the NHL's elite as always. But Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau aren't accompanied by Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi this year, but rather Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture. While these guys do not have the physical attributes of the now-Minnesota Wild forwards, they have a nose for the puck, knack for scoring in all areas and commitment on defense that makes this Sharks top six scarier than ever.

The forward depth is much improved, with Michal Handzus facilitating a breakout season for Jamie McGinn on the third line, and Brad Winchester stabilizing the fourth line better than any Shark has for a while.

The blue line is also much improved. The addition of Brent Burns adds multiple elements to this team, giving the Sharks an elite shot from the point, a second D-man for the PP and an offensive guy to pair Marc-Edouard Vlasic with.

The Sharks' top four (rounded out by Dan Boyle and Douglas Murray) is now as dangerous as any in the league, and when you combine that fact with their improved consistency and depth at forward and their clutch goaltender (Antii Niemi), San Jose not only is looking for a fifth straight division title, but a first-ever Stanley Cup.

The Sharks stranglehold on the Pacific is sustainable. Not only do they have young stars like Burns, Pavelski, Couture and Vlasic, but they have a shrewd GM who won't be afraid to turn his current leaders (Thornton, Marleau, Boyle) into younger assets over the next few years.

In a salary-capped league where every team can rebuild in a hurry, the best way to maintain success is not through a young roster and a bunch of long contracts, but through relentless and insightful front-office work.

All-Division Franchise

Top Line: Patrick Marleau-Anze Kopitar-Bobby Ryan

Second Line: Luis Eriksson-Joe Thornton-Corey Perry

Third Line: Radim Vrbata-Mike Richards-Jamie Benn

Fourth Line: Teemu Selanne-Logan Couture-Joe Pavelski

Defensemen: Drew Doughty, Dan Boyle, Jack Johnson, Keith Yandle, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Marc-Edouard Vlasic

Goalies: Jonathan Quick, Antii Niemi

Head Coach: Dave Tippett

General Manager: Doug Wilson

Location: San Jose, California