How Will The Pacific Shake Down?

Everyone has their own predictions.  It's important to realize that the following slideshow is my take on the pacific division.  These predictions should be taken with a grain of salt.  Hopefully I am somewhat on the mark with my slides here.  Looking at the pacific I see two or three playoff teams.  Take a look at the following slides to see who I think the cellar dwellers will be, and who the top dog will be. 

Over the last few seasons we have seen the pacific division become so much more competitive.  I, like you, am looking forward to seeing how this season will pan out for my team (Los Angeles Kings).  From my perspective as a Kings fan, I see a division that will be highly competitive night in and night out.  So without further ado, let's take a look at my season breakdown for each team in the Pacific.

No. 5 -- Dallas Stars

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DALLAS - APRIL 08: Mike Modano and the Dallas Stars celebrate a win against the Anaheim Ducks at American Airlines Center on April 8, 2010 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

The Dallas Stars are my pick for the basement in the Pacific Division.  I see the Stars as a hybrid team right now.  Their management department is trying to decide whether to blow up and start a complete rebuild, or just keep tweaking.  In my opinion, it won't take long before the Stars realize that they are in need of a full rebuild.  I don't even think that they will finish as high as last season to be honest.  When it comes down to it, Marty Turco will be missed.  It will be up to Kari Lehtonen to stay healthy and prove that he is the great goalie that got him drafted so high.

Can we really expect Brad Richards to perform as well as he did last year?  I don't think so.  He is the Stars' best player and he had a great season last year.  If the Stars are to move up in the conference, they need Richards to put up more than the 91 points that he did this past year. 

2010/2011 Record -- W: 36 L: 38 OTL: 8

Points: 80

No. 4 -- Anaheim Ducks

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ANAHEIM, CA - APRIL 02: (L-R) Teemu Sealanne #8, Saku Koivu #11, Corey Perry #10 and Lubomir Visnovsky #17 of the Anaheim Ducks celebrate Selanne's 602nd career goal in the second period against the Vancouver Canucks at the Honda Center on April 2, 2010

The Anaheim Ducks are an interesting team right now.  Over the last two seasons, they have lost their best two D-men.  That is not an easy blow to take for any team.  Right now I don't see the Ducks as having a strong enough defense to make it into the playoffs.  There is no doubt that Jonas Hiller is a great goalie, but he needs a better blue line in front of him.  The forwards of the Ducks are good, but they aren't deep.  They are far from the team that won the Stanley Cup a few short years ago.  The key to their success next year is staying healthy.  This past year they were beat up.  Another key move will be the signing of Bobby Ryan.  If the Ducks want to have any chance this year, they will need him signed. 

Looking at the Ducks, I just don't see them finishing any better than they did last year. 

2010/2011 Record -- W: 39 L: 34 OTL: 9

Points:  87

No. 3 -- Phoenix Coyotes

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GLENDALE, AZ - APRIL 27: Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov #30 of the Phoenix Coyotes before Game Seven of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Detroit Red Wings during the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Jobing.com Arena on April 27, 2010 in Glenda

The Coyotes live and die with the play of Ilya Bryzgalov.  He is their best player on a nightly basis.  I feel that the Coyotes could make the playoffs this year.  They are a bubble team.  I don't think that any hockey fan or writer is thinking that the Coyotes are going to have a repeat performance of last year.  It was a Cinderella story.  That being said, they are not a bad team.  I love the addition of Ray Whitney.  The problem with the Coyotes is their financial situation.  They are a team that will be competitive with the lowest salary cap hit possible.  It's really quite remarkable.

So where do the Coyotes finish this year?  I think they will be 3rd in the Pacific.

2010/2011 Record -- W: 43  L: 29  OTL: 10

Points: 96

No. 2 -- Los Angeles Kings

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VANCOUVER, CANADA - APRIL 23: Goalie Erik Ersberg #31 of the Los Angeles Kings fails to stop the shot of Mikael Samuelsson #26 of the Vancouver Canucks during the third period in Game Five of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2010 NHL Stanl

Had you asked me would win the division a couple of weeks ago, I would have said Los Angeles.  I think that the Kings have a powerful young core that will be great for years to come.  They also have the goaltender of the future coming in this year.  They are a team that will be feared with names like Kopitar, Doughty and Brown.  The problem that changed my opinion was the signing of Antti Niemi in San Jose.  I will get to that in the next slide.  While I don't feel that they will win the division, I do feel like they will improve on last year's performance.  The playoff loss to Vancouver taught the young core a lot more than meets the eye.  They are only a year or two away from being an elite team in the NHL.  I wouldn't be surprised to see Los Angeles win the division and conference two or three years from now. 

Dean Lombardi has done a great job of building a great core without having cap problems.  He has got to be in the running for GM of the year when the Kings do make that next step. 

2010/2011 Record -- W: 49  L: 26  OTL: 7

Points: 105

No. 1 -- San Jose Sharks

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CHICAGO - MAY 23: (2nd R) Patrick Marleau #12 of the San Jose Sharks celebrates his second period goal with teammates Marc-Edouard Vlasic #44, Joe Pavelski #8 and Rob Blake #4 while taking on the Chicago Blackhawks in Game Four of the Western Conference

The San Jose Sharks have sustained some great losses this offseason.  The loss of Evgeni Nabokov is probably the most notable.  Captain Rob Blake retired as well.  While I think all of these losses hurt, the Sharks are far too powerful to let them effect the team too much.  I don't believe that the Sharks will win first in the conference, but I do believe they will win the division. 

I was a little unsure of the Sharks goaltending situation until Niemi signed.  He is a proven Stanley Cup winning goaltender that will surely help the Sharks this year.  Perhaps less is more.  While Evgeni Nabokov is probably the more proven option, Niemi will bring something new to the team's locker room.  Could this be the year that the Sharks take it to the next level?  Only time will tell.  Look for the Sharks to win the division this year. 

2010/2011 Record -- W: 50  L: 24  OTL: 8

Points: 108