2011 NHL Western Conference Preview: Los Angeles Kings Ready To Begin New Reign
With the NHL season around the corner, it's time to preview the season—particularly the Western Conference and its looming young juggernaut, the Los Angeles Kings.
The NHL is beginning to gain more popularity with each passing season since the 2003-04 lockout. The 2010 NHL playoffs were a thrilling two months of exciting hockey, with many historic moments. Philadelphia's come from behind series win vs. Boston after losing the first three games, was a monumental comeback, and the Flyers continued their success all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Awaiting the Flyers were the Chicago Blackhawks, a talented young team, almost certainly about to begin a Chicago sports dynasty.
The celebration in Chicago was immense, ending the franchise's 48-year championship drought was a great joy to the city, but the enthusiasm was short lived.
The boundaries of the salary cap forced the Blackhawks to trade away many key components to their Cup-winning roster. Important players such as forward Kris Versteeg and starting goalie Antti Niemi found new homes this offseason, and now the Hawks must once again discover their team identity, and prove the core guys who remained are good enough to defend their title.
The Los Angeles Kings are the new young team ready to fulfill their potential.
Like Chicago last season, this year the expectations are as high as they've ever been in Los Angeles.
The Kings have a difficult task of winning over NHL fans, and making their mark in their own city, one known for its basketball glory and baseball history.
This is a challenge for which the Kings are ready.
Central Division
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Finally beating your nemesis is so rewarding in sports, and Chicago fans have seen their teams overcome rivals who were much more experienced and ready to win at the highest level.
When Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls finally beat the Detroit Pistons to march on to the NBA Finals, a changing of the guard impacted the NBA. The Bulls became the perennial power.
Last season, the Chicago Blackhawks overcame 2009's frustration, and finally advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Detroit and Chicago are once again the favorites in the Central division, but the Nashville Predators are a dangerous team.
Nashville earned 100 points last season, but that was only good enough for third place in one of the league's most competitive divisions.
The other two teams in the central are sure to be better as well.
St. Louis acquired last season's breakout goalie Jaroslav Halak from Montreal, and the Columbus Blue Jackets have added some nice young draft picks to help elite winger Rick Nash.
The Central division will be the most competitive division in the NHL in 2011, and there are three teams who could easily win it.
5. Columbus Blue Jackets
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Columbus tasted the playoffs for the first time in 2009. The Blue Jackets are one of the NHL's newest teams, and last season was supposed to be a year they built in the success they had in 2009, but for many reasons, 2010 was a season to forget in Columbus.
Goalie Steve Mason was the foundation of the Jackets' 2009 playoff team, but his fundamentals and mental toughness let him down last season, as he was unable to rise to the expectations set high from '09.
Mason is the most important player to the Jackets' success this season, and the confidence shown in him by the front office is a good sign. Last month, the Columbus management gave him a two-year contract extension worth $5.8 million.
After firing Ken Hitchcock, the Blue Jackets played better, and Mason was especially good, posting a 2.56 GAA, and a .923 save percentage in the latter part of the season.
A mix of great young talent and superstar Rick Nash could make Columbus the most improved team in the Western conference this season. The Blue Jackets won't make the playoffs, but the important task for the Jackets this season is to improve and grow as much as possible.
4. Nashville Predators
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The Nashville Predators have not completed the most difficult phase for a young team, going from a competitive team to a real contender.
Despite a solid squad, Nashville's special teams play prevents the squad from becoming a very dangerous team. In 2010, the Preds had the 24th ranked powerplay, and the 28th ranked penalty kill.
Youngster Colin Wilson is a fine young player, and he will play a bigger role this season helping the offense, which looks helpless at times during the season.
Defensive stalwart and Olympic gold medal winner for Team Canada, Shea Weber, will provide a solid rock on defense, and is one of the most respected players in the NHL. Look for Weber to become a top five defenseman this season.
Nashville is a good team, but the lack of offensive firepower and a strong goalie will prevent them from making a deep run in the playoffs, but they will make the playoffs, likely as seventh or eighth seed.
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3. St. Louis Blues
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The Blues have only themselves to blame for their failure to reach the playoffs in 2010. St. Louis was shockingly bad on its home ice, and many key offensive players underachieved.
St. Louis will correct its mistakes in 2011, and newly acquired goaltender Jaroslav Halak will give the Blues an elite netminder they have not had in quite some time.
Halak was the key part of Montreal's run to the Eastern Conference finals last season, yet the Canadiens were surprisingly willing to part ways with Halak, and the Blues smartly swooped in and got their man.
While Halak will help St. Louis' defense, the offensive firepower must be found if the Blues are to compete in the West.
Forwards David Backes and Brad Boyes scored 64 goals combined in 2009, but together scored an embarrassing 21 goals last season. Rekindling the offensive touch of two seasons ago is crucial to the Blues, because their defense is improving to the point where scoring just one or two goals will be enough ti win games.
Erik Johnson is the MVP of the Blues, and at just 22 years old, he has yet to enter his prime. With a great performance for Team USA at the 2010 Winter Olympics, Johnson shook off the notion he was not a big game player.
Erik is ready to be the leader in St. Louis, who could be the breakout team in the NHL this year.
2. Detroit Red Wings
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The Detroit Red Wings are the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA. A veteran team who has won everything, and has been playing with each other for many years.
People will be quick to write off Detroit this season, but the Red Wings finished 2010 strong after an injury-decimated season.
The Wings are gushing with playoff experience, but their most important player is not blessed with great experience, goaltender Jimmy Howard.
Howard was one of the bright sports at Joe Louis Arena last season, Howard gave the Wings a reliable goalie to keep the defense from breaking as it tried to survive long stretches missing key players to injury.
The Red Wings are coached by one of the best in the world, Mike Babcock, who led Team Canada to Olympic gold this past February.
Detroit has many important players on the wrong side of age 30, but only injuries to important players will prevent them from making the Western Conference Finals at minimum.
1. Chicago Blackhawks
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The Blackhawks ended 48 years of playoff failures in 2010, by winning the Stanley Cup in overtime of Game 6 versus the Philadelphia Flyers.
After the celebrations, the reality of the burden imposed by the NHL salary cap became apparent.
Chicago was well over the cap to begin the summer, and as a result, needed to trade or release key members of its Stanley Cup winning roster.
The remaining players still on the Blackhawks' roster did not just lose teammates, but really good friends, and building the team chemistry that benefited them so much last season will be a difficult task.
Luckily for the Hawks, the core group of their best players are all returning, including captain Jonathan Toews, superstar winger Patrick Kane, All-Star winger Marian Hossa, and reigning James Norris trophy winner Duncan Keith.
Starting goalie Antti Niemi was a victim of the salary cap constriction that plagued Chicago's summer, and his replacement Marty Turco will need to prove he can be a big game player.
Turco will be supported by one of the best defensive pairings in hockey, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, a partnership that was instrumental to Canada's gold medal triumph this year.
The Blackhawks will not be able to rely on the depth they enjoyed last season, but they did not lose any of their top players, and still boast two or three of the best lines in hockey.
Chicago are Stanley Cup champions and the cream of the crop in the West, until beaten.
Pacific Division
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The San Jose Sharks have owned the Pacific division for several years. The Sharks are a great regular season team, but cannot find the same success in the postseason. In 2010, the Sharks finally won a playoff round, in fact they won two, before falling to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western finals.
Evgeni Nabokov was given the majority of the blame for this past season's failures, and was not re-signed, settling for a return to Russia.
Anttie Niemi, the Stanley Cup winning goalie with Chicago last year, is Nabokov's replacement, and while he might not be an upgrade in talent over Niemi, perhaps a change of personnel is simply what the Sharks need.
The upstart team in the NHL is the Los Angeles Kings. Young stars Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty are two of the finest players in the NHL.
Jonathan Quick emerged as a great goaltender in 2010, and his improvement is crucial to L.A.'s success.
Last season's great story was the Phoenix Coyotes rise to NHL prominence. Being run by the NHL due to a complicated ownership situation, the Coyotes were one of the most improved teams in the NHL last season.
The Ducks and the Stars round out the rest of the Pacific, and while the Ducks have the talent needed for a playoff push, the Stars are an almost certain lottery lock.
5. Dallas Stars
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The Dallas Stars are a sure bet to picking in the lottery at the 2011 NHL Draft. Void of great offensive talent, the Stars are set for a very disappointing season.
The icon of the Stars, the man who led them to a Stanley Cup title, Mike Modano, has left to play in Detroit.
The Stars do have quality players, Brad Richards and Brendan Morrow are good offensive players, but their best years have most likely been played. The future of the team is very young and inexperienced.
General manager Joe Nieuwendyk wisely decided to not re-sign veteran players and build toward the future. The process will be painful for Stars fans, but it's better than attempting to squeeze every drop of greatness from veterans way past their primes.
Dallas won't contend in 2011, but there are plenty of young players who will play lots of minutes to prove their worth going forward.
4. Phoenix Coyotes
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The biggest problem in Phoenix the last few seasons is still an issue in 2011, the uncertainty regarding the team's ownership.
On the ice last season, Phoenix overachieved to a fourth-seeded finish in the Western Conference.
After losing their top defenseman and third leading scorer, Zbynek Michalek and Matthew Lombardi respectively, the unquestioned MVP of the Coyotes is goalie Ilya Bryzgalov.
Phoenix's waiver wire pickup elevated the Coyotes to a team record 42 wins, while posting a 2.29 GAA and a .920 save percentage.
Vancouver's Henrik Sedin was the Hart Trophy winner as the league's MVP, but there is little debate Bryzgalov was the man most important to his team in 2010.
Expectations are unusually high in Arizona, and with key losses, and the uncertainty of players duplicating career seasons, Phoenix is unlikely to replicate its 2010 success.
3. Anaheim Ducks
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The Anaheim Ducks need to mature as a team and individually to be successful in 2011. The 2007 Stanley Cup champions have plenty of offensive firepower, but will suffer defensively.
In addition to their defensive woes, the Ducks boast some of the worst special teams play in the NHL.
Anaheim needs to become more disciplined, making the playoffs is difficult when you are third in the league in penalty minutes.
The defense has been obliterated by trades, and retirement, only making matters worse. All-time player and team captain Scott Niedermeyer retired this summer, ending his storied career.
This season is the most important for Ducks' superstar Ryan Getzlaf. After an injury plagued 2010 season, Getzlaf looks to stay healthy for a full season. When fully healthy, few payers can physically dominate a game like Getzlaf does.
Young forwards Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry will make the Ducks a high scoring team, but their defensive inabilities will ultimately keep them from earning a playoff spot in 2011.
2. San Jose Sharks
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After relinquishing the captaincy before last season, Patrick Marleau performed to a career best in 2010. Marleau's career high in goals and shots taken were an example of a change in attitude in San Jose.
Year after year of playoff disasters made many players look themselves in the eye, and become more aggressive and assertive.
This change in play paid off to a degree, as the Sharks were able to make the Western finals, but lost to the Chicago Blackhawks.
San Jose cut its losses by letting go of free-agent goalie Evgeni Nabokov, and replaced him with last year's Stanley Cup winning goalie Antti Niemi from Chicago.
A change of personnel may be all San Jose needs to get over the hill, because the current core of stars did not have the ability to get to the Cup Finals.
Pay close attention to Joe Thornton this season. Labeled as a poor playoff performer his whole career, Joe shredded his poor postseason reputation with a great series versus the Detroit Red Wings in the west semifinals last year.
Has Joe Thornton finally transformed into a player who can deliver in the playoffs? For the Sharks, all of the answers to their questions won't be answered until May, because the regular season means nothing for them.
The Sharks must win now, because their stars are getting older and hope is running dry in San Jose.
1. Los Angeles Kings
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Los Angeles is a basketball town. The successes of the Lakers and UCLA have Los Angeles sports fans in basketball heaven. The Los Angeles Kings are ready to turn the Staples Center into the home of the best Western Conference teams in the NBA and NHL.
The Kings are solid in every area, and their defense is led by exceptional goalie Jonathan Quick, and future Norris trophy winner Drew Doughty.
Before Bobby Orr won his first of eight Norris trophies as the leagues best defenseman, his opponents knew they better win it soon or they never would.
Doughty's time to become the best NHL defenseman is now, and his stellar play for Team Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics proved he could handle big pressure moments.
The offense is led by superstar center Anze Kopitar. Kopitar is a big, gifted skater, with exceptional passing and shooting skills. He's an all-around stud, and will continue to raise his game in 2011.
After significant improvements for many young players, the Kings must prove they are serious about contending at a championship level.
Making the playoffs last season for the first time since 2002 rejuvenated the Kings' fan base, but anything less than the conference finals is a failure.
Winning the Stanley Cup is not must for 2011, but having a shot at lifting in it in late May, is a very attainable goal for team with the most potential in NHL.
Northwest Division
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The Vancouver Canucks are the class of the Northwest division, and Canada's best hope to return the Stanley Cup back to hockey's birthplace.
The last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup was the 1993 Montreal Canadiens, but the Canucks could end the drought in 2011.
The rest of the division is quite weak, and there are no real contenders who are going to be playing into late May.
However, several Northwest teams may be only be a few years away from competing.
The Edmonton Oilers are one of those teams. The Oilers used their first overall selection in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft to pick Taylor Hall.
The Oilers have a solid young core, and while the playoffs are at least year away, visions of Edmonton's glory days are reappearing in the minds of their fans.
5. Minnesota Wild
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The Minnesota Wild have little talent, and will find scoring goals difficult. Marion Gaborik's absence on the top line was a bigger loss than most anticipated, and even after a month and half, the 2010 season was over for the Wild by the start of the new year.
Mikko Koivu is the best player on the Wild, and improved his offensive game tremendously last season. Already a solid defender, Koivu had 71 points last year, with 49 assists and a career high 22 goals.
If Minnesota's teammates raise their games this season, Mikko could see his stats be far better than his career-high setting numbers in 2010.
Coach Todd Richards knows the style of play he wants the Wild to run, one offensively minded.
Unfortunately, he does not have the talent and physicality to get much results, but any improvement or breakout performers will rekindle hope for playoff hockey in Minnesota.
4. Edmonton Oilers
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The Edmonton Oilers' poor 2010 season was rewarded with the top selection in the 2010 NHL Draft.The Oilers chose winger Taylor Hall, who will be the cornerstone of the future Oiler teams.
Other talented young players like Sam Gagner, and Jordan Eberle are giving Oilers fans a lot of hope for an improved season.
Edmonton won't be able to promise their fans wins in 2011, but they will be exciting to watch and pay with bundles of energy.
Veteran goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin will give a young team leadership and Stanley Cup winning experience, if he stays healthy. Any greatness he has left in his career will make the Oilers competitive in the West, but not a playoff team.
The playoffs are still a year away, but the Oilers will play an exciting brand of hockey, and could surprise many if not taken seriously.
3. Calgary Flames
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The Calgary Flames are one the most frustrating teams in the NHL. For years they have been a very talented team, with many fans waiting for them to become an elite team. Unfortunately that window of opportunity has passed, and it may be time to rebuild.
Captain Jarome Iginla, one of the NHL's best players for a decade, is winding down in terms of production. In the last three seasons, Iginla's point totals dropped 29 points, from 98 to 69.
The Flames are blessed with one of the finest goaltenders in the world, Mikka Kiprusoff, and without Mikka, the rebuilding process likely would have already begun.
Kiprusoff started 73 games last season, way too many for a player on a team with high playoff hopes. The lack of a quality back up will hurt Mikka's stamina come April, and may even prevent Calgary from making the playoffs.
The acquisition of top defenseman Jay Bouwmeester was an underwhelming event last season for the Flames.
Many NHL experts believe J-Bo still has lots of great seasons in him, and if the Flames are going to win games, their defense must play well, a responsibility sitting on Jay's shoulders.
The Flames are likely headed for a lottery pick season, and I hope they trade Jarome Iginla to a title contender, because he deserves it more than any veteran in the NHL. He is a class act, who has played at a high level for a decade, and he deserves his time at the pinnacle of the NHL.
2. Colorado Avalanche
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Not so long ago, the Avalanche were among the bottom feeders in the West, but with their young players improving at a more rapid rate than expected, the Avalanche are a good bet to return to the playoffs in 2011.
Craig Anderson is Colorado's goalie and MVP. An unknown player as a backup in Florida, Anderson's arrival in Denver gave the Avalanche stability between the pipes, and turned himself into an Olympic candidate.
If Peter Mueller can recover from head injuries which include a recent concussion, he can give a great boost to the Avs' second line. A change of scenery from Phoenix to Colorado proved helpful for Mueller, but his ability to stay on the ice is a serious question.
While having the same success as last season is unlikely, the Avalanche have enough offense to score, but their blue line play will be the difference.
This season Colorado will prove to the NHL if they are a team to be reckoned with for years to come, or a team still trying to see if it's good enough to compete.
1. Vancouver Canucks
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The NHL's MVP and leading scorer for 2010 was Canucks center Henrik Sedin, and he will need to continue his amazing production for Vancouver to become Stanley Cup contenders.
The pressure of bringing Canada's first Stanley Cup triumph in almost two decades could be an issue for the Canucks.
They are a team ready to challenge for the Cup, and the acquisitions of Dan Hamhuis and Keith Ballard will improve their defense, which has been hit with injuries recently.
Daniel Sedin and Ryan Kesler are top offensive players, and the Canucks should have no problem scoring goals.
The test for Vancouver, much like San Jose, is what will the team do come playoff time? Will it fold again, or will the Canucks play to their potential this season, and reach the Cup finals?
The talent is there, and franchise goalie Roberto Luongo is one of the best netminders in the NHL.
Vancouver can win the West, and the home ice that would come with the first seed could be the boost they need to make a deep playoff run.
It's a Wide Open Race for the Wild West!
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The Western conference has several teams many pundits are already penciling into the eight playoff spots, but last season taught us any team can surprise the league, and put together an amazing turnaround.
Will there be a new Phoenix Coyotes in 2011? A team that comes out of nowhere to finish in the top four.
The race for the Western title will be exciting to watch unfold, and winning the conference is often not a precursor to championship success.
Chicago finished as the second seed last season, and celebrated its first Stanley Cup triumph in 48 years.
The job of defending the title will be awfully difficult, and with the great amount of quality teams in the West, there will be no easy nights this season.
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