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A strong young core with solid veterans gives the Kings a chance to be dangerous in the West. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
Eastern Conference
Metropolitan
Carolina Hurricanes
New York Rangers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Atlantic
Florida Panthers
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs
Wild Cards
New York Islanders
Boston Bruins
The Eastern Conference feels like it’s ready for a playoff upheaval…but it’s not quite there yet. Pittsburgh, Boston and Washington are all aging, and the latter two have a bunch of key players missing the beginning of the season at the least. Thing is, they’re all still filled with talent, and what Boston may lack in offensive punch will be made up by new coach Jim Montgomery’s strong defensive style. The Panthers won the Presidents’ Trophy last season, but they’ve got a new coach in Paul Maurice and a new guy in Matthew Tkachuk to give them an edge.
The Lightning have been to three straight Stanley Cup Finals, and they’ve got to get tired at some point, right? We’ll see how they do losing a clutch player in Ondrej Palat and if others can step up. For those questions, Andrei Vasilevskiy answers a lot of them. If the Rangers improve their defense, they’re an even bigger threat to win the East. Meanwhile, Carolina looks beastly, and that’s not just because it added Brent Burns and his beard to the blue line. Yes, the Islanders are going to be back. Ilya Sorokin is a dynamite goaltender, there’s a new voice behind the bench in Lane Lambert, and the horrible luck they had with injuries and on offense is poised to flip.
Bubble Teams
The Capitals have all the spooky signs around them that things could be a bit more difficult this season. They might be without Nicklas Backstrom for a long time after hip surgery, and they’re starting the season without Tom Wilson and Carl Hagelin because of injuries. They severely lack quality depth, and any more injuries will really stress things out. Adding Darcy Kuemper in goal is a big upgrade, but I’m not sold on whether he’s enough to make up for the other questions. They’ll tussle with the Islanders and Bruins for the postseason and have to fend off Ottawa, Detroit and Buffalo, who should all be improved and will close the gap between the haves and the have-nots for the playoffs.
Western Conference
Central
Colorado Avalanche
Minnesota Wild
Pacific
Calgary Flames
Los Angeles Kings
Edmonton Oilers
Wild Cards
Nashville Predators
Vegas Golden Knights
If this seems a little too familiar, it is, and I apologize for being mostly unoriginal. The teams that made the postseason last year all either made improvements or kept the band together enough to have continued success. The cream that rises to the top here are the Avalanche, Oilers, Flames and Wild, and that’s great fun for everyone because they can all pair off and have a slobber-knocker of a series with lots of goals and punches alike. The Oilers may have solidified their goaltending, the Flames had a load of turnover but added plenty to make up for it, the Avalanche are the champs and strong, and the Wild are hungry to unseat them in the Central.
It’s the next four teams where it gets really interesting.
I’m buying the Kings making a big push up the board because they added Kevin Fiala for the offense, they’re deep on defense and have a healthy Drew Doughty, and goaltending should be steady. Nashville will have a healthy Juuse Saros back and a surprising attack on offense. The Blues have a pile of young guys making a leap but will need Jordan Binnington to get back to his 2019 form. The Golden Knights…I know it’s wild to pick them because they have so many issues, but the injury issues that plagued them into this season have to turn around, and Logan Thompson might just steal the starting job for years to come. I’m aware this is ripe for being a Freezing Cold Take later this season.
Bubble Teams
Being on the bubble in the West means your team is right there to take advantage of anyone’s misfortune. Dallas made the playoffs last season, but Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn have been coming back to earth for a couple of seasons, and what the heck are they going to do with Jason Robertson if they’re not going to pay him? Jake Oettinger could be the savior, but there are some uneasy feelings in Texas. The Canucks also have a lot of questions, but Bruce Boudreau had a serious positive influence on the team when he was brought in last season. But they’re thin in depth and need J.T. Miller to repeat the monster season he had and Elias Pettersson to shoot the puck more. Thatcher Demko calms it down in net, and that will go a long way.
– Joe Yerdon