The 2022-23 NHL season is almost upon us. Soon, we will see the return of hockey in all it’s glory. This past off-season has been one of the crazier ones in recent memory, so with the next season looming, it is a good time to recap and preview how each team will do this season. The preview will be split into four parts, each part previewing one division. For today, we’re going to be looking at the Pacific Division. I will be discussing the teams in what place I predict they will finish for the season.

As a general preview of the entire division, the Pacific is probably the least predicable decision for this season. The top teams can likely be predicted safely, but beyond that, the teams in this division can finish just about anywhere. You can make an argument for each team finishing in a certain place. That is really all that can be said about the division. The fun part will come once we see who is battling for the middle places in the standings, and who can potentially make a surprise playoff appearance.

This year’s offseason is defined by the Calgary Flames. Once Gaudreau decided to move on elsewhere, and word got out that Tkachuk was demanding a trade, the Flames were already writing up the eulogy for this upcoming season. What followed next was arguably the biggest hockey trade in decades. Losing Tkachuk and Gaudreau is certainly easier to swallow when you are able to acquire Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar in the same trade, on top of a first round pick (give or take this was traded to Montreal to dump Monahan’s contract) and a prospect. With all due respect to Tkachuk, Huberdeau is the better player, and has been for awhile. It’s already amazing getting him in return, but acquiring Weegar makes the Calgary blueline even more potent. With Markstrom still backstopping this team that finished third in goals against last season, this defense is destined to be great. The offense does not suffer too much from the loss of Gaudreau with the signing of the prize of the offseason Nazem Kadri. I do not believe Kadri will have a year like last year, having a career year in a contract year when you’re already in your 30s is certainly not sustainable, but he is still a great pickup in the short term for this team. Beyond the big additions, the same team that finished first in the Pacific last year is still essentially here, just with a revamped core (which was badly needed for years). The Flames very well may have gotten better, and they will stay on top in the Pacific for this season.

The Oilers are a perplexing team. Having Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on a team certainly indicates that they would be cup contenders and one of the league’s best, but the usual suspects could still plague the team this upcoming season. Secondary scoring outside of McDavid and Draisaitl has been a problem for awhile. Last season, after those two, the leading scorer was Zach Hyman with 54 points. It’s not bad depth, but it is a notable drop off. The defense is mediocre at best, but it is still rather suspect. The goaltending may be better with Jack Campbell backstopping it, but Campbell had a massive problem with consistency with the Leafs last year. He was looking like a bonafide Vezina winner for half the year, then faltered out hard the second half. It is those two factors that will determine how far the Oilers go in the season. McDavid and Draisaitl is going to carry the team hard, which is the sole reason I give them the second place spot in the Pacific, even amidst the questions surrounding the team for the long term. This could very much be an overreaction, but the team just is not all that special beyond the two headed monster, which certainly shows just how good both of them are. I would not be shocked to see this team potentially finish lower, but I just can not bet too hard against McDavid and Draisaitl.

The Kings made the surprise step last year in their rebuild and managed to make the playoffs, so the expectations are different for them this season. With the addition of Kevin Fiala, that alone should help with their offense. The question remains if they can keep up with the momentum of last season, or if it was ultimately a fluke. Considering my placement here, I do not believe it was a fluke, but it is shaky for them. It is a competitive division outside the top 2, but I am still comfortable in saying that their defense can make the difference among those competitors. Jonathan Quick is still here closing in on age 37, so whether he can keep it up remains to be seen. If he and the defense does go right, this team places in third in the Pacific, although like I said it is shaky and can easily go in any other way. In the mean time, I do not think the Kings will take another step in the rebuild, but they will merely stay put for at least one more season.

The Canucks are flying under the radar this offseason, and many have forgotten how this team was battling for a wild card spot late into last season. Vancouver is not a great team, but at its best it is a decent team, and can very much be in wild card contention if they continue the momentum from last year after hiring Bruce Boudreau. They were one of the worst teams under Travis Green, but since Bruce replaced him, they finished with a 32-15-10 record, nearly making the playoffs. With the unpredictable nature of this division, the Canucks are in the middle of the pack of the standings fighting for one of the wild card spots and top three of the division. They do have to deal with injuring to newly acquired Mikheyev and Brock Boeser to start the year, but fortunately it is not long term. This should be an interesting team to watch this season, and like stated with the Kings, they can end up just about anywhere standings wise. For now, fourth seems appropriate for them.

Anaheim was looking like a team on the rise at the start of last season before faltering off the second half of the season. It is the growing pains of a rebuild, but that start for them does bring good looks for their future. They are not ready for the playoffs quite yet, but if everything goes right this year, they can certainly compete for a spot. The free agents brought in from Vatrano to Strome, and Klingberg for the blueline makes their top six and depth better than last year. Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras broke out in some way last season, and I expect both of them to improve in their production for this season. Second year player Mason McTavish should be a great boost for the roster as well, and Jamie Drysdale can be looking to take that next step as well. Everything seems to be coming together for this season for the Ducks in order to improve upon their past several losing seasons. As stated, I do not believe they are ready for the playoffs yet, but with their free agent signings and blossoming youth, it should be more than enough for them to pass a certain established team in this division.

The Golden Knights are looking to be on a downwards trend for the first time in their brief history. Due to cap restraints, they lost Max Pacioretty, Dylan Coghlan, and Evgenii Dadonov for nothing, and starting goalie Robin Lehner and Nolan Patrick are looking to be out for the year. Phil Kessel is a nice add, but considering the mess of last season and with the other losses and injuries, it is not going to be enough to hold back the tide. Bruce Cassidy as the coach is an upgrade over Peter DeBoer, and I believe that will help them keep some sort of form amidst the madness. With the rest of the division, there are a handful of teams that are eager at the chance to pass them in the standings, teams with promising youth mainly, and that is something Vegas lacks in a big way. They still do have good talent. Mark Stone is still a top winger in the league. The blueline still is good on paper. Jack Eichel can produce like a franchise center, although it must be noted how Eichel-led teams have never made the playoffs. I am aware that yes, he played for Buffalo for all his career, but it is a damning statement to say the Sabres were better than Vegas last season after the Eichel trade. It is fair to question how much of this goes on Eichel, despite his production. Nevertheless, this season is going to fall on how the players respond to last season, how the new coach does, and how they will stay afloat without Lehner backstopping the team. I believe it is too much to overcome for at least this season, although it is very possible they can bounce back with the talent they still have.

Not much went right for the newest NHL team last year, so they are bound to be better this year. The acquisitions of Andre Burakovsky and Oliver Bjorkstrand should improve their offense more, and of course drafting Shane Wright at fourth overall is huge. Matty Beniers will be seeing more playing time, and in his short sample size he looks like a budding star. The future is looking great for this team with Beniers and Wright at the helm, but I do not think they will turn it around so quick in just one season, especially with Dave Hakstol as their head coach. I am not high on him at all, and if it were not for him, I would think they would do better this year. Beyond that, the other problem was with goaltending and defense, something that was perceived to be a strength before the start of last season. Philipp Grubauer has always been an inconsistent goalie (minus his Vezina finalist season), but I would be hard pressed to believe he will have as bad a year as last year. The blueline is average, but they need to step up if the team is to take a big step for the future. Seattle’s future is looking bright, but they still need to toil near the bottom of the division for another season or two before they start taking serious steps into playoff contention. If everything goes right this season, it is very possible they get closer to that step due to the relative unpredictability of the division.

The Sharks are still in the midst of their fall from grace that began a few seasons ago, and this is where they will start to reach rock bottom. They still have nice talent like Timo Meier, Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture, and Erik Karlsson, but they have nowhere near the talent around them like in the past to stay competing for the playoffs. Long time defender Brent Burns is gone, signaling more the end of the previous era of San Jose hockey. There are two ways this season can go for the Sharks; they can still semi-compete enough to be almost mediocre like last season, or the wheels fall off and they finish near the bottom. For their sake, you can only hope they finish near the bottom to compete for the chance of drafting Connor Bedard. I do not believe they will finish that bad enough to be a serious contender for him, however. It is just the nature of how this team is constructed; still holding over from the previous era of contention while not having the personnel to keep them there. The only thing for certain is that this team will be finishing last in the division.