2017-18 NHL Pacific Division Predictions

Rabbi Rabbs

1 – Edmonton – The Oilers, who battled until the final game of last season for the division banner will take advantage of Anaheim still recovering from last season’s injuries and off-season surgeries to snap the Ducks’ streak of consecutive division titles at five. However, Anaheim will still dominate in the playoffs.

2 – Anaheim – The Ducks are loaded with weapons, and are extremely deep in young talent that will only improve during the season, especially at the blue line. However, early season absences of stars Ryan Kesler, Hampus Lindholm, Sami Vatanen, and possibly Patrick Eaves, will cost them the division, but look for Randy Carlyle‘s squad to make another deep post-season run.

3 – Calgary – Losing big, stay-at-home defenseman Deryk Engelland will hurt, but the Flames’ roster is still good enough for a spot on the leaderboard.

4 – Vegas – The Golden Knights looked a lot better during the preseason than expected. Don’t be surprised when an expansion club finishes ahead of other teams in the standings. The Mighty Ducks finished fourth out of six in their debut season. In the Pacific Division, there is a tremendous drop off after its top two teams, giving Vegas an ideal opportunity to rise above the heap of the also-rans. But, the fourth seed in that weak division won’t be enough to make the playoffs.

5 – San Jose – The Sharks led the division for most of the last season until they ran out of gas in the final month, collapsed into free fall, and got eliminated in the first round. Since then, Patrick Marleau left town, and Joe Thornton turned 38 years old. Watch for the downward slide to continue.

6 – Los Angeles – Basically the same roster that failed to reach the playoffs last season, but worse, because the Kings lost the leadership of Darryl Sutter who masterminded their two Stanley Cup runs. LA still only has at best maybe four players that can put a puck into a net, and new General Manager Rob Blake is fooling himself if he thinks the return of Michael Cammalleri will solve that problem. Blake inherited a mess, because LA has limited salary cap space, as the Kings are hamstrung by terrible high-paying, long-term contracts to three aging veterans.

7 – Vancouver – Rookie Brock Boeser scored four goals in only nine games after joining the Canucks at the end of last season, and could have a shot this season at winning the Calder Trophy. However, Vancouver needs way more than that to go anywhere.

8 – Arizona – The departures of Shane Doan, Radim Vrbata, Martin Hanzal, Michael Stone, and Mike Smith will devastate the Coyotes who will likely compete for the first pick in the draft.

Stanley Cup Finals = Anaheim vs. Montreal

The Ducks would’ve gone to the SCF last season if not for decimating injuries that sidelined both of their 30-goal scorers, star goalie, and two of their top six defensemen, while hampering stars Kesler, Lindholm, and Cam Fowler who played but while suffering in pain. Kesler, Lindholm, and Vatanen all required off-season surgeries.

Injuries are the only obstacle preventing Lord Stanley’s Cup from returning to Anaheim. If the Ducks stay healthy, get ready for another parade, as that’s the pattern under Carlyle. During his first tour of duty in Anaheim, he took the Ducks to the conference finals in his first season, 2005-06, and then won the Cup the following year. Upon returning to Anaheim last season, Carlyle again immediately took the Ducks to the conference finals, which means they are due to win it all this season.

Why Montreal? Because Carey Price and Shea Weber are each overdue to play in a Cup Finals.