All right, last evening I posted my predictions for the Eastern conference. Now, I have to admit: I'm a Canucks fan, and I live in Edmonton. Apart from knowing that Ovechkin is the most exciting player in the game, Brodeur is a pretty good goalie, Crosby is overrated, and that the leafs gets shoved down every Canadian's throat even though they suck, I don't really follow the East that much. I hope my predictions are right, if for no reason other than bragging rights.
I do, however, keep a close watch on the West, so I have a bit more at stake here with part two of this weeks HockeyTalk: Western conference predictions.
Western Conference
For the past few ears, the best teams in the league have played in the Western Conference. The top teams in the West are better than any team in the East by far. They play a more intense, more physical game, and the winner of the Conference finals is inevitably more deserving of their chance playing for the Cup than any team out of the East. This year, we have six (debatably five) teams at the top, more or less guaranteed a playoff spot, another seven that will be fighting for the remaining two spots, and two teams that will be stuck at the bottom. Let's begin.
Top Teams:
Barring disaster, these teams are the creme of the crop and will undoubtedly finish in the top spots in the conference this year. Any one of these teams has an equal chance to make it to the Finals.
Anaheim
The Ducks have been one of the top teams in the conference for a while now. Even though they've lost a few key players, they still have a strong, balanced team with good goaltending, and they are not a team to be overlooked. If Heatley and Thornton don't click in San Jose, look for the ducks to take the Pacific.
Calgary
Calgary has a good goaltender who's been getting worse for the past four years, a great top-four on defense who will get burnt out and/or hurt playing so many minutes every night, a good, but aging, power forward whose production has been declining steadily for the past several years, no offensive depth, and an AHL-caliber defense beyond the top four. If you haven't guessed, I don't like Calgary's chances this year. The only reason I keep them in the list of top Western teams is because of the new coach. If Sutter is as good as he thinks he is, he'll get the team playing more responsibly in their own end, which will help Kiprusoff's numbers and will lessen the importance of the offensive depth. Only time will tell, I guess. I'll revisit this issue at the halfway point of the season. For now, I'll predict the Flames finishing second in the Northwest and sixth in the West. However, they are on the decline and I wouldn't be surprised at all to see them struggling to make the eigth spot in the conference this year or next.
Chicago
A team on the rise, and they have this year to win it all before the cap makes it all just a memory. Look for the 'Hawks to play hungry this year, trying to get improve on last year, especially with the confidence and experience they gained from it. Hossa curse? Don't buy into it. He'll help them, but his ridiculous contract is just one of the reasons they're going to be completely screwed in the years to come. It was nice for a struggling Original Six team to get a resurgence in the fan base, but I highly doubt it's going to last a long time. The biggest question mark for this team comes in net. Huet might not be able to shoulder the load this year, and they don't have the Bulin Wall to take over this time around.
Detroit
The Wings, like a much more successful version of the Flames, are on their way down in the natural cycle every team faces over its history, but they're still the Detroit F***ing Red Wings. They'll still be a top team. They'll still be a threat to win the division, the conference, the league, and the cup. As every professional analyst has already said, I'm keeping them as a favorite until they miss the playoffs.
San Jose
A good team got better with the addition of Dany Heatley. Love him or hate him, it should be exciting to see him playing with Joe Thornton every night. They lost some depth players in Cheecho and Michalek, and losing Erhoff might hurt them, but on the whole, San Jose is still the team to beat in the West -- in the regular season. As far as I'm concerned, they still lack the heart to win a round in the playoffs, and I'll continue to hold that opinion until they prove otherwise.
Vancouver
They lost Sundin, Ohlund, and some depth players. Losing Ohlund will hurt. I really wish they would have kept him around. Getting older or not, he was a rock on that team. Much in the same way Tampa is going to use him to mentor Hedman, they should have kept him around to keep showing Edler the ropes -- not to mention the odd two-hander to the shin when a cheap Finn decides to throw a flying elbow. However, with Erhoff and Schneider, the defence is more mobile and will generate a lot more offense, so after a short adjustment period, I think they'll be all right. I'll still miss the man, but I guess it was time to move on. Sundin? His leadership and offensive contribution will be missed, but it's honestly for the best that he's moved on. His heart clearly isn't into it anymore, and it opens up the space for the young players to really solidify their positions as the future of this team. They won the division two of the last three years -- and would have made it three straight if injuries hadn't done them in in '08 -- and they've only improved in the key areas. Gillis has done a fantastic job with this team, and if they aren't there already, they're only a couple of key pieces away from being a contender. The only question mark is the coaching. I'm not saying Vigneault is necessarily a bad coach, but he needs to keep coaching this team the same way every game, no matter the opponent -- coach a team to win, and they'll win; coach a team to not lose, and they might not lose. It's better to go into a game confident that if you play your game better than your opponent plays theirs, you'll win. I'll add more to this thought later on in the season. As far as I see it, the Canucks are in the best position they've been in for years to take the division, possibly the conference, and potentially go to the finals for the first time in 16 years. Here's hoping.
Middle of the Pack: The Good
Now, I don't necessarily think there are really four teams in the West that will fight for two spots with three "decent" teams fighting for nothing. I'm splitting the middle teams into two groups for consistency's sake. In reality, there are seven teams this year fighting for two spots, which will mean for an interesting storyline in the playoffs as these teams might be fired up, having played playoff hockey for half the season already (see Edmonton '06), or they'll be so burnt out from the drive that they roll over as soon as the playoffs begin (see St. Louis '09). Here are the top four of the middle seven.
Columbus
A great upcoming goaltender with tremendous upside, a great young power forward franchise player, and all the potential in the world after having made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. The Central division is the toughest in the conference; gone are the days when Detroit could easily walk away with divisional points against the Hawks, Jackets, and Blues. The Predators are still in trouble, but with four of five teams potentially finishing in the top eight, this will be a great competition.
Edmonton
At the end of the '08 season, when Edmonton nearly made the playoffs on the srength of their young players, a lot of people had them pegged to make the playoffs last season. Unfortunately for them, they were stuck with a bad coach, and they couldn't get anything off the ground in '09. This year, the same rookies will have (hopefully) learned from their mistakes, and with a couple of new coaches, I think they could really be a threat in the West this year. Not only that, but they've improved in net. No offense to Roloson, but Khabibulin is a top goalie in this league, and he has a cup under his belt. The Oilers are a team to watch for this year.
Los Angeles
It's an outside shot. Like I said, there are seven teams that will fight for two spots this season, and L.A. is one of them. I put them in this list because I think they're just a little bit better than Nashville, Minnesota, and Dallas. They'll likely just miss the playoffs this year, finishing ninth or 10th in the conference. They'll return to form as a top team in the league pretty soon, but that's still a year or two away.
St. Louis
The team with the best second-half record in the league last year ran out of gas in the playoffs. They're refueled this year, and with healthy Kariya and Johnson, they stand the chance to be even better. The obstacles for them are still Detroit and Chicago, so I expect them to finish fifth or sixth in the West. Just like Chicago, it's nice to see a team regain their fanbase; it would be even nicer to see them hold on to it.
Midddle of the Pack: The Bad
These teams are sitting at the bottom end of the seven fighting for two spots, but they could still just as easily sneak in to the playoffs.
Dallas
Maybe they won't admit it, but they're in full rebuild mode now. Modano needs to join Fleury, Sakic, and Sundin and hang up the skates. This team will get back to the top at some point; whether they do it in Dallas or not is another question.
Minnesota
They lost Gaborik and replaced him with... Havlat. A new coach is promising a more exciting style of play, but will it work? I doubt it. They have a good goalie, but I think his stats were inflated by Lemaire's trap system. The Wild will not improve on last year's finish.
Nashville
What to say about Nashville? They're not the worst team in the conference. That's about it. Playing in the East, or in another division in the West, might help since they're really not that bad, but being the worst team in the best division is just going to hurt them in the standings. Bettman's casualty, number three? As I said earlier, only time will tell.
Bottom Feeders: The Ugly
The truly pathetic teams, teams that will be fighting for that first-overall pick next summer.
Colorado
How the mighty have fallen. A heartfelt farewell to a truly classy player in Joe Sakic brought them a momentum-fuelled second win, but it's going to be a long, long season in Denver. Like a lot of these teams, they might turn it around, but it won't be happening soon.
Phoenix
Sure, everyone can talk about how they were a playoff team until the All-Star break last year, but they still missed the playoffs. They'll miss the playoffs again. Frankly, all the issues they have off the ice will result in nothingg more than a complete collapse in the desert; I'm thinking they'll be lucky to post 15 wins on the season.
Division Leaders
Pacific: San Jose
Runner-up: Anaheim
Northwest: Vancouver
Runner-up: Calgary
Central: Detroit
Runner-up: Chicago
Clarence Campbell trophy: Chicago. Or Vancouver.
Finally, my Stanley Cup prediction: Boston beats Chicago in a classic Original Six showdown.
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