The NHL season will likely start on Jan. 19 and a plethora of teams will see their chances of lifting Lord Stanley's Cup renewed. The Pacific Division is one of the most hotly contested in the league with three teams making the playoffs last year and one team eventually becoming the Stanley Cup Champions. Here is a look at the Pacific Division.
Phoenix Coyotes
The Coyotes had a few firsts in 2011-12. The team won its first division title and its first playoff series in history. The team brought back defenseman Zbynek Michalek from Pittsburgh in exchange for two prospects and a draft pick. Steve Sullivan was also signed, but the team lost a lot of players. Veteran blue liners Adrian Aucoin and Michal Rozsival ran off and forwards Ray Whitney and Taylor Pyatt also departed. Fortunately this team was able to re-sign captain Shane Doan to a four year deal and seems to be getting some momentum on the ownership front.
The most important thing of all is that Phoenix still has goaltender Mike Smith; their MVP throughout the season and the playoffs. Smith single handedly took down the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators in the first two playoff series before being outdueled by Jonathan Quick in the Western Conference finals.
The team should challenge for a playoff spot. The division crown is certainly a possibility but with the Kings in the same division, this team could have a hard time.
San Jose Sharks
Everyone expects this team to win the Cup every year, but they seem to fail every single time. More importantly, as the core players like Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton continue to age, the window for success is slowly closing for this team. In 2010 and 2011, the team made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals, but last year, they fell in five games in the first round of the playoffs.
After winning the division for five straight seasons with over 100 points each year, the team managed 96 and almost missed the playoffs. They were 12th in the league in goals scored and 10th in goals against. This is still a strong team, but they are aging and could be worn out if the schedule crunches too many games in the same week. Injuries could also prove to be an issue for this team. The additions of Brad Stuart and Adam Burish should pay dividends but this team is still not a contender.
Los Angeles Kings
The defending champions will not have to worry about a Stanley Cup hangover as they team should be well rested. The Kings ensured that the majority of their cup winning squad returned and should be ready for their title defense. They had a tough regular season in which offense was problematic, but that proved to be no problem as the team cruised through the playoffs and only lost four times in 20 games.
The only downside is that Stanley Cup MVP Jonathan Quick had surgery over the summer and may not be ready for the start of the season. If that is the case then the team will rely on Jonathan Bernier to get this team off to a solid start.
Look for the Kings to make another deep run at the Cup and win the division.
Dallas Stars
The Stars lost their last five games of the season, but had been fighting for the final playoff spot until the end of the season. The team had a busy off-season which included the trade of Mike Ribiero for Washington prospect Cody Eakin and the exchange of Steve Ott for Derek Roy. They also signed Ray Whitney and Jaromir Jagr to add veterans to the young squad.
The team still needs to sign franchise player Jamie Benn and should be solid in net if Kari Lehtonen can remain healthy throughout the compressed schedule. Look for them to compete for a playoff spot.
Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks severely underachieved in 2011-12 as the team failed to garner a playoff berth. Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2006-07, they qualified for the playoffs in four of five seasons and had never dropped to worse than 4th place in their division. However, the team did just that last season despite a plethora of high expectations. The team failed to make the playoffs and ended last in the Pacific division. At the core of their problems was an inconsistent performance from the 2010-11 MVP Correy Perry who had scored 50 goals and 98 points in that season but only managed 37 goals and 60 points last season.
The Ducks will enjoy the return of Teemu Selanne who led the team in scoring in 2011-12. The team was relatively be busy this offseason as it signed Sheldon Souray, Bryan and Brad Staubitz.
Perry, Ryan, and Captain Ryan Getzlaf all improved immensely in the second half of the season and they will continue to be depended on offensively. The supporting cast of forwards is not a particularly explosive group. Other than Perry, Ryan, Getzlaf, and Selanne no other forward scored more than 40 points. More importantly, outside of those four, no player topped 13 goals for the team.
The blue line is far less disconcerting as the addition of Allen and Souray solidifies a group that already includes Cam Fowler, Luca Sbisa, Toni Lyman, and Francis Beauchemin. In goal, the team needs a lot more from Jonas Hiller. After recording a 26-16-3 record with five shutouts, a 92.4 save percentage and a 2.56 goals against average in just 49 games, Hiller fell to 29-30-12 with a 2.57 goals against average in 73 games. He is still a solid goalie, but he will need to be better with the team's offensive difficulties likely to continue.
Only five players from the Ducks are currently playing abroad during the lockout. They are Matt Beleskey, Nick Bonino, Viktor Fasth, Cam Fowler, and Luca Sbisa.
Predictions:
1. LA Kings
2. Phoenix Coyotes
3. SJ Sharks
4. Dallas Stars
5. Anaheim Ducks
Read About the Atlantic Division HERE.