Western Conference Improvements

[MAC331]

Which teams are better after yesterday's UFA action ? I will start by saying the Flames with the adds of Smith, Lack, Hamonic, Stone, Versteeg and Foo.

Dallas should be marginally better with the adds of first let me say Hitchcock (Coach), Bishop, Methot and Hanzel. Likely are not finished with moves yet.

Nashville have added Emelin to an already strong defensive group, Bonino and Hartnell for some added heat and grit.

St.Louis gain Schenn and were a good team.

Winnipeg has a Goaltender in Mason now

Anaheim remains strong by resigning Eaves and Fowler to new contracts. Plus add Miller to back up Gibson.

San Jose remains a good team and bring back Thornton for another season.

LA Kings can and should be a good team, added yet another aging player in Cammalleri but could still be a force.

Chicago trending the wrong way IMO but still a force, add back Saad and Sharp but lose Panarin.

EDM had McDavid and Draisaitl break out this past season which is causing changes, Eberle for an inferior Strome. Brought back Russell.

VAN trending water until the Sedins are gone and even more so after.

ARZ very young team that has a lot of growing pains to work through.

Vegas should be presentable but nothing to worry about.

COL just about forgot them LOL Colin Wilson and Bernier were their adds, like everyone else waiting for the big move of Duchene and Landescog but fail to see how this makes them better.

[Flyerfan52]

Jets also added Kulikov. With Buff, Trouba & Myers @ RD & Morrissey, Enstrom & Kulikov on LD that looks like 3 strong pairings. In cast of injury Chiarot looks dang good.

Mason as starter & Hellebuyck as b/u learning from Mason (he seems to enjoy helping his partner) looks like a good tandem.

Chevy filled the big hole fast & then made a strong when healthy D better. Last year 2 of the top 5 were out long term & Trouba missed games so that D looks ready even given injuries (it should @ $28 million ).

[MAC331]

7 hours ago, Flyerfan52 said:

Jets also added Kulikov. With Buff, Trouba & Myers @ RD & Morrissey, Enstrom & Kulikov on LD that looks like 3 strong pairings. In cast of injury Chiarot looks dang good.

Mason as starter & Hellebuyck as b/u learning from Mason (he seems to enjoy helping his partner) looks like a good tandem.

Chevy filled the big hole fast & then made a strong when healthy D better. Last year 2 of the top 5 were out long term & Trouba missed games so that D looks ready even given injuries (it should @ $28 million ).

They should have had a better 2016/17 but I agree they didn't have many needs just a few key ones.

[JustAFlamer]

I think Dallas improved the most this off-season

 

Will be hard to tell how it shakes out but i think we may be 2nd most improved (as it stands now)

 

Both Dallas and Flames are gambling on bounce back seasons from multiple players, so wont know until around Christmas how things actually are shaping up in both organizations.  If dallas stays healthy this year i see some major firepower there, and if Hamonic, Brodie and Stone (and hopefully brower) bounce back our D will be tough to match.

 

2 Totally different approaches, both with a bit of a gamble, but i would say these are the 2 in the west to watch out for.

[travel_dude]

28 minutes ago, JustAFlamer said:

I think Dallas improved the most this off-season

 

Will be hard to tell how it shakes out but i think we may be 2nd most improved (as it stands now)

 

Both Dallas and Flames are gambling on bounce back seasons from multiple players, so wont know until around Christmas how things actually are shaping up in both organizations.  If dallas stays healthy this year i see some major firepower there, and if Hamonic, Brodie and Stone (and hopefully brower) bounce back our D will be tough to match.

 

2 Totally different approaches, both with a bit of a gamble, but i would say these are the 2 in the west to watch out for.

 

Dallas improved but mostly in nets.  Methot was a good add, and Bishop could be good there, but they still have a leaky defense.

Not sure they are going to bounce back enough to overtake anyone.

[AlbertaBoy12]

21 minutes ago, travel_dude said:

 

Dallas improved but mostly in nets.  Methot was a good add, and Bishop could be good there, but they still have a leaky defense.

Not sure they are going to bounce back enough to overtake anyone.

I dont know if they improved enough either. But I could see them and san jose fighting it out for one of the wild card spots, I also think edmonton might take a step back. I dont know for sure, but I dont think edmonton has improved their depth enough and I dont think talbot mantains his numbers this year, so I think they may take a step back. Dont get me wrong by step back I mean wild card spot. If it was me id be picking edmonton, san jose and dallas fighting it out for the wild card spots, although winnipeg could be in there as well. Its going to be an interesting year, with alot of teams improving.

[MAC331]

20 minutes ago, AlbertaBoy12 said:

I dont know if they improved enough either. But I could see them and san jose fighting it out for one of the wild card spots, I also think edmonton might take a step back. I dont know for sure, but I dont think edmonton has improved their depth enough and I dont think talbot mantains his numbers this year, so I think they may take a step back. Dont get me wrong by step back I mean wild card spot. If it was me id be picking edmonton, san jose and dallas fighting it out for the wild card spots, although winnipeg could be in there as well. Its going to be an interesting year, with alot of teams improving.

I think there is a lot of parity within the WC outside of ARZ, VAN and LV.

[travel_dude]

51 minutes ago, AlbertaBoy12 said:

I dont know if they improved enough either. But I could see them and san jose fighting it out for one of the wild card spots, I also think edmonton might take a step back. I dont know for sure, but I dont think edmonton has improved their depth enough and I dont think talbot mantains his numbers this year, so I think they may take a step back. Dont get me wrong by step back I mean wild card spot. If it was me id be picking edmonton, san jose and dallas fighting it out for the wild card spots, although winnipeg could be in there as well. Its going to be an interesting year, with alot of teams improving.

 

I agree that if you stop moving forward, you take a step back.

 

EDM did nothing to improve their NHL depth.  They may be able to bring up Puljujarvi if he is ready.  But they lost more NHL depth than they signed.

Not having Sekera is going to hurt them.  Expecting Strome to provide Eberle scoring?  Still no proven NHL backup.

The stars aligned for them last season.  McDavid contributing 27 points on a leading PP team.  Draisaitl scoring at a crazy rate last year.

 

Nobody disputes McD is a special player, but I don't think he can replace Eberle's goals on top of what he did already.  Unless he has Draisaitl on his wing, he won't top 70 assists.

[Flyerfan52]

2 hours ago, MAC331 said:

I think there is a lot of parity within the WC outside of ARZ, VAN and LV.

I'd add LA & Colorado as the weak sisters next season. That still leaves 10 teams fighting for 8 spots.

But the summer isn't over yet.

 

Dallas added a goalie, 1 proper D & more offence. The west is still the more defensive conference so I don't see it as enough.

Jets added a goalie & beefed up an already good D even more. If the young forwards progress they'll be good.

Nashville has an even stronger D than the 1 that took them to the SCF & will have Johanssen back. They have cap space to add more offence. They'll be back.

St. L looks lesser than last year to me. Good players as aging out. they have a weaker D & the goalie tandem is suspect. Expect them to slip a notch.

Chicago I'll never count out as long as they have their base core. They brought back pieces from past Cups If they get cap relief from Hossa they'll probably be mid pack until TD & then load up again.

Minnesota lost almost nothing to expansion so if they can re-sign their RFAs are in great shape.

 

Anaheim doesn't look ready to slip yet. They'll be tough for any team to handle.

Edmonton lost a few goals in that Eberle for Strome deal & losing Sekara for months hurts an already suspect D. McDavid will remain as good but others played over their heads last year. Much will depend on Talbot as they still don't have a proven b/u.

SJ is iffy. Good combination of youth, vets & in-between as skaters but again the ? is in goal.

Calgary has a more proven set of goalies, a much stronger D & hopefully Monahan/Gaudreau start stronger. If Bennett hits near his capability & Tkachuk progresses from a great rookie year the Flames could go deep. Definately better than last season.

 

There you have it. My take on the contenders in the west this season to date. But all teams are still works in progress. Colorado could trade Duchene & Landeskog even in division changing the makeup of any team.

[DirtyDeeds]

5 hours ago, MAC331 said:

I think there is a lot of parity within the WC outside of ARZ, VAN and LV.

I also think there is a lot of parity between those three teams.. LV Arz and Van... lol

[travel_dude]

2 hours ago, Flyerfan52 said:

St. L looks lesser than last year to me. Good players as aging out. they have a weaker D & the goalie tandem is suspect. Expect them to slip a notch.

Chicago I'll never count out as long as they have their base core. They brought back pieces from past Cups If they get cap relief from Hossa they'll probably be mid pack until TD & then load up again.

M

 

STL also lost Bergund to a training injury.  Will miss a couple of months.  Still somewhat of a contender.

I wonder about CHI without Hossa.  Don't seem to be the powerhouse they used to be and the cap is causing some issues.  Sharp could be a nice add.

 

[cross16]

I don't think the Blues are a contender personally. Took a pretty nice run to get into the playoffs and there Jake Allen basically single handily won them a round. I thought they look pretty bad in the playoffs, i'm not a big believer in Mike Yeo, and I think their center play is eroding fast. Maybe they picked up Schenn to play center but if that is your answer, you are already behind the 8 ball IMO. It honestly wouldn't shock me to see the Blues fall out of the playoffs. 

 

Dallas' D is still not very good. They'll be good defensively under Hitch but I worry about their ability to transition well enough to make them a legit contender. 

 

West is pretty open IMO. I still think Hawks, Wild, Ducks and Preds are the class. Edm, Flames close, Dallas a bit of a wild card and then I struggle to make cases for anyone else. Jets would be the suprise team as they should hav ea good tandem, but I also don't think their D is as good as people think.