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Best team in the Pacific Division? |
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Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
Factoring in what we've seen thus far, and post-deadline rosters, we discuss which team is the best in the Pacific Division.
Todd Cordell
I lean towards San Jose.
They are absolutely loaded with firepower from top-to-bottom. They already had arguably the best top-9 in the conference and added to it at the deadline with an underrated 50+ point winger in Gustav Nyquist. Led by Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson, few teams – if any – can match the offense their defense brings to the table.
They're also surprisingly good in their own end. On the year, they rank 1st in attempts against/60 and 3rd in chances against/60.
Their weakness – and it's a big one – is goaltending. Martin Jones has been awful and Aaron Dell hasn't provided much value as a backup.
As concerning as that is, I think their team as a whole is better than that of Vegas and Calgary – especially if the latter goes with Mike Smith when it counts.
Peter Tessier
I think the Flames didn't do anything at the deadline simply because they didn't need to. They are one of the most dynamically gifted teams and my choice for best team in the Pacific division.
This no slight to either San Jose or Vegas but the Flames are deadly and the only weakness is if Rittich drops off. The price to pay to add versus their contracts and the situation was not one that worked in their favor so standing pat was smart as why fix what isn't broken. The stretch drive will be the acid test compared to the rivals but Calgary is in the driver's seat.
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