More than a week into the new hockey year, there's work still to be done.
But this seems like a good time to start looking at the rest of Pacific Division, and pondering whether the Canucks will have what it takes to make the playoffs next season.
Vancouver finished fifth in the Pacific last season, of course, and only three teams from the division made the playoffs. With 92 points, the Canucks ended up seven points back of the third-place Los Angeles Kings, two points behind the Vegas Golden Knights, and five back from the last playoff team in the Western Conference, the Nashville Predators.
But if we narrow the date range to Bruce Boudreau's tenure, the Canucks were a playoff team. Vancouver's 74 points in 57 games put them third in the Pacific, behind L.A. (77 in 60) and Calgary (76 in 58).
The three teams at the top of the Central are unchanged within those parameters: Colorado first, but St. Louis and Minnesota flip-flop their positions. And the wild-card spots go to Edmonton and Dallas, with Nashville missing out.
Since the Canucks had already played more games than most teams when Travis Green was let go last December, Vancouver's position improves further if we go by points per game. Using data from
QuantHockey, the Canucks' 1.30 points per game under Boudreau ranks them fifth in the Western Conference and second in the Pacific, behind Calgary (1.31) and ahead of L.A. (1.28). Points per game also moves Nashville back into the playoff mix, and bumps Dallas out.
So the Canucks were right there. And despite Jacob Markstrom's second-place finish in the Vezina Trophy balloting, his struggles in the playoffs have bumped him out of this summer's conversations about the short list of elite NHL goalies — while Thatcher Demko is consistently included.
I expect Markstrom will come out of the gate strong and put his name back in the mix. But it's not unreasonable to assert that Demko could be the No. 1 goalie in the Pacific next season.
With the J.T. Miller question still looming and, presumably, an upgrade on defense still on Vancouver's wish list, the 2022-23 Vancouver Canucks are still a bit of a work in progress.
So, with question marks remaining, let's take a look at how the other seven teams in the Pacific stand at mid-summer, giving us a better sense of how the Canucks could stack up when the new season begins.
Today, I'll look at last year's top three teams — with Calgary currently looking most vulnerable for a possible fall. I'll get to the other four teams in a future blog.
1. Calgary Flames (111 points)
Gaudreau's gone and Matthew Tkachuk has one foot out the door — so the big question in Calgary is how Brad Treliving will end up filling those holes. The Flames also have a couple of big arbitration cases coming up, with Andrew Mangiapane and Oliver Kylington set to get paid.
But as mentioned, the Flames should be set in net for another year, with Markstrom and Dan Vladar. And once Kylington is under contract, their top five defensemen will all be back, with only Erik Gudbranson gone in free agency. Michael Stone remains unsigned, but he has been a late depth addition on a league-minimum one-year deal for the last three seasons. So he could also return.
The Flames' farm team in Stockton was strong last year, finishing first in the AHL's Pacific Division and reaching the Western Conference Final in the playoffs before being eliminated by the Chicago Wolves. Following in Vancouver's footsteps, the farm team is relocating to Calgary next season. It's still without a name or logo, but could serve up some young talent to fill holes in the lineup. The Flames like to take their time with prospects.
Calgary only brought in one player in free agency who will make more than $1 million next season. Utility forward Kevin Rooney signed a two-year deal with a cap hit of $1.3 million.
Until we see how the Tkachuk situation shakes out, it's tough to assess how Calgary will be next season. Losing two-thirds of a dominant top line is a huge blow in terms of pure production. I'm also curious to see whether the rest of the team is demoralized by the changes, or bands together with an underdog mentality.
At this point, Calgary looks like the Pacific Division playoff team that's most vulnerable for a fall.
2. Edmonton Oilers (104 points)
While it was happening, Edmonton's run to the Western Conference Final felt like lightning in a bottle to me. But so far, the Oilers' offseason moves look like they'll give the team a chance to build off that momentum.
Evander Kane returns, at reasonable money — assuming that nothing crazy happens once his grievance over his San Jose contract termination is finally settled. For now, the question is whether he can continue to be productive without turning into a distraction.
Jack Campbell takes over in net, on the big-money contract he was looking for. When he's on his game, Campbell's terrific. But he does seem to run hot and cold — and injuries have been an issue. The good news for the Oilers is that he should have a solid backup in Stuart Skinner, the promising farmhand who will make the full-time jump to the big club next season.
The Oilers also brought back defenseman Brett Kulak, who was a steady addition after being acquired at the trade deadline. And presumably, Darnell Nurse will be back to full health as his $9.25 million-a-year contract extension kicks in. So the only significant change on the blue line will be the departure of Duncan Keith, who has announced his retirement.
Finally, Edmonton brought in utility forward Mattias Janmark on a one-year deal, with a cap hit of $1.25 million.
Ken Holland still needs to do new deals for Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto, who have both filed for arbitration, as well as young centre Ryan McLeod. And it's expected that Puljujarvi will get a change of scenery before the season begins, although we've heard that talk many times before.
Edmonton does seem like a better-balanced team than it has been in the past. And Jay Woodcroft certainly demonstrated that he has what it takes to be a successful NHL head coach.
I expect there will still be drama. But Edmonton should be good again next season. First place in the Pacific?
3. Los Angeles Kings - 99 points
I had the Kings pegged to take a step forward last season, so I was happy to see them make it back into the playoff picture, even without injured Drew Doughty.
He and Sean Walker should both be back on the blue line next season, which will help. And Alex Edler's veteran presence proved valuable. He's also returning on a one-year deal.
The Kings' stumbling block in the playoffs was a lack of goal-scoring punch, so Rob Blake addressed that by trading for sniper Kevin Fiala. Other than that, Los Angeles has been pretty quiet in the offseason — content to return with most of the same key players and give more opportunity to the long list of quality prospects who have been percolating.
Dustin Brown retired in the offseason. Andreas Athanasiou moved on to Chicago as a free agent.
Jonathan Quick and Anze Kopitar are each another year older, but the Kings are at a point now where they have a good mix of players from all age groups. As long as their goaltending holds up, they should take another step forward and return to the playoffs.
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