Pacing Through the Pacific: a Wishlist For the Teams Out-West
Following a tight-fought game 7, the cats snuck out with the win in front of the home crowd and Panthers' Head Coach Paul Maurice shared a tear-jerker of a speech while looking directly into my soul. McDavid was unable to will the Oilers to their 4th straight win to complete the reverse-sweep, proving that he is in fact human, despite being the first player since Jean-Sébastien Giguère in 2003 to win the Conn Smythe and NOT win the Stanley Cup. With the 107th NHL season now wrapped up, it’s time to look forward to #108, as well as a wish list for the teams in the Pacific Division.
#1 - Anaheim Ducks: Flipping Vets for more Young Talent
Where to even start... With $33,000,000 in cap space, the Ducks can really begin to build out a solid team around the young talent they already have, setting them up to compete in a few years once the teams above them begin to fall off. With names like Leo Carlson, Olen Zellweger, Pavel Mintyukov, Mason McTavish, Cutter Gautheir, etc., the Ducks have the young talent to be a powerhouse in a few years. That being said, it’s no secret that the Ducks won’t make the playoffs this year, which is why it is important to try and trade John Gibson. His $6,400,000 contract, with 3 years left, won’t be the easiest to move and will require some salary retention, but Anaheim should be able to find a suitor that is looking for a veteran goalie headed into next postseason. If they can flip him for high picks or a few B-tier prospects, Anaheim will be another step closer to not disappointing their fans.
#2 - Calgary Flames: Goodluck Craig Conroy (ft. Iginla part 2)
With a “win-now” roster of guys like Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri and Rasmus Andersen, supported by players like Andrew Mangiapane, Andrei Kuzmenko and Dan Vladar, the team is closer to postseason success than I think they are going to get credit for. That being said, no, they are not a team I would place a $10 free bet on to make the playoffs by any means. With 6 first-round picks over the next three years, and young-guns Connor Zary and Dustin Wolf, this team has a decent amount to work with, including $23,000,000 in cap space (pre-RFA signings).
So, what does a team like this do? Should they try and flip their “win-now” players and get younger, or look to compete now? The trade that sent Jacob Markstrom to New Jersey tells me they plan on getting younger, but they are in a difficult position and I am happy I am not Flames GM Craig Conroy (salary aside). There is definitely a chance that Nazem Kadri and his $7M x 5 year deal can be moved, but the same can’t be said for LW Jonathan Huberdeau who will likely be stuck around for the long-haul at $10,500,000. Drafting a few young players this year like Tij Iginla, coupled with a few good “sells” at the trade deadline will set them up for a great young team in a few years. For now, bringing in 27 year-old right-shot defenseman Alexandre Carrier and/or 28 year-old Dakota Joshua could be a few good, young signings to bridge the gap between guys like Connor Zary and Johnathan Huberdeau with the extra cap space that's available.
#3 - Edmonton Oilers: A Dangerous Domino Effect
This is likely far too soon for Oilers fans, but with the draft in 2 days and free agency to begin on July 1st, there is a lot that needs to happen if this team wants to find the same success they did this year. First of all, issuing an extension to Evan Bouchard has to be priority number one. After an incredible regular AND postseason, this guy has to be a part of your future plans. This is the Cale Makar of the Oilers, and that is not a player you can afford to leave your roster once you have had him. In a very, very close 2nd, this team has to understand Draisaitl’s plan once his contract ends next year. If he is willing to stay, issue an extension ASAP, and if he isn’t committed to returning, you can not afford for him to walk next offseason. I know, this isn’t a thought Oiler fans want to process just yet, but it needs to be a part of this team's plan moving forward. Apart from that, after an impressive postseason showing from their pending RFA’s Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway, I hope to see them get a new contract and continue to help this team find success. Now, to get more optimistic and have a little more fun, a buy-out of Jack Campbell has to happen. Without this happening, the Oilers have just 14 players under contract with a little over $10,000,000 to cover the remaining 9 spots… So, if Jack Campbell gets bought out, this will give the team just a touch less than $14,000,000 to reshape the back end. This $3.9M increase in cap space gives them the money to go get a tandem goalie like Cam Talbot or Laurent Brossoit, while also signing a player like Alexandre Carrier to tighten up the back end. Depending on the contracts UFAs like them get, the Oilers may need to move on from a player like Cody Ceci to free up more space.
#4 - Los Angeles Kings: Going for the Big Fish
First of all, this is my formal congratulations to Rob Blake for moving off of Pierre Luc-Dubois’s contract (even though he signed it a year ago). That project just didn’t work out for LA, and with Cam Talbot likely out the door, having a veteran goalie like Kuemper, playing under LA’s defensive structure, could pan out really nicely for the franchise. Past that, Byfield has to be the priority, along with RFAs Arthur Kaliyev and Blake Lizzote who had good years for the King’s this year. Now for the fun part; with Matt Roy seemingly out the door, there are some holes that need to be filled. Firstly, bringing in a RD to slide in the second slot between Doughty and Clarke would be ideal. A player such as Alexandre Carrier or even a Dmitry Kulikov could be a cheaper, but still feasible option. Then, to add to the front, the rumours of a trade that would send Mitch Marner to the Kings, could give them their all-star playmaker upfront, while providing penalty killing minutes as well. With LA having a lot of their draft picks, some young talent, and forwards Fiala/Kempe; LA could put together an enticing package to send Marner to California; maybe even getting RD Timothy Lilligren in return as well to fill in the RD2 spot. If this isn’t something that LA is looking to get wrapped up in, maybe joining the running for UFA RW Jake Guentzel could help them add that top 6 scoring, and instead execute a trade to fill the RD2 spot. Regardless, this will be an interesting offseason for a team that just experienced their 3rd straight first-round exit.
#5 - San Jose Sharks: Mike Grier just has to say “Macklin Celebrini”
With Macklin Celebrini going to the Sharks at #1, or at least a 99.99% chance of that happening, and players like Will Smith and William Eklund also on the roster next year, the Sharks can make a major jump from their (embarrassing) last season with a little offseason magic. Having Logan Couture at 1C will be a great veteran presence to show the ropes to both Celebrini and Smith who will likely slot in behind him. This sets them up down the middle of the ice, offering the opportunity to sign/trade for a young winger/defenseman that will be a good fit moving forward with this team. A good start was the absolute STEAL of a trade, acquiring Jake Walman (28 years old) AND a 2nd round pick in return for good old “future considerations”. Past that, maybe joining in on the Rutger McGroarty sweepstakes could set them up to be a future powerhouse, full of young studs. Stay patient Sharks fans, it’s only up from here.
#6 - Seattle Kraken: Just Keep Swimming
Following a slow start to the season, the Kraken finished tied for 5th with the Calgary Flames at 81 points. This was definitely a disappointment of a year for the team, but their +6.98 expected goal differential & their ACTUAL goal differential sitting at -18, shows that it's safe to say the Kraken were a little “unlucky” this year. Lucky for them, a simple off-season of drafting at 8th overall and resigning RFAs Matthew Beniers, Kailer Yamamoto, and Eeli Tolvanen would put them at 19/23 roster spots, and around (most likely) $15+ million in available salary cap. With that being said, this team can take a swing at a big time RD to fill that empty spot, such as a player like Matt Roy or Chris Tanev. This would give them a very solid NHL D-core, with the remaining 5 players being Vince Dunn, Adam Larsson, Jamie Oleksiak, Will Borgen and Brian Dumolin. With these 6 defensemen (or at least some close resemblance of it), there will hopefully be a bounce-back defensive season if new head coach Dan Blysma can implement a defensive structure similar to what he did with the Penguins in 2009. At the front, players like Jared McCann, Oliver Bjorkstrand & Brandon Tanev give the team a variety of scoring and defence that rounds out the roster effectively. With a few structural adjustments and 1 or 2 good UFA signings, this team could be set up to prove doubters wrong and find themselves in a wild card spot come April next year.
#7 - Vancouver Canucks: Avoiding Regression
After beating the Predators in 6 games in round 1, the Canucks fell in 7 to the future Western Conference champions, the Edmonton Oilers. This caps off a Pacific-leading 109 points on the season, being their most successful season since their 2010-11 season where they lost in the Stanley Cup final. That being said, their roster is going to look a lot different next year with names like Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm “likely” entering free agency on July 1st, followed by (potentially) Dakota Joshua, Ian Cole, Teddy Bleuger and Sam Lafferty amongst many more. This leaves Patrik Allvin, the GM of the Canucks, in an interesting position going into the 2024-25 season, with around $16 million to fill 5 roster spots. Now, there have been talks of the Canucks looking to land UFA LW Jake Guentzel, but with so many teams interested in the 29 year old sniper, Tyler Toffoli is a backup plan that you can expect the Canucks to pursue. If they were to pursue a much cheaper Tyler Toffoli, that would leave the Canucks in a better position to bring back both Tyler Myers and Ian Cole. As of right now, it seems unlikely that the Vancouver Canucks win the Pacific Division once again, or maybe head coach Rick Tocchett will be able to drag the roster into the #1 spot this season too.
#8 - Vegas Golden Knights: Joining the Sweepstakes
As of today, the Golden Knights have 19/23 roster spots already filled, making this off-season likely predictable; unless… With rumours heating up that Guentzel is being heavily pursued by a win-now team, Vegas’s name has been connected. With just over $6,000,000 available in cap space this summer, the Vegas Golden-LTIRs will need to free up some space if they want to pursue Jake Guentzel. This could be done through a trade of C/RW Nicholas Roy ($3,000,000), or C William Karlsson ($4,900,000). Kelly McCrimmon will have his hands full if they look to do surgery to this roster and go after UFA Jake Guentzel, or (speaking of surgery) maybe they can just put Mark Stone on LTIR until early April next year. This being said, pursuing Jake Guentzel will eliminate nearly any chance of UFA Johnathan Marchessault & Chandler Stephenson leaving. On the RFA front, expect Pavel Dorofeyev to get another contract after he nets 24 points through just 48 games; not too bad for the 23 year old winger.
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