2011/12 NHL Preview - Pacific Division

Today in part 1 of our previews of the upcoming NHL season, we look at the Pacific Division. Each day we'll look at projected team depth charts and a number of other factors that could make or break teams this year, before culminating in our predictions on September 7th.

ANAHEIM DUCKS

Projected depth chart / lines:

Corey Perry - Ryan Getzlaf - Bobby Ryan

Jason Blake - Saku Koivu - Teemu Selanne

Brandon McMillan - Andrew Cogliano - Dan Sexton

Matt Beleskey - Maxime Macenauer - George Parros

Lubomir Visnovsky - Toni Lydman

Cam Fowler - Francois Beauchemin

Luca Sbisa - Kurtis Foster

Jonas Hiller

Dan Ellis

The Ducks failed to make any major acquisitions this off-season but did bring in Andrew Cogliano from Edmonton to shore up their depth at center. Once a highly touted prospect, Cogliano's offensive game and consistency have been questioned at the NHL level, but perhaps a change of scenery is just what he needed. He and Brandon McMillan will need to perform to support an aging 2nd line of Jason Blake, Saku Koivu, and Teemu Selanne (assuming Selanne does decide to return, that is, which is still not a given).

The Ducks' top line is perhaps the best in the game, but they'll need to lean an awful lot on it to have a successful season since they are lacking in scoring support. Things aren't that grim though as a number of promising rookies have a chance to see action at some point whether this season or next including Kyle Palmieri, Emerson Etem, and Peter Holland. Another interesting storyline up front will be Mark Bell, once a budding young power forward with the Chicago Blackhawks, but whose off-ice activity and life issues derailed his development. After spending two seasons in the Swiss league, Bell hopes to return to the NHL this year, but is likely to start with the Ducks' affiliate in the American League.

It hasn't taken Anaheim long to successfully replace the win pillars on the blueline of Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger. With no offense intended towards Ryan Whitney, the club outright stole Lubomir Visnovsky from the Oilers, while Toni Lydman may be amongst the more underrated defensemen in the game. The fun one to watch this season will be Cam Fowler - an unexpected draft day slider who made his NHL debut as an 18 year old and put up an impressive 40 points in 76 games. While he still needs to polish his defensive game, he certainly has Drew Doughty'esque potential, and makes a good gamble for any fantasy hockey pools out there.

The real success factor for the club this season resides in goal. Jonas Hiller put up incredible numbers during the first half of last year, but was sidelined with concussion syndromes after being hit in the head during the all-star game. If he can return to form, Anaheim looks good to lock up a playoff spot. If he can't, however, it is unlikely that back-up Dan Ellis will be sufficient to extend the team's season beyond April in the tough and competitive Western Conference.

YourCanadiens Verdict: Low seed playoff team.

DALLAS STARS

Projected depth chart / lines:

Brenden Morrow - Mike Ribeiro - Loui Eriksson

Steve Ott - Jamie Benn - Michael Ryder

Adam Burish - Vernon Fiddler - Radek Dvorak

Toby Peterson - Tom Wandell - Jake Dowell

Alex Goligoski - Stephane Robidas

Trevor Daley - Nicklas Grossman

Sheldon Souray - Adam Pardy

Kari Lehtonen

Andrew Raycroft

The Stars were active on the UFA market this summer, but as was the nature of the market, most signings were depth players unlikely to make a difference in the overall success of the team's season. Michael Ryder is coming off a resurgent UFA year, scoring 41 points in the regular season but more importantly having been an integral piece to the Boston Bruins Stanley Cup championship, where his great two-way play helped the team past the Montreal Canadiens, and he added 8 goals and 17 points in the 25 playoff contests. In Dallas, he will perhaps be reunited with former Hab linemate Mike Ribeiro, who for all the negative press he gets, remains a competent and productive top pivot. With three straight seasons over 60 points, the last two of which were over 70, Loui Eriksson has proven he is amongst the league's most talented wingers, and at the age of 26, he is still in the prime years of his career. Due to his age and the nature of his game, Stars captain Brenden Morrow, on the other hand, would appear to be in decline, but will still see top line minutes on a team lacking in offensive depth.

On the back end, the most interesting player to follow will be Sheldon Souray, getting a new chance at an NHL job after half a season sat out and a full year in the AHL due to a situation-gone-wrong in Edmonton. Habs fans will fondly remember Souray's booming pointshot and will be curious to see if he still has it in him, even if the Stars may keep Alex Goligoski and Stephane Robidas as their number 1 powerplay pair. Those in very deep hockey pools may consider gambling on Souray in a late round, but the overall outlook for Dallas this year doesn't seem to be particularly positive, so combining that with Souray's known defensive deficiencies, expect a poor +/- rating.

Between the pipes, Andrew Raycroft has gotten his career back on track and appears to be a reliable back-up keeper, but clearly the team needs Kari Lehtonen to stay healthy to have any chance of reaching the playoffs. His 69 games last year was a career high and he'll look to build off that even if he'll never live up to his billing as a former 2nd overall selection (albeit in a weak first round in 2002).

YourCanadiens Verdict: Out of the playoffs.

LOS ANGELES KINGS

Projected depth chart / lines:

Justin Williams - Anze Kopitar - Dustin Brown

Simon Gagne - Mike Richards - Dustin Penner

Kyle Clifford - Jarret Stoll - Brad Richardson

Scott Parse - Trevor Lewis - Ethan Moreau

Jack Johnson - Drew Doughty

Willie Mitchell - Rob Scuderi

Matt Greene - Alec Martinez

Jonathan Quick

Jonathan Bernier

While the Kings do still have to get star defenseman Drew Doughty under contract, it is our expectation that is done in the next couple of weeks prior to the start of training camp. Los Angeles was aggressive in improving their roster over the summer and now possess what may be the best group of top 6 forwards league-wide. There have been some questions about Dustin Penner's off-season training and conditioning, but the additions of him (trade deadline), Simon Gagne (UFA), and Mike Richards (off-season trade) give the Kings a scary arsenal of offensive weapons. Skilled winger Justin Williams was finally healthy last season, with his 73 games being the first time he topped the 50 game mark since 2006-07. If he can build on the success he had with 57 points and 4 more in 6 playoff games, he rounds out a top 2 lines that Habs fans could only dream of - all players at 6'0" or greater with a nose for the net.

The Kings had to sacrifice their top prospects in Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds to make their moves, but the cupboard isn't bare, with many expecting talented Russian forward Andrei Loktionov to establish himself full-time at some point during the season. He put up 7 points in 19 NHL games and 31 more in 34 AHL games last year, so if your pool needs a good rookie and the obvious ones are gone, he might be a good risk. Similarly on the blueline, after the big names in Doughty and Jack Johnson, this may be a breakout year for the highly underrated Alec Martinez. After scoring 16 points in 20 games with the Manchester Monarchs last season, he made the jump to the big club and his solid two-way play earned him a role in the top 6 right through the playoffs.

Many eyes may be on the developing situation in goal, as Jonathan Quick is a high calibre starting goaltender but will be a UFA in 2 seasons. Jonathan Bernier has dominated at the AHL level but has yet to truly prove he can be a consistent NHL starter, leading to a question of whether he will get that chance in L.A. or be moved for other assets.

YourCanadiens Verdict: Conference contender.

PHOENIX COYOTES

Projected depth chart / lines:

Ray Whitney - Kyle Turris - Shane Doan

Raffi Torres - Martin Hanzal - Radim Vrbata

Taylor Pyatt - Daymond Langkow - Mikkel Boedker

Paul Bissonnette - Boyd Gordon - Petteri Nokelainen

Keith Yandle - Rostislav Klesla

Derek Morris - Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Michal Rozsival - Adrian Aucoin

Mike Smith

Jason Labarbera

Stunts in the development of a few of Phoenix's top prospects slowed the rise of what was not long ago seen as a true up-and-coming team. Kyle Turris will be given every chance to prove himself as a 1st or 2nd line center this season or he'll be dealt for someone equally enigmatic. Mikkel Boedker should see regular ice time in a secondary scoring role, while Viktor Tikhonov looks to continue to battle his way back into the NHL after his surprising rookie season as an 18 year old in 2008-09. The recent acquisition of Daymond Langkow has sound potential upside bringing veteran presence to a third line after the 35 year old returned to the NHL from injury towards the end of last season. There isn't too too much to work with though, so the Coyotes need to hope for a huge pre-UFA year from captain Shane Doan to lead the team up front - a simple Raffi Torres won't do it.

If there aren't many bright spots up front, the Coyotes have two pillars on defense for the foreseeable future in Keith Yandle and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Unfortunately, the rest of the group is getting up there in age and isn't particularly quick of foot, which will be a problem given that the club can no longer rely on a main reason for their past success, goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. His trade to the Flyers means the team is now counting on a pair of netminders who are at best 1B goaltenders and seem better suited for back-up roles, but between Mike Smith, Jason Labarbera, and even third stringer Curtis McElhinney, perhaps the club will receive sufficient performances to remain in contention.

YourCanadiens Verdict: Out of the playoffs.

SAN JOSE SHARKS

Projected depth chart / lines:

Martin Havlat - Joe Thornton - Patrick Marleau

Logan Couture - Joe Pavelski - Ryan Clowe

James Sheppard - Michal Handzus - Torrey Mitchell

Jamie McGinn - Andrew Murray - Ben Ferriero

Dan Boyle - Marc-Edouard Vlasic

Brent Burns - Douglas Murray

Jason Demers - Collin White

Antti Niemi

Antero Nitttymaki

For a team that has seen such tremendous regular season success for many seasons in a row, the Sharks certainly were busy this summer. It is debatable if the team is better up front, with Martin Havlat, Michal Handzus, and James Sheppard replacing notably Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi, but the team did land a big fish on defense in Brent Burns (a huge upgrade over trade deadline acquisition Ian White). The offense will depend on many of the same key contributors of a year ago, with a top 6 rivaling that of the Kings provided that Ryan Clowe and Joe Pavelski continue along in their quick progression as offensive threats. It would appear as though Havlat has put his prior injury problems behind him with three straight seasons of more than 70 games, but the team's offense doesn't extend deep into the bottom 6, so they will need to remain as healthy as possible if they are to challenge for the conference title.

On the blueline, the Sharks are a young, mobile, two-way group anchored by veteran Dan Boyle. The club made a couple of important depth moves in signing both Collin White and Jim Vandermeer to cheap value deals, and they will be crucial veterans should any of the younger players slump.

Antti Niemi may have led a team to a Stanley Cup as a rookie, and did post solid numbers last season in San Jose, but I'm far from sold on him as a top notch starting 'tender. Fortunately, Antero Niittymaki is arguably a goalie of similar calibre, so between the two of them, the Sharks goaltending tandem should be up to par with what it was with Evgeni Nabokov and Vesa Toskala back in the day.

YourCanadiens Verdict: Conference contender.

Thanks for reading. Tomorrow we hit the Central Division!

Around the League: Top 5 Trades of the Summer

Previously, we looked at players we felt were the best value signings of the summer. Today we look at the other transactions that have occurred, namely trades, to try to identify the deals that will most help one or both of the involved teams this season and beyond.

With a thin UFA crop, hockey fans were spoiled with a significant number of high profile deals which began right before draft weekend. Here are 5 of the biggest.

5) The San Jose Sharks trade forward Dany Heatley to the Minnesota Wild for winger Martin Havlat.

This marks the third trade in Dany Heatley's 9 season NHL career, and each has been a significant blockbuster. To some, these players have been heading in opposite directions of late; in Heatley's case, coming off his worst season since 2003-04, while Havlat seems to have put the biggest knock on him - injury concerns - to rest for now, with 78, 73, and 81 games played over the past 3 seasons respectively. With two seasons of over 100 points, Heatley brings more star power to the table, but he has always benefited from highly skilled linemates, showing he may be more of a complimentary than core player. Havlat, on the other hand, has shown the ability to create offense on his own, and while he has seldom reached the 1 point-per-game mark, plays a more intense, hardnosed game than Heatley. The deal has potential to be good for both sides, with a change of scenery sometimes bringing out the best in a player. For now, though, since Havlat's cap hit is $2.5M less than Heatley's, which allowed the Sharks to sign Brent Burns (see lower down the list) to a lengthy extension, we'll score San Jose as the winner. The club was also facing Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Dan Boyle, and Heatley all hitting the UFA market at the same time in 3 years, so they've hedged their bets by swapping for Havlat who has 4 years remaining on his deal.

4) The Philadelphia Flyers trade center Jeff Carter to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Jakub Voracek and the Blue Jackets' 1st and 3rd round picks in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

We'll come right out and say it: love this trade for the Flyers. Absolutely no disrespect intended to Jeff Carter, who is a tremendous hockey player and provides more offensive depth to try to get Columbus over that post-season hump. But in all honesty, it wouldn't be a huge surprise of Jakub Voracek's year-end point total is close to that of Carter's (though with fewer goals of course). Add in that Philadelphia added a top prospect to their stable in Sean Couturier, and had the money to fix their biggest weakness - goaltending - in signing Ilya Bryzgalov, and this trade appears to be a homerun. It will be interesting to monitor Carter's performance with the Jackets, who are clearly trying to shift to a "win now" mentality, having only made the playoffs once and never having won a playoff series. He doesn't seem like a natural fit to play with star Rick Nash, as both have sniping shoot-first mentalities, so the intent was perhaps to bring some scoring balance to a traditionally one-line team. It's a risky move for the club, however, with Carter's contract not ending until the year 2022 (no, that's not a typo).

3) The Washington Capitals trade goaltender Semyon Varlamov to the Colorado Avalanche for a 1st round pick in 2012 and a 2nd rounder in either 2012 or 2013.

The Colorado Avalanche faced public scrutiny this season for making some questionable deals, so certainly their general manager would be careful to manage perception this summer, right? Wrong. Yes, the Avs desperately needed to fix their goaltending situation for both the short and long terms. But why they chose to pin their hopes on a still mostly unproven 23 year old who is coming off an injury-plagued season is beyond me. Varlamov is a solid netminder, always putting up strong numbers when healthy. However, he has yet to play more than 27 games in a season, so it is premature to consider him a surefire top tier starter. With many reasonable and affordable names on the goalie UFA market this summer, the logical approach for Colorado would have been to get 2 of them under contract and see what happens, while drafting and developing a young talent of their own. But conventional the Avs are not, giving up what COULD be as high as a top 5 pick in next year's entry draft, plus an additional second rounder, to acquire Varlamov, before signing J.S. Giguere as a back-up / mentor to ease the young Russian into a starting role. If Varlamov stays healthy, fans of the Avalanche won't have to feel too bad about this trade as he could play in the league for many years, but Capitals fans had to feel down right dirty after hearing this news. With a log-jam in goal already due to the strong play of fellow young netminders Brayden Holtby and Michael Neuvirth, Varlamov appeared headed for the KHL, meaning Washington basically acquired two free draft picks for what was to be a rapidly depreciating asset. And as if that wasn't enough, the Caps were then able to sign an aging Tomas Vokoun to guard their goal for a year, and he remains one of the best in the league.

2) The Minnesota Wild trade rover (but really defenseman) Brent Burns and a 2nd round draft choice to the San Jose Sharks in return for Devin Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle, and a 1st round selection.

Our last two deals rank at the top because we expect them to work out for both sides. Brent Burns is a highly underrated player who doesn't get enough press due to the league's "Eastern Conference bias." The Sharks' back-end was severely lacking after Dan Boyle, who just may hang up the skates at the end of the three years remaining on his contract, so for their team, Burns is a very important addition. Plus, from an asset management perspective, Burns' great shot and ability to take shifts as a winger (much like Dustin Byfuglien) means San Jose is likely not to notice the departure of Devin Setoguchi much. Clearly the team has been frustrated by their post-season failures, so a shuffling of the deck like this just may leave them with the right pieces in place to take a longer run at the Cup. For Minnesota, with Burns having been a pending UFA next summer, the club likely felt they wouldn't be able to re-sign him, and obtained quality younger assets in his place. They used the first rounder to select center Zack Phillips, and add Charlie Coyle, a first round pick in 2010, to their organization, essentially meaning that they picked up three 1sts for a player they might have lost for nothing in a year's time. The Wild need to hope that Setoguchi gets back to a production level like the 2008-09 season, where he topped the 30 goal mark and had 65 points, rather than the two seasons that followed of 36 and 41 points respectively.

1) The Philadelphia Flyers trade former captain Mike Richards to the Los Angeles Kings for prospect Brayden Schenn, forward Wayne Simmonds, and a 2nd round pick in 2012.

We love the moves the Kings made this summer, and while they paid a hefty price, they've acquired the kind of player you can build a hockey team around in Mike Richards. Along with Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Justin Williams, Simon Gagne, and Dustin Penner, Richards gives the Kings what might be the best all-around top 6 forward group in the league. Brayden Schenn will be a great player in the NHL, but how his offense will translate to the big league is still unknown. The Flyers are gambling a little in the short term, but created a bunch of cap space to complete theyother moves they wanted to make and added a surefire bluechipper to the system. Wayne Simmonds is no slouch either, a guy that many feel could eventually be a top 6 power forward, but with limited offensive production thus far, remains more of a tweener two-way third line type. In any case, all three players swapped in this move are expected to play significant roles on their teams for the upcoming season, and both clubs can be considered favourites to make noise come playoff time, which is why we consider this to be the move with the biggest impact this off-season.