Will the Western Conference once again come down to with the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings, like the the past few seasons have? Who else in the West can break that two-team hegemony at the top? Is there a team that’s waiting in the wings to become the next dominant force in the West?
The past six seasons have seen the Chicago Blackhawks carve out what amounts to a modern-day dynasty, winning the Stanley Cup on three occasions, including their six-game triumph over the Tampa Bay Lightning in last season’s Final. With the core of the team in tact coming into this season (Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, et al.), there’s plenty of reasons to think that Chicago can continue its dominance. But can they really be as good as, say, the Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s, the last team to win four Cups in a seven-year span? One thing is for certain as we get ready to drop the puck on the 2015-16 NHL season Wednesday night: when we think we know what may happen, the unexpected arises and makes us look silly more often than not. I guess, let the silliness begin!
Before the first puck drops, our hockey journalist, Emna Achour, answers a batch of questions from A Lot of Sports Talk and editor-in-chief Adesina O. Koiki as we present A Lot of Sports Talk’s 2015 NHL Western Conference Preview. While it’s a pleasure to have Emna, a former writer for NHL.com, on board, we don’t waste time throwing her into the fire, as each question hits right to the heart of the matter in terms of the biggest topics of conversation for each squad. But, as you’ll see and read, Miss Achour was more than up for our challenge.
Enjoy our Western Conference preview, and if you have any questions, comments and/or complaints, write them below on the Facebook window or email us at feedback@alotofsportstalk.com. We’d love to hear from you.
Central Division
Could the Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks, given all of the games they have racked up in the past six seasons, be defeated this season by father time more than anything else? Oh, and what will affect them the more? The tired legs or everything going on off the ice with Patrick Kane?
At the time of publication, forward Patrick Kane is still under investigation for an alleged sexual assault in August. The star forward has not been charged and has been a part of Blackhawks’ training camp, and could very well start the season at his regular position. So if you’re asking yourself if the whole incident involving Kane has or will affect the Blackhawks this season, the answer is no – because everything they’ve done since the news broke was based on the fact that he didn’t do anything wrong. Maybe they’re right; maybe he didn’t commit rape. But the Blackhawks should be ashamed they’ve included Kane in every team activity since the begining of camp as if nothing had happened. When they released their schedule for home-game giveaways a couple of days ago, we learned that there would be a “Patrick Kane bobblehead night” on Jan. 24. Hey, why not? He is a fan-favorite after all and he did considerably help the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup three times in the last six years, so why on Earth would they stop calling him a hero? Just because of an ongoing investigation for an alleged sexual assault? Please. So no, Chicago doesn’t seem too affected by the Kane situation. But it’s nonetheless disappointing to sew this storied franchise take this stance of ignorance and insensitivity.
This has to be a “boom or bust” season for the St. Louis Blues and Ken Hitchcock. Which of those two outcomes is more likely to occur?
The problem with the St. Louis Blues is that they are the Washington Capitals of the Western Conference; we know exactly what they are going to do. They’ll have another good regular season, finishing in the top-two spots of the Central division, as always, but they’ll probably end up being eliminated in the first or second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The championship window is slowly closing on the Blues because, despite their remarkable offensive depth, the regular season doesn’t mean anything come playoff time and their key players haven’t been able to produce at the same level during the post-season. They pretty much have nothing to change in their game during the regular season, notching up 100 points three times in the last four years (and 60 points in the lockout shortened season in 2012-13). But they have to turn it around in the playoffs, or heads could start rolling.
Am I hallucinating, or are the Dallas Stars a sleeping giant in the Western Conference?
They were a sleeping giant last year, led by captain and Art Ross trophy winner Jamie Benn, and they should be again this year as they got even better with the additions of recent Stanley Cup champions Patrick Sharp and Johnny Oduya. They will also be able to count on young forward Valeri Nichushkin, who played only eight games last year because of a hip injury. The presence of the Russian, along with Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza, to name a few, should make for a strong top-six up front. After a season which saw Kari Lehtonen do well but play in 65 games, GM Jim Nill brought in veteran Antti Niemi as insurance, a move that could give a boost to Lehtonen giving that he will now play with the fear of being pushed aside by another experienced goaltender. The Stars will be a fun bunch to watch this season, whether they make the playoffs or not.
Does Pekka Rinna have to be even better in net than his stellar 2015 to make the Predators a serious contender?
Every elite player will tell you that there’s always room for improvement, even after a spectacular season (Hi, Carey Price), but in Pekka Rinne’s case, there’s only so much he can do. It’s time for the rest of the team to step up. The good thing for Rinne and coach Peter Laviolette is that, even if GM David Poile didn’t make any major alteration to the lineup during the offseason (and he didn’t), the Predators look like they will be better this year and give a little more support to their goaltender. The talent among their defensive corpse is undeniable, but it’s just on the offense that they’ll need a little more support. But their young players are ready ; led by forward Filip Forsberg, who scored 26 goals as a rookie in 2014-15, and defenseman Roman Josi, among others, the depth and the balance of the offense from the guys up front to the blue line should help Rinne to not have to steal as many games this time around.
Which goaltender/team has a better chance at repeating his career season/their surprise season from last year? Devan Dubnyk and the Minnesota Wild or Ondrej Pavelec and the Winnipeg Jets?
Devan Dubnyk and the Wild. It would almost be inhuman to ask Dubnyk to put up the same numbers that he did last year. As the Minnesota Wild was eight points away from a playoff spot when he came along in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes in mid-January, Dubnyk helped the Wild – his fifth NHL team in two years – reach the postseason, setting a franchise record of 38 consecutive starts. His .936 save percentage, combined with his 1.78 goals-against average, his 27-9-2 record and his five shutouts made him the 2014-15 winner of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. He wasn’t able to do as well in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but his unbelieveble performances in the regular season earned him a six-year and $4.333 million contract. He basically saved the Wild’s season last year and although it’ll be pretty hard to replicate his spectacular run, Dubnyk will still bring some much needed stability to Minnesota in front of the net.
The last time the Colorado Avalanche came into a season with no expectations and Patrick Roy as head coach, they won 52 games. So will this year resemble more of that Cinderella year in 2014 or the nightmare that was 2015?
It says a lot about your team when François Beauchemin is your highest-paid defenseman for this upcoming season. He is good alright, as he’s had a respectable career marked by a Stanley Cup championship with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007. But at 35 years old, his best years are behind him and the rest of the defensive corps isn’t quite hermetic enough. Best case scenario for the Avalanche: Nathan MacKinnon returns to his Calder-winning form, the offense explodes and nobody talks about the team’s blue line ever again – well, at least not for the foreseeable future. Jarome Iginla, at 38 years old, was tied with captain Gabriel Landeskog for team lead in points (59) last season, the veteran’s first with the Avalanche. Iginla likely has more in him, but let’s just say that with two years left on his contract, if he wants to end his career by winning a Stanley Cup, it’s unfortunately not going to be with the Avalanche. So this season shouldn’t look anything like 2014 nor 2015, but Colorado will most likely miss the playoffs for a second straight year.
Pacific Division
Are three heads better than one in goal for the Anaheim Ducks?
Frederik Andersen is clearly the No. 1 goaltender for the Ducks this season, but John Gibson is the clear future franchise goalie. Although it became obvious that by bringing in backup Anton Khudobin during the summer Gibson was going to spend the season in the AHL, GM Bob Murray thinks he can never have too many goalies, especially after seeing what injuries in front of the net can do to a team. Injuries to both Gibson and Jason LaBarbera early last year urged Murray to sign veteran Ilya Bryzgalov in November, but that didn’t turn out too well. Anaheim now has three reliable options in front of the net, or “some security,” as Murray described it. After posting a 35-12-5 record with a .914 SV% and a 2.38 GAA last season, Andersen now has one year left on his contract before becoming a restricted free agent. On the other hand, Gibson just signed a three-year and $6.9 million extension scheduled to start next season. With Khudobin only acting as an insurance policy this year before becoming an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, Murray provided his team a nice trio while skilfully preparing the franchise’s future.
If the Canucks are indeed in rebuilding mode, will the Sedins finish this season together in Vancouver?
Daniel and Henrik Sedin aren’t getting any younger. At 35 years old, they’ll try to follow their 70-plus point bounce-back seasons from last year with another good performance alongside their right winger, Radim Vrbata, who had good chemistry with the twins last season. Although it seems pretty unlikely that the Sedin brothers will improve even further, they’re still the best the Vancouver Canucks have at this point. Center Bo Horvat is the next best thing on this team, and he will be called upon to bring support to Henrik at center. Horvat finished the year on a high note with four points in six playoff games, but outside of him, Vancouver is really lacking depth when it comes to promising prospects. That’s why the Canucks just can’t afford letting the Sedins go. And even if they wanted to, their big contracts make them pretty much untradeable because, well, who would be willing to bring in two players, at once, worth $14 million per year between both of the? And let’s face it; you can’t seperate them and trade for just one of the two – it’s just not ethical. They come in a package, and the Canucks will live and die with them both.
Were the Calgary Flames good or lucky last season? Whatever that answer is, will that repeat itself this season?
They were good, but got a little help from the Los Angeles Kings’ late-season meltdown. Will they be able to replicate that this year? It’s hard to say. Nobody expected 31-year-old Jiri Hudler would post 76 points after never hitting the 60-point mark in his career. Nobody thought young star Sean Monahan would score 31 goals as soon as in his second year in the NHL. Nobody could’ve predicted captain Mark Giordano would be that solid for a second straight season and make his way through the Norris trophy discussions before a season-ending injury. The only difference with this year’s Calgary Flames is that, for the first time in many years, they will have to cope with expectations. It’ll be interesting to see how they react and perform with a little more pressure.
Connor McDavid will add ____ more points to the Oilers point total from last season. (That’s not a question, but you get my drift.)
Exactly 10 years after Sidney Crosby made his debut in the NHL and almost instantly became the face of the League, the NHL will be the stage for another Canadian prodigee to shine, Connor “The Savior” McDavid. But it’s not like it was the first time a young star was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers with the hopes of changing the face of the franchise, right? Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov, chosen as the No. 1 overall pick by Edmonton in the 2011, 2012 and 2013 drafts, all show promise to become and/or continue to be elite players, but this McDavid kid is just different. His arrival is a breath of fresh air for the Oilers and certainly will make the team better, something that the three others couldn’t manage to do. McDavid will add 20 points to the Oilers, or at least enough to flirt with the 10th spot in the very competetive Western Conference. (Edmonton managed only 62 points last season.)They will miss the playoffs anyway, but it’ll still be a nice step in the right direction for the future of the Oilers.
In seven seasons as a head coach, Peter DeBoer has made the playoffs only once (2012 New Jersey Devils Stanley Cup run). Is he actually a good hire for the San Jose Sharks, a team that has Stanley Cup aspirations?
He is, in the sense that he just seems to always manage to get the most out of his teams. Just think about the 2012 New Jersey Devils, who were far from the most talented team in the East in 2011-12 but still managed to reach the Stanley Cup Final under DeBoer’s watch. He also has a more aggressive and puck-pressuring style than his predecessor, Todd McLellan, which could also benefit the Sharks. DeBoer also has a history of excelling in his first year with his new teams. Behind the bench of the Florida Panthers in 2008-09, he helped the team notch 93 points as they missed the playoffs by a whisker. With the Devils, his first season was the year they went all the way to the Finals. The goaltender position is still the biggest question mark, as new No. 1 Martin Jones has no experience as a starter in the NHL. General manager Doug Wilson did improve his roster during the off-season by bringing in forward Joel Ward and defenseman Paul Martin, and combined with the emergence of young talents like Tomas Hertl and Matt Nieto, it should help San Jose get back into the playoffs, even if it’s by getting the second Wild Card spot.
Has the championship window shut on the Los Angeles Kings, or is there one more run in those legs?
The window always seems open for the Los Angeles Kings because they just seem to know how to win in the playoffs. Getting there, on the other hand, is another story. Luckily for the Kings, the 2015-16 season can’t be worse than last season’s, one marked by a lot of off-ice drama (see Slava Voynov, Jarret Stoll, Mike Richards). The upcoming season is a year the Kings will try to put last season’s malaise behind them while trying to prove to everybody that not making it to the playoffs was just a fluke. They’re so big and strong and experienced that they should always be competing for the top spot in the West, but their problem could be that they seem to have a mentality of “Let’s just barely make the playoffs, and then we’ll turn it on from there.” They won their two championships without having particularly good regular seasons before dominating in the playoffs, but that strategy can’t always work. They’ll be back in the post-season this year and will probably win a couple of rounds, but changing their “just making the playoffs is good enough” mentality might not be a bad idea.
Give me a reason to watch the Arizona Coyotes this season. Any reason at all.
The young guns. That’s pretty much it. At his third training camp with the Arizona Coyotes, forward Max Domi managed to make the team and could be a part of the Calder Trophy discussions. His good friend, Anthony Duclair, with whom he dominated the competition on the Canadian national junior team’s top line last winter, will also start the year with the Coyotes. Combined with 24-year-old D-man Oliver Ekman-Larrson, the future of this team is bright. So the only thing we could truly wish from the Coyotes this year is for their kids to emerge, yet still finish in the bottom of the standings to successfully tank this time and have a shot at drafting Arizona-born and next big star Auston Matthews with the first pick overall.
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[Cover photo (Jonathan Toews) courtesy of Bruce Bennett/Getty Images]
