Speculation: Hot Takes on where each team will rank in the Pacific Division this season...

[ujju2]

ya not bias at all lol. You actually think the Oilers are better across the board over Vancouver? Demko-Halak is worse than Smith-Koska? Ya put that to a vote.
And sorry but the depth of Vancouvers forwards trumps McDrai.
But tbf, it's only natural to have blinders we all do.

Oilers forwards are definitely better than Vancouver's (and every other Pacific team's) but you're right about the goaltending.

 

[ujju2]

Vegas
Edmonton
Vancouver
Calgary
Seattle
LA
Anaheim
San Jose

 

[GOilers88]

Oilers forwards are definitely better than Vancouver's (and every other Pacific team's) but you're right about the goaltending.

McDrai definitely swing the pendulum our way over EP/Horvat, but that's the case with basically every team outside of Crosby/Malkin.

But Miller/Boeser/Garland/Hoglander is pretty on par if not better than Nuge/Hyman/JP/Yamo

 

[ujju2]

McDrai definitely swing the pendulum our way over EP/Horvat.

But Miller/Boeser/Garland/Hoglander is pretty on par with Nuge/Hyman/JP/Yamo

Yeah. Which means we have a better group overall. Equal depth with better stars.

 

[GOilers88]

Yeah. Which means we have a better group overall. Equal depth with better stars.

The McDrai factor definitely gives us an edge/x-factor when comparing forward groups. God damn we should be so much more improved this season that I'm not nearly as concerned about our defense.

 

[LTIR]

McDrai definitely swing the pendulum our way over EP/Horvat, but that's the case with basically every team outside of Crosby/Malkin.

But Miller/Boeser/Garland/Hoglander is pretty on par if not better than Nuge/Hyman/JP/Yamo

Enters Foegele to tilt it our way!

 

[Oilhawks]

McDrai definitely swing the pendulum our way over EP/Horvat, but that's the case with basically every team outside of Crosby/Malkin.

But Miller/Boeser/Garland/Hoglander is pretty on par if not better than Nuge/Hyman/JP/Yamo

Edmonton and Vancouver probably have the best forward corps in the division now, closely followed by Vegas. Both Edmonton and Vancouver have question marks with their D, Vegas has a much more certainly better D. But they did downgrade at goaltending big time. I like Lehner but he’s inconsistent. If Edmonton can swing a trade for a decent goaltender they should easily be favourites

 

[Oilhawks]

Here’s my hot take:

1. Edmonton
2. Vancouver
3. Vegas
4. LA
5. Calgary
6. Seattle
7. Anaheim
8. San Jose

 

[Oilhawks]

Edmonton and Vancouver probably have the best forward corps in the division now, closely followed by Vegas. Both Edmonton and Vancouver have question marks with their D, Vegas has a much more certainly better D. But they did downgrade at goaltending big time. I like Lehner but he’s inconsistent. If Edmonton can swing a trade for a decent goaltender they should easily be favourites

One thing I’ll add is that Vancouver’s goaltending is better (though Halak gives me no confidence if Demko goes down again), but their forwards have questions as to whether or not they will hit that next notch. Like @GOilers88 mentioned, a lot comes down to Ep40 and if he can bounce back this year.

They also moved out a lot of bottom 6 guys, they have to be certain the young players coming in are up to the task of shutting down top lines. They can always hard match Horvat but they would probably like him to get some easier matchups here and there. Did Sutter re-sign with them? I never noticed

 

[SK13]

idk that I have a "hot take" here.

Vegas #1, Anaheim #8.

Edmonton safely in the top-4, probably #2 barring big injury. Vancouver, Calgary and LA in a fight for the top-4. San Jose and Seattle better than the brutal Ducks but probably well behind the bubble teams.

The NHL makes fools of anyone who tries to predict this kind of thing but this would be my betting favorites right now.

 

[Porkleaker]

Bouchard is also an addition on D and it could be a very good addition.
He will finally get to prove his worth as a legit top 4 Dman in this league.

We'll finally get to see, it's not like Dave Dumbass Tippett played him at all last season. Pathetic.

 

[Porkleaker]

38 yo Keith was set to anchor the top pairing in CHI if he wasn't traded to EDM. He is a proud guy and is going to give Nurse a run for the money when it comes to being top pairing LHD. Ceci is indeed a question mark so hopefully the pro scouts know what they are doing.
Term and AAV is horrible if he is indeed just a 3rd pairing Dman.

Bouchard needs PP time so ideally he gets 3rd pairing ES mins and top unit PP time. Barrie doesn't need to be in the top unit

I'd like to see more Bouchard on the PP, he's been impressive in the minor stints he's played, but Tippett doesn't like it when a young Dman scores or gets pucks through crowds for prime chances. He'll likely go with Barrie the majority of the time, he's stubborn.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

I don't see how a team that has Demko as a starter has weaker goaltending than we do unless Smith repeats last season and Koskinen has a mother of a bounce back season. That said our forwards and offensive defensemen should mean that we are the best offensive team in the division. The defensive side of the puck and goaltending will be our biggest question marks.

 

[Mowzie]

1: EDM
2: VGK
3: CGY
4: VAN
5: LAK
6: SEA
7: SJS
8: ANA

 

[CycloneSweep]

Mine

Team	Forwards rank	Dmen rank	Goalies rank	Combined ranks (less is better)	Overall rank
Knights	1	1	5	7	1
Kraken	6	2	1	9	2
Canucks	4	6	2	12	3
Oilers	2	5	6	13	4
Kings	3	4	7	14	5
Sharks	5	3	8	16	6
Sharks	8	7	3	18	7
Flames	7	8	4	20	8

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

So based on pure rankings of each spot I have Edmonton as 4th however I think special teams would push us up to 2/3

 

[CycloneSweep]

I don't see how a team that has Demko as a starter has weaker goaltending than we do unless Smith repeats last season and Koskinen has a mother of a bounce back season. That said our forwards and offensive defensemen should mean that we are the best offensive team in the division. The defensive side of the puck and goaltending will be our biggest question marks.

I think we will be top 5 in the league for goals for and bottom 10 for goals against. I think for a second season in a row we will rely on special teams to cover the gap between our defensive inability and our offensive ability

 

[Soundwave]

I mean I don't think the rankings changed much from last year honestly.

The Oilers would have been listed as 2nd best forwards, 5th or 6th best D (Klefbom gone, only Koekkoek added to left side), and 5th or 6th in goaltending if you did the same ranking before the start of last season.

But they finished 2nd in the division.

If the GA balloons it will largely be because of goaltending, but in that case Holland needs to move the Oilers 2022 1st and whatever else it takes and fix that immediately.

Bear and Jones were not good last year, the only D that's been lost of value from last year specifically was Larsson, and while he's decent, it's not like he's a superstar or even a star. We'll see how much Keith has declined, but it'll be quite a fall off if he can't even be an OK no.4.

Don't like the Ceci signing. Bouchard needs to be ready to make an impact and bring skill into the d-corps.

 

[CycloneSweep]

I mean I don't think the rankings changed much from last year honestly.

The Oilers would have been listed as 2nd best forwards, 5th or 6th best D (Klefbom gone, only Koekkoek added to left side), and 5th or 6th in goaltending if you did the same ranking before the start of last season.

But they finished 2nd in the division.

If the GA balloons it will largely be because of goaltending, but in that case Holland needs to move the Oilers 2022 1st and whatever else it takes and fix that immediately.

Bear and Jones were not good last year, the only D that's been lost of value from last year specifically was Larsson, and while he's decent, it's not like he's a superstar or even a star. We'll see how much Keith has declined, but it'll be quite a fall off if he can't even be an OK no.4.

Don't like the Ceci signing. Bouchard needs to be ready to make an impact and bring skill into the d-corps.

I think Keith+Ceci is overall a better duo than Jones/Russel+Larsson. Larsson is the best of the whole group but I would put Keith and Ceci in the next spots.

 

[Soundwave]

The goaltending is basically the whole thing, if the goaltending is solid, then the D sandwiched between good goaltending and high end forwards don't need to work as hard.

That basically was the formula last year too, it's not really that the D was anything special, Bear and Jones actually relative to expectations were disappointments.

But if Smith hits the brick wall of age, Holland must move immediately to get a top end starter. 1st 2022, 2nd 2023, Benson, whatever. Get it done.

 

[Mr Positive]

Bouchard is also an addition on D and it could be a very good addition.
He will finally get to prove his worth as a legit top 4 Dman in this league.

But even great D will struggle in their first seasons. I'd compare him to Fowler, who also took a few seasons to be a net positive

 

[Soundwave]

But even great D will struggle in their first seasons. I'd compare him to Fowler, who also took a few seasons to be a net positive

I'll be honest I didn't see much more from Bear or Jones over Bouchard last year. It's obvious of the three he's the most naturally talented.

 

[Mr Positive]

I'll be honest I didn't see much more from Bear or Jones over Bouchard last year. It's obvious of the three he's the most naturally talented.

Bouchard is still very young and was sheltered in his limited usage. Tippett did a great job putting the fans on Bouchard's side, but if is in regular rotation expect warts to show

 

[Soundwave]

Bouchard is still very young and was sheltered in his limited usage. Tippett did a great job putting the fans on Bouchard's side, but if is in regular rotation expect warts to show

It's not like last year was raindrops and lollipops with Bear and Jones anyway though.

They made a ton of stupid plays and mind boggling decisions. It is what it is with young D.

Hopefully Keith can guide Bouchard and settle him down in those ancy moments.

 

[Mr Positive]

It's not like last year was raindrops and lollipops with Bear and Jones anyway though.

They made a ton of stupid plays and mind boggling decisions. It is what it is with young D.

Hopefully Keith can guide Bouchard and settle him down in those ancy moments.

Sure, and either way it has to be done. Bouchard needs to be an NHL regular. It's the next step of his development and hes going to turn into our 1st pairing RD with Nurse one day

 

[Oilhawks]

It's not like last year was raindrops and lollipops with Bear and Jones anyway though.

They made a ton of stupid plays and mind boggling decisions. It is what it is with young D.

Hopefully Keith can guide Bouchard and settle him down in those ancy moments.

Bouchard also has a lot more calm and higher panic threshold than Jones and Bear. He’s going to make mistakes but it won’t be due to panic