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

[McIce Whole]

Goaltending will hold this team back. I think our defence will be similar to what we saw pre-covid.

Goaltending is a legitimate concern and a huge black mark on Holland’s work this off-season. I understand he was handcuffed but it was his job to figure out a way around that and fix that need. Sitting back and saying “I couldn’t do anything cause of contracts” is pretty unacceptable.

If he can fix the goaltending, the Oilers are closer to competing for the top of the division than they are for 2-3. I think we make it but we’re closer to Vancouver/LA/Calgary than we are to Vegas.

With that said, maybe Mike Smith is lights out again but relying on a 39 year old over the course of 82 games where the travel is a lot harder again…don’t have my hopes up

 

[RandomGuy79]

Goaltending will hold this team back. I think our defence will be similar to what we saw pre-covid.

Goaltending is a legitimate concern and a huge black mark on Holland’s work this off-season. I understand he was handcuffed but it was his job to figure out a way around that and fix that need. Sitting back and saying “I couldn’t do anything cause of contracts” is pretty unacceptable.

If he can fix the goaltending, the Oilers are closer to competing for the top of the division than they are for 2-3. I think we make it but we’re closer to Vancouver/LA/Calgary than we are to Vegas.

With that said, maybe Mike Smith is lights out again but relying on a 39 year old over the course of 82 games where the travel is a lot harder again…don’t have my hopes up

Maybe we can pull another 2006 where we hang on until the trade deadline and trade for a #1.

 

[Oilhawks]

Not sure who cares but The Athletic has the Oilers as 9th in the league (and Dom’s “model” has them as 6th).



For the rest of the Pacific for league rankings they have Vegas at 3rd, Seattle at 16th, Calgary at 21st, LA at 22nd, Vancouver at 24th, San Jose at 29th, and Anaheim at 31st.

That would mean

Vegas
Edmonton
Seattle
Calgary
LA
Vancouver
San Jose
Anaheim

Given their overall league rankings it would look like the Pacific would miss out on the wild cards so playoff teams of Vegas, Edmonton and Seattle according to their rankings.

 

[nexttothemoon]

Seattle will be a little better than most think... they are decent on D... good/great goaltending and their forwards are "ok"... all in all they really don't have glaring weaknesses... which should make for a decent team.

I think a lot of people keep wondering about the Kraken... where is all the offense going to come from... and to a degree I see that point... but you don't need to be an offensive juggernaut to contend for a playoff spot.

Last season the Predators and Islanders were tied for 20th overall in goals for and both made the playoffs.

Year prior to that.. Dallas was tied for 3rd fewest goals in the NHL and went to the Cup Finals.

Of course if you have no offense... you likely need pretty stellar goaltending and above average defense as well. Point is there's more than one formula for making the playoffs.

 

[yukoner88]

Not sure who cares but The Athletic has the Oilers as 9th in the league (and Dom’s “model” has them as 6th).



For the rest of the Pacific for league rankings they have Vegas at 3rd, Seattle at 16th, Calgary at 21st, LA at 22nd, Vancouver at 24th, San Jose at 29th, and Anaheim at 31st.

That would mean

Vegas
Edmonton
Seattle
Calgary
LA
Vancouver
San Jose
Anaheim

Given their overall league rankings it would look like the Pacific would miss out on the wild cards so playoff teams of Vegas, Edmonton and Seattle according to their rankings.

Given the strength of the central this year, having one of them cross over is a very real possibility for the playoffs.

So on that note, get f***ed Calgary

 

[Mr Sakich]

I can't find the athletic article but Dom has Edm as having the 2nd best off season with the acquisitions being worth 3.8 extra wins. Only NJ was better and they had infinite cap space.

Poor Dom, his model shows us well but he hates out defence. He is struggling with the numbers vs saw-him-well conflict that everyone should have about all thing analytics. It is a sign of maturity and confidence that you can openly question your own created model

 

[FlameChampion]

Not sure who cares but The Athletic has the Oilers as 9th in the league (and Dom’s “model” has them as 6th).



For the rest of the Pacific for league rankings they have Vegas at 3rd, Seattle at 16th, Calgary at 21st, LA at 22nd, Vancouver at 24th, San Jose at 29th, and Anaheim at 31st.

That would mean

Vegas
Edmonton
Seattle
Calgary
LA
Vancouver
San Jose
Anaheim

Given their overall league rankings it would look like the Pacific would miss out on the wild cards so playoff teams of Vegas, Edmonton and Seattle according to their rankings.

Its kinda interesting that he has the Oilers 6th. Traditionally him and his model have hated the Oilers.

 

[FlameChampion]

I can't find the athletic article but Dom has Edm as having the 2nd best off season with the acquisitions being worth 3.8 extra wins. Only NJ was better and they had infinite cap space.

Poor Dom, his model shows us well but he hates out defence. He is struggling with the numbers vs saw-him-well conflict that everyone should have about all thing analytics. It is a sign of maturity and confidence that you can openly question your own created model

Yeah I dont like Dom but at least I see some rationality to the way he approaches some things. Some analytics people are completely blind to anything on the ice.

 

[Geardedandbearded]

I think outside commenters are forgetting about the sekera/neal/Barrie effect. We haven’t had the highest end vets to teach our guys things that work at the nhl level. Hyman will help with tenacity, crashing the net, and tips. Keith’s influence doesn’t need to be mentioned. I expect our d and forwards to add elements to their games that improve us even more. These adds go beyond just their on ice value.

on top of all this, the team speed and defence will be drastically better, mostly due to the forwards. I agreed with people this will help nurse and our other d a lot.

 

[Chabot84]

Don’t worry guys.. we have Nurse our superstar top 5 D in the NHL.

 

[NotAVacuumSalesman]

You wanted a hot take. You got it!

Edmonton
Vancouver
Vegas
Seattle
LA
Calgary
Anaheim
SJ

Bump for a good laugh.

 

[oilers'72]

Bump for a good laugh.

If teams played Calgary with the same intensity as they do the Oilers, that's exactly where they'd finish.

 

[NotAVacuumSalesman]

If teams played Calgary with the same intensity as they do the Oilers, that's exactly where they'd finish.

Calgary will cave when the pressure hits them in the playoffs.