Please explain why.
Goaltending still has the potential to be as good as it was last season. And if Markstrom flops like he has before at the NHL level and/or Miller gets hurt, we're screwed.
Defense is a bit downgraded but younger. And was completely and utterly demolished in the playoffs last year. We're already bad in that area and now we have zero strength back there
Offense hasn't changed much, Kassian wasn't a big part of the team due to all the injuries he had. If Baertschi can step into a top 6 role effectively the Canucks could be better offensively. Okay, I'll go along with that.
Sharks haven't improved, Oilers still have unproven goalies and a patchwork defense to along with a forward group that has proven to be defensively inept. Flames made a step forward on paper, but are still young and I'm not sold on their offensive depth and goaltending. If Lucic finds his game the Kings could be a force but that's a big if, I really don't think the Kings are as good as people make them out to be anymore. Coyotes are still a mess. Sharks have improved slightly. Oilers added freakin' McDavid, Griffin Reinhart, Sekera, Talbot and now have an experienced NHL coach along with non-idiotic management for the first time in a decade. They'll be a lot better. Flames added Dougie Hamilton, Frolik, and have a bumper crop of young stars still coming up. They'll still be better. Kings? Lucic found another home with an NHL darling team that'll let him run around doing whatever he wants without repercussions, and we're losing toughness. Coyotes are still crap, I'll give you that.
The Canucks will still be a team in the hunt for the playoffs and in the mix with teams like the Flames, Sharks, and Kings.
