WESTERN CONFERENCE SEASON PREVIEW

BB.WCP

 The Western Conference has 7 haves, 5 have nots , and 2 directly in the middle. I’ll take the Wild to make the playoffs over Vancouver because their style of play is so boring maybe no one will notice if I’m wrong. Here’s my preseason ranking of the 14 Western Conferences Teams and an answer to one of their pressing questions.

1. LA KINGS - Will the Kings suffer a Stanley Cup hangover?  No, this is the Kings 2^nd Stanley Cup in 3 years so they have been here before and know what to expect. They have played more hockey than anybody else in 3 years but this team has a lot of young legs up front ( Toffoli, Pearson, King ) and on D ( Voynov, Muzzin) . Their two best skaters are entering the prime of their careers ( Kopitar, Doughty) They have a better than average backup ( Jones) for their great goaltender Jonathan Quick saving him too much wear and tear. They will also have trade deadline savior Marian Gaborik all season. The Kings have great leadership and a GM who pulls the trigger on deadline deals. The will not fall far from the top if at all this season.

2. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS- Will Brad Richards regain his old Conn Smythe form? How can he not, hands usually don’t go away and he’ll be playing with an exceptional pair of wingers either Kane, Sharp, Hossa or Saad. The Hawks have the best top five defense in the league ( Keith , Seabrook, Hjalmarsson, Oduya, Leddy) and will be right at the top of the Western Conference again. Super center and Captain Toews knows this maybe his last great shot at Cup number 3 before the salary cap tears this team apart.

3. ANAHEIM DUCKS- Will the acquisition of Ryan Kesler be enough to make Ducks the best team in Southern California? Maybe, the Ducks addition of Kesler started the Western conferences off season arms race. Every good team in the West without two great centers went out and got another center.  Getzlaf and Perry are the NHL’s most formidable center winger pairing, having a line with Kesler behind them makes the Ducks a chore to play against. The Ducks added Clayton Stoner to add  some beef on the blue line jersey sales at the merch stand.  The Ducks still will not overcome their biggest weakness , coach BBQ Bruce Brodeau, just ask Teemu Selanne .

4. ST. LOUIS BLUES- Will Paul Stastny get the Blues to the top of the Western conference ?  Stastny will provide this defense first regular season juggernaut team with more offense then they have seen since the Brett Hull era. If Ken ( Capt Kangaroo) Hitchcock plays Stastny with Oshie and Steen they might not have to worry about how weak their goaltending is because no matter how many minutes excellent defensive center Backes and the awesome defensive core ( Shattenkirk, Pietrangelo, Bouwmeester  play goaltender Elliot can’t stop a beachball.

5. SAN JOSE SHARKS- Will Joe Thorton and the Sharks choke again this year? No, because Thorton won’t be a Shark by the end of the year. San Jose has done everything to get Thorton to remove his no trade short of burning down his house. They ripped the C off his sweater and publicly flogged him. The Sharks have a ton a young talent ( Pavelski, Couture, Hertl , Nieto) and the hull they get from a Thorton and a Marleau trade is what this franchise needs to make the jump to the next level. The fact they kept their maligned coach (McLellan) and moved Burns back to defense I don’t have faith in this franchise.

6. COLORADO AVALANCHE- Will Patrick Roy’s carriage turn into pumpkin?  The Colorado Avalanche will not win the Central division regular season title this season because they realize that and five dollars will get you a cup of coffee and Starbucks. The Avs lost Stastny to the Bliues but still have 2 top centers in Duchene and MacKinnon. Those two centers with wingers O’Reilly and Landeskog the Avs will still score a ton of regular season goals. They went out and got Jerome Iginla and Daniel Briere to score big goals in the playoffs. The Avs problem was a below average defense even before Matt Cooke took cheap shots them.

7. DALLAS STARS- Will Lindy Ruff’s carriage turn into a pumpkin? No, because the great Lindy Ruff is the best coach in the NHL that doesn’t have a Cup (he must hate Brett Hull) and the Stars will be scaring the hell out of some team next spring. The Stars will score a ton of goals. The Stars found their arm’s race center in Ottawa’s Jason Spezza. Dallas has a great number one line combo of Seguin and Benn and a 3^rd line that is becoming stuff of legend ( Roussel, Eakin, Garbutt) . The problem with the Stars will they stop any goals?

8. MINNESOTA WILD- How will the Wild handle their goaltending situation? Poorly, If Ilya Bryzgalov the answer, rip up the question. I get that Backstrom hurt, Harding is sick , and Kuemper is young but if Bryz is the answer make a trade. Parise , Pominville and Vanek can’t score enough goals to overcome the Russian nightmare. Super defenseman Suter may play 35 minutes a game but he doesn’t play goal.

9. VANCOUVER CANUCKS- Why are the Canucks not going to make the playoffs? Because this team needed a complete rebuild not a tweak. Head coach John Tortorella was not the only problem last year. The Sedins aren’t getting any younger or grittier. Ryan Kesler, their best two way forward is now in Anaheim and goaltender Ryan Miller hasn’t stopped in important shot in at least four years. I feel sorry for Kevin Bieksa he always seems to be the only guy in Vancouver that plays with balls and brains.

10. WINNEPEG JETS- Will the Jets wish they were still in Atlanta? Yes, playing in front of nobody wasn’t any fun but neither is playing in the rough and tumble Central Division and at least they weren’t freezing in Winnepeg. The laughable Southeast division doesn’t exist anymore but gifted , talented and troubled Kane and Byfuglien will rack up enough points to bring in a major haul at the deadline for the total rebuild that should have started two years ago.

11. NASHVILLE PREDATORS- Will Peter Laviolette take Nashville to the promised land? If the promised land is the back of the net, yes. If the promised land is the playoffs, no. Lavy will install an actual offense in Nashville. Malcontents Neal, Jokinen and Ribeiro will enjoy Lavy’s on ice freedom but not his intensity. Like a country western song this franchise better enjoy the great defensemen Shea Weber because it will be mighty lonely when he’s gone.

12. EDMONTON OILERS- Will they finally cash in on some of their potential? I have faith in the Edmonton Oilers will be a better team this year and put some heat in frozen Rexall Place. Shipping off Gagne and not having ancient Captain Canada Smith to prop up will enable Hall , Nugent Hopkins and Eberle to mature as a group. Who knows Yakupov may also turn it around this year. May he at least be serviceable enough to bring back some veteran defense at the trade deadline.

13. ARIZONA COYOTES- Will they finally move to Seattle or Las Vegas? No, because even though our Commissioner does not nearly have the psychopathic ego of some pro sports commissioners he still will not back down on keeping an ice hockey team in the desert. Plus Dave Tippett has done such a great job keeping the Dogs relevant all these years he deserves great tee times twelve months a year.

14. CALGARY FLAMES- Will fighting practice in training camp payoff? Yes, because when they are down to two goals in the first people will need a reason to watch. When Monahan  is not on the ice people will need a reason to watch. When you can go to bed or watch the last highlights on NHL Tonight we will need a reason to watch.