Western Conference teams by ranking: our chances of making the playoffs

[Adios_Kes]

Edmonton?.......... In the playoffs?

Perfect timing! I needed a good laugh. Seriously though I think the Coilers would have a tough time making the playoffs in the East!

The sharks may not be as good as last year but I would be shocked if they dropped out of the playoffs. Actually the one team I could see dropping out is Colorado. They're young & inexperienced (upset by Wild in 1st round), they give up a lot of shots (Varlamov bailed them out on quite a few occasions), they won't be taking anyone by surprise this year & lastly, I don't like the moves they've made so far. Yes they've gained experience but they also got older & slower (remember how out of place Iggy looked in Pittsburg? It'll be the same with Colorado.) I know a lot of you will disagree but I think we're the team that steps into the playoffs. We could have made the playoffs last year if not for the injury bug & I think We're a better team this year!

[kmotamed]

Below is what I feel are the strongest teams in the West.

1. Los Angeles

2. Chicago

3. Anaheim

4. St.Louis

5. Colorado

6. Dallas

7. Minnesota

8. Edmonton

I just realize how much all of these teams have improved and how far behind we suddenly are.... I mean we were one of the top teams in the NHL as little as 2 years ago. I don't like our chances of making the playoffs at all, and I am not even a bandwagoner.

Guess I will have to settle with being excited about our prospect's development and the 2015 draft.

I would rank Minnisota ahead of Dallas, and Edmonton at 8th is a stretch... but the rest of it looks pretty good! Canucks in 8th, I'd think.

[DefCon1]

Below is what I feel are the strongest teams in the West.

1. Los Angeles

2. Chicago

3. Anaheim

4. St.Louis

5. Colorado

6. Dallas

7. Minnesota

8. Edmonton

I just realize how much all of these teams have improved and how far behind we suddenly are.... I mean we were one of the top teams in the NHL as little as 2 years ago. I don't like our chances of making the playoffs at all, and I am not even a bandwagoner.

Guess I will have to settle with being excited about our prospect's development and the 2015 draft.

Edmonton??? Are you an Edmonton fan?

[DefCon1]

Sorry Edmonton haters, but I actually think Edmonton this year will be a team to watch out for.

They actually have NHL goaltending now with Scrivens and Fasth. Their stars are maturing: Hall, Hopkins, Eberle, Yakupov, Perron. They upgraded their 3rd line in size and production with Purcell and Pouliot. They signed Fayne, who is a top 4 D, and then they have defense like Darnell Nurse, Martin Marincin, and Oscar Klefbom who should start contributing next season.

On paper, they are a team to watch out for.

I have heard that every year for the past 10 years that am actually tired of hearing it now. Until they get some #1 defenseman and stop drafting forwards with their top picks, they won't go anywhere. Edmonton should've gave up the 3rd overall plus some other pick/prospect to get the number 1 pick and take Ekblad. Unfortunately that organization doesn't know what the hell they are doing. Until K. Lowe gets fired, nothing will change.

[RustyShackleford]

1.LA

2.VAN

3.SJ

ANA

PHX

CAL

EDM

1.CHI

2.COL

3.DAL

WC.MIN

WC.NAS

STL

WPG

1.CHI

2.COL

3.LA

4.DAL

5.VAN

6.SJ

7.MIN

8.NAS

[DefCon1]

anyone that puts Vancouver in the top 8 or even top 3.. please give me some of that stuff that you are smoking thx.. we downgraded offensively on a team that's 26th overall in scoring and all of a sudden we are back in business eh? =\

What? Kesler and Garrison out while Bonino, Sbisa, Vrbata in with possibility of more moves?

Last season:

Bonino scored 22 goals and had 49 points

Vrbata scored 21 goals and had 51 points

Kesler scored 25 goals and had 43 points

WOW...what a downgrade....looks to me that we actually upgraded and thats not taken into account a healthy Burrows, Sedins and an improved Kassian with the possibility of Horvat making it and maybe Linden Vey breaking out.

So far, our roster has gotten much younger (aside from Vrbata) and it looks to be much more potent offensively.

[timberz21]

I think LA, Chicago, Anaheim, SJ and St-Louis are all playoffs locks.

The next three spot are wide open IMO....but like you said the favorites would be MIN, COL, DAL, however everyyear there are cinderella team (aka Colorado last year) and disapoinment (Canucks). This year won't be different. Not saying we are going to be cinderella, but could be EDM, NAS, PHO, so we have a chance.

As weird as that may be, this year i'm actually looking to individual performances than the team's. Don't really care where we finish, I just want to see some prospect in the line-up and see them grow. I'd like to see a 20G, 40-45 pts from Jensen and/or Kassian. I wanna see a 10G-30+pts season from Horvat. I wanna see Shinkaruk score like crazy in the AHL and then call him back after Christmas so he can score 10G in 30 games or so. I wanna see the Sedins back in the 70s point and Daniel with 25G+.

[Boudrias]

A lot of teams in the West are stronger so comparing to last year is pointless.

Van has a better than average d-core and has goal tending. The question with the Canucks is their offense. Their bottom 6 should be much better than last year but the real question as it has been for 3 years now is the top 6. Do the Twins and Burrows come back from last year's injuries and what will the 2nd line look like.

More than the Vrbata signing IMHO the big question this year will be whether Kassian nails a top 6 spot. If Kassian has a true break out year Van could easily be a contender. Kassian showed flashes last year of a truly dominant player. He has the ability, much more than Kesler, of making his line mates better players. He has the potential of anchoring a 2nd line.

[higgyfan]

Not sure if the Nucks make the playoffs, but I think they will have a better season than last year. With a new coach and some younger players, I expect to see a more competitive team. I'm looking forward to the upcoming season a lot more than I was a month ago.

Whatever the case, I am more interested in Benden's time line (2-4yrs) and how the team comes together over the next few seasons.

[kloubek]

I'm not going to rank out all the teams, but I think we are going to fare better than most. I see this team as one that will end up seeded somewhere around 4th to 5th.

Can we compete against the Chicagos and LA's in the playoffs? That remains to be seen, but if we're firing on all cylinders it should be entertaining if nothing else. Especially if another improvement is made - which I expect given Benning's willingness to retool the team.

[jdatb]

Dallas seems like a pretty real threat right now. I'd be extremely surprised if they didn't make the playoffs. Top two lines with Benn-Seguin and Spezza-Nischuskin? Wow.

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

I'm probably the only person who thinks the West might be weaker this coming season.

I see quite a few "paper tigers" in this conference who overachieved last season. Too many of the Western teams relied on young goalies on hot streaks--often rookie netminders who could easily come back down to earth in the sophomore years. To many top scorers were also on career high shooting percentages. Too many of the top points getters are guys who tend to have off years immediately following strong years. Too many teams with shooting percentages that are anywhere from 2 to 5 percentage points (depending on the situation and metric) higher than they would normally be. And too many teams that are counting on getting the same results next season that they got in 2013-14.

Regression is going to hit some teams very hard (and it could also be the Canucks' greatest reason for optimism).

The Anaheim Ducks look very vulnerable for regression in many areas. Colorado also looks highly vulnerable (they even could be poised for something like a team-wide "sophomore slump"--and I'm not just talking about the rookie players here). Chicago is years overdue for significant injuries (like way overdue after being one of the league's lowest in man-games lost for the past few seasons). San Jose is "rebuilding" (and they probably won't be immediately better). St. Louis--following another playoff collapse--looks to be changing-up their system (and possibly not for the better--I see a lot of Gillis' "chasing a moving target" on the Blues' horizon).

The Kings will still be contenders. And that team just seems to be able to turn it on when they need to. But maybe they'll have an off year and everything won't just fall into place for them (like it tends to). One bad game 7 bounce (those guys are way overdue for that). Maybe a tough injury year (again--they have no idea what it feels like to be truly among the leagues "walking wounded"). But probably not. The Hockey Gods love the City of Angels.

As for Minny and Dallas, they'll be in the mix for sure. Possibly they could get some good breaks. They seem poised for a rise (if all goes well--they both have vulnerabilities and could fall hard if they hit a rough patch of luck).

The Arizona Coyotes? They'll be pushing for a spot from the middle of the pack. They'll probably get into the playoffs if they stay healthy in net and if they can squeeze enough goals out of their forward group. But they don't look like risers.

Edmonton? Stranger things have happened. Maybe the Oilers find a way to win enough games. Maybe their young players learn how to win. Maybe they finally get the right veteran pieces surrounding that young core and everything kind of gels symbiotically into a winning hockey team. But as Dr. Phil says "Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior." So probably not Edmonton's year.

Calgary. Nope.

Where does that leave us? As far as regression goes, the Canucks are due for a big improvement in many areas (especially related to scoring goals). If the Canucks are a better team (which they should be--the question is to what degree will they be better), they have a good chance to make the playoffs. The West is going to be strong but I think overall, it's actually going to be a weaker conference than it was last season (mostly due to regression and the inevitable cycle of injuries). Yeah, there's been signings and the whole "arms race" thing but most of these acquisitions tend to have underwhelming results and when you look at the final impact in a year's time, most seem like wastes of money. Few teams become drastically better from free agency (it's mostly just about swapping out some parts--the net effects don't tend to be great for teams that are already successful). I don't see anything that makes me fear the top teams any more than before.

In fact, I see quite a few chinks in the armour of last year's top teams.

I won't be surprised if one of the "powerhouse" teams ends up missing the playoffs in 2015.

And I'm almost certain that our new roster and new coaching staff (and systems/approach) will match-up better against the top teams in the Western Conference (especially compared to last season).

I don't see us being "contenders" for the top playoff spots or winning our division (although I also don't see these results as being simply unattainable). I just think we'll have a pretty decent chance of getting into the postseason. And I don't think it's only the final spots that are up for grabs here. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Canucks finish in a middle spot (like maybe 5th or 6th) in the West.

Although we're also just as vulnerable as most of the other teams and we could miss the playoffs quite easily (and that would not surprise me either).

[brbetts542]

You need to get a life....your list is a personal choice list...and a pathetic excuse for one at that

your bottom 4 is pathetic.....San Jose and Vancouver are better stocked then any of them...must be a coilers fan..

no way anyone not inbred has Edmonton higher then 14th

My list is very similar to his so am I an inbred?

[Warhippy]

Dallas seems like a pretty real threat right now. I'd be extremely surprised if they didn't make the playoffs. Top two lines with Benn-Seguin and Spezza-Nischuskin? Wow.

Spezza is the only real wildcard in that. If he can handle travel in the west (which...dallas isn't that bad really) and stays healthy anything can happen with that team

[Warhippy]

I'm probably the only person who thinks the West might be weaker this coming season.

I see quite a few "paper tigers" in this conference who overachieved last season. Too many of the Western teams relied on young goalies on hot streaks--often rookie netminders who could easily come back down to earth in the sophomore years. To many top scorers were also on career high shooting percentages. Too many of the top points getters are guys who tend to have off years immediately following strong years. Too many teams with shooting percentages that are anywhere from 2 to 5 percentage points (depending on the situation and metric) higher than they would normally be. And too many teams that are counting on getting the same results next season that they got in 2013-14.

Regression is going to hit some teams very hard (and it could also be the Canucks' greatest reason for optimism).

The Anaheim Ducks look very vulnerable for regression in many areas. Colorado also looks highly vulnerable (they even could be poised for something like a team-wide "sophomore slump"--and I'm not just talking about the rookie players here). Chicago is years overdue for significant injuries (like way overdue after being one of the league's lowest in man-games lost for the past few seasons). San Jose is "rebuilding" (and they probably won't be immediately better). St. Louis--following another playoff collapse--looks to be changing-up their system (and possibly not for the better--I see a lot of Gillis' "chasing a moving target" on the Blues' horizon).

The Kings will still be contenders. And that team just seems to be able to turn it on when they need to. But maybe they'll have an off year and everything won't just fall into place for them (like it tends to). One bad game 7 bounce (those guys are way overdue for that). Maybe a tough injury year (again--they have no idea what it feels like to be truly among the leagues "walking wounded"). But probably not. The Hockey Gods love the City of Angels.

As for Minny and Dallas, they'll be in the mix for sure. Possibly they could get some good breaks. They seem poised for a rise (if all goes well--they both have vulnerabilities and could fall hard if they hit a rough patch of luck).

The Arizona Coyotes? They'll be pushing for a spot from the middle of the pack. They'll probably get into the playoffs if they stay healthy in net and if they can squeeze enough goals out of their forward group. But they don't look like risers.

Edmonton? Stranger things have happened. Maybe the Oilers find a way to win enough games. Maybe their young players learn how to win. Maybe they finally get the right veteran pieces surrounding that young core and everything kind of gels symbiotically into a winning hockey team. But as Dr. Phil says "Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior." So probably not Edmonton's year.

Calgary. Nope.

Where does that leave us? As far as regression goes, the Canucks are due for a big improvement in many areas (especially related to scoring goals). If the Canucks are a better team (which they should be--the question is to what degree will they be better), they have a good chance to make the playoffs. The West is going to be strong but I think overall, it's actually going to be a weaker conference than it was last season (mostly due to regression and the inevitable cycle of injuries). Yeah, there's been signings and the whole "arms race" thing but most of these acquisitions tend to have underwhelming results and when you look at the final impact in a year's time, most seem like wastes of money. Few teams become drastically better from free agency (it's mostly just about swapping out some parts--the net effects don't tend to be great for teams that are already successful). I don't see anything that makes me fear the top teams any more than before.

In fact, I see quite a few chinks in the armour of last year's top teams.

I won't be surprised if one of the "powerhouse" teams ends up missing the playoffs in 2015.

And I'm almost certain that our new roster and new coaching staff (and systems/approach) will match-up better against the top teams in the Western Conference (especially compared to last season).

I don't see us being "contenders" for the top playoff spots or winning our division (although I also don't see these results as being simply unattainable). I just think we'll have a pretty decent chance of getting into the postseason. And I don't think it's only the final spots that are up for grabs here. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Canucks finish in a middle spot (like maybe 5th or 6th) in the West.

Although we're also just as vulnerable as most of the other teams and we could miss the playoffs quite easily (and that would not surprise me either).

Anaheim, San Jose or LA miss the playoffs win the lottery draft McDavid, Eichel or Barzal....Canada boycotts hockey entirely

[Darius]

Why are so many people writing this team off? If you read the papers and listen to the radio, and read some of the comments in here, you would think that this team is a draft lottery team.

I think that last year was an aberration because:

1. Wrong coach for the type of team he had.. The new coach was chosen because of the type of system he coaches facilitates the types of players the Canucks have.

2. What are the chances that Alex Burrows puts up the same numbers? I think that he will be at least average again. How many points does that add to the lineup?

3. The Sedins had an abysmal year. While they will probably never reach their 2011 success, I find it hard to believe the twins will be as bad as they were last year. The coaching + their injuries killed them.

4. Injuries. When was the last time you saw a canuck team suffer that many injuries to that many core and key players? I dont think that will happen again.

5. Kesler.. Good riddance. Selfish. How many times did he take the selfish shot only for the puck to ricochet out of the zone again. I have a feeling that at least one of Vey or Bonino will match Kesler's numbers and will make his team mates better.

6. Goalie fiasco. No more goalie fiasco. Miller should be solid. There is no reason to believe that he wont. He will be better than Lack was when Luongo left town.

This team was 4 wins out of a playoff spot with all of the above against them. This roster is better than last year's roster. I believe that

1. Kassian will have a 40+ point season

2. Sbisa and or Corrado will be an improvement over Garrison.

3. Tanev will play more games than he did last year.

4. Sure the other teams improved but its not like they are going to play bad teams and get 2 points every night. They have to play eachother too. It all will even out.

5.. The bottom two lines will be better than last year. Richardson, Matthias, Higgins, Vey, possibly Horvat, Dorsett etc will be part of a solid bottom 6.

6. The combo of Linden + Benning will allow them to deal from a position of respect when it comes to the trade deadline. Benning will not be afraid to pull the trigger. I have a feeling a lot more GMs will be willing to deal with him than his predecessor.

Have some faith people....its not as bad as it seems.

[Lui's Knob]

Anaheim

Chicago

St Louis

Dallas

Colorado

Los Angeles

Minnesota

San Jose

-------------

Vancouver

Edmonton

Nashville

Winnipeg

Calgary

Arizona (why not Phoenix?)

Teams that could drop is if Colorado gets into a sophomore slump and if Los Angeles gets tired of playing so much hockey in 2 years (usually have a bad reg compared to playoff season) and if SJ does a rebuild.... Lots of ifs for Vancouver.

That said if they get their 2nd winger (burrows is not a top 6) and a PMD they have a much better shot to compete for the wildcard

[hahnsy]

EDMONTON! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

You gotta be kidding. Sure they got better on FWD, but D and goaltending? What in the actual f*** are you talking about?

Mactavish is a bit of a bonehead. Fayne and Aulie coming in to save the day? Gimme a break. And to count Van out and put the Oilers in when Van is 1 year removed from the playoffs and Edmonton is what......8? Give your heads a shake.

I hiiiiiighly doubt that Scrivens and Fasth are the answer. I guess 2 backup goalies a starter makes? Hahaha