Pacific Division Preview: Kings Seek to Maintain Rule
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Dale Perth
Long regarded as one of the weakest regions in the National Hockey League, the Pacific is the home of two of the seven Stanley Cup-winning teams since 2005: the Anaheim Ducks in 2007, and now the Los Angeles Kings. One of the other themes in this division is the abundance of players aged 35 or older — and the 48-game regular season could be the last hurrah for some of them.
The “Dusty Dozen” are Anaheim forwards Teemu Selanne (42) and Saku Koivu (38), and defencemen Sheldon Souray (36) and Toni Lydman (35); Dallas forwards Jaromir Jagr and Ray Whitney (both 40) and defenceman Stephane Robidas (35); Los Angeles defenceman Willie Mitchell (35); Phoenix forwards Steve Sullivan (38) and Shane Doan (36); and San Jose defenceman Dan Boyle (36) and forward Michal Handzus (35).
Anaheim Ducks
Things got off to a rocky start last season with a 7-13-4 record which they couldn’t recover from, giving up 27 more goals than they scored. They’ll have to tighten up on defence and score much more: Corey Perry had the steepest drop, from 98 to 60 points, while both Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan each tallied 57 points. They also need Selanne and Koivu to stay productive and healthy, and the younger players like Devante Smith-Pelly and Emerson Etam need to step up. Their blueliners don’t exactly scream “blue chip” and goalie Jonas Hiller must put in a consistent effort, too. February will tell the tale for them as they have four back-to-back games of the nine such pairings booked for them in the compressed schedule. They will also have a six-game road trip in the middle of the month which will take them through four of the five teams in the the Central Division. Prediction: Fourth or fifth in the division, and anywhere from 10th to last in the conference.
Dallas Stars
Even before the season starts, forward Jamie Benn remains the biggest missing piece on the Stars’ top forward line: when this preview was posted, Benn and the team were still negotiating a contract for the restricted free agent. They need him back on the team as soon as possible and slot him in with Jagr and Loui Eriksson on the top line. Without him, Dallas would almost certainly miss the playoffs for a fifth straight season. As with Anaheim, the Stars lack depth on defence and are looking for a stronger contribution from netminder Kari Lehtonen, and some of their youngsters as well. The revamped schedule appears to be relatively kind to Dallas, with a five-game homestand and four road trips of three games in length. Prediction: second or third in the division, and ninth or 10th in the conference.
Los Angeles Kings
Timing is everything, and the Kings got hot at the right time in pulling off one of the most amazing Cup runs ever seen. They did finish eighth in the conference, though, so the question is: can they rebuild (and maintain) that momentum? Some doubt remains about the health of top scorer Anze Kopitar — who skated in practice with a brace on his right knee — but the other cogs are in place: Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Dustin Brown up front, Drew Doughty on defence, and the two Jonathans, Quick and Bernier, in net. Other than Doughty’s emergence, it can be argued that their bottom six forwards made the biggest impact in the playoffs; if the likes of Dwight King, Trevor Lewis and Colin Fraser can prove that their performance last summer was no fluke, the Kings will earn their crown. Prediction: First in the division, and one of the top three in the West.
Phoenix Coyotes
Surely the team has to be sick of hearing about the ongoing saga of their future in the desert. It’s still in limbo as of this writing, but an announcement on Greg Jamison’s ownership bid is expected sometime soon. In the meantime, the Dogs must resolve to to play stronger team defence in front of goaltender Mike Smith: they were third-worst in shots allowed and that shows how good a season Smith had with his 2.21 goals-against average, seventh-best in the league. Oliver Ekman-Larsson was a revelation on the blueline, so much so that they might move defenceman Keith Yandle for some scoring help. Doan remains the undisputed leader, but they’ll need more than him and fellow greybeard Sullivan to pick up the pace. Prediction: fourth in the division, and ninth or lower in the conference.
San Jose Sharks
Before last season, the Shark managed to finish at the top of the division every year since 2007. With a solid corps of young forwards such as Logan Couture and Ryane Clowe along with solid veterans like Boyle, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Martin Havlat, Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns, they figure to be in the hunt once again if they can get off to a fast start. Puckstopper Antti Niemi must stay healthy and pull his weight — and the same can be said for Burns, Clowe and Havlat — if they expect to be the ones chasing chasing the Kings. Prediction: second or third in the division, and anywhere from third to seventh in the conference.
(CORRECTION #1: A sharp-eyed reader noted that I mixed up “Martin Havlat” with “Martin Hanzal” in the Sharks writeup. The change has now been made. Thanks, “Anonymous”!)
(CORRECTION #2: “Anonymous” has come to the rescue again by noting that Phoenix goaltender Mike Smith is still under contract; the Coyotes preview originally stated Smith was unsigned. That section of the article has now been rewritten to better reflect Smith’s value to the team last season.)