NHL 2021 Season Divisional Breakdown!
Hello everyone and welcome back to the NHL 2021 season! The puck drops on January 13, 2021! We at DFS Army are very excited to get this season underway and I’m going to do a simple overview of the new divisions for this year, along with key transactions from the teams! Sign up for DFS Army using the promo code “MDELL” to save 10% off your membership for LIFE. Get in before the new year because prices may be going up! Before we get into it, go on over to my Twitter account and give me a follow @mdellagnese14.
Here at DFS Army, we thrive on amazing coaches, organized cheat sheets, and our fantastic Domination Station. Our members have been crushing all sports lately, just see for yourself!
Now, let’s get to the West Division!
We will start by keying on the big transactions that the teams have acquired and I will list the Draft Picks the teams have acquired via trade this offseason along with some key losses from each team!
Anaheim Ducks (29-33-9) (+6500 to win Cup)
Draft Picks Acquired: 5th-round (2021)
Players Acquired
Kevin Shattenkirk: The Ducks signed Shattenkirk to a 3-year deal this offseason. He was solid with the Lightning last year, having 8 goals and 26 assists. He played well for the Bolts during the playoffs and should be able to help this young Ducks team this year. I don’t see them doing much though, as he’s their only big addition to the team.
Key Losses
The Ducks didn’t really lose anyone worth mentioning here. I don’t expect many of their players to have impacts in DFS to start the season.
Arizona Coyotes (33-29-8) (+6000 to win Cup)
Draft Picks Acquired: 2nd-round (2021)
Players Acquired
Drake Caggiula: Not a big add for them, but he should be able to strengthen up their bottom-6. He won’t make a big impact, but one of the only guys they really added this offseason. Over the last 3 years with Chicago and Edmonton, he scored 34 goals over 162 games.
Key Losses
Taylor Hall: Didn’t really get it going in Arizona after they made a big trade for him last year. He did still put up 52 points (16 G, 36 A). He’s still going to be a big loss for the Yotes this year as they have a bunch of work to do in their top 6 losing Hall and Stepan.
Derek Stepan: The Yotes lost Stepan in a trade with the Senators, but they were able to get back a 2nd round pick in next year’s draft for him. The Center put up 10 goals and 18 assists last year for the Coyotes over 70 games and had 158 SOG.
Vinnie Hinostroza: Another top 6 forward they lost here. He had just 22 points last season, but still made an impact on the ice. Not a huge loss, but their lineup is looking a little shakey to start the year.
Carl Soderberg: Came up big for them in the playoffs last year, but will test his abilities in Chicago this season. he had 17 goals and 18 assists for the Yotes last season and a 6 +/-.
Colorado Avalanche (42-20-8) (+750 to win Cup)
Colorado is the favorite to win the Stanley Cup this year at +750 followed close by the Lightning and the Golden Knights!
Draft Picks Acquired:
Players Acquired
Brandon Saad: Not an awful season last year for Chicago, but will add some depth for the Avs in their middle six. He had 21 goals and 12 assists last year for the Hawks and will get some powerplay time too. If he sees any ice time with Nathan MacKinnon, he could still be a great addition of goals for the Avs this year.
Devon Toews: Decent D-man they got from the Islanders. He had 28 points last season with 75 blocks in 68 games. He will be a nice addition to their D-core as he has 11 goals and 35 assists over his first 2 NHL seasons.
Key Losses
Vladislav Namestnikov: Really the only guy they lost going into this year that made an impact last season. He had 17 goals and 14 assists and was good on the powerplay. He will take his talents over to Detroit to try and help their lackluster offense this year.
Minnesota Wild (35-27-8) (+5500 to win Stanley Cup)
Draft Picks Acquired: 3rd-round (2021), 5th-round (2022), 2nd-round (2020), 3rd-round (2020)
Without making a ton of big-name signs this year, they did add a couple of draft picks which they should get solid players out of them, I assume they will have a high draft pick in the next draft.
Players Acquired
Cam Talbot: Their biggest signing this year is the veteran goalie Talbot. He will likely go into the starting role with the Wild trading away Dubnyk. He went 12-10-1 last year with a 2.63 GAA and .919 sv%. He will have to battle with Alex Stalock though as Stalock was solid last year, winning 20 games. This likely will be a back and forth role with them to starting every other game.
Marcus Johansson: Decent bottom-6 center they added this year via trade. He is a downgrade from Eric Staal, but should still be able to do some damage. he did have 9 goals and 21 assists last year for Buffalo though. He played a ton of minutes last year averaging over 17:00 TOI. Likely won’t be a big DFS name this year on this Wild team though.
Nick Bonino: Was a solid PP contributor for the Preds last year and will likely get a bottom 6 role for the Wild here. He can be productive too as he had 18 goals and 17 assists last season over 67 games for Nashville. He was one of those guys who would randomly put up a 2-3 goal game and crush for DFS. Over his 3 years with Nashville, he scored 47 goals and had 48 assists.
Nick Bjugstad: When healthy, he can produce, but the problem is he hasn’t been healthy in a few years. He’s totaled just 77 games over his last 3 seasons after playing in all 82 for Florida back in 2017-18. In that season he put up 49 points (19 G, 30 A). He will need to stay healthy to make an impact for the Wild here.
Key Losses
Eric Staal: One of their top 6 centermen is off to Buffalo. They acquired Johansson for him, but he’s aging and wasn’t producing much anymore. I think he will be a good addition for Buffalo as they are young and he can bring the veteran presence for them on the ice. He did have 19 goals and 18 assists over 66 games last season. He did add 4 assists and a goal in the playoffs too before Minnesota was eliminated. I assume he will produce about the same this year in Buffalo.
Devan Dubnyk: Losing your starting goalie is never easy, but he struggled last year for MIN going just 12-15-2 with a 3.35 GAA and .890 sv%. He will try and turn that around as a back up in San Jose.
Alex Galchenyuk: Couldn’t really get anything going last year with the Wild and the Penguins, but still had 24 points and will look to bounce back in Ottawa. Before last year he had 40 points in each of his last 4 seasons.
Mikko Koivu: Not really fantasy-relevant, but played his whole career in Minnesota and they will lose that veteran presence on the ice. He played 1,028 games with the Wild and the fans will really miss him this year.
Ryan Donato: Had a good year last year for the Wild in just his 3rd NHL season, scoring 14 goals (career-high) and ending with 23 points. He can be a good source of value for DFS if he can make an early impact for the Sharks this season.
Los Angeles Kings (29-35-6) (+6500 to win the Cup)
Draft Picks Acquired:
Players Acquired
Andreas Athanasiou: Signed as a FA this offseason, he’s really their only addition this year that will make any impact. He had 26 points last year for Edmonton and DET which was disappointing. He will look to bolt his career with the Kings here.
Key Losses
No real key losses for the Kings this year. I don’t expect them to be very good this season.
Vegas Golden Knights (39-24-8) (+900 to win the Cup)
Draft Picks Acquired: 3rd-round, Conditional 4th-round (2022)
Players Acquired
Alex Pietrangelo: One of, if not the biggest signing in the offseason was Pietrangelo signing with the Knights. This is a big boost to their defense as he can do it all for them. He was amazing in his career with the Blues and now will get to show his skills in Vegas. Last year, he had 16 goals, 36 assists and averaged 24 minutes on ice. He has scored at least 40 points in his last 4 years and finished top-five for the Norris Trophy last year. Big offensive boost for the Knights on the blue line to pair with Theodore. Watch out league, this D-core will be a force this year.
Key Losses
Nate Schmidt: Big loss for them, but with the addition of Piet I think they will be okay. He came up big for them last year and in the playoffs though. He played a ton of minutes on their blue line though and added 7 goals and 24 assists over 59 games.
Paul Stastny: Significant loss for VGK losing their 2nd/3rd line center here. He had 17 goals and 21 assists over 71 games last year for Vegas.
Deryk Engelland: Retired at the end of last season after his 11 year NHL career. Never really a big offensive threat for them on the blue line, but still made impacts. He will still be involved with the Vegas Golden Knights front office.
San Jose Sharks (29-36-5) (+5000 to win Cup)
Draft Picks Acquired: 7th-round (2022)
Players Acquired
Devan Dubnyk: Will try to jolt his career back with the Sharks this year as he was brutal for the Wild last year and ended up losing his starting role with them. He will compete with Martin Jones for the starting role in San Jose, and I can see them splitting time pretty evenly until one of them shows they should be the full-time starter.
Ryan Donato: Had a good year last year for the Wild in just his 3rd NHL season, scoring 14 goals (career-high) and ending with 23 points. He can be a good source of value for DFS if he can make an early impact for the Sharks this season.
Key Losses
Aaron Dell: Not a big loss, but the Sharks didn’t really get any better in net by adding Dubnyk. Dubnyk still is overall better than Dell. Dell struggled last year to going just 12-15-3 with a 3.01 GAA and .907 sv%. The Sharks are still going to struggle to keep the puck out of the net.
Joe Thornton: A veteran guy that has signed with Toronto. Had 31 points for the Sharks last year and actually was looking good while playing for a Swiss club during the offseason. He won’t produce like crazy like he used to but still will add physical and veteran presence for the Leafs this year.
St. Louis Blues (42-19-10) (+1900 to win Cup)
Players Acquired
Torey Krug: This is a good sign for them as Piet left for Vegas this offseason. Krug was great with Boston and had 49 points last year (9 G, 40 A). A solid two-way defenseman who racks up assists each year. He’s a big body on the powerplay as well, as he had 26 assists with the man-advantage for Boston last year.
Mike Hoffman: Not sure why they didn’t sign him to a multi-year deal as he was amazing last season for Florida. They signed him to a PTO, which means a professional tryout agreement. The left-winger had 59 points last year with the Panthers scoring 29 goals and adding 30 assists. He has scored at least 22 goals in 6 straight years. I don’t see any reason why he won’t sign a full deal and be a force on the top 6 for the Blues.
Key Losses
Alex Pietrangelo: One of, if not the biggest signing in the offseason was Pietrangelo signing with the Knights. He was amazing in his career with the Blues and now will get to show his skills in Vegas. Last year, he had 16 goals, 36 assists and averaged 24 minutes on ice. He has scored at least 40 points in his last 4 years and finished top-five for the Norris Trophy last year. Big offensive boost for the Knights on the blue line to pair with Theodore. Watch out league, this D-core will be a force this year. The Blues will need to find more offense this year as losing him is huge.
Alexander Steen: A veteran guy who retired this year. He played 12 years with the Blues and although his production was fading, he still had the experience. They will miss him there in a middle 6 role.
But wait there’s more! (Keep scrolling)
These teams will play each other a boatload of times this year! We have 15 days until Opening Night! Unfortunately, I won’t be able to create cheat sheets for DFSARMY for about a week because I will be having shoulder surgery, but our other coaches, LowownedWR, Choppodong, Rflynn, Anthony, and Shady will be there to help you all out! Be sure to check out dfsarmy.com and use the promo code MDELL to save 20% on your subscription.
I have added Stanley Cup Odds next to the team names, this is the perfect thing to look for when trying to bet futures. Our guys over at Sports Bet Army have been crushing it in all sports over the course of 2020! Why not start off your 2021 year much better than the 2020 year was? Sign up today and use the code MDELL to save 10% for life! 
Make sure you get in before the new year as prices may go up! If you lock in your price now, it will never go up as long as you stay a member!