PACIFIC DIVISION NHL DFS PRIMER

If all goes to plan we will get our first full 82-game NHL season in three seasons starting in a few weeks. This summer has seen a ton of movement, more than I can ever remember seeing. This article will recap the Pacific Division and we will figure out what the fantasy impact will be for each team.

Anaheim Ducks:

Well, the Ducks aren’t good, and likely won’t be any better this year. They ended last year just 17-30-9 in the West Division. This year, they will also add in a couple of Canadian teams back into the Pacific, which will make it even harder for them. They literally made no significant additions to their roster in the offseason here this year, no confidence in them at all and likely won’t use many of their skaters in DFS, unless they are dirt cheap and actually shooting the puck.

Additions:

Greg Pateryn (D),

Subtractions:

Ryan Miller (G), Danton Heinen (C)

Calgary Flames:

Back playing games in the states this year. I honestly can see them finishing top 3 in the Pacific this season behind the Knights and maybe Oilers. They have a well-rounded roster though and made some nice adds to their front lines. They didn’t lose all that much in the offseason though which will help them this year.

Additions:

Blake Coleman (C/W), Dan Vladar (G), Nikita Zadorov (D), Tyler Pitlick (W), Brad Richardson (C),  Erik Gudbranson (D),

Subtractions:

Josh Leivo (W), Louis Domingue (G),

Edmonton Oilers:

If Edmonton can figure out that Draisitl and McDavid should be on the same line all year, they should be able to pace the division in scoring. Who knows how they will put their lines out starting this year though. THey made some additions to their offense and they were able to re-sign Barrie on D which helps. They should be contending for a top spot in the division here this year if they can all stay healthy and gel together. Adding Duncan Keith on D will help their defense too as Barrie is more an offense-minded defender.

Additions:

Cody Ceci (D), Duncan Keith (D), Zach Hyman (W), Derek Ryan (C), Warren Foegle (W), Brandon Perlini (W)

Subtractions:

James Neal (W), Alex Chiasson (W), Tyler Ennis (W), Dominik Kahun (C), Ethan Bear (D), Oscar Klefbom (likely missing year with injury)

Los Angeles Kings:

Not a great season last year, going 21-28-7 in the West Division. It doesn’t really get much easier either. They should be able to be middle of the pack considering the teams in this division aren’t all that amazing. They have some young guys who have potential though and Kopitar is still kicking to center their top line and the addition of Arvidsson is a solid add. The Kings are a team that didn’t lose much in the offseason, but they did add some guys that could help with their depth with Arvidsson and Danault and adding block shot machine in Edler on defense.

Additions:

Viktor Arvidsson (W), Philip Danault (C), Alexander Edler (D), Garrett Sparks (G),

Subtractions:

Troy Grosenick (G),

 

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San Jose Sharks:

I think San Jose is going to be a dumpster fire this year. I doubt Evander Kane plays for them anymore. They have some guys who can still play, but their D is getting old. I think they did make improvements in nets with James Reimer and finally got rid of Martin Jones back there. They could still shoot a ton, but I don’t think they will be much of a factor this year.

Additions:

Adin Hill (G), Nick Bonino (C), Andrew Cogliano (C), James REimer (G)

Subtractions:

Martin Jones (G), Ryan Donato (C), Greg Pateryn (D), Patrick Marleau (C)

Seattle Kraken:

Clearly everyone is an addition to the Kraken since they are the newest expansion team in the NHL. I actually think they can have a pretty solid year. Their top line looks pretty solid and their defense should do okay. They ended up getting a top Goalie in Philipp Grubauer from Colorado in the expansion draft which is huge for them. Since everyone is an addition, I will highlight their top 2 lines as of their depth chart right now.

Jaden Schwartz-Jared McCann-Jordan Eberle

Joonas Donskoi-Alexander Wennberg- TBA

Calle Jarnkrok-Colin Blackwell- Mason Appleton

Vince Dunn-Adam Larsson

Mark Giordano-Jaime Oleksiak

Philipp Grubauer, Chris Driedger, and Joey Daccord as Goalies.

They also added Yanni Gourde from TB, Morgan Geekie from FLA as 2 other notable forwards.

Additions:

 

Subtractions:

 

Vancouver Canucks:

If they can keep Pettersson, Boeser, and Horvat healthy this year, their top 2 lines will be pretty strong. They now have a clear number 1 with Demko not having anyone in his way at goalie. Adding Halak really adds to their depth in net too. They did add some good D men with Ekman-Larsson and resigning Hamonic who is a block shot machine. Losing Edler hurts, but OEL is an offensive upgrade in my opinion. With Garland being added to the team, that really bolsters their 2nd line here. I think they have 3 pretty solid lines they can run out and their 4th line may not be too bad either considering the talent that they do have. I think VAN will be a solid team this year.

Additions:

Oliver Ekman-Larsson (D), Conor Garland (W), Jason Dickinson (C), Jaroslav Halak (G), Brad Hunt (D), Tucker Poolman (D),

Subtractions:

Braden Holtby (G), Jake Virtanen (W), Sven Baertschi (W), Alexander Edler (D), Jimmy Vesey (W), Travis Boyd (C),

 

Vegas Golden Knights:

Okay, Vegas is stupid and traded away the Vezina trophy winner in Marc-Andre Fleury for literally nothing. Not sure why they made that move at all. They still have Lehner in net which isn’t an awful guy to have. They made it clear, after signing Lehner to a big extension that he is going to be the guy of the future there. Being a Knights fan, I’m upset that they decided to not add any Center depth to their lineup though which could be hurtful. They did add Nolan Patrick, but he isn’t all that amazing. Most of their team is the same from last year though and they should still be contenders yet again. THey did add Laurent Brossoit to back up Lehner though, and he had some bright spots in Winnipeg last year.

Additions:

Nolan Patrick (C), Brett Howden (C), Evgenii Dadonov (W), Sven Baertschi (W), Laurent Brossoit (G),

Subtractions:

Marc-Andre Fleury (G), Cody Glass (C), Tomas Nosek (C), Nick Holden (D)

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