Western Conference Predictions

Posted byMichael RifkinPosted inNHL, Rifkin’s Rift Tide

By : Mike Rifkin

The NHL season is upon us and here are my picks for the Western Conference.

Central

  1. Avalanche – Alexandar Georgiev replaces Darcy Kuemper in goal. But the reigning champs are loaded. Minus Nazem Kadri this is the same team. Cale Makar, Nathan Mackinnon, Mikko Rantanen and company will still score a ton of goals. 
  2. Blues – Love the core of of Ryan O’Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko, Colton Parayko,etc… Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou both signed extensions this offseason. If Jordan Binnington can go back to form from when the Blues won the Stanley Cup the Blues will be in good shape.
  3. Predators – I loved what the Preds did this offseason. Bringing back their all time leading goal scorer Filip Forsberg, to adding some size with Nino Niederreiter, and adding two time Stanley Cup Champion Ryan Mcdongah to their Blue Line. Jusse Saros is coming off a Vezina nomination. If Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen can do what they did last year the Preds could not only win the Central, could be a Cup contender.
  4. Stars – A lot of this hinges on Joe Pavelski doing what he did last season, as well as Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn. Is there someone to replace John Klingberg on the Blue Line. If you watched their first round series against the Flames last season, Jake Oettinger has big time upside. 
  5. Wild – Kirill Kaprizov is sensational and a potential Hart nominee this season. Can they get the same production from Ryan Hartman, Marcus Foligno and Joel Eriksson Ek. Marc – Andre Fleury will be 38 in November, the last few years he has split time with Robin Lehner and Cam Talbot, how many games will he play this year and can he stay fresh?
  6. Jets – I love everything about the Jets roster. Kyle Connor is still criminally underrated, Mark Schieffle, Nikolaj Ehlers, Pierre – Luc Dubois, Blake Wheeler and Connor Hellebuyck in goal always gives you a chance to win. But I have them this low because I don’t trust them and need to see it before I elevate them
  7. Blackhawks – Total rebuild time. Just waiting to see how long Patrick Kane and Jonathon Toews will remain there.
  8. Coyotes – Clayton Keller should have a good season. Waiting on the trade of Jacob Chychrun to occur.

Pacific

  1. Kings – Love the Kevin Fiala addition. They have a lot of offensive firepower if Johnathon Quick and Cal Peterson play well the Kings could be the kings of the Pacific
  2. Oilers – Jack Campbell comes over from the Leafs to be the goalie of the Western Conference version of the Leafs. Evander Kane who was really good for them once he came over from the Sharks re-signed there. Oh yeah Connor McDavid is the best player in the world and Leon Draisaitl isn’t too shabby either. 
  3. Flames –  They turned Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk into Johnathan Huberdeau, Mackenzie Weegar, and Nazem Kadri. Jacob Markstrom in goal will always give the Flames a chance.
  4. Canucks – This team took off when Bruce Boudreau took over last season. Thatcher Demko is a stud in goal. If Elias Pettersson, Nils Hoglander and Vasily Podkolzin play like they did in the second half Vancouver could be a playoff team.
  5. Golden Knights – This is a weird spot seeing is they have been a contender since they came into existence. I don’t think they will have the same amount of injuries they had last season. I still would like for them to trade for a goalie to pair with Logan Thompson after Robin Lehner’s season ending injury.  If Mark Stone is healthy he needs to produce.
  6. Ducks – They had a very interesting offseason. I liked adding Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano. But was Strome’s production based on playing with Artemi Panarin? John Klingberg could help the production from the defense. What can Trevor Zegras do for an encore.
  7. Kraken –  I love what they are building in Seattle. They added Oliver Bjorkstrand from Columbus. Matthew Beniers and Shane Wright will give Kraken fans a glimpse into the future. They need Phillip Grubaruer to bounce back.
  8. Sharks – Their contract situation really stink, but Mike Grier is willing to move some of those guys and build around Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier. Big question is what do they get in goal? What does David Quinn do in his second go around in the NHL.

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