NFL
By: Greg Rector
The NHL has returned. It’s been a long time since a Pacific Division team took home Lord Stanley’s cup (2014) Some of the league’s best talent plays in this division and will the 2022-2023 season see the drought end? That is yet to be determined. Let’s have a look at how this division breaks down.
Edmonton Oilers
Yes, they have McDavid and Drasaitl, what they haven’t had is a goaltender that changed with former Leaf’s netminder Jack Campbell coming to town. Will he be the missing piece to get the Oilers beyond the Western Conference finals this year? Only time will tell. The duo mentioned above will likely continue to be in the top five of scoring barring injury.
Calgary Flames
So your roster loses Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk and things look bleak. Not so fast the return in the Tkachuk trade was Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar. just for some icing on the cake they also signed away from the champion avalanche Nazim Kadri. If the changes work Brad Treliving hands down wins executive of the year.
Los Angeles Kings
With a mix of young talent and veterans, this team made what surprised many a trip to the playoffs last season. Kevin Fiala’s addition in the off-season will make the Kings’ top-six forward group even better. My only concern is the possible regression for the young group of defensemen.
Las Vegas Golden Knights
Injuries and underachievement were the calling card for the Knights last year and despite acquiring Jack Eichel last November things look to be on the same wavelength for Las Vegas going into this season as goaltender Robin Lehner will miss the entire season. The salary cap cost them both Max Pacioretty and Evginii Dadonov as well.
The Canucks will likely continue their run of being middle of the pack in the league. KHL star Andrei Kuzmenko was the off-season highlight signing and they committed a max contract to J.T. Miller but I still don’t see the Canucks as a serious threat unless a whole lot of things go right.
The trade deadline deals last year rid the Ducks of their veterans. This is a new era in Anaheim led by Troy Zegras and Troy Terry. Patience time as GM Pat Verbeek is leading a rebuild.
While their rivals to the south committed to a rebuild, the Sharks seem to be reluctant to do so. Sure they got the Brett Burns contract off the books, then signed a bunch of veteran depth players. They are going to struggle in my opinion.
Seattle Kraken
The expansion franchise’s first season went as expected as the Kraken finished with the third-worst record in the league. Don’t look for a miracle run into the playoffs in season two either. The organization is looking to continue its process.
That’s pretty much how I see these teams finishing the regular season in 2022-2023. Realistically if there’s going to be a Stanley Cup return for any of these teams it will be either the Edmonton Oilers or the Calgary Flames to do so. There’s a team in Denver that will have something to say about that.
YETI NHL Collection
YETI officially brought back their limited-edition Ice Pink Rambler drinkware collection today! Personally, one of my favorite color collections ever from YETI as it supports breast cancer awareness. They will be donating $100K between their two partners, Boarding for Breast Cancer and Casting for Recovery. The Ice Pink is back for now, but expected to sell out fast! Make sure to support this amazing cause and bring awareness into the wild.
As always you can find me on Twitter @Greg Cowboys
Edmonton’s two superstars, Connor McDavid (left) and Leon Draisaitl, gained a couple new teammates for the team’s playoff run this week.
