The 2024-25 NHL Season is underway. Only a few games have been played thus far. Over the past few days, NHLRumors.com has dropped its annual divisional rankings. So far, we have given you the Metro, Atlantic, and Central Divisions. Now, we bring you the Pacific Division.
It was a weird year last year in the Pacific, with the Edmonton Oilers getting off to a slow start to rebound to go to the Stanley Cup Final. The Vancouver Canucks won the division while the Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights battled for the third spot.
While the top four teams are set, the rest of the division can go either way. The team in the Bay Area improved, and nobody knows what to make of the team in the Emerald City. At the same time, two rebuilds are going on.
Let’s see what the Pacific Division has in store for this season.
NHL Pacific Division Rankings
1. Edmonton Oilers (Last year finished Second)
Nobody expects the Edmonton Oilers to have a similar start as last season. While the first few games were not great, the NHL Pacific Division is winnable for the Oilers.
Defense Will Be a Concern for the Edmonton Oilers This Season
Edmonton lost to the Florida Panthers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last season, which did not sit well with the Oilers. Edmonton had a busy off-season, extending Leon Draisaitl. The Oilers kept Adam Henrique, Corey Perry, Connor Brown, and Mattias Janmark. They also signed Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner and acquired Matthew Savoie from Buffalo.
The biggest loss was on defence, as the St. Louis Blues gave Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway an offer sheet. The Oilers defence took a hit and is not as good as in Game 7. However, the Oilers offense is good enough to compensate for the deficiencies on defense and maybe between the pipes with Stuart Skinner.
Skinner can keep the team on his back, but there are nights when he is off his game. The Oilers are too good not to finish first in the division.
2. Vegas Golden Knights (Last Year Finished Fourh)
The Vegas Golden Knights are looking to bounce back this season, and if Jack Eichel plays like he did in the first two games, Vegas could be back in the Stanley Cup Final this year.
The Vegas Golden Knights Offseason Is A Little Misleading
While it is still early, the Golden Knights did not do much except get players healthy over the off-season and add Victor Olofsson. Olofsson was Eichel’s running buddy in Buffalo years ago. The Golden Knights will also get a healthy Tomas Hertl joining their club. Though they lost Jonathan Marchessault to Nashville and traded Logan Thompson to Washington, Vegas shows they are still a deep team that can score.
Last year, the Golden Knights battled to make the playoffs, but with a defense corps that is still one of the best in the NHL, this team should be competing for one of the top spots in the NHL Pacific Division. The Golden Knights are no longer the Golden Misfits but the Empire of the NHL.
3. Vancouver Canucks (Last year finished 1st)
The Vancouver Canucks came out of nowhere last year to win the Pacific Division. It was an entire offseason of Rick Tocchet, and everything broke the Canucks way. This year, things are off to a rocky start.
Should Their Be a Concern About the Vancouver Canucks Goalies
Entering the season, the Canucks have goalie issues with Thatcher Demko not being 100 percent. They must turn to the sensation Arturs Silovs and the guy they signed, Kevin Lankinen. Through two games, the Canucks blew two leads. Now, it is early, but some of the goals Silovs gave up in the first game were not good.
Offensively, the Canucks are still a good team, and Tocchet is trying to get his team to play with more offense this season instead of sitting back on leads and then striking. That was their MO in the playoffs against Nashville. With Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes, again, it will come down to goaltending for the Canucks.
4. Los Angeles Kings (Last year finished Third)
Everyone thinks the Los Angeles Kings may take a step back. However, the Kings can stay in this division. They have talent, with Quinton Byfield leading the way. But down the middle, along with Byfield, the Kings have Anze Kopitar and Philip Danault.
Quinton Byfield Will Be a Stud for Los Angeles Kings This Season
Los Angeles moved Pierre-Luc Dubois to Washington in exchange for Darcy Kuemper to fix their goalie situation. That was an issue for the Kings the last couple of seasons in the playoffs. However, the bigger issue is that Drew Doughty will be out for several months due to a fractured ankle.
Expect Mikey Anderson and Brandt Clarke to step up in his absence. Up front, along with the trio mentioned above, Kevin Fiala, Adrian Kempe, Arthur Kaliyev, and Alex Turcotte are still there. The Kings will have to make a gritty effort each night.
5. Seattle Kraken (Last year finished Sixth)
It is going to be a tough year for the Seattle Kraken. Even with the contracts of Brandon Montour and Chandler Stephenson (who left Vegas via free agency), the Kraken do not have enough scoring to make the playoffs. The year they made the playoffs, everything broke right for them.
NHL Free Agency Contracts That Made You Go Whoa!!; Western Conference
While Joey Daccord got a new five-year extension with a $5 million AAV, they need Philipp Grubauer to play like he did when the Kraken made the playoffs two seasons ago. This team lacks goal-scoring, especially five-on-five. Yes, Jordan Eberle remains, but something is not right with this team.
Matty Beniers is a great player, but is he a center or a wing? The same goes for Stephenson. What is Shane Wright? When the Kraken made the playoffs, they led the NHL in five-on-five goals. Last year, they were near the bottom of the league. That trend is continuing even though it is still early. Seattle may need to mix things up to be successful.
6. Calgary Flames (Last year finished Fifth)
Some may look at these rankings and ask if the Calgary Flames aren’t a little high this season in the NHL Pacific Division. The Flames have a chance not to be bottom feeders in the division.
How Deep Should the Calgary Flames Rebuild Go?
There are no distractions with the Flames this season. The new building is coming; the free agents were traded last season. It is a young team that will play spoiler and hard every night. Jonathan Huberdeau looks like he’s mentally right after the trade shock.
Yegor Sharangovich (who is injured now) wants a repeat performance. The Flames also have Connor Zary, Nazem Kadri, Rasmus Andersson back, Blake Coleman, Anthony Mantha, Ryan Lomberg, Kevin Bahl, MacKenzie Weegar. Dan Vladar and Dustin Wolf are between the pipes. GM Craig Conroy is putting together a nice squad that will be good in a few years with all the picks, prospects, and draft capital he got last season.
7. Anaheim Ducks (Last year finished Seventh)
The Anaheim Ducks will be down near the bottom of the division. They could even finish last. However, there is too much talent on this team. They should be better than this; however, the right mix is not there.
NHL Rumors: Anaheim Ducks, and the New York Rangers
First, GM Pat Verbeek and Trevor Zegras don’t agree and his time could be coming to an end. However, they have Cutter Gauthier, Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, Troy Terry, Ryan Strome, Frank Vatrano, Owen Zellweger, and Pavel Mintyukov.
The Ducks have talent. Remember when Anaheim had that trio of defensemen that made them one of the best in the league? Those defensemen are long gone and it is a new wave. The issue for the Ducks is they are stuck in the endless rebuild cycle like the Buffalo Sabres. Something has to give. Teams are calling on Vatrano, and he could be moved by the deadline.
8. San Jose Sharks (Last year finished Eighth)
The San Jose Sharks finished dead last year in the NHL. David Quinn was fired. But that team was so bad that no coach was winning with that roster. While they have Macklin Celebrini, the number one overall pick, who is hurt now, it is still a developing roster, and it will be a little while until the Sharks are good again.
NHL Rumors: San Jose Sharks, and the Edmonton Oilers
Along with Celebrini, the Sharks have Will Smith, William Eklund, Fabian Zetterlund, and Mario Ferraro. San Jose improved by adding Tyler Toffoli, Alexander Wennberg, Ty Dellandria, Barclay Goodrow, Jake Walman, and Yaroslav Aksarov.
GM Mike Grier is building a good foundation. There is still a long way to go in the Bay Area, but there is a scenario where the Sharks are out of the rebuild before the Ducks. Except the Sharks still finish at the bottom again this season, but more competitive.