Every year there is plenty of turnover in the playoff picture as, on average, four or five teams miss the playoffs that made it the previous year.
With that in mind let’s take a look at a couple Western Conference teams that could have a difficult time getting back into the playoffs in 2016-17.
Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks aren’t without talent, but they lost a ton of depth this off-season, which will be very tough for them to overcome.
David Perron had 20 points in 28 games as a Duck and was let go. He was far from the only notable player to walk away from the team for nothing, though. Jamie McGinn had 12 points in 21 games as a Duck and brought a big time physical presence. Brandon Pirri had five points in nine games with the Ducks and has averaged 24 goals per 82 games throughout his career. Chris Stewart had 20 points in 58 games while seeing somewhat limited ice. Mike Santorelli recorded nine goals, 18 points and was pretty effective in a depth role.
The Ducks lost all those players and the only three forwards they brought in to try and replace them were Antoine Vermette, Mason Raymond and Jared Boll, all of whom were bought out this summer.
Their depth up front is not very good and that’s going to hurt the team more than it would in years past as Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Ryan Kesler are all starting to show signs of decline.
There is potential for goaltending to become an issue as well. I like John Gibson but he has struggled to stay healthy in the past and Jonathan Bernier, who is usually pretty reliable, is coming off a disaster of a season.
On top of all else, the Ducks also replaced Bruce Boudreau, unquestionably one of the NHL’s best coaches, with a guy whose teams have historically been out shot and out chanced by significant margins.
With a few stars up front and a ridiculously deep and talented blue line, assuming Hampus Lindholm re-signs at some point, the Ducks should still be in the thick of the playoff race. In saying that, they certainly aren’t the team they were a year ago and playing in a tough Western Conference won’t help their cause, either. Don’t be surprised if they just miss the playoffs as a result.
Minnesota Wild
I have a lot of time for Bruce Boudreau and think he will really help get the most out of the players in Minnesota.
With that said, I think they’ll struggle to get back into the playoffs this season; and not necessarily because I don’t think they’re a good team. My reasoning is more so because of the ridiculously tough division they play in and, beyond potentially the Ducks, I don’t really see any other team in the West missing the playoffs that made it a year ago.
Maybe this year will be different, but often two teams per conference miss the playoffs that made it the year prior. Of Chicago, Los Angeles, San Jose, Dallas, Nashville, St. Louis and Minnesota, I think the Wild are most likely to drop out; although a case can be made for Chicago (they were a poor 5 v 5 team a year ago).
Again, I’m a big Boudreau fan but ultimately the players on the ice decide a team’s fate and I think the Wild have the worst roster of the bunch. They’re fairly deep – they just don’t have much resembling star power and that may haunt them.
Written by Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell)
