Written by Robert Zeglinski at No Coast Bias
As we did and went over the NHL’s Eastern Conference, we now get to the eternal gauntlet known as the Western Conference.
The West featured a division last year, the Central, with four teams at 100 pts, and the fifth team just one point shy of that mark. The West has also won the Stanley Cup seven out of the past ten seasons including the last four championships.
So there is a degree of separation between the conferences at the moment.
Needless to say and in perhaps no other sport, is it tougher to repeat than in the NHL. The defending champion Chicago Blackhawks again step up to the mantle, but they’ll have the trials of the West in front of them.
Let’s get to a burning question for them and every other predicted playoff team of my own;
1) Chicago Blackhawks, Last Year: Won Stanley Cup
- How does the team adjust to the youth movement and new acquisitions after the player departures from the summer?
Following the losses of key players from the 2015 Cup run like Brandon Saad, Patrick Sharp, Johnny Oduya, and others, the Blackhawks have now partially gone the youth route.
That particularly stems from the Saad trade to Columbus where Chicago acquired Marko Dano, a stalwart wing in the mold of Saad that the Hawks need and a desired 2nd line center in Artemi Anisimov. Artemi Panarin, the top KHL prospect in the league, also joins the fold.
How these pieces fit along with some other top prospects that will eventually come up from the Hawks’ minor league affiliate will determine how far Chicago goes.
Expect a rough start given the new talent getting used to Chicago’s system. Otherwise, a championship core of Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith, Patrick Kane and others is still in place to help acclimate these young talented players in time, so it remains to be seen if Chicago should be worried.
2) Los Angeles Kings, Last Year: Missed Playoffs
- Do they coast in the regular season and save their energy for the postseason?
The other recent dominant team in the NHL, the Los Angeles Kings, teetered too much on the playoffs borderline last year and ultimately missed out on defending their 2014 Cup.
The whole squad is back now, and has attained that extra rest (from simply not playing an extra two months of hockey). Players like centers Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter as well as perennial Norris Trophy candidate Drew Doughty lead a deep and talented bunch that also just added the volatile but equally talented wing Milan Lucic.
The Kings are angry and motivated (cliches). If the Kings are going to come back for a prize they think they deserve, there’s no way they can coast in the regular season for a long stretch again.
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