NHL 2021-22 Pacific Division Preview

The Pacific Division is fascinating for many reasons, with one of them being that it took the least effort to form in the 2013-14 season. How was it formed? Simple. The remnants of the five team iteration--the California teams (Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, and San Jose Sharks) and the Arizona Coyotes)--were put together with the Northwest Division's Canadian teams (Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Vancouver Canucks. That's it. The Vegas Golden Knights became the Pacific's eighth team when they began play in the 2017-18 season, and the Seattle Kraken (the NHL's newest franchise) replaced the outgoing Coyotes in the Pacific, due to the Coyotes moving to the Central Division. It is the only division not to feature a team who switched conferences, and it is the only one to not have an Original Six franchise.

In addition, the Pacific is the youngest division in the NHL, with the Kings being the oldest franchise--having begun play in 1967 as one of the Original Expansion Six. The division also has four teams who began play in the 1990s or later: the Sharks (1991), the Ducks (1993), the Golden Knights (2017), and the Kraken (2021). The Pacific Division is similar to the old Smythe Division, which--for the most part--consisted of four Canadian clubs (Oilers, Jets, Flames, Canucks) and the Kings.

One thing I noticed during the 2013-14 season and beyond: while it can be said that the Eastern Conference's Atlantic and Metropolitan Divisions are neck-and-neck, the same cannot be said for the Central and Pacific Divisions. The Central is the better of the Western Conference's two divisions and it's not even close. Three of the reasons for the Pacific's inferiority to the Central are all in California. The Ducks, Kings, and Sharks have declined vastly in recent seasons. The Kings have been clinging on to a now aging core from their Stanley Cup wins, the Ducks can't piece two goals together, and the Sharks...well...they are a mess.

The Vancouver Canucks are another reason why the Pacific hasn't been good. Remember the optimism in Vancouver due to their playoff performance in the bubble in 2020? The Canucks ousted the Minnesota Wild in the Qualifying Round, and in the Western Conference Quarterfinals, they ousted the then-defending Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues in six games. They fell to the Golden Knights in Round 2, but it was a seven game affair! It looked like things were improving for the Canucks. Then they end up finishing in the bottom of the all-Canadian North Division this past season--they were the only Canadian team who did worse than the Senators.

Clearly, the #1 team in the Pacific is Vegas, that's not even close. However, as they enter Year 5 of their existence as a franchise, the sentiment seems to be that the Golden Knights have peaked. I mean, when you reach the Stanley Cup Final in your very first season, fans start to expect that literally every year--I mean, that's the pace! But since then, the Knights have fallen off: a first round exit in Year 2, and back-t0-back eliminations in the Final Four. Even worse, the team traded, of all people, Marc-Andre Fleury to the Blackhawks! Oh my. Even so, the Golden Knights should finish first in the division because of course they will.

The Alberta franchises are the closest to Vegas as far as stock, but that's by default. The Oilers can be summed up in two words: Connor McDavid. Man, that kid's good! Reigning Hart Trophy winner, mainly because he managed to rack up 100+ points in a 56-game season! They can also be summed up by two more words: Leon Draisaitl. That's a dynamic duo right there: the last two Hart Trophy winners. The Flames are a fun bunch to watch, especially with players like Matthew Tkachuk and my favorite on the team, Johnny Gaudreau. But they seem to get in their own way as well; the last two seasons showed that. Even so, expect to see the Alberta teams and Vegas in the playoffs, but again, due to the Central being so stacked, don't expect any Wild Cards.

And that leaves the newbies: the Seattle Kraken. I was elated that Seattle would be getting an NHL franchise, mainly because Seattle is the American counterpart to Vancouver, meaning that we should see an amazing rivalry between the Kraken and Canucks. The Kraken did well in the expansion draft, getting players such as Yanni Gourde, Mark Giordano, and Joonas Donskoi, while also getting a huge free agent in the form of Philipp Grubauer. This will be a fun team to watch, but thanks to Vegas, there are already expectations for playoffs in Seattle, my goodness.

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