1. Canucks finish 3rd in Pacific Division
The Pacific Division only iced three playoff teams last year — the Calgary Flames (107 points), the San Jose Sharks (101 points) and the Vegas Golden Knights (93 points). Calgary and San Jose, however, were the top two teams in the Western Conference — and both were top six teams in the league standings.
Vegas underachieved a little bit last season after reaching the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural 2017-18 campaign. But will they really be better this time around? Colin Miller and Erik Haula left in the offseason — and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury isn’t getting any younger (he turns 35 in November).
The Flames have kept the bulk of their core roster together, but it’s hard to trust the goalie tandem of David Rittich and Cam Talbot. No doubt that the Canucks have a more reliable and convincing tandem in Markstrom and Demko. Plus, reigning Norris Trophy winner Mark Giordano isn’t going to repeat his 74-point season.
As for the Sharks, they lost perennial 30-goal man Joe Pavelski to the Dallas Stars in free agency. They also had to move on from key offensive contributors Joonas Donskoi and Gustav Nyquist, plus blueliner Justin Braun. On top of that, goalie Martin Jones is coming off a frustrating year in which he posted a 2.94 goals against average and a save percentage of .896.
So at least two of the Pacific Division playoff teams from last year figure to slip a bit. The Canucks, meanwhile, are ready to trend up after adding secondary scoring and much-needed help on defence. And while the core players on San Jose continue to get up there in age, Vancouver’s young stars are only entering their primes.
With that all said, look for the Canucks to finish third in the Pacific Division with 96 points. For fun sake, we’ll say they finish ahead of the Sharks. Vancouver will be one of the top stories of 2019-20 as they reach the postseason for the first time in five seasons.