Canucks: How they compare to the rest of the Pacific Division
By Joshua Rey
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are going to be good one day but they are still a few years away. They have got a lot of talented prospects in the pipeline including Quinton Byfield, Alex Turcotte, Brandt Clarke, Francesco Pinelli, Akil Thomas, Tyler Madden and Arthur Kaliyev but they still aren’t ready to take the Kings to the next step.
Right now there isn’t too much to be excited about on the Kings roster except for Gabe Vilardi who is progressing nicely. However Anze Kopitar can still play but he is 33. Philip Danult and Viktor Arvidsson are nice acquisitions for the top six but the bottom six is about average but there forward group still has some bite in them and shouldn’t be underestimated.
On defence, Drew Doughty is on the decline (and probably isn’t happy to play A Team like That again.) Sean Walker is a decent third pairing defenceman and Alex Edler will provide some veteran presence but not much to be excited about.
In goal, Jonathan Quick is coming a shoulder injury and also isn’t the player he once was. He will likely backup Cal Petersen who had a decent year last season despite the win-loss record.
Are the Canucks better than the Kings? Yes without a doubt but the Kings will be scary good a few years down the line.
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San Jose Sharks
Moving to the last of the California teams and just like Anaheim and LA, the San Jose Sharks have been a thorn in the Canucks side for years. However, just like Anaheim and LA, recent years have not been to kind to them.
The Sharks do have some intriguing prospects in their system including the likes of William Eklund, Ozzy Weisblatt and Ryan Merkley. They also have a bunch of bad contracts coming from Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.
The Sharks forward core will have to rely on Logan Couture, Timo Meier and Thomas Hertl. At the time of this writing, Evander Kane is in hot water with the NHL for gambling issues and the status with him is unclear. Nick Bonino is a decent third line centre but other than that there isn’t a lot of depth. Once Couture, Meier or Hertl go quiet things could look ugly for the Sharks.
On defence Burns, Karlsson and Vlasic’s best years are behind them and Mario Ferraro could provide some depth but other than that the Sharks defence is pretty shallow.
Martin Jones has been bought out and San Jose brought in Adin Hill by trade and James Reimer will be his backup. Not really a duo to get excited about as Hill is mostly better for a backup role.
Are the Canucks better than the Sharks? Absolutely.
Seattle Kraken
The Canucks new rival now has a roster and the battle of the I-5 will get underway next season.
With a ton of cap space the Kraken’s tentacles to get Jaden Schwartz, Alexander Wennberg and Philipp Grubauer (Grubauer’s contract was originally rejected by the NHL for violating the CBA but that was revised on Monday morning)
Both Schwartz and Wennberg will provide some scoring in Seattle’s top six with already includes Jordan Eberle, Calle Jarnkrok and Joonas Donskoi. The Kraken’s bottom six ain’t too bad with the likes of Mason Appleton and Brandon Tanev. However, the Canucks top nine on paper is slightly better.
On defence, the Kraken have the better defence and it isn’t close. Adam Larsson, Vince Dunn and Hadyn Fleury were nice expansion draft pickups. Mark Giordano despite being in his late 30s can still play and Jamie Oleksiak provides some size and depth.
In goal, both Grubauer and Chris Dreidger will be the tandem. Thought Dreidger is the better goalie now, Demko’s game is still growing and it is a question of if and how long Grubauer can maintain his stellar play.
Are the Kraken better than the Canucks? No, but the Canucks are slightly better with their goaltending and top nine.