The pacific is INSANELY hard to predict...

The pacific division this year is insanely hard to predict and in this video we're going to try to make sense of this division and ultimately find out who will finish in what place on the standings by the end of this video. So you're not going to miss this episode of NHL Dodges but before we dive into everything here just want to say we're under over 20,000 subscribers before the season starts so if you're new here you want to stay up to date on the latest news around the NHL we're home for but we're going to talk about this pacific division a few weeks back we talked about the atlantic and our predictions for the standings there we're doing the same thing here today for the pacific division because i think this is another division that really peaks my interest because it it could finish anyway this year with the teams that are in there that top five and teams could go up and down this list and it'll be really interesting to see who will be holding the top three spots in this division at the end of the year but i have hammered it down here myself and i really do think my predictions uh are gonna are pretty good i think you know that educated guess is pretty good here so let's dive right into it who i think is going to finish eighth in the pacific division this year and probably with no shock to you i have the vancouver canucks vancouver canucks kind of going full rebuild here now looking at their roster there isn't much you know quality to this obviously you still have guys like ep and debrusk and besser but after that you know kind of falls off a little bit uh offensive wise and uh defensive wise as well i don't mind their defense it's just you know it's just not a quality team that you think is going to be competing maybe they could jump up to seventh or sixth on this list but i really do think the three teams on this uh in this division are going to be a back and forth between the bottom three spots in this division all year long and right now i just really don't have much faith in the vancouver canucks i do think they have a great uh a great few years ahead of them after they get their young guys built up here like lecker mackie and obviously drafting caleb malhotra this year i hope for your for your sake uh vancouver canucks fans that maybe you do have a better year and maybe you do uh go out and have a better season than what i'm predicting but as it's saying today i do think that they will be coming last in this division because i think it's only a matter of time before we see guys like ep uh moved out of vancouver it's been rumored for years uh maybe we will see that coming soon but i do want to talk about the seventh team that's going to finish uh it's seventh in the pacific division this year might be a little bit of a shocker to you the calgary flames and seattle kraken were two points within each other so that's i think the calgary flames roster looks a little bit better than seattle this year and that's why i do have them jumping seattle at the end of the year but seattle kraken fans i do think that you guys still should still have a little bit of a hope i really do like some parts of your lineup like there's been talks of uh of jared mccann trade for a while uh maddie benears is the bright spot of this team by far a great centerman in this league i do like obviously like guys like bobby mcmahon and stevenson and caco but maybe not quite second line guys maybe more of a third line that's kind of why i'm putting them so low is because after this top line the offense just completely falls off shane wright still hasn't really panned out to be anything uh the acquisition of sam miskevich might actually uh give this team a little bit of uh you know juice as well but uh i'm not a fan of this lineup right now and i do like the goaltending in grubauer on the court but you know the the defense isn't the best either with flurry evans lindgren and montor i'm a big montor guy but those bottom that that those three that that l at the bottom not a big fan of it and i really do think that the calgary flames are gonna finish one spot above them this year and i think seattle's trying to go lean a little bit more rebuild now or they tried to go out and sign guys like panarin and jason robertson but just they just didn't want to end up going to seattle and unfortunately their off-season plans were kind of hampered by that and were dampened by that uh and unfortunately that's just the way it goes in hockey and i really want this cracking team to be good because i love their jerseys and uh their team you know their logo it's just so great and i want this team to be good i think they have the makings of a great team in the future i think you just need to kind of shape it up this lineup a little bit more but as i kind of alluded to the calgary flames i do have and finishing sixth in the pacific division this year i do like this roster a lot more than the seattle kraken i do like having huberto backland and fairby as your top line i think huberto still great talent in this league and maybe you know obviously since coming from florida hasn't been the same kind of player but he's still a good player he's still a good playmaker uh and i just think i like this lineup a little bit more i like i'm a big conor zari guy i think he's gonna have a big year for this team this year i like morgan frost and sharon govich uh the defensive acquisition of simon nemich was great this year i'm excited to see him in the calgary flames uniform alongside perrec in this uh lineup as well i think they have some great young defensive prospects that we're gonna get to see of you know flourish this year and kind of break out this year uh and obviously having dustin wolfe the best goaltender uh maybe in this division you know you can make an argument for it i think he's a great goaltender and i think he's the reason that they are going to finish sixth i think without him they could bottom out this division but the goaltender is so good that he can keep this team in games and when you're keeping keeping teams in games your team's gonna find a way to win so that's why i'm a little bit higher on the flames and am the canucks and the kraken is because of their goaltending uh and just you know their top six yeah maybe it doesn't look the best and maybe you know uh saddles top six does look a bit better uh but i do think the defense and the goaltending is going to make a difference here and that's why i think they're gonna jump them uh in this standings but i do want to move on to the fifth team and maybe it might be a shocker finishing fifth in the pacific this year i have the anaheim ducks and i think the anaheim ducks have got horribly worse uh since last year losing guys like truba and goudas in this offseason they lost a lot of defense and their defense just let's put it bluntly isn't the best and you know it really took a big hit this offseason uh with heinz and and moore as your bottom pairing and jensen and minchikoff as your second pairing not a big fan of that backwards l there on the right side to the left side of jensen moore and heinz i really think that's going to hamper this team and i think docile is a good goaltender but i think when the defense is lacking he's there's going to be holes in his game and the teams are going to put the puck in the back of the net and i think that's a big reason for me why i don't think the ducks are going to perform well this year is because they did spend a lot of money obviously on leo carlson with that 18 million dollar deal didn't really give them a lot uh of wiggle room obviously now still waiting for uh the goa extension uh it doesn't really leave them enough room to kind of shape out this decor and i think that's really going to uh hamper the damp in their uh season i think their offense will be uh really good but i do think that there will be some holes in the back end and in the net and that they just won't be able to overcome that's why i do have them finishing uh fifth in this division this year uh maybe a shocker to you guys maybe not with how much they lost this year but i do think guys like like carlson and gotye and uh obviously you know back at seneca all these guys are going to have good years that they are without troy terry i believe he's injured right now maybe he will be back to start the season but who knows uh i'm not really sure the update on him but i do like the offense i think the offense is going to be good and they're going to be scoring goals it's just a defense that i really can't get over here in terms of my predictions uh but i do like this other team that's going to finish in fourth and that is the los angeles kings and i know the los angeles kings every year kind of look you know on paper like can that team get it done but you know i really think they they do obviously adding panarin uh last year uh he's a great a great winger in this league he's just a great scorer a great playmaker he's an all-around offensive talent and i really do think he's going to carry this team's offense obviously now uh without kopitar and having his last season last year that is a big hit to this team and maybe that's why i don't a little bit higher but i do like to see more than the anaheim ducks and here's why look at the defense obviously you got mike yannerson drew dowdy i have been seeing frank clark a great young defenseman coming up and dumalin and cc i mean cc's been a uh you know a solid defenseman wherever he's been in this league and i really do like the third peering here more compared to the anaheim ducks and that's why i do have them uh you know finishing higher obviously if you haven't guessed it already i do favor defenses a lot when i'm making my predictions uh because at the end of the day i i'm a bit firm believer and i think the defense wins championships obviously you can have a great offensive team or whatever but when there's holes on the back end uh there's gonna it's gonna lead to goals and you know i think that's a big part of today's game especially with how fast the game is but i do also like their top six out with laferriere kempe penner and i think that's gonna be a good line and obviously you got fiala byfield zuccarello i'm a big byfield guy i'm still kind of waiting for his big breakout year and i do think it is coming i think um obviously playing with guys like fiala and zuccarello is really going to help and i do think that this uh acquisition of zuccarello is really going to help this team because he's a very underrated offensive talent in this league i do believe and now having him with a big guy like quinton byfield and fiala i think he's really going to excel here and even their third line with holla lotnamore i'm a fan of it and cory perry in on this fourth line at 41 years old i think this is a sneaky good team i really do and i'm a high on the la kings going into this season and i really do think their offense is going to be fantastic and i think we're going to see a big brent clark here i really hope so big fan of this of this young player a young defenseman this league and that third i have the edmonton oilers i know edmonton fans are probably in shock right now that they're not higher than third in this list still have them making the playoffs i had third in this division but i just really think uh when looking at this team on paper not a big fan i do favor the the two teams above them a little bit more with the sharks and the golden knights uh but uh you know obviously when you have karmic david leon dry settling your on your team your team's going to be successful and it's going to be good and they're not going to drop out of the top three in my opinion with two world-class players on your team i obviously kind of look same look kind of a team with nuge and mcdavid and hyman on that top line i'm a big hyman um a believer i think he's a great scorer in this league i think a lot of people uh do you know uh maybe you know harp on him a little bit for being that uh you know tap-in guy but someone's got to do it and he does a great uh pog colson dry silence savoy i do think matt savoy is going to have a good year i've always been a savoy truther as well i think he's a great young talent in this league and now playing with a world-class player like dry sidle uh it's really going to help his game obviously you have doc dickinson captain on that third line don't mind it their defense is you know really good as well with ekholm and bouchard you know depending on who you're talked to they might say bouchard's good bouchard's bad i think personally i think bouchard is a good defenseman do i think he reaches that elite category no but i think he is still a a sound defenseman this league a great defenseman this league has a great shot and i you know i'm kind of middle ground on the bouchard i'm not saying oh he's elite and i'm not saying oh he's bad i'm kind of in the middle ground on him uh but i do think he's obviously in the upper echelons of defensemen uh of the in this in this league obviously of wallman murphy mukumadulin uh is a guy i really love them the sharks i thought if you don't know i follow the sharks on sharks digest make sure to give them a follow but i i was a big fan of him and i hated seeing him go this year really think edmonton fans are gonna fall in love with him this year the big change here this year is getting freddie anderson uh in the cage at 36 years old i like freddie i think he's played good in carolina and i think the one thing the edmonton owners have missed for a long time is a solid goaltender uh and now they have kind of two you know good guys there with freddie anderson and tristan jerry so good tandem in edmonton i just i don't fear them as much as i do the team who's finishing in second and that is the san jose sharks and i know you probably just heard i'm a i follow the sounds of sharks on the sharks digest and you're saying i it's biased but no i really do think the sharks are going to surprise a lot of teams this year mike greer went out and added a lot of veterans to this lineup and i really do think with some veterans in this lineup now it's only going to help celebrity be even better last year he was carrying the team on his back finished with 115 points then the second best player on his team was will smith who had just over 60 points so he had almost half over half of what the second person on his team had in points that is all going to change this year with the additions of mason marchman uh ivar stemberg as well at the draft a great offensive talent coming out of sweden uh and obviously uh bringing guys in like keifer shearwood last year via trade uh is going to help out as well uh so i'm a big i'm a big believer in this shark slide i think celebrity is going to have a good year smith's going to have a good year this guy on this top line left wing igor shirnishov learn that name because he is going to be a great power forward in this league and a guy that i think is going to make celebrating look really really good this year i think he's just a great talent and i think he's a power forward a big body who can win the battles on the board can park it in front of the net and obviously you can just drop the shoulder and cut the net and siphon too he's a great power forward and i mean learn that name because he's going to be very good this offense just got a huge revamp i'm looking at michael me said i have a good bounce back here now getting more minutes uh i'm excited to see what he's gonna do him and stemberg gonna cook something up there on that second line with the foley uh and obviously that third line with merchant wemberg and sharewood i mean that's a great third line we're not seeing any of these teams we talked about before here before here have talent like this on their third line and that's why i think they went out here getting the second spot in the pacific this year the defense got a lot better by adding jacob truba don l nurse and michael kesslering great additions by mike greer making this team compete now by adding these veterans on the blue line that they've very they very much needed i think having jacob truba now we paired with sam dickinson is really gonna let him go this year and have a good year so i'm a big big sharks guy big believer that this team is going to do good this year and with askrov and adelkovich and i mean eric comrey as your third goalie i do think the goal tending is going to be good as well as croft i think it's going to play even better with with a way better defense in front of them so uh big big big on the sharks this year but not as big as i am on the vegas golden knights maybe unfortunately if you're not a fan of the vegas golden knights uh this team's always going to be good they always find a way to throw their future out the window and bring some good guys into vegas and uh unfortunately the team's looking good again this year obviously you got barbyshev eichel and stone on this top line you're obviously uh you know losing a big guy in dorofeyev but uh i i really do think this team is still going to be able to play lights out and win the division again this year i think this it could be a toss-up for the sharks to win the division i really do uh just depending on how they play but i don't think i can see the sharks making that big of a jump from year to year but who knows anything could happen in the nhla of william carlson how did mitch murner unbelievable playoffs from mitch murner this year and i think that's going to carry over into the regular season murders always been a great player in the regular season we all know that and you know this this team's offense is always going to be good with hurdle as your third line center i mean you couldn't ask for much more uh then obviously on your defense is where they kind of uh are the they have obviously mcnab and theodore anderson hannifin uh jeremy lozon and wortherspoon uh with carter hart and net i don't think that's just a one-off year for him i think he's just going to be a solid goaltender from now on and aiden hill is your backup it's a great tandem to run and i can just see the vegas golden knights winning this division do i think they'll make it back for the saturday cup final this year i don't believe so but i do think they will win this division and just to kind of put a final wrap on everything about my final predictions just all in one uh graphic for you guys uh we see here obviously vegas at one san jose at two edmonton at three la f4 anaheim at five calgary at six and seattle at seven and vancouver finishing in last in this division let me know down below in the comment section what do you guys think do you think i'm completely off with this these predictions do you think i'm ranking the sharks too high do you think i'm ranking the oilers too low let me know down below in the comment section who you have one through eight finishing in the pacific division and as always if you enjoyed the video leave a like subscribe to the channel we're gonna have all this type of content and so much more content as the preseason you know rolls on so you want to stay up to date on everything around the hl hit that subscribe button it's completely free to do so but as always i've been rose casey keep your stick on the ice