Well, folks, we made it through another long summer and it's FINALLY time for the NHL season to kick off tonight. It will be the first night with real hockey since the St Louis Blues took home the cup on June 12th, and I for one could not be more excited. The game is being played at the highest level we've ever seen and if last season is any indication we are in for another phenomenal year of hockey.
THE WEST
Last week I identified the five teams in the Eastern Conference that have a shot at taking home Lord Stanleys Cup, so this time around we're gonna take a peek at the west. While the east is a dog fight at the top the west is a bit more balanced. While there certainly are bad teams in the west there are a few more teams that I see as having a legit shot at the cup. Whichever one of these seven teams makes it to the cup is going to be incredibly battle-tested when they get there.
ST LOUIS: It's impossible to talk about Western Conference contenders without mentioning the Blues, who walked away with the cup for the first time in their team's history. Their run to the cup was nothing short of amazing and quite frankly inspiring. They found themselves in last place when the new year rolled around, but found success in the song GLORIA, and rode that momentum to a championship. But that was last year, and GLORIA has officially been retired from the Blues dressing room, but they are certainly still a team to watch out for. They return just about every player from the cup run and even added Justin Faulk who is an elite puck-moving defenseman. Craig Berube returns for his first full season behind the bench after being promoted in the middle of last season. Berube was able to turn the team's fortunes around last year, and having a full summer to prepare certainly won't hurt him this year. Berube, however, was not the biggest piece in turning the blues season around. That distinction falls on goaltender Jordan Binnington. Binnington's calm and confident demeanor was arguably the main reason the Blues were able to have the success that they did. If both Berube and Binnington can put in performances like they did last year the Blues will again be a force to be reckoned with in the west.
CALGARY: The story of the Calgary Flames is eerily similar to that of the Lightning. Both teams looked to be poised for deep playoff runs after winning their conferences, and both teams were unceremoniously knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. The Flames were eliminated in five games by the Colorado Avalanche (not a big deal), and never really looked to be on the front foot in that series. Calgary certainly had the offensive firepower and looked solid at the back, but the goaltending was always a problem. While Mike Smith was arguably their best player in the playoffs his numbers in the regular season were far from pretty. Smith was shipped out of town at the end of the season and was replaced by Cam Talbot. Outside of that move, the Flames roster looks very similar to last year, and that's not a bad thing. Calgary has a strong core of young forwards with the likes of Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk, and Sean Monahan. The D are nothing to turn your nose up at either, but the same question of goaltending remains. The tandem of Talbot and David Rittich does not give me a ton of confidence. While Rittich at times looked great he never produced consistently, and the same can be said of Talbot in his career. One of those two 'tenders is going to have to step their game up to give this team a shot, but if that happens watch out cause this team is dynamic.
LAS VEGAS: It's still crazy to me every time I remember that this is only Vegas' third season with an NHL franchise, and they've been a cup contender since the beginning. This year is absolutely no different, in fact, I would say the Golden Knights are the favorite to win the west this year. This is a team that was robbed by the refs in the first round of the playoffs against San Jose (the first of many breaks for the Sharks in the playoffs, but I digress), and very well could have been the champs had that major penalty not been called. This group has all the makings of a championship team, they have elite goaltending (Fluery), plenty of forward depth, like so much depth that I'm not even gonna try and name players, and a solid blue line. In addition to all that they have maybe the most underrated coach in the entire league in Gerard Gallant. Look there's not much that needs to be said about this team, they're going to be pissed off, they're going to win a lot of games, and they're gonna be a lot to handle for any team come playoff time.
SAN JOSE: I'm not gonna mince words here, the Sharks were walked through the playoffs by the refs. That's just a fact. I can't recall a team ever getting as many calls fall their way. That, however, does not mean that they're a bad team. The Sharks have been a contender for what feels like the better part of a decade, and that's a compliment to the front office which just keeps finding ways to remain relevant. With that said the window could be coming to a close in the coming years. This team is in full win-now mode. The Sharks are gonna do whatever it takes to try and get Jumbo Joe a cup before he retires, and quite frankly I hope he gets it. The Sharks return almost everyone from last season and are led by Peter DeBoer behind the bench. It's no secret that if this team is gonna have success it will be driven by their D. Having both Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns on your blue line is always going to be a great recipe for success. Karlsson and Burns call so much attention to themselves that it makes life easier for the talented forwards the Sharks have to thrive. If one thing is gonna hold this team back it's goaltending. Martin Jones struggled to find consistency last season, and to be honest probably held the team back from competing at the level they could, and probably, should have. If he can have a bounce-back season the Sharks will have a very good chance to return to the finals, hopefully with less help from the stripes.
DALLAS: Of all the teams I've looked into and researched for the season, no team has quite the buzz around them that the Dallas Stars do. For some strange reason, people seem to think the Stars are coming out of nowhere when in reality they've been on the cusp of breaking out for some time. What could allow them to now push over the edge is that the talent on the blue line finally matches up with the talent they have had at forward for some time. In addition to a new elite, D core is the addition of second-year head coach Jim Montgomery. Montgomery now has this team playing his style which, is more defensive than it has been in years past. The commitment to playing a more 200-foot game makes this team extremely dangerous and having Ben Bishop in the net certainly won't hurt either. Speaking of hurt, that could be the one thing that derails this team's season. While Bishop is one of the most talented goalies in the league he has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career. While the Stars do have one of the leagues best back-up in Anton Khudobin, he's still no Bishop and they will struggle to be as dominant with him in net every night. With all that said if the Stars stay healthy do not be surprised to see them make another deep playoff run.
NASHVILLE: Ever since their miracle run to the cup in 2016-17 this squad has been considered to be contenders, and for good reason. They have one of the best defensive cores in the entire league and have built up quite an impressive forward group in the years since that cup run. This summer they added coveted free agent Matt Duchene, and that adds the much-needed center depth that the Preds have needed for some time. The Preds are not left wanting for goaltending either, the combination of Pekka Rinne, and Juuse Saros has been one of the toughest tandems to beat in the league for the last few years. While Renne is widely considered a top-five goalie in the league his production in the playoffs has been a cause for concern in years past. If he's able to play the way he did in 16-17 the Preds and head coach Peter Laviolette could be in for another to the Stanley Cup Finals.
COLORADO: Finally, I've been waiting for this moment for the better part of two decades to say this, the Colorado Avalanche are a legit contender! If you wanna call me a homer or anything synonymous with that go ahead, I don't give a damn. This team went out this off-season and made all the right moves, adding the depth that was so badly needed last season. The additions of Kadri, Donskoi, and Burakovsky move this team from dark horse to contender. While they did lose a cornerstone in Tyson Barrie, (sad, but necessary) having Cale Makar as an immediate replacement makes it a pretty easy transition. Makar is joined by another young stud in Sam Girard and strong vets like Ian Cole and Eric Johnson. The big question mark for this team will inevitably be goaltending. Phillip Grubauer will be heading into his first NHL season as the clear cut number one goalie. This teams success will largely depend on which version of Gru we see, do we see the one that took over in the playoffs and was a wall, or the one that struggled through much of the beginning and middle of last season. The long-lingering question that hung over the team all off-season was finally answered just days ago when Mikko Rantanen signed a six-year contract extension, which will keep the most dominant line in hockey together. The top-line of Rantanen - MacKinnon - Landeskog was an absolute WAGON last year, and there's no reason to suspect anything different this year. MacKinnon is coming into the season with more hype than ever as many have pinned him to take home the Hart Trophy as league MVP and let me tell you right now I would not be mad about it. MacK and the rest of the team are led by the most handsome head coach in the league, Jared Bednar. Bednar is entering his fourth season and has had progressively more success every year he's been in the league. While he missed the playoffs in 16-17, a year most Avs fans have hidden in the deepest darkest parts of their brains, he has made back to back playoff appearances. Bednar has won championships in every league he's coached in, and the biggest prize of them all could be coming in the near future. Whether the Avs make a run all the way this year or not they are going to be must-watch entertainment. The depth is now there on both ends, and Bednar wants to play quick, so whether you're an Avs fan or not I would seriously recommend watching this team when they're on NBCSN. While the Avs window is just now opening I would not put it past this team to make a serious run this year in the playoffs, and for many, many more playoffs to come. HERE COMES THE WAGON!!
Your welcome people
There's nothing else that needs to be said other than, LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! Time to turn the TV on and tuck into another year of the best sport on the planet.
Hey, you, reading to the very end of this article do you like watching people go through a roller coaster of emotions for an entire hockey season then why don't you follow me on twitter, @msovi27.
ATTENTION AVS FANS: This is very important for all of you who live in Colorado and want to watch the wagon that is the Avs, and the Nuggets for that matter, Altitude TV is currently in a contract dispute with Dish, DirecTV, and Comcast. That means that the channel is currently blocked on all of those suppliers. If that pisses you off as it does me then head to www.altitudesports.com/pages/dont-block-my-altitude/ and write a strongly worded letter as I did. This team is seriously must watch and we need to get Altitude back ASAP.