We’re going to dive deep into the hard numbers and RAW data to eliminate as much gray area as possible, and to bring you an educated projection of how the season could unfold based on several major factors.  I have broken down into great depth the strength of all 32 teams’ top 6 and top 9 forward groups that are under contract, their top 4 defensemen depth under contract, their starting goalie rates, and their “spending/buying power” (a breakdown of cap space, and to a lesser extent, cash in the bank, heading towards free agency).   So, grab a snack, your drink of choice, light some candles, tune out the wife, and get ready for your ego to be crushed or massaged depending on where your team lands. 

Starting on the West Coast, here is your Pacific Division projected order of finish, again, based on the top 6 and 9 forward depth, top 4 defenseman depth, starting goalie rating, and spending power of each franchise.  It gets really sad near the bottom of this article, but the big guns won't complain about the upcoming easy wins. 

1. Edmonton Oilers.  This is a division that will likely go right down to the wire.  The most potent forward group out of all 32 teams (just check out their roster if you don’t believe me), the Oilers, just like their real-life counterpart, will be fun to watch all season long.  They boast the league’s best overall top 6 and top 9 grouping up front, highlighted by Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews.  Their D-corps and starting goaltending barely crack the league’s top 10, but that’s good enough to contend, and have 10 plus million in both cap space and cash to improve.

2. Calgary Flames.  The glaring hole in Calgary is the lack of punch in their top 4 defensemen group. Improving there would go along way to jumping ahead of the Oilers in the divisional race.  Currently I have this group of D-men ranked 17th.  Goaltending is a clear edge they have over their provincial cousins, though (approx. 4th overall).  Cap space is currently limited at only approximately 2 million, but Kevin is the wealthiest GM in the league, so he could essentially just purchase a superstar from anyone at any time.  He is also loaded with draft picks, something I did not factor in when making these projections, but could be weaponized in the trade market.

3. Los Angeles Kings.  Projecting 3rd place in the Pacific might even be harder than projecting 1st.  Rumpy edges out Joe by the slimmest of margins, mainly due to the slight edge he boasts both up front and between the pipes.  Both teams have a great D-corps (the top 4’s are essentially tied for 5th best leaguewide).  His buying power is much less than Joe’s (around 24th for Rumpy), but free agency is a dogfight, and the Kings roster is currently set up slightly better overall than most of their division rivals are.

4. Vegas Golden Knights.  Much like the Kings, Vegas boast a stellar top 4 on the backend if he chooses to keep it intact.  Joe squeaks into the top 10 leaguewide for buying power, which keeps his ranking in the top 4 of the Pacific division, but his forward depth, goaltending (23rd), and eagerness to sell off assets, will likely lower his team’s positioning from this spot later on in the season, or even before it begins. 

5. San Jose Sharks.  The raw numbers actually have Sumit slightly below Rob’s Canucks heading into next season, but you can’t trust Sumit not to do crazy things like go balls to the wall with no warning at any random time.  The fact that he owns the hometown rights to several prominent free agents was the tiebreaker here, bumping him up into 5th spot.  His buying power sits at 13th overall, which is decent, but there are enough teams ahead of him who can potentially ruin the spending spree party in California.

6. Vancouver Canucks.  Rob’s forwards, D-men, and buying power all sit outside of the league’s top 20 overall (25th, 20th, and 23rd respectively).  However, he has approximately the 6th best starting goalie in Thatcher Demko.   His defense isn’t absolutely terrible.  So, combining that with Demko's pedigree could trigger a lot of low scoring games, which in turn, would mean a high number of overtime games and “loser points”, vaulting him a couple spots out of the Pacific’s basement.  

7. Arizona Coyotes.  It will truly be a race to the bottom in the Pacific.  Joel currently sports the 28th best top 6 forward group, the 30th top 9 group, the 29th best top 4 D-corps, and 30th best starting goalie.  He is really only bested by Devon when it comes to buying power, so look for him to pick up some pieces during the silly season, but will likely only be signing players to move them.

8. Anaheim Ducks.  The only team in the league that I could not give a ranking to for their forward and defensive depth as Devon barely has anyone under contract, so 32nd overall it is for those rankings for the Ducks.  Oettinger has great rates (pretty much top 10), but the tank is on.  Watch out in free agency as I have Devon ranked as the most powerful spender of all 32 GMs if he so chooses to.