Edmonton Oilers       

           

Division Projected Order of Finish - 1st         

           

Current Lineup Score... 79.2  

Division Rank 1st        

           

Financial Power Flexibility Score... 7.0           

Division Rank 7th       

           

Quality Draft Capital... 1.0     

Division Rank 8th       

           

What can we say about Leon's Oilers besides good things?!  He is running back an extremely stacked team yet again, but this time with a Hart Trophy goaltender.  I'm not exactly sure the costs to keep McDavid and Rasmus Andersson, but he has the room to comfortably do so.  In my opinion, his D core has taken a step back, though, so if you're looking to exploit a weakness on Leon's Oilers, that might be the play.  Leon has a bit more cap space than most people realize, and obviously plenty of cash.  That, combined with the fact that he doesn't have much quality draft capital, tells me that he will absolutely be a player this free agency, certainly in the defenseman category.   You can argue that McDavid and Matthews didn't perform up to their highest of standards this NHL season, but they're still loaded up front, and obviously in goal.            

           

Biggest Strength:  Star power up front and a Hart Trophy goaltender          

           

 

Calgary Flames           

           

Division Projected Order of Finish - 2nd        

           

Current Lineup Score... 76.9  

Division Rank 2nd       

           

Financial Power Flexibility Score... 10.5         

Division Rank 5th       

           

Quality Draft Capital... 1.0     

Division Rank 8th       

           

Kevin and his Flames are back yet again, and primed, yet again, for another strong season.  He has built one of the few franchises this league has ever seen that has true staying power from season to season.  Kevin has incredible depth, especially amongst his forwards, but adding a true superstar/gamebreaker up front might be his biggest need.  You can't, of course, just add a superstar out of thin air, but like usual, Kev has a great supply of draft picks for a top team, and one of the deepest pockets in the league.  Thompson, in goal, is solid, but not spectacular, so I am interested to see if he runs with him the entire way.  Like any other season, I think he could become the Stanley Cup favourite if he went "all out" for it, but Kevin has proven that he likes running a well-balanced team, and never seems to do anything overly drastic.          

           

Biggest Strength:  Depth and balance all over his lineup and organization.  Assets, assets, assets galore