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The dust has largely settled on the UFA Frenzy and while there might still be some big trades before the season starts, it’s time to begin to look ahead at the 2021-22 campaign. Every Tuesday and Friday going forward, we’ll be releasing team previews, starting with Anaheim, Calgary, and Edmonton in the Pacific Division.
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ANAHEIM DUCKS
2020-21 Record: 17-30-9, 43 Points.
Result: Eighth in West. Did not make playoffs.
Significant Gains: None
Significant Losses: None
Strengths: John Gibson wasn’t good last season, posting a 9-19-7 record, 2.98 GAA, and .903 save percentage in 35 games, but that’s understandable given the team in front of him. He’s been a great goaltender in the past and he’s still young enough that he could be part of the Ducks’ foundation once they’re out from the other end of their current rebuild. Anaheim also still have Ryan Getzlaf, who can provide the younger players with a role model to live up to. Yeah, I’m grasping at straws, but unless the Ducks make a big trade, they will likely be one of the worst teams next season.
Weaknesses: A general lack of offense. It’s encouraging that Max Comtois scored 16 goals and 33 points in 55 contests, but it’s sad that he comfortably won the Ducks’ scoring race with those numbers. The Ducks offense should be a bit better next season, especially if Trevor Zegras continues to develop as expected. We might also see growth out of Troy Terry and there’s always that chance Rickard Rakell will rediscover his former glory, but they’re not set up to be a team that scares opposing goaltenders.
Player To Watch: If you’re a Ducks fan, right now you’re probably hoping that this summer doesn’t end without them making a significant trade, but as things stand right now, Trevor Zegras is easily the most interesting player with the Ducks going into this campaign. His first pro season was encouraging with him scoring three goals and 13 points in 24 contests along with 10 goals and 21 points in 17 AHL games, but he has the potential to do a lot more than that. While Anaheim isn’t looking like a good team right now, Zegras could be a pillar of the Ducks’ next successful era.
CALGARY FLAMES
2020-21 Record: 26-27-3, 55 Points.
Result: Fifth in North. Did not make playoffs.
Significant Gains: Blake Coleman, Nikita Zadorov
Significant Losses: Mark Giordano
Strengths: Johnny Gaudreau, Elias Lindholm, and Matthew Tkachuk give the Flames a great forward core and if Sean Monahan can bounce back after being limited to 10 goals and 28 points in 50 contests last season, then Calgary will have two scoring lines that can stack up well against the best of the NHL. Adding Coleman to deepen a supporting cast that already included Mikael Backlund and Andrew Mangiapane should round things out. Calgary’s offense was actually subpar last season so there is some work to be done there, but they at least have the pieces in place to score a ton of goals.
Weaknesses: Mark Giordano is 37-years-old, so even if he hadn’t been taken from them in the Seattle expansion draft, the Flames had to have known he wouldn’t be with the team for too much longer before retiring. That doesn’t mean his departure didn’t create questions though. Their top four defensemen are now Noah Hanifin, Rasmus Andersson, Chris Tanev, and the newly acquired Nikita Zadorov. That’s not a bad core, but it remains to be seen if any of them will be able to step up offensively to help fill some of the puck moving role vacated by Giordano. Hanifin is the one to watch the most in that regard. He only had 22 points in 70 games in 2019-20 and 15 points in 47 contests last season, but he has been somewhat better offensively in the past and will likely have a bigger role on the power play with Giordano gone.
Player To Watch: If the Flames are going to bounce back next season, Jacob Markstrom will have to be a big part of that. Calgary made a big commitment to him when they signed a six-year, $36 million contract back in October 2020. At the time that looked like a great deal that solidified the Flames’ goaltending situation, but Markstrom left something to be desired last season with a 22-19-2 record, 2.66 GAA, and .904 save percentage in 43 starts. Calgary needs better from Markstrom going forward and to his credit, he acknowledged that he needs to do better too. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him rebound in 2021-22.
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EDMONTON OILERS
2020-21 Record: 35-19-2, 72 Points.
Result: Second in North. Lost 4-0 to the Winnipeg Jets in the first round.
Significant Gains: Zach Hyman, Cody Ceci, Warren Foegele, Duncan Keith
Significant Losses: Dmitry Kulikov, Ethan Bear, Adam Larsson
Strengths: Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. I don’t really have to say anything more, there isn’t a hockey fan alive who doesn’t know what that duo is capable of. McDavid was the unanimous winner of the 2021 Hart Trophy with 33 goals and 105 points in 56 contests. To give those numbers some context, only 19 other people in the league recorded at least 53 points. In other words, McDavid at least doubled the point total of each player with the exception of 19 others. The only player to even come close to him was Draisaitl, who had 31 goals and 84 points in 56 contests. He finished second in the NHL’s scoring race, a good 15 points ahead of the third place Brad Marchand.
Weaknesses: Their defense looks pretty suspect this season. Darnell Nurse is a great all-around blueliner, but after that they have Duncan Keith, Tyson Barrie, and Cody Ceci as the possible three other members of their top-four. Barrie is a great offensive defenseman but doesn’t help much defensively. Even offensively, Barrie has his detractors, with Jonathan Willis noting that McDavid and Draisaitl were actually better when Barrie was off the ice as opposed to on it. Plus, Barrie got a lot of secondary assists, so you could argue his numbers were elevated by being put in prime situations and getting some good luck. Whether or not you want to argue how much Barrie brings to the table offensively, he’s not an ideal defensive option. Neither is Keith. He’s 38-years-old now, he does block shots and he can chip in offensively, but his overall defensive contributions at this stage are questionable. Originally the Oilers were going to pair him with defensive defenseman Adam Larsson and that might have been a great fit, but after Larsson left, the Oilers signed Ceci to fill that void. Ceci has a reputation for his defensive mistakes, but to be fair to him, he did well in Pittsburgh last season, so maybe he can do well in Edmonton too. That said, he played a limited role with the Penguins, which probably helped the situation and there in lies the problem. Outside of Nurse, the Oilers don’t really have defensemen they can lean on to play lots of minutes and tough minutes. In a pinch you could give Ceci or Keith 22 minutes, but they probably won’t do well with that level of responsibility. That makes their whole blueline a big X-Factor.
Player To Watch: While the Oilers have some big question marks on defense, the key to their season will probably be Mike Smith. He excelled in 2020-21 with a 21-6-2 record, 2.31 GAA, and .923 save percentage in 32 contests, but he’s also 39-years-old, turning 40 in March, so will he be able to lead the Oilers through the 82-game campaign and then, if all goes well for them, the playoffs? Keep in mind, while Smith was fantastic last season, he struggled in 2018-19 and 2019-20, so it’s not like his recent body of work has been spotless and even if it was, he’s a big risk at this age. The Oilers need him to stay at the top of his game though because their alternative, Mikko Koskinen, has been inconsistent since joining Edmonton in 2018.
