Anaheim Ducks Additions: Andrew Cogliano, Kurtis Foster Losses: Ray Emery, Andy Sutton, Kyle Chipchura The additions and losses from last year’s fourth place team do not look significant, because thankfully Teemu Selanne is going to return for another season. Losing Selanne would’ve devastate the Ducks’ offense and obliterate any secondary scoring, making their quest for another playoff spot much more difficult. Reigning MVP Corey Perry and linemate Ryan Getzlaf will need to continue their elite play while staying healthy the entire season, and they hope to get a full season out of All-Star goalie Jonas Hiller, who missed the last quarter of the year (and playoffs) as he struggled with a bout of vertigo. The marquee names on this team are among the best at their respective positions in the league, and they seemingly have another future star in defenseman Cam Fowler: the 12th pick in the 2010 Draft seamlessly transitioned into the NHL with a 40-point season. His -25 rating is tough to look at, but the Ducks’ team defense wasn’t that great as a whole. Swapping Andy Sutton out for Kurtis Foster, in the second deal of the offseason with Edmonton, should really help their back-end. They still have the balance necessary to be a playoff team in the West, though they look more like a team destined for the 6-11 range than top-5. Last season: 2nd in the division, 4th in the West. Prediction: 3rd in the division, 6th in the West. Dallas Stars Additions: Michael Ryder, Radek Dvorak, Vernon Fiddler, Sheldon Souray, Jake Dowell Losses: Brad Richards, Jamie Langenbrunner Last year I picked Dallas to finish in the West’s basement, and they made me look real bad by flirting with the postseason all year long. I thought that the ongoing ownership issues would cause the team to deal Brad Richards during the season, but that didn’t happen. He is gone now though, and with a limited payroll they are going to be forced to replace his point-per-game production by committee. They still have All-Star forward Loui Eriksson, and are hoping for another big improvement from Jamie Benn. On the downside, it will be difficult for captain Brenden Morrow to duplicate the first 30+ goal season in four years, and only the second of his career. The additions of the depth forwards may give them 40 goals this year, however none have the playmaking ability or leadership that Richards brought to the table. GM Joe Nieuwendyk is hoping to strike gold with Sheldon Souray, who hasn’t played an NHL game since January 30, 2010, while unlikely, at least he wasn’t expensive. Souray is added to a Stars defense that doesn’t have any stars, but there a couple of solid two-way players in Trevor Daly and Alex Goligoski. In net, they need Kari Lehtonen to be great again, but last year was the first time he posted a GAA under 2.79, so expect a regression toward the mean for this season leaving them just out of the West’s group of playoff bubble teams. Last season: 5th in the division, 9th in the West. Prediction: 4th in the division, 12th in the West. Los Angeles Kings Additions: Mike Richards, Simon Gagne, Colin Fraser Losses: Wayne Simmonds, Ryan Smyth, Brayden Schenn, Michael Handzus Big things were expected of the young Kings a year ago, and it was likely too much too soon for the inexperienced squad. Credit goes to GM Dean Lombardi who recognized the need for experience when he landed former Flyers’ captain Mike Richards in a blockbuster of a deal. The window for the Kings to win appears to be the next five years, as all of their young talent will be entering or at the peaks of their careers. On paper this looks like a team poised to break through and win their division for the first time since 1990-91. They have guys that can score in bunches, speed, grit, defensive forwards, offensive defensemen and defensive defensemen playing in front of two young, athletic goaltenders with above-average skills. They will need to get out to a great start to overcome any chemistry issues that come with a revamped roster, but to do that they need to get Norris-caliber defenseman Drew Doughty signed to a contract so that he doesn’t hold out. Doughty is their catalyst, and despite somewhat of a down year, is among the five most skilled defensemen in the league. Anze Kopitar could really break out thanks to the addition of Richards. Yes, Kopitar has always been an above-average point producer, but without the responsibility of taking all of the faceoffs and playing a lot of minutes in his own end, Kopitar could thrive offensively and challenge for the Art Ross this year, earning some MVP consideration along the way. Last season: 4th in the division, 7th in the West. Prediction: 1st in the division, 2nd in the West. Phoenix Coyotes Additions: Mike Smith, Raffi Torres, Boyd Gordon, Curtis McElhinney, Daymond Langkow Losses: Ilya Bryzgalov, Lee Stempniak, Ed Jovanovski, Vernon Fiddler, Eric Belanger After back-to-back playoff appearances, the wheels look poised to fall off of Cinderella’s carriage this year. In seasons past, the Coyotes were able to make up for their lack of dynamic offensive talent due to their defensively sound blueline veterans and the fantastic (regular season) goaltending of Ilya Bryzgalov. Well, gone is Bryzgalov, and gone is one of the defensive linchpins in Ed Jovanovski. Heck, also gone are two very responsible forwards in Fiddler and Belanger. Once again it must be asked: where are the goals going to come from? Yes, team captain Shane Doan is good for 20-30 markers, and Ray Whitney should have a better first-half, but there isn’t a forward that sparks fear in opponents’ eyes. Doan led the team in goals last year with only 20, and points with 60; he and Whitney were the only two forwards with more than 50 points. With a downgrade in net and on the blueline, they don’t have the luxury of overcoming this void offensively. All-Star Keith Yandle, coming off of a very strong 59-point, +12 season, is still likely to play at a high level, but his fellow defensemen offer a lot of question marks. You need to wonder how effective a 38-year-old Adrian Aucoin can be, or a 22-year-old Derek Morris for that matter. Trade deadline pickup Rostislav Klesla is a decent second-par defenseman but has little upside, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson will have a bright future, but his time is not right now. The goalie tandem of Smith and McElhinney will not consistently frustrated or stop opponents enough for their outstanding coach Dave Tippett to pull another rabbit out of his hat. Last season: 3rd in the division, 6th in the West. Prediction: 5th in the division, 14th in the West. San Jose Sharks Additions: Brent Burns, Martin Havlat, Michal Handzus, Jim Vandermeer, Colin White Losses: Dany Heatley, Devin Setoguchi, Ian White, Ben Eager, Jamal Mayers San Jose went through the most dramatic makeover in the West this year, and only second in the league behind Philadelphia as far as contenders were concerned. In two separate deals San Jose shipped off two key wingers from their top-six to Minnesota, and these deals should have a big impact, especially in the playoffs. The first deal was Setoguchi and draft considerations for All-Star defenseman Brent Burns, a deal that should work out extraordinarily in the favor of the Sharks. Their shortcomings on the blueline were a big reason they lost in the Conference Finals for the second straight year, as Dan Boyle was the only one able to consistently handle the puck with efficiency in his own end, and only threat offensively from the back-end of the power play. Bringing in Burns gives San Jose a very solid one-two punch on the back, and lets their stable of defensive defensemen to maintain their comfort zones. In shipping off Heatley for Havlat, they bring back some of the speed they lost in the first deal, as well as get a player who has proved to be more consistent in the playoffs since the lockout. Bringing in Handzus was a very underrated move as well, as he could have the impact defensively and in the faceoff circle that Manny Malhotra has for Vancouver, and he can enable captain Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski to focus more offensively and stay away from opponents’ top lines. While I have picked the Kings to win the division, I like the way San Jose has built themselves for a lengthy playoff run, and think this is their best all-around team yet. On paper, before the season begins, they are my pick to represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals. Last season: 1st in the division, 2nd in the West. Predicition: 2nd in the division, 4th in the West. Nick is RealGM’s NHL Feature Writer. You can reach him by email [email protected] or on twitter @NickObergan