Dose: Pacific Storylines
Get ready for Doses to go Daily again, starting on Thursday when the regular season kicks off.
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Miss some of the pre-season Doses? Here’s a handy list of what may still be useful for you as you draft, strategize or merely want to kill time on the toilet or at your cubicle.
With some of the more esoteric concepts out of the way in those above links, the Dose pivots to interesting 2015-16 storylines for each NHL team.
If you’d like to read the Atlantic Division version, head here. We followed that up by exploring the Central Division in this article. The Metro Division goes third and can be found in this spot.
Finishing this run off, let’s soak in the waves and rain in the Pacific Division.
Don't forget, for everything NHL, check out Rotoworld's up to the minute coverage on Player News, as well as follow@Rotoworld_HK and @cyclelikesedins on Twitter.
ANAHEIM DUCKS
Of the perennial off-season storylines that make me chuckle, few match the "Groundhog Day" quality of Chris Stewart's "I'll prove my worth this year!"
He's 27, and the NHL's generally giving up on him, hence why he's only getting $1.7 million for one year with the Anaheim Ducks.
His ability to score goals and put up big PIM is alluring, but I can't in good conscience really recommend him anymore. As usual, it will be interesting to see how he fares, though.
3-on-3 OT formation that would be fun/odd/interesting: Carl Hagelin - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry
ARIZONA COYOTES
It's still beyond odd to see Chris Pronger's cap hit on Coyotes' books now. It's beyond sad that trading for his dead $5 million was a wise move for the cash-strapped club.
Also sad: their fan base was probably pretty excited to have Antoine Vermette back, even if he proved to be middling for the Chicago Blackhawks.
On the bright side, this team truly has a heck of a future. (Insert inevitable follow-up "But who knows where?")
3-on-3 OT formation that would be fun/odd/interesting: Oliver Ekman Larsson - Max Domi - Pronger's contract with mascot legs
CALGARY FLAMES
The Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Jiri Hudler line was so fun last season; it's tough to come to grips with the fact that it might not last very long.
For one thing, it appeared as though Hudler might be taking Sam Bennett under his wing.
It seems like the trio did get reunited later on, but either way, I'd be surprised if the Flames re-signed Hudler, who's a UFA after this season. Both Gaudreau and Monahan will be RFAs (unless they get earlier extensions), so any reasonable person would choose the two forwards who are a decade-or-so younger.
3-on-3 OT formation that would be fun/odd/interesting: Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Dougie Hamilton
EDMONTON OILERS
The Oilers have been face-planting with high-end prospects for so long, it's totally reasonable that people aren't that excited about Connor McDavid, at least non-Oilers fans looking at the 2015-16 season alone.
McDavid might just make the Oilers the team to watch in their graveyard shift time slot. Yes, the Ducks and other California teams are great, but McDavid might put the Oil over the top.
It's really the other guys who make this interesting, though. How far can they go if both Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins finally stay healthy for a full season? How much of a difference would a suddenly competent front office make?
Sure, the Oilers don't deserve genius points for the way they've Mr. Magoo'd there way to a promising group, but it might finally begin to work out soon.
3-on-3 OT formation that would be fun/odd/interesting: Taylor Hall - RNH - Connor McDavid
LOS ANGELES KINGS
Dang, this franchise's stock has plummeted, especially for neutral onlookers who may have lost some serious respect for the way they do business.
Whatever the case may be in those terms, the Kings sure have an eye-popping trio (if they choose to go with it) in Milan Lucic, Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik.
I'm particularly intrigued to see how Lucic fares on a different team with significant monetary motivation in a contract year. People forget how much of a beast he can be when things are rolling in the right direction.
3-on-3 OT formation that would be fun/odd/interesting: Drew Doughty - Jeff Carter - Marian Gaborik
SAN JOSE SHARKS
I see serious sleeper opportunity in Martin Jones, even if I'm only lukewarm about his actual skills.
The Sharks needed to add a defenseman like Paul Martin. He's by no means spectacular, yet he can skate and move the puck and at least stay out of the way on offense. With Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Brent Burns being the top guy, depth is less of a problem on D.
Combine that with Peter "The Bore" DeBoer providing a much-needed organizational breath of fresh air (even if I believe Doug Wilson did more to ruffle feathers of guys like Joe Thornton than Todd McLellan probably did), and I think that the Sharks have too much talent not to be a playoff team.
That bodes well for Jones, at least relative to where he's often going in drafts.
3-on-3 OT formation that would be fun/odd/interesting: Brent Burns - Logan Couture - Patrick Marleau
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
I totally get why people are negative about this team. They're aging about as well as bizarro wine.
That said, I think they'll be more competitive than some think, as it seems like they're getting penciled in as a cellar dweller by many.
Instead, I see this team - at least barring some major trade deletions - as merely a mediocre bubble squad, possibly making the playoffs if other West climbers actually stumble.
I wouldn't bet on them making the playoffs, but I wonder if people are being a little too hard on them. Ryan Miller's a microcosm of that; he's average if not a little below that mark, but maybe not QUITE as bad as people think.
(His $6 million cap hit isn't doing him any favors, of course.)
3-on-3 OT formation that would be fun/odd/interesting: Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Radim Vrbata
