The time has come, Mojoholics. We are officially 12 days away from the start of the NHL season, and following our previews of the Atlantic, Metropolitan and Central divisions, we close out our 2017-18 NHL preview with a look at the Pacific. Will the southern California franchises in Anaheim and Los Angeles keep their contender status alive despite their aging core? Or will Connor McDavid and the revitalized Oilers finally complete their transformation from bottom-dwellers to division champions? We’ll have to find out over the course of the season, but in the meantime, here’s our preview of the Pacific Division for this season.

PACIFIC DIVISION

1. Anaheim Ducks

The sands in their hourglass of opportunity to win a Cup with this current group may be almost at their end, but the Ducks have every chance in the world to maintain their grip on the Pacific title. Getzlaf and Perry remain among the best in the league in their roles at their age, and their defensive group including Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm, Sami Vatanen and goalie John Gibson is as strong of a group as you’ll hope to find in the NHL these days. Unless, of course, the team below them snatches their throne…

2. Edmonton Oilers

The years of futility and managerial incompetence seem to have become a distant memory in Edmonton now, as the McDavid era is officially in full swing. The Jordan Eberle for Ryan Strome trade with the Islanders looks like a bit of a wildcard right now, and their ability to build a Cup contender looks to be difficult with McDavid and Draisaitl’s monster contracts eventually kicking in, but the team looks deeper and far more balanced than it did even two seasons ago.

3. San Jose Sharks

Seeing a lifelong Shark/veteran star like Patrick Marleau leave the club for the Leafs will be a definite loss both on the ice and in the locker room, but this San Jose team still has the goods to at least compete for a playoff spot. “Jumbo” Joe Thornton is staying on for at least one more season, and the team’s core remains built around Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns. To see this miss the postseason entirely two seasons after getting to the final would be nothing short of a failure.

WILDCARD 2. Calgary Flames

The 2017-18 season will be a chance for the Flames’ young cornerstone forwards – namely Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk – to truly establish themselves as an exciting group of players to watch in this league. Of course, there’s also the acquisition of Travis Hamonic on top of their already stacked group of defensemen, though the jury’s out on if Mike Smith will be more solid between the pipes than Brian Elliott or Chad Johnson. Regardless, expect another year of playoff hockey in Calgary next spring.

5. Los Angeles Kings

With John Stevens behind the bench and former Kings great Tob Blake as GM, it’ll be interesting to see how this team’s season unfolds both on and off the ice. The Kings’ experience and knowledge of what it takes to win will go a long way in terms of their run toward the playoffs. That said, they’ve missed out on the dance twice in the last three seasons, and their core of Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty and Jonathan Quick is showing age a bit. If they can still play up to their all-star abilities, and the supporting cast is strong enough, they’ll stand a good chance.

6. Arizona Coyotes

The Coyotes made a big splash this offseason in acquiring Derek Stepan and Niklas Hjalmarsson, but also lose some major leadership on the ice and in the locker room with Shane Doan’s retirement. Their playoff hopes will likely hinge on the continued development of Max Domi, Anthony Duclair (who spent a good chunk of last year in the AHL), Dylan Strome, and Clayton Keller to name a few, and the strength of their defense beyond Oliver Ekman-Larsson and young stud Jakob Chychrun. Their leap to playoff status won’t come this year, but you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

7. Vancouver Canucks

Much to the relief of their fanbase, the Canucks are waist-deep in the middle of a rebuilding phase, and that will most certainly continue in 2017-18. While they made some decent depth acquisitions with Sam Gagner and Michael Del Zotto, and young players like Bo Horvat and Brock Boeser are expected to play substantial roles this season, this is still a hockey club that needs plenty more filling out and developing before climbing out of the basement. Also, Jacob Markstrom’s lack of experience as a number one goalie is a major sticking point.

8. Vegas Golden Knights

Although it’s the salary cap age in the NHL now – and you need to get past the cap floor if you’re an expansion team nowadays – the Vegas Golden Knights are very much a long-term project franchise. Despite pretty decent right wing depth, a major coup in KHL centre Vadim Shipachyov, and a serviceable number one goalie in Marc-Andre Fleury, the Golden Knights will need to go through growing pains – as almost all expansion franchises do – before becoming a legitimate winning team. In five years, though, who knows?

Featured image credit: NHL.com