NHL 2006-07 Pacific Division
Season Preview for Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars, Phoenix Coyotes, San Jose Sharks and L.A. Kings
© Mike Carr
Sep 12, 2006
The 2006-2007 NHL season promises to be an exciting one in the Pacific Division, as fans will watch Teamu Selanne, Eric Lindros and Owen Nolan show their stuff.
Anaheim Ducks
Forwards
- Teamu Selanne had one his best seasons in years, tallying 90 points in 80 games. He will need to continue having that touch.
- Ryan Getzlaf had 39 points in 59 games, Corey Perry had 25 points in 56 games, Chris Kunitz 41 points in 67 games. They will all have to step up and contribute more this season with the Ducks losing Joffrey Lupul to Edmonton in the Chris Pronger trade.
- Returning to the Ducks this season is Stanislav Chistov, who had 33 points in 47 games playing in Russia last season.
Defense
- With the addition of defenseman Chris Pronger, along with Scott Niedermayer, the Duck’s blueline will be tough to break through. Look for Francois Beauchemin and Sean O’Donnell to step up their games playing with Pronger and Niedermayer.
Goaltending
- The Ducks are set with two number one goaltenders. The Ducks signing Ilja Bryzgalov to a two-year deal on Sept. 6th worth $2.36 million was a steal for the Ducks. Jean Sebastian Giguere has another year left on his contract with the Ducks.
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Dallas Stars
Forwards
- What will Eric Lindros do in Dallas? The former Leaf, Ranger and Flyer has a knack for getting injured. As a matter of fact, he only played 33 games (for 22 point) last season due to a wrist injury. If Lindros stays healthy, he and Mike Modano will be a force.
- The stars also signed Jeff Halpern and agitator Matthew Barnaby during the offseason, but lost Jason Arnott and Bill Guerin.
Defense
- Resigning Trever Daley on Aug. 31st was a good move by the Stars. Trevor brings youth and speed to an aging defensive line. The Stars will also have trusty Sergei Zubov defending the goal.
Goaltending
- Marty Turco is a great goaltender in the regular season, which is what the Stars need to make it into the playoffs. What the Stars really need is for Turco to maintain his regular season game once they get there.
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Phoenix Coyotes
Forwards
- A player that will be interesting to watch is the returning Owen Nolan. How will Nolan hold up in the new NHL and how long will it take to shake off all that rust from not playing in the NHL since the 2003-2004 season?
- Another concern for this club is the absence of Mike Ricci during training camp. Ricci had surgery on his neck for a protruding disk, but the recovery time has taken longer than expected.
- Jeremy Roenick is back in town for his second stint with the Coyotes, hoping to have a better season than last year's dismal season with the Kings. Phoenix also picked up tough guy George Laraque.
- Scoring is going to be a big question mark for this team.
Defense
- The arrival of defenseman Ed Jovanovski will certainly add more muscle to the blue line and Nick Boynton is a capable defenseman.
Goaltending
- Cujo, a.k.a. Curtis Joseph, is the number one goaltender for the Coyotes, and is certainly capable of handling that challenge. At 38 years old, Joseph's back up will certainly play 20-25 games. As to who the back up will be, it will most likely be David LeNeveu.
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San Jose Sharks
Forwards
- Joe Thornton (92 pts in 58 games with the Sharks, 125 points in 81 games total), Jonathon Cheechoo (93 points in 82 games) and Patrick Marleau (86 points in 82) will all be back next year, and that’s more than you can really ask for. Look for all those players to put up the same numbers this season.
- The Sharks also added some grit and leadership signing Mike Grier.
Defense
- Matt Carle, the 18-year-old 2006 Hobey Baker award winner, will be in his first full year with the Sharks after playing only 12 games with the team last year. Watching this young defenseman grow into an NHL superstar will be treat for Shark fans for many years to come.
Goaltending
- Vesa Toskala or Yevgeni Nabokov both are well-suited as goaltenders. Each played roughly half the year, with Toskala playing in 37 games and Nabokov playing in 45. Toskala did take over the number one job during the playoffs, but then he began to get a little shaky.
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Los Angeles Kings
Forwards
- Mike Cammalleri had a break-out year last season with 55 points (26 goals, 29 assists) in 80 games. Along with Alexander Frolov, the Kings have some scoring potential.
- Mark Parrish, who was brought in late last year from the Islanders, will also help in the scoring department.
- Luc Robitaille left a huge void in the Kings roster when he retired last season, and Pavol Demitra was traded to the Wild on draft day. It will be interesting to see what new Kings head coach Marc Crawford will do with this team after his not-so-good season with the Canucks last year.
Defense
- Rob Blake returns to the Kings’ blue line this year and, although he is one of the best defenseman in the league, you have to wonder how or if his age (36) will keep up with the speedier, younger players in today’s NHL.
- Also on the blueline is trustworthy defenseman Aaron Miller (who, by the way, is 35).
- Look for young defenseman Tim Gleason to have a good year. In the 2004/05 season with the Manchester Monarchs he had 10 goals and 14 assists. Last year with the Kings, he had 2 goals and 19 assists in 78 games.
Goaltending
The Kings traded two draft picks to Vancouver for goaltender Dan Cloutier on July 5th, and then 12 days later resigned Mathieu Garon to a one-year deal. Cloutier only played in 13 games last season with Vancouver, but he did have a 8-3-1 record (goals against average of 3.17 and save percentage of .892).
- Let's not forget about their other goaltender, Jason LaBarbera. The rookie had pretty impressive numbers last year. With 29 games played, he had a GAA of 2.89 and save percentage of .900.
- With Crawford having Cloutier in Vancouver last season and if the rookie does well this year, I’d expect Garon to be shown the door sometime this season.
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