The Canucks are a train wreck of mediocre goaltending and aging veterans without any solid prospects outside of Bo Horvat and Jake Virtanen. The team made weak offseason moves by trading Jared McCann, one of their few strong young players, for Erik Gudbranson and then paid way to much to acquire Loui Eriksson. This will surely be a disappointing season, and likely next few seasons, for fans in Vancouver.

This is a developing team with a ton of talented young players and a few solid veterans. However, the Coyotes are still in rebuilding mode and I don’t think anyone expects anything but a struggle for them to win games in 2016. Expect big things from Arizona in a few years, but for now don’t get your hopes up.

The Avalanche don’t have a terrible team but they have the misfortune of competing in the Central division. It’ll be interesting to see what new head coach, Jared Bednar, does this year. However, set your expectations low for the Avalanche in 2016. There’s too much uncertainty surrounding them coupled with immense competition in this division.

Edmonton Oilers

The Jets have been developing for the last few years and are on the verge of a breakout. They have a ton of young talent like Patrick Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers, Mark Scheifele and Jacob Trouba. If the Jets don’t make the playoffs in 2016 and keep their roster intact they’ll be a shoe-in for 2017.

Minnesotta Wild

Calgary Flames x

The Kings only lasted five games in the 2015 playoffs and didn’t make any waves this offseason. However, they still have one of the best rosters in the NHL. Kopitar and Toffoli are a dynamic force and Jonathan Quick is one of the most talented goalies in the NHL. They will all be integral pieces to this team’s success in 2016. Expect them to make the playoffs and potentially a much deeper run than we saw in 2015.

The Blues were plagued by injuries in 2015 and still managed to win 49 games and get within 2 points of the division title. They’re a strong team that should continue to compete despite the loss of their captain, Brian Elliot and other key players like David Backes and Troy Brouwer.

The Stars managed to win the Central Division in 2015, a division that contained three of the NHL’s top-five teams. They also did it without Tyler Seguin, one of their most valuable assets, in the final stretch. Sequin will be back this year along with Jamie Benn and Patrick Sharp. The line combination of these three stars combined for 94 goals and 217 points. Ducks fans have a lot to be excited about in 2016 as expectations will be high for this team.

This team is full of young talent that keeps getting better and better. Furthermore, it has a solid squad of competent veterans to balance out its youth. Joe Thornton is coming off his best season in years. Martin Jones has emerged as one of the best goaltenders in the league after his impressive playoff performance including a 44-save game in game 5. This is a team that can easily make another deep run in 2016.

This was an already talented team and then they acquired Subban in arguably the best trade of the offseason by any team in the NHL. This is a team that has a chance to really compete in 2016.

After an inspiring turnaround in 2015 and going on to allow the fewest goals of all teams in the regular season (192) the Ducks traded their number 1 goalie in the offseason. They also fired their coach Bruce Boudreau after losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Predators. The Ducks are still an impressive team defensively and should put up strong numbers in 2016. The offseason moves will have an impact, but the Ducks will continue to compete on a high level.

There’s so much talent on this team it’s absurd. Between veteran superstar Patrick Kane and emerging 2015 rookie, soon-to-be star, Artemi Panarin, who scored 30 goals and had 47 assists in 2015, this team looks like the team to beat in the west.