As the NHL continues on in the month of March, teams are hitting the 60 game mark which means it’s the time where almost every team has played three quarters of the NHL schedule. With student’s report cards being sent home to the moms and dads of the world, it’s only fitting to give every NHL team a report card of their own. Every day, this week leading into the weekend, Last Word On Sports will cover one division a day, and break down each team into five separate categories; Offense, Defense, Goaltending, Coaching, and Management. Just like a school report card, each section will receive a grade between A+ and F. Today, we take a look at the Pacific division.
The Anaheim Ducks find themselves in the same spot they were in at the first portion of this season, they hold a commanding lead over the Pacific division. The race for second spot is a tight one as the San Jose Sharks look to keep their heads above water with both the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames drawing closer and closer. The Sharks, who got off to a slow start to the season, have since leaped over both the Canucks and Flames. The defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Los Angeles Kings, seem to have their tires stuck in the snow and can’t find any traction, dropping behind the pack and further away from a wild card spot, while the Arizona Coyotes figure out a way to string a couple of wins together. Sitting in the basement is the lowly Edmonton Oilers, who have seemingly mailed it in, awaiting to draft one of Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.
NHL Report Card, Term 2: Pacific Division
1. ANAHEIM DUCKS – (42-17-7)
OFFENSE: A-
As always, the Ducks are led by Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry; and the team’s 196 goals for are tied for third in the Western Conference. Ryan Kesler has added two-way play and secondary scoring to the top six, and this has really improved the Ducks over a year ago. Matt Beleskey is having a career year. The biggest issue here is the left wing to play on the first line, as the Ducks have gone through a rotating cast in the position, trying everyone from Davante Smith-Pelly, to Dany Heatley, to Rene Bourque in the position. Seeing as how all three of those players find themselves on new clubs, and two of them are in the AHL, its would be fair to say that the experiment just has not worked.
DEFENSE: B+
Francois Beauchemin is the elder statesman of the group and leads the team. Cam Fowler is blossoming into a top pairing defender and Sami Vatanen is having a break out year. Hampus Lindholm is having an outstanding season as well. The Ducks have added James Wisniewski and Simon Despres at the trade deadline to round out their unit. Korbinian Holzer was also added for depth.
GOALTENDING: A
Frederik Andersson has been extremely good this year. There was some question if he would platoon with John Gibson this year, but his outstanding play, and some injury issues for Gibson have made him the number one guy. When healthy, Gibson has also played well.
COACHING: A-
Bruce Boudreau just doesn’t get any respect. He always has his team’s near the top of the NHL standings and this year’s Ducks are no different. However until he wins more than one playoff round he will likely always be questioned.
MANAGEMENT: A+
Bob Murray did an excellent job at the deadline, adding three defencemen, and picking up Tomas Fleischmann and Jiri Sekac to boost his forward group. This comes after getting Ryan Kesler in the off-season. Overall the team has the roster to be a Stanley Cup contender.
2. VANCOUVER CANUCKS – (36-24-4)
OFFENSE: C
There’s one word that can be used to accurately describe the Canucks offence this term: streaky. At times they look dominant, attacking with four lines and pounding teams with their powerplay. At other times it dries up completely, with the powerplay often going weeks between goals. A lot of this can be placed on the Sedins who, despite a ridiculous stretch of production recently, have not been putting up points with enough consistency. Not to mention the fact that the back end has done next to nothing in terms of production, and you have a an offence that doesn’t exactly strike anyone as particularly dangerous. It’s not all doom and gloom, as the likes of Bo Horvat and Jannik Hansen have been contributing at an above average rate considering what’s expected, but it’s not enough to overcome the other weaknesses with this group of players.
DEFENSE: B
The Canucks are an interesting team on the blue line. There’s a lot to like about this group on paper, and there are bits and pieces of each player that one would like, but there are also aspects that frustrate the living hell of Canucks fans. A good example of this, is Luca Sbisa. Acquired from Anaheim in the Ryan Kesler deal, Sbisa was advertised as a physical presence with strong defensive upside, and while he has come through on the physical side of the game (he’s one of the few Canucks who can lay thundering hits into opponents), he has his shortcomings on the defensive side, often serving up what Canucks fans have come to know as “pizzas” (click here for reference). Another instance of this would be Ryan Stanton who, while putting together a fabulous rookie year under John Tortorella, has struggled to find the composure that made him a blue line staple a year ago. However, there has been more good than bad, as Alex Edler and Chris Tanev have emerged as a legitimate top pairing, Adam Clendening has showed substantial upside, and the forwards have certainly held their own from a defensive standpoint. Perfect? No, but definitely serviceable.
GOALTENDING: B+
Ah yes, goaltending, always a hot topic in Vancouver. Yet, this year (up until just this past week) has been relatively uncontroversial. Ryan Miller is doing exactly what he was brought into to do, win hockey games. His numbers are right around his career average, and while he has seldom stolen games for the Canucks, he has definitely stood tall in goal, making big saves in big moments. Has he had stinkers? Yes, without a doubt, but for the most part, Miller’s play has been perfectly acceptable thus far in his tenure with Vancouver. Eddie Lack, the Canucks’ starter from the trade deadline onward, has done swimmingly in the backup role for term 2, despite his struggles in the first third. Lack’s play in the latter half of the campaign has eased the pain of the Miller injury, but it will still be interesting to see how the situation plays out. But for now, Canucks fans should be perfectly content with what they’re getting in goal.
COACHING: B+
For the most part, it’s hard to complain about Willie Desjardins so far. Yes, maybe he should stop playing Chris Higgins in a top-six role despite him being an offensive black hole of late, and maybe one could ask for a few changes to the often stagnant powerplay, but it’s hard not to like most of what Willie has thus far. He’s handled the media pressure well, has done a wonderful job managing ice-time of key players, and has kept the penalty kill among the best in the NHL all season long. He’s played a big role in rebounding the Sedins and Alex Edler among others, as well as developing young skaters such as Chris Tanev and 19-year-old Bo Horvat.
MANAGEMENT: A
What Jim Benning has shown throughout the first two thirds of his tenure, is that he’s always trying to improve. For example, trading Alex Mallet, who is unlikely to develop into much more than an AHL’er, for monster Russian Andrey Pedan was a great move, as the Canucks are relatively thin in the pipeline when it comes to defenders. Another shrewd move, was trading Swedish blue liner Gustav Forsling to the Chicago Blackhawks for D prospect Adam Clendening. Forsling, who was coming off a remarkable showing at the World Junior Championships, is likely three or four years away from pushing for an NHL job, and Benning swapped him for a more promising, more NHL-ready prospect in Adam Clendening while Forsling’s value was at an all-time high. He also picked up Sven Baertschi, a former first round pick, while his value was at an all-time low. Benning may not be making blockbuster trades, but he is making moves that are beneficial for both the present, and the future.
3. CALGARY FLAMES – (35-25-4)
OFFENSE: B
Calgary has hit some peaks and valleys so far this season, but they have been led by their young stars and veterans. Mark Giordano has padded his Norris campaign with 44 points, most among all defenseman. Veteran Jiri Hudler has made players around him better as well, potting 21 goals and 52 points. Johnny “Hockey” Gaudreau has chipped in with 46 and Sean Monahan with 44, showing flashes of future brilliance. The powerplay has struggled however, placing 18th at a 17.9% clip. Despite this, Calgary has scored 182 goals, helping them stay well in the playoff hunt.
DEFENSE: B-
The Flames find themselves in 14th in goals against with 2.56 per game. In terms of shots against, they also fare well, averaging 28.8 per game for eighth overall. The top pairing of TJ Brodie and Mark Giordano has led then defensive core by example, combining for 84 points and lockdown defense. Losing Giordano is a massive blow though. Having veterans like Dennis Wideman (39 points) and Kris Russell (22 points) helps as well. The penalty kill is less to be desired, as it is 24th in the league at a 78.9 % clip, but this hasn’t doused the Flames playoff hopes.
GOALTENDING: B-
Goaltending has been an improvement for the Flames as they continue to adapt to life without Mikka Kiprusoff. Newcomer Jonas Hiller has taken the reigns as the starting goalie, posting 19 wins, a 2.46 goals against, and a .913 save %. Karri Ramo has been up and down, but overall has posted a 2.43 goals against and a .917 save %. Joel Ortio as the third stringer has been exceptional when called upon, posting a .931 save % and a 1.98 goals against in five games. Hiller has playoff experience and if he holds the fort, the Flames will find themselves back in the playoffs.
COACHING: B+
Bob Hartley was brought into Calgary for the 2012-13 season with a solid pedigree behind him. A Stanley Cup Championship with the Avalanche in 2001, and five first place finishes with the team highlighted it. After being out of the NHL since 2007-08, Hartley has turned Calgary around drastically, with many regarding the team as the hardest working team in the league for a couple of years now whilst grooming some premier prospects. The fruits of their labor are paying off, and led by Hartley, the Flames could make noise if they stay the course and make it into the Playoffs for the first time since 2009.
MANAGEMENT: B-
Calgary has one quick rebuild under new GM Brad Treliving and President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke. Bringing in veterans to groom a young team on the rise like Kris Russell and Dennis Wideman on the back-end was one of the many moves made to aid a Flames team thought to be in rebuliding mode. Jonas Hiller was brought in to stablilize the crease and he’s done just that so far, and the young players have been handled well, translating to unexpectedly fast success at the NHL level. The Monahan and Gaudreau show has led the team up front with many role players such as Curtis Glencross, Paul Byron and Lance Bouma contributing as well. With Sam Bennett on the way, the Flames have an even better future ahead under Burke and Treliving. The Flames didn’t do a lot at the deadline, instead continuing to amass young assets.
4. LOS ANGELES KINGS – (31-21-12)
OFFENSE: C-
In the last report card we noted that the Kings 5v5 scoring was one of the best in the league, while their power play was one of the worst. Since then, the team was flipped those two and the team’s power play has been one of the best in the last two months, while their 5v5 scoring has dropped by .20 per game. This has led the Kings to go from 14th to 19th in the league in scoring. The team is still producing better than last year on offense and several of the big name players like Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik have stepped up their scoring since the first third of the season. However, losing Tanner Pearson to injury hurts the team’s second line. Mike Richards getting demoted to the AHL hasn’t had much of an impact yet as his replacement Nick Shore has yet to score and was already a healthy scratch once.
DEFENSE: B-
It’s hard to see it based on the end result of most games, but the Kings’ defense is improving this season. At the beginning of the year Brayden McNabb was still adjusting to the Kings’ system and would be caught out of position at times leaving his defensive partner having to deal with odd-man rushes. McNabb seems to be playing better positional hockey and it’s helped the whole team. Drew Doughty continues to have a great season, as he’s second in the league in ice time, playing in all situations and being a consistently solid Corsi player despite more face-off starts in the defensive zone. The Kings as a whole have the been the best Corsi team this season, having only been outshot twice since November 29th. Alec Martinez was just lost to a concussion and it’s hard to tell how that will affect the team yet, but losing anyone on defense is the last thing this team needs right now. Slava Voynov’s trial doesn’t look good for the team as testimony against him looks pretty bad for his future in the league.
GOALTENDING: F
Since the first report card this season, perhaps nobody has had a worse stretch of play in the league than Jonathan Quick. After starting the season as one of the best goaltenders in the league when he’d been top five in save percentage and GAA%, Quick’s numbers have dropped each month of the season. Quick’s SV% per month is .942, .915, .901 and .878. What’s caused this drop isn’t known at this time. Quick has not taken any time off for injury, and as we’ve mentioned the Kings are the best Corsi team in the league so it’s not like he’s getting shelled each game. Backup goalie Martin Jones hasn’t been much better, so at this point the Kings don’t have many other options. If the goaltending doesn’t improve, it’s doubtful the Kings will make the playoffs.
COACHING: C
It’s hard to argue with the results of Darryl Sutter’s system. When the fancy stats say you’re outplaying most teams on most nights, it’s hard to say it’s the coach that’s the problem. However, Sutter needs to find a way to get Jonathan Quick’s game back to where it was at the start of the season. The Kings power play has improved this season, but their penalty killing has been dreadful at 78%. The team needs to find a way to improve that if they expect to climb into the playoffs.
MANAGEMENT: C-
Dean Lombardi made a big statement sending Mike Richards down to the AHL. However, the cap relief from that move was only marginal and unless he can find a way to move Richards the Kings are still going to have a hard time making many big moves. With Alec Martinez out for an extended period of time the Kings needed a defenseman. They got one in Andrej Sekera, but the price was extremely steep.
5. SAN JOSE SHARKS – (32-25-8)
OFFENSE: A-
They’ve scored 185 goals and we really can’t ask too much more of Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, and Patrick Marleau. The top two lines on this team continue to light the lamp with regularity. More was expected of Tomas Hertl after his great, though injury shortened, rookie campaign, but he’s just 21, so we can give him a break. Tommy Wingels and Matt Nieto bring secondary scoring, while rookie Melker Karlsson has been a very pleasant surprise. A 21.5% powerplay is top 5 in the NHL.
DEFENSE: B
Brent Burns has gone back to defence, but is putting up the numbers of a forward as he has 16 goals and 47 points this season. No other Shark is close to bringing that type of offence, with the next best defender Justin Braun at just 20 points. The team has given up 180 goals and lacks depth behind Mark Vlasic. Another top four guy is really needed.
GOALTENDING: B
Antti Niemi is not playing at the level that earned him a Vezina nomination two years ago, but he hasn’t been bad with a .913 save percentage this season. It was believed that Alex Stalock could challenge Niemi for the starting job, and there have been rumors of Niemi’s departure, but Stalock’s .904 save percentage just isn’t gonna get it done as a starter. They must re-sign Niemi or find another starter.
COACHING: C
Todd McLellan’s act seems to be wearing thin on the Sharks as they just haven’t had much success to speak of under him. A talented roster, on paper, the Sharks are in real danger of missing the playoffs. Putrid penalty killing at 79.6% is a major reason for their lack of success.
MANAGEMENT: C-
Are the Sharks coming or going? Are they contenders or getting ready for a rebuild. No one seems to know, and the trade deadline showed that. They sold off some depth pieces like Tyler Kennedy. Acquired others like Ben Smith. The team seems directionless right now, and I don’t think Doug Wilson will be around much longer if they miss the playoffs.
6. ARIZONA COYOTES – (21-37-7)
OFFENSE: D-
With 142 goals on the season, the Coyotes are the second worst scoring team in the National Hockey League. Their leading scorer amongst forwards was Antoine Vermette, and now he’s in Chicago. Sam Gagner’s 32 points in 64 games is good enough for second on the club. Shane Doan and Martin Hanzal are second and third. The Coyotes have plenty of NHL forward prospects in the pipeline and thats a good thing, cause there isn’t even a youngster who is producing significant numbers on their NHL roster right now.
DEFENSE: C
Keith Yandle was leading the entire team in points with 41 in 63 games prior to his trade to New York. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is just 23, and is a young stud who had already passed Yandle as the best defenceman on the team, even if he wasn’t putting up as many points. There is some nice youth on the way with Brandon Gormley, Klas Dahlback, Connor Murphy, John Moore, Michael Stone and Philip Samuelsson all under the age of 24. The future of this defence corps is promising.
GOALTENDING: F
After making Canada’s Olympic Team last season, Mike Smith has been a disaster in the Arizona net this year. A 3.30 Goals against average and 895 save percentage just aren’t good enough for an NHL backup, never mind a starter, and Smith has played 48 of the Coyotes games thus far. Devan Dubnyk played well enough to get out of town on a one way ticket to Minnesota. Current backups Louis Dominique and Mike McKenna have played 3 and 1 game respectively.
COACHING: B-
I have a lot of respect for Dave Tippett as a coach, and I’m not sure quite how to grade him here. For years he’s gotten wins out of a Coyotes roster that was pretty bad on paper, but this year it just isn’t happening. Its hard to hold him to blame for the record though, and there is some progression from the young defence, so you can’t be too down on him.
MANAGEMENT: A-
Don Maloney is another person in a tough spot. His roster is weak, but he also hasn’t had a lot of money to spend and so he’s been focused on building with youth. He got an absolute kings ransom for both Antoine Vermette and Keith Yandle at the trade deadline, and also got more than most analysts expected for an injured Zybanek Michalek. The Coyotes youth looks good at the minor league levels as well.
7. EDMONTON OILERS – (18-36-11)
OFFENSE: D-
There is little doubt that there are offensively talented forwards in Edmonton, however with just 146 goals for, third worst in the NHL, the lack of production is a major reason for the awful record. Injuries to Taylor Hall, Benoit Pouliot, and others haven’t helped, but the fact they went so long without a second line centre was an issue. Anton Lander is one of the pleasant surprises.
DEFENSE: D-
The Oilers lack a true number top pairing on the defensive end. This issue just hasn’t been addressed. Their one legitimate top four defender has now been traded to the Montreal Canadiens. Justin Schultz is looking like a massive disappointment. Andrew Ference is the same number six defender he was in Boston, just now with a huge contract. At least there is some youth who look like they could be decent if developped in Martin Marincin and Oskar Klefbom.
GOALTENDING: F
With an .899 save percentage for Ben Scrivens, and a .888 for Victor Fasth, this position has continued to be a major issue in Edmonton. That quite simply isn’t good enough in the NHL right now, and must be fixed before Edmonton’s perpetual rebuild will end.
COACHING: C-
If this was based solely on Dallas Eakins, we’d have another F, but Todd Nelson took over in December and has done some good things. Nail Yakupov is playing a lot better than he did under Eakins. The aforementionned Lander is showing confidence and the talent to be a top 9 forward. Marincin and Klefbom look much better than they did under Eakins. Some steps in development are being taken, and so we’d hand Eakins that F, and Nelson a B. Evening it out and you have the grade above.
MANAGEMENT: F-
The Oilers management is a disaster. Craig MacTavish and Kevin Lowe must go for this team to truly turn things around. The fact that a top prospect like Leon Draisatl was rushed merely cause the Oilers couldn’t find a centre this off-season is a joke, especially when Nashville found three guys who could have filled that role, and each cost little more than a million bucks. Thats the tip of the iceberg in Edmonton though. Going with two career backups with little NHL experience was a terrible experiment from day 1. Doing little to address the defence. The list could go on and on.
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