Northwest Preseason Power Rankings

As the NHL season draws near, we take a look at the power pecking order in the Northwest.  By Tucker Warner

(AP Photo/Mike Strasinger)

1. Vancouver Canucks: This should surprise no one: the team that came within a game of winning the Stanley Cup last year should once again win the division. As I noted in my column last week, the Canucks have changed very little and should once again contend for the championship. You can expect Ryan Kesler to continue his progression into one of the best two-way centers in the NHL and the Sedin twins to be among the most productive players in the league. 
2. Minnesota Wild: In two off-season trades with the San Jose Sharks, Minnesota picked up Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi in exchange for Brent Burns and Martin Havlat. Heatley and Setoguchi should make up for the scoring deficit caused by the loss of top scorer Havlat and LW Andrew Brunette. The absence of Burns will likely result in a lack of consistent scoring from the blue line, but defensive-minded Mike Yeo-in his first year as head coach- should improve the production of the Wild’s blueliners. 
3. Calgary Flames: Despite having the fifth-best offense in the NHL last season, the Flames missed the playoffs by two games. To help out on the defensive end, they acquired Chris Butler from the Buffalo Sabres for the oft-injured Ales Kotalik and ineffective veteran Robyn Regehr. Despite shipping out some veterans, the Flames will still be an old team this year, as five of their top six scorers, including star RW Jarome Iginla and workhorse G Miikka Kiprusoff, will all be over 30 years old this season. The key for Calgary this year will be the effectiveness of first-line defensemen Jay Bouwmeester and Mark Giordano. 
4. Edmonton Oilers: The Oilers will certainly be helped by the return of former star LW Ryan Smyth, acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings, to Rexall Place. Smyth will provide a veteran presence in a locker room filled with emerging stars such as C Jordan Eberle, C Sam Gagner, LW Taylor Hall, RW Ales Hemsky, and D Ryan Whitney. Another storyline to keep an eye on will be 2011 NHL Draft first overall pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and his production as he attempts to land a permanent spot on the Edmonton roster. The problem for the Oilers will be with their goaltenders, as they have a choice between ineffective youngster Devan Dubnyk and, well, just plain bad veteran Nikolai Khabibulin. “The Bulin Wall,” as he was once called, looks more and more like he could be torn down by Gorbachev, Reagan, or any member of the current group of NHL players (or world leaders), as he finished last among regular starters with a 3.40 GAA. 
5. Colorado Avalanche: This team was a powerhouse not even a decade ago. Now they have perhaps the bleakest outlook of any team in the NHL. Bright spots exist in young Cs Matt Duchene and Paul Stastny. The goaltending situation is a mess, as recently acquired Jean-Sebastien Giguere will provide no help to their other new G Semyon Varlamov, who will struggle without the help of a solid defense in front of him. Denver will struggle to make it out of the basement of the Western Conference this year.