2023 NHL Pacific Division Predictions: Part 1 | Hockey Happy Hour | A2D Radio

The time has come to discuss the NHL’s Pacific Division. Leading off our Pacific breakdown are the defending Stanley Cup Champion, Vegas Golden Knights. This franchise has come into the NHL with a bang being the second team to ever get to the Stanley Cup Finals in their inaugural season. The Knights were not very active this offseason. They are currently more than four million dollars over the salary cap, which means they will have to find ways to get some cap relief before the season starts. The question for the Knights heading into this season is who will be the starting goaltender? We asked this question last year, too, with no Robin Lenher to possibly start the year again. This team found ways to prevail last season despite some pretty major injuries and found a way to win the Cup. Do the Knights have enough magic left to repeat? The Los Angeles Kings are an intriguing team this year. This team kind of came out of nowhere two years ago and found themselves back in the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. This franchise has a lot of young talent, but they also have their fair share of veteran leadership in guys like Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty. They were another team that wasn't overly active in free agency, but they have a lot of young, key pieces already in place. They spent this offseason filling only a couple holes they had. They were able to re-sign their big trade deadline acquisition Vladislav Gabrikov, who they landed from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Also, the Kings were able to acquire via trade and sign Pierre Luc Dubois from the Winnipeg Jets just before the NHL Draft. He signed a long-term deal to play in LA for the next eight years. The only real question the Kings have, just like Vegas, is their goaltending. Will it hold up? They had some issues with finding consistency there early in the season before letting Pheonix Copley take the reins. They also brought in Cam Talbot in net to help solidify the position. How deep of a run can the Kings make in the 2023/2024 season? The Anaheim Ducks look to continue their rebuild and make some progress as they head into the 2023/2024 season. They are coming off a season where they finished dead last in the NHL and landed the second overall pick in the NHL Draft Lottery. Ducks GM Pat Verbeek has left a few people scratching their heads, taking center Leo Carlsson with that pick over Adam Fantilli. The Ducks are fairly active this offseason, having the most cash to spend in free agency. Two of the names they brought in were defenseman Radko Gudas and Stanley Cup Champion winger Alex Killorn. Both guys bring a lot of leadership and experience to a young locker room that could benefit from having two players who have either been to or won a Stanley Cup to really get this team going. Goaltender John Gibson has expressed an interest in being traded; this will be an interesting storyline to keep an eye moving throughout the season. On a fun note, the Ducks Franchise will be celebrating its 30th Anniversary this season. What a nice way to celebrate their 30th by making their way back to the NHL Playoffs.