The Western Conference, Wins, and Goalies

One of the most important factors to a goalie’s fantasy output is their win total. And while goalie stats in general are far from predictable, wins are likely the easiest and simplest metric to guess for the position, at least when examining the team that’s in front of them. So with less than two weeks remaining before the puck drops on the NHL’s regular season, let’s take a look at how each team may fare when it comes to “wins” and where each squad may end up in the standings by season’s end. We’ll rank them from last to first, looking at the Western Conference this week and be sure to check out the Eastern Conference Rankings right here. Let’s dive in!

Central Division

8. Chicago Blackhawks: Sorry Blackhawks fans, it looks like the pieces are in place, but we may be stuck waiting on internal growth and development for another season. A Patrick Kane reunion tour will give the fans something new to cheer about, but missing their superstar and captain, Connor Bedard, for over a month to start the season may just be too much to overcome for this young squad. Brighter days burn ahead.

7. St. Louis Blues: There was some turnover this offseason and the Blues look younger, faster, and deeper. However, their additions may take time to gel and in this heavyweight division, it’s time that they can’t afford. Another win streak in March may be in the cards, but consistency will be needed to climb the standings in the Central.

6. Winnipeg Jets: We are creeping up on the start of the season and three-time Vezina winner Connor Hellebuyck is still on the roster, but apparently a no-show for camp. This team is still just one season removed from taking home the President’s trophy and while fantasy GM’s may have forgotten, it’s doubtful that anyone inside that locker room has ( …I mean, besides Hellebuyck, of course!). Look for the Jets to play with pride this season as they try prove the doubters wrong.

5. Nashville Predators: With Nashville, you have a team that is stuck in neutral. They meet all the standards, but don’t excel in any particular area. Dating back five seasons they have finished fifth, fifth, fourth, seventh, and sixth last year. It’s possible they squeak into the playoffs, but it looks like another muddy season ahead.

4. Utah Mammoth: After making the playoffs for the first time in their young franchise’s history, the Mammoth will be looking to take another step this season and have bolstered their talented lineup with veteran stalwarts Anders Lee and Vincent Trochek. If this team was in the Pacific division they would be heavy favorites for the crown, but in the gauntlet that is the Central Division, Utah will have to be happy just making the playoffs again.

3. Minnesota Wild: The Wild enter this season looking oddly familiar to last season’s version. They are in a difficult division, lack center depth, and have a fanbase growing uneasy over whether or not they will lock up their superstar with a long-term contract. They rode all of that into a third place finish within their division last year and, really, look primed to repeat the feat again.

2. Colorado Avalanche: The Avs dominated much of last season and finished atop the NHL standings in both Goals Forced and Goals Against, essentially showcasing the best offense and best defense in the league. Now they come back with their superstar core completely intact and once again complimented by savvy veterans and depth pieces. The sky is the limit for Colorado with an aging roster that is one year wiser, yes, but also one year older and one year slower.

1. Dallas Stars: The Stars let Mavrik Borque slip through their fingers this offseason, but by doing so they were able to hold onto superstar Jason Robertson, a player they couldn’t afford to lose if they want to win it all. Despite finishing third in the overall standings, health played a huge factor for this club last season with all of Rantenen, Seguin, Hintz, Duchene, Bichsel, Harley, and Benn missing chunks of time. With their core secure, health on their side, and the mechanics of head coach Glen Gulutzan’s system now firmly under grasp, the Stars will look to shine bright from the top of the Central by season’s end.

Pacific Division

8. Vancouver Canucks: The bottom of the Pacific is as difficult to predict as the top of the Central, but for all the wrong reasons. The Canucks get the edge in this matchup of dishonor because even if they improve on last season’s abysmal totals by 10 or more wins, they are still likely looking at last place. There’s reason for optimism, but the expectations are just that much lower than any other NHL club. Plus the hefty contracts signed over the offseason may make Elias Petterson’s suddenly more attractive to any potential trade partners.

7. Calgary Flames: The Flames have made their bid for the draft lottery by decidedly shipping out every tradable asset over the last year. They have a young core in place, however, and this season looks to be an opportunity to simply let the kids play and learn from their mistakes. The worst case scenario of finishing low in the standings quickly turns into a best case scenario for a team whose goal is to acquire a surplus of young talent.

6. Anaheim Ducks: The Ducks are coming off a great season that saw them defeat a Connor McDavid led Oilers team in the playoffs, but this offseason has simply not been kind to Anaheim. Offer sheets, contract issues, and a mass exodus from the blue line leave the Ducks with more questions than answers heading into this season. They will need a lot of goals to make up for what may be the thinnest blue line in the league and losing veteran Chris Kreider for nothing didn’t exactly help that cause.

5. Seattle Kraken: Supposedly the Kraken were in heavy pursuit of landing a certain superSTAR this offseason. Aside from some media tweets nothing ever came of it, but that level of aggressiveness shows a commitment to winning that Kraken fans had yet to experience. Maybe that commitment carries over to the regular season. Maybe McMann and McCann each score 30 goals and Seattle figures out how to actually win a few more games instead of trying too hard not to lose them.

4. San Jose Sharks: The offense, led by the sensational Celebrini, is full of intrigue and upside. Things look shaky in net, but the additions of Kesselring, Trouba, and Nurse should really solidify the back end for the Sharks after they finished 27th in Shots Against per Game (29.4) and 30th in Goals Against per Game (3.56) last season.

3. Edmonton Oilers: New coach, new goalies, new defensemen, but same league leaguing power play (30.6%) featuring a couple of the best players in the world. As long as Draisatl and McDavid anchor this group, Edmonton can weather any storm. If one of Tristan Jarry, Devon Levi, and Frederik Andersen can step up and seize the crease, this team can easily win the Pacific.

2. Los Angeles Kings: The Kings would be hard-pressed to play as woefully at home as they did last season when they finished 15-17-9 at Crypto Arena. With an offense now led by head coach Peter Laviolette, a perennial 100 point threat in Artemi Panarin, and a more mature Quinton Byfield, the Kings are equipped to take this wide-open division by surprise this year.

1. Vegas Golden Knights: Vegas lost goal-scorer Pavel Dorofeyev to cap constraints this offseason, but otherwise return as the same team that fell just a few bounces short of it’s second Stanley Cup victory in four seasons. Internally promoted Ryan Craig will look to keep this powerhouse contending as long as Eichel and Marner still have the juice to compete with the league’s best.

That’s all for this week, thanks for reading! My name is Garrett Finlay and you can follow me on X @garrett_fi51284 and on Bluesky @garrettfinlay.bsky.social where I am often talking goalies and fantasy hockey. I’ll be back here providing injury news and updates every Wednesday, so until then - Happy Hockeying and good luck out there!