Alright, alright, alright! Guess who’s back with an all-new attack, since the last known attack was from way back! If you answered both LA Kings’ hockey and myself, then you are correct! After many months off, our Los Angeles Kings and NHL hockey are back this Friday, starting things off with a battle against the rival San Jose Sharks at home, who of course traded for all-star “offensive” defenseman Erik Karlsson in the summer. Now as exciting as the beginning of the new hockey season is, how well are the Kings going to do overall this year, especially with the upgrades that both San Jose and the Vegas Golden Knights have acquired? Well, I want to be optimistic but it’s going to be tough for our Kings to make the playoffs. But then again, isn’t it always? Regardless, here are my Pacific Division predictions, and like all early pre-season predictions, my analysis (guesses) can be completely wrong. In fact, I hope I am wrong but my inner red flags are definitely going off, so for better or for worse, right or wrong, a genius prophetic prediction, or not even close, I give to you my 2018-19 NHL Pacific Division predictions, so here we go!

1st – San Jose Sharks

Damn that GM Doug Wilson. Like seriously, damn him to hockey hell. Just when you thought the Sharks couldn’t get any stronger and will finally fade away, they go out and win the trade sweepstakes of the year by acquiring the two time Norris Trophy-winning and future Hall of Famer Karlsson to their blue line. Now with him adding even more offense to a team that was 13th overall in goals last season, he will help provide some major headaches to every team that encounters the Sharks in the West/NHL. Now, of course, there is always the injury factor, and the fact that Karlsson has never played for a team in the Western Conference, and some sort of aggressive adjustment to his play may have to occur. But a player of the skilled “offensive” caliber that Karlsson is, shouldn’t take long to adjust at all. Especially with veterans Marc-Edouard Vlasic and fellow Norris Trophy-winning Brent Burns taking a lot of the pressure away from him, Karlsson could be free to wreak havoc on opponent’s nets. Then there is Evander Kane, who was impressive with his 14 points in 17 regular season games, plus 5 points in 9 playoff games since his trade to the Sharks from Buffalo. If Kane can stay out of legal trouble off the ice in Silicon Valley, (unlike when he was in Winnipeg and Buffalo, and no doubt, there are WAY more temptations in NorCal than in those other two cities combined), he should thrive again. Logan Couture is also coming off a 34 goal season and (former Kings’) goaltender Martin Jones can play on his head and is second to none. Even with Captain Joe Pavelski now at 34 years old and former Captain Joe Thornton at 39 years old, I can see the Sharks causing some serious wreckage and taking yet another Pacific Division title banner to add to the 147 division banners they already have hanging at the SAP center. (Notice I said Division banners, not Stanley Cup banners… )

2nd – Vegas Golden Knights

Last year, I didn’t think the Knights would make the playoffs but they did. Then I thought the Knights couldn’t beat the Kings in the first round of the playoffs and they did, in a 4 game (yet by only 1 goal in all 4 games) sweep no less. Then I thought the Knights wouldn’t make it to the Stanley Cup Final, and they did. So what I learned was to stop betting against Las Vegas (see what I did there?) because they are obviously doing the opposite just to spite me, (or so I like to believe). So in last year’s Stanley Cup Final, I tried some good old reverse psychology by predicting that the Knights were going to win the Cup against the Washington Capitals, and they didn’t! My brilliant strategy worked! So here I go again. I would like the Knights to not even make the playoffs at all, so I’m going to predict that they place second in the Pacific Division. Hopefully, this works. Sure they picked up Paul Statsney and former Montreal Canadiens’ Captain Max Pacioretty. But I also find Statsney to be an average player at best who just shows up in spurts. “Patches” though, potentially should thrive in Vegas without the severe pressures of being in the fishbowl of the Montreal market, (which is why I was hoping the Kings would have picked up Pacioretty instead, but more on that later), and get back to scoring anywhere from 35 to 39 goals, like he was doing for the “Habs” before the weight of the “C” pulled him heavily down. Now can William Karlsson return to form after a breakout season of 43 goals and 78 points, plus another 15 points in 20 playoff games? Can future Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury stay healthy and hold the fort (not that it mattered last season, as Vegas used five goalies in net last year, and with the exception of Maxime Legace, they all were solid), only time will tell. So yeah Vegas should take second place, or even first! (Reverse psychology, do your thang!)

3rd – Anaheim Ducks

Oh, those pesky Ducks. Even with the annoying Corey Perry out for 5 or so months due to the meniscus and MCL surgery, an aging and injury prone Captain in Ryan Getzlaf, as well as Ryan Kesler with his hip issues, the Ducks still find ways to annoy the Kings and all Kings’ fans worldwide by staying competitive. It’s like what they love to do best. I’m not sure how long coach Randy Carlyle will be able to keep his job behind the bench, as another short playoff run could be his doom, (well at least until when the Ducks hire him for a third time as head coach in the near future, because third time’s the charm right???). The Ducks have qualified for the playoffs for six straight seasons, have won five out of the last six Pacific Division titles and played in the Western Conference finals twice in recent years, so expect more of the same this season. At least during the regular season. The Ducks still have a strong defensive core led by Hampus Lindholm, Cam Fowler, Brandon Montour, and Josh Manson, plus the reliable goaltending duo of John Gibson and Ryan Miller. The Ducks won’t be dominant but they will be consistent, and that will be enough for them to secure the 3rd spot of the Pacific Division and get them into the playoffs. (Where they will probably crash and burn, leading to the firing of Carlyle and 10 year GM Bob Murray, or so I like to believe).

4th – Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames in fourth place? But where are the Kings? Hold your horses (get it, because the city of Calgary is very cowboy/girl western like), and hear me out. Like with my Vegas prediction, (and maybe even San Jose and Anaheim and everyone else not the Kings in the Pacific), there is a method to my madness. The Flames had a terrible 2017-18 season but they definitely underachieved. If they can get their act together, even somewhat, they are a playoff team. Johnny “Hockey” Gaudreau had a solid season with 24 goals and 84 points and Sean Monahan had 31 goals and 64 points. The rest of the team struggling offensively, which brings us Stanley Cup finalist James Neal, fresh from his Stanley Cup Final season with the Golden Knights to join the Flames. The Flames also still have Drew Doughty‘s number 1 nemesis in Matthew Tkachuk. If he can play a whole season without getting injured, (or suspended, or thrown in jail, or … ), he can add to the 24 goals and 49 points he had last season. The biggest concern is the defense or lack thereof, and let’s be real here, goaltender Mike Smith‘s best days are far behind him (like 6 years behind him in 2012. Which is also a year that I’m sure still haunts Smith in his nightmares. Oh 2012, you beautiful year you!) Captain Mark Giordano is now 35 years old(ish) and not getting any younger. This is the season where the real Flames have to show up and they will, by acquiring the 4th place and playoff wild card spot, (or will they? Maybe I’m still using the reverse psychology trick here too???)

5th – Los Angeles Kings

Okay, before any of you start mean tweeting me, throwing rotten tomatoes at me and start poking pins in a voodoo doll with my likeness, again maybe there is a method to my madness. In previous years, I have predicted the Kings would make the playoffs and go deep, but it has been hit and miss the last few seasons. (Mostly misses). Even if the Kings do make the playoffs, they have won only one single playoff game since winning the Cup a second time in 2014. So reverse psychology it is! Here are some things the Kings need to do to make the playoffs this season and hopefully make a deep run in the playoffs. They need goalscoring. They were 16th overall last season in goals scored, which considering that Jeff Carter missed most of the season due to a freak injury, and the Kings were 22nd overall in 2016-17, there was definitely an improvement in scoring last year, but not so much in the playoffs. But even then, the goals were very top line heavy. Captain Anze Kopitar had a Hart Trophy caliber season of 35 goals and 92 points, while former Captain (and forever Captain in my heart) Dustin Brown had a comeback for the ages with 28 goals and 61 points and a plus-31. Tyler Toffoli had a very quiet 24 goals and Tanner Pearson had a disappointing offensive year with only 15 goals and 40 points, (though Pearson was very strong in all other aspects of his game). But Toffoli and Pearson are no longer the young pups they were in 2014. They are now veterans and need to start becoming leaders and regular scoring contributors to this team. They can’t just wait for the always consistent “Papa Bear” Jeff Carter to be healthy and on their line.

Then there is a jaw-dropping drop off in scoring with the bottom six. A heavily rotating bottom six no less. Some consistency there is needed. Trevor Lewis and Nate Thompson are solid and hard workers but the younger generation of players coming up from the Ontario Reign need to show what they can do and provide at the NHL level with the limited ice time given. If the Kings want to do some serious damage this year, they need all four lines scoring, no and, ifs or buts, with some offensive assistance from the blue line corps as well. With Norris Trophy winner, fully re-signed for 8 years (plus this season) and in my “humble” opinion, the best damn overall defenseman in the NHL today, Drew Doughty deciding to stay in the Kingdom and leading the D-corps, “Dewy” is the least of our worries. But veterans Jake Muzzin, Alec Martinez and Dion Phaneuf have to take some of the load off and get that puck in the net more often. Especially during the power-play. The Kings also need to be healthy, which already is off to a bad start this pre-season. Brown is out with a broken finger, Jonny Brodzinski is out with shoulder surgery, and rookie phenom Gabe Vilardi is still out with back issues, which is something he has been dealing with for the last two seasons. He is way too young for that.

The Kings did pick up Russian veteran Ilya Kovalchuk to help with scoring. But here’s my concern. Kovalchuk is 35 years old and hasn’t played in the NHL or at the NHL level for 5 years now. And I don’t care what anybody says, the KHL level is nowhere near the grinding, speedy or punishing NHL level is, especially in the playoffs. Can Kovalchuk hold back father (or mother) time as Jaromir Jagr did? Or will he no longer have the legs like he used to? Time will tell but I’m definitely losing sleep over it. Which is why I was hoping the Kings would have picked up the younger and NHL ready Pacioretty instead from Montreal, which GM Rob Blake almost did, but “Patches” turned us down because he wanted more money. (DOH!) So, Kovalchuk, it is, and let’s just hope for the best. Also, whether in the bottom six, the top two lines or on the blue line, the next generation players of the Kings need to step up. Brodzinski (who I mentioned is hurt), Mike Amadio, Paul LaDue, Derek Forbort and most definitely, Adrian Kempe need to take things to the next level by making great use of their playing opportunities. I’m not worried about Alex Iafallo though. He brings some serious intangibles to the team that benefits them that can’t be measured by a numerical stat. Just put that pinball machine out there and watch him open up that ice for his linemates, just like he did for Kopi and Brown last year. But Kempe’s time is now and he need s to deliver. Especially if he is slotted to play in one of the top two lines.

So all in all, the Kings have to stay healthy (full seasons from Carter and Jonathan Quick and the return of Brown, Brodzinski, plus the NHL debut of Vilardi would definitely help), need players like Toffoli, Pearson, Kempe, the bottom six and the blue line to help out with the scoring, and the aging core of the team, Kopi, Brown, Carter, Doughty (who is still in his prime at 28) and Quick to do what they do best, compete and play hard, the Kings should be okay. Oh and the Kings need to maintain their best of the NHL defensive system as well. So easy peasy right? And with that, I predict that the Kings will be tough to beat by being highly competitive, but will miss out on a Wild Card playoff spot. Missing the playoffs for the third time since 2014. (Or will they??? I am definitely playing the reverse psychology card here! Maybe if I predict that the Kings won’t make the playoffs, they will and will go deep?!?!?! But wait, does reverse psychology still work if I openly admit I’m using reverse psychology??? DAMN IT!!!)

6th – Edmonton Oilers

Can the real Edmonton Oilers please stand up? (Dated Eminem reference there. I almost went with a Machine Gun Kelly reference instead, but that just would’ve been silly). Two years ago the Oilers, led by the Hart Trophy-winning Connor McDavid led the Oilers to their first playoff appearance since making the Stanley Cup Final in 2006, and to the second round of the playoffs, before bombing out completely in the regular season last year, despite McDavid gaining 108 points. Yes 108 points, on a team that was out of a playoff spot by November! But all that proved was that McDavid alone is not enough. Fellow former number 1 draft pick and $6 million AAV cap hit Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and the even more expensive $8.5 million AAV cap hit Leon Draisaitl underachieved last year. Though to be fair, Draisaitl did almost hit a point a game with 70 points in 78 games, but with his heavy price tag (think Marian Gaborik with the Kings or Dustin Brown before 2017-18 and after 2013-14), the Oilers need larger stats and contributions from him. The rest of the team to me seem like busts. Milan Lucic made a huge mistake by leaving LA to play with the Oilers. His physical and heavy style worked great on an (at the time) Darryl Sutter coached team, but he’s too slow for the Oilers. Heck, he’s too slow to even protect McDavid from anyone or anything like he’s supposed to. Another former (two time) King Mike Cammalleri also didn’t do much of anything and also was a poor fit. The sad (or happy) thing about the Oilers, is not only was their roster holes exposed last season, but they are still 6th overall with the least amount of cap space (one spot behind the Kings) in the entire NHL, so there really isn’t much room for GM Peter Chiarelli to play around with. That tends to happen when you commit $33 million of cap space to four players alone, (McDavid, Nugent-Hopkins, Lucic & Draisaitl). That is just insane. I believe the Oilers will always be a threat as long as McDavid plays for them but making the playoffs are a bridge too far. The real Oilers showed up last year, and will again this year. But hey, at least they are not Arizona and Vancouver!

7th – Arizona Coyotes

I’m not gonna lie and say I was sad to see the Arizona CRY-otes fail to get a regular-season victory until 21 games into the season. Even though the ‘Yotes of 2012 is long gone, I still hold a grudge (which is no different than the grudges I hold against all the other teams in the NHL. It’s the Kings vs. the world baby!) I will play a little nice and say that Arizona will do slightly better than the even more hated Vancouver Canucks. But that’s not saying much. With former top Coyote prospect Max Domi now with the Montreal Canadiens, and replaced by the potentially gifted Alex Galchenyuk, as well as Michael Grabner, there isn’t much to cheer about in Phoenix, I mean Scottsdale, I mean Glendale, whatever. The ‘Yotes do have talented goaltenders in Antti Raanta and former King Darcy Kuemper, who both can steal games for them, but expect another waste of a season with only a slight improvement from last year. Now speaking of wastes …

8th and definitely least – Vancouver Canucks

Now I was trying to think of how I can properly articulate what kind of season the Canucks are going to experience this season but all I could come up with was, and I quote, “Bahahahahahahahahaha!!!” The Sedin twins are now retired and they have left the Canucks worse for wear. Not that they were great last season or the last few seasons with the Sedin twins but whatever. They do still have Brock Boeser and Bo Horvat. Both players are talented and have bright futures. But the Canucks are weak everywhere else. Heck, I picked the Coyotes to finish ahead of them in the standings so it doesn’t get worse than that! I’m not even sure if the Canucks actually have any defensemen on the team and their goaltenders Jacob Markstrom and Anders Nilsson are average at best, and that’s being generous. Whether our Kings make the playoffs or not this year, at least it’ll be fun to watch another dumpster fire season by the Canucks. And yes, I was smiling when I typed that.

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Well, there you have it. My 2018-19 Pacific Division predictions. Do you agree with me? Do you disagree? Are the Kings making the playoffs and if so, then what spot will they finish in? What are your predictions for the Pacific Division this year? Do you believe in the Hockey God’s defying power of reverse psychology? Let us know in the comments below.

So until next time, I am JD Stylz and I am out of here!

GO KINGS GO!!!

*But before I go, I just wanted to thank everyone for their kind words and well wishes when I fell ill last summer. It meant the world to me that so many of you cared enough to reach out and it only proved what I already suspected was true. And that’s the best fandom in the world, not just in hockey but in all of the sports, are the LA Kings’ fans. (And yes Rabbs, you are included in that list). Thank you again, everyone!

**Also make sure you check out Rebbi Rabb’s 2018-19 predictions as well.

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