Zak MacMillan

"CBJ"

Harrisburg, PA • United States • 23 Years Old • Male

NHL Trade Deadline Preview Pt. 4: Pacific Division

With the trade deadline being on February 29th, this article is the second of a four part series of where I preview what each team needs, where they stand, and what they could acquire or move. The order of teams will go by where they stand in the standings. For February 21st, the Pacific goes as follows:

1. Los Angeles Kings
2. Anaheim Ducks
3. San Jose Sharks
4. Arizona Coyotes
5. Vancouver Canucks
6. Calgary Flames
7. Edmonton Oilers

After missing the playoffs last season and making some big offseason moves, the Los Angeles Kings are back with a vengeance to reacquire the Stanley Cup for the third time in six seasons. The Kings brought in Milan Lucic, Jonas Enroth, and Peter Budaj at the cost of Martin Jones, Mike Richards, Justin Williams, Andrej Sekera, Colin Miller, and Slava Voynov.

What They Need: Top 4 Defenseman, Depth Defense/Offense

Who Could Be Moved: Adrian Kempe, Tanner Pearson, Derek Forbort, Christian Ehrhoff, Luke Schenn

Who Could Be Acquired: Keith Yandle, Andrew Ladd, Roman Polak, Jiri Hudler, Kris Russell

The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim were one of the best teams in the league last season, going all the way to the Western Conference Finals and losing to the Stanley Cup Champions (Chicago Blackhawks). This season, the Ducks had an extremely slow start with tons of talking including potentially firing head coach Bruce Broudreau, and trading guys like Freedrik Andersen, Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm, and Sami Vatanen.

What They Need: Quality Offense, Depth Defense, Depth Offense

Who Could Be Moved: Freedrik Andersen, Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm, Sami Vatanen, Dustin Tokarski,

Who Could Be Acquired: Andrew Ladd, Jonathan Drouin

After failing to qualify for the playoffs last season, the San Jose Sharks are fighting for a playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Sharks made some bold moves in the summer, including firing former head coach Todd McCellean; acquiring Martin Jones for a first round pick; and signing veterans Joel Ward and Paul Martin. Currently holding onto a playoff spot in the weak Pacific Division, they need to find a way to prevent teams below them in the divisional standings take them out.

What They Need: Youth, Draft Picks, Top 4/Top 6 Defenseman, Backup Goalie, Depth Forwards,Defensemen

Who Could Be Moved: Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Ben Smith, Alex Stalock, Tomas Hertl

Who Could Be Acquired: Roman Polak, James Reimer, Kevin Shattenkirk, Nazem Kadri

After a memorable start for the Arizona Coyotes, they have fell out of a playoff spot, and are looking to move out rentals. Earlier this year, rookies like Max Domi and Anthony Duclair, and other youngsters like Louis Dominigue and Tobias Reider stepped up for this club. With a lack of depth and injuries to players, this team has gone into a downward spiral, and may be looking to grab Arizona native Auston Matthews.

What They Need: Auston Matthews, quality prospects, better goaltending

Who Could Be Moved: Mikkel Boedker, Nicklas Grossmann, Boyd Gordon, Steve Downie, Andres Lindback, Kyle Chipchurra, Viktor Tikhonov, Shane Doan

Who Could Be Acquired: Auston Matthews, Jonathan Drouin, Draft Picks, Prospects

After making the playoffs last year and have a bizzare offseason of trades, the Vancouver Canucks are currently out of the playoffs. They dealt Eddie Lack, Kevin Bieska, Nick Bonnio, and Adam Clendenning, and only got Brandon Sutter in return, for now. They are dealing with injuries as well, and their youth has not been gelling as well as management expected.

What They Need: Draft Picks, Prospects

Who Could Be Moved: Alex Burrows, Radim Vrbata, Dan Hamihus, Brandon Prust, Chris Higgins,

Who Could Be Acquired: Nazem Kadri, Jonathan Drouin,

After going to the second round of the playoffs last season, the Calgary Flames are in the complete opposite direction now. This summer, the Flames made big moves in hopes of a return to the playoffs by acquiring Dougie Hamilton and signing Michael Frolik. Being in the bottom of the league, this team may be looking to move some pending UFAs.

What They Need: No. 1 Goalie, Prospects, Draft Picks

Who Could Be Moved: Jiri Hudler, Joonas Hiller, Kris Russell,

Who Could Be Acquired: Jimmy Howard, Jonathan Bernier, James Reimer,

Even with all the moves they made this summer, including a new general manger, head coach, and number one overall draft pick, the Edmonton Oilers still can not escape the basement of the Western Conference. Something needs to change in Edmonton fast because the mix does not seem to be working there.

What They Need: Talented Defenseman,

Who Could Be Moved: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle, Nail Yaukpov, Mark Fayne, Nikita Nikitin, Teddy Purcell, Lauri Korporski,

Who Could Be Acquired: Travis Hamonic,

What are your thoughts on the trade deadline? What are your thoughts on the Pacific Division? Who could be moved? Who makes it into the playoffs?

More to come…