Detroit Red Wings: 2021 NHL Pacific Division Preview

This year, the Detroit Red Wings play 16 games against Pacific Division teams.  Detroit will play a two-game, home-and-home series against each of the eight teams.

Three of the eight teams currently are over the salary cap allowed by the NHL.  This week, Edmonton, Vancouver and Vegas will have to reduce their team salaries in order to meet the league mandated upper limit of $81.5 million.  This can be done by placing players on LTIR, placing players on waivers and having those players picked up by another team, or trading players for prospects and draft choices in order to reduce payroll.

Here is a look at the eight Pacific Division teams that Detroit will start to play against starting on Saturday October 16.

Anaheim Ducks

2021 Record: 17-30-9

Playoff Result: Did not make playoffs

Projected Cap Hit: $68,500,750

Cap Space: $12,999,250

Expected LTIR: Ryan Kessler-C (Cap Hit:$6,875,000)

Expectations: Make Playoffs

Former Red Wings: None

vs Red Wings:  Thursday Jan 6. @ Anaheim 10:00 PM ET, Monday Jan 31 @ Detroit 7:30 PM ET

Players Joining

Ben Hutton (Toronto)

Players Leaving

Haydn Fleury (Seattle)

Danton Heinen (Pittsburgh)

Carter Rowney (Detroit)

David Backes (Retired)

How will the Red Wings stack up against Anaheim?

Although the Ducks only added one new player to their roster, the team is bustling with young prospects.  After scoring eight points in 24 games with the Ducks last season, Jamie Drysdale should quarterback the power play as a 19-year-old this year.  Former 9th overall draft choice Trevor Zegras should also play his first full season in the NHL this year. At 22, Maxime Comtois will enter his second full season in the NHL.  The Red Wings are deeper than the Ducks and should be able to potentially sweep the two-game series.

Calgary Flames

2021 Record: 27-26-3

Playoff Result: Did not make playoffs

Projected Cap Hit: $80,587,500

Cap Space: $912,500

Expectations: Make Playoffs

Former Red Wings: None

vs Red Wings: Thursday Oct 21 @ Detroit 7:30 PM ET, Saturday Mar 12 @ Calgary 7:00 PM ET

Players Joining

Tyler Pitlick (Seattle)

Trevor Lewis (Winnipeg)

Dan Vladar (Boston)

Blake Coleman (Tampa Bay)

Nikita Zadorov (Chicago)

Brad Richardson (Nashville)

Erik Gudbranson (Nashville)

Players Leaving

Nikita Nesterov (KHL)

Mark Giordano (Seattle)

Josh Leivo (Carolina)

Derek Ryan (Edmonton)

Dominik Simon (Pittsburgh)

Zac Rinaldo (No Team)

How will the Red Wings stack up against Calgary?

Calgary will look like a different team this season.  With captain Mark Giordano leaving for Seattle, the Flames will have to incorporate a new identity.  Calgary will be on the bubble to make the playoffs once again this year.  The series with Detroit should be even and you can expect a split between the two games this year.

Edmonton Oilers

2021 Record: 35-19-2

Playoff Result: Conference QF loss

Projected Cap Hit: $84,339,801

Expected LTIR: Oscar Klefbom-D (Cap Hit: $4,167,000), Josh Archibald-LW/RW (Cap Hit: $1,500,000)

Cap Space: $0

Expectations: A deep run in the playoffs

Former Red Wings: Brendan Perlini

vs Red Wings: Tuesday Nov 9 @ Detroit 7:30 PM ET, Tuesday Mar 15 @ Edmonton 9:00 PM ET

Players Joining

Duncan Keith (Chicago)

Zach Hyman (Toronto)

Warren Foegele (Carolina)

Cody Ceci (Pittsburgh)

Derek Ryan (Calgary)

Brendan Perlini (NL)

Colton Sceviour (Pittsburgh)

Players Leaving

Caleb Jones (Chicago)

Adam Larsson (Seattle)

James Neal (St. Louis)

Tyler Ennis (Ottawa)

Alex Chiasson (Vancouver)

How will the Red Wings stack up against Edmonton?

It is now or never for the Edmonton Oilers.  General Manager Ken Holland has once again placed his team against the salary cap ceiling.  Several players will change the chemistry on the ice.  Only time will tell if the changes make the Oilers Stanley Cup contenders.  The Oilers skill and depth should be too much for Detroit to handle.  Expect the Oilers to sweep the Red Wings in their two-game series this year.

Los Angeles Kings

2021 Record: 21-28-7

Playoff Result: Did not make playoffs

Projected Cap Hit: $85,488,755

Expected LTIR: Quinton Byfield -C (Cap Hit: $894,167)

Cap Space: $0

Expectations: Make Playoffs

Former Red Wings: Andreas Athanasiou

vs Red Wings: Saturday Jan 8 @ Los Angeles 10:30 PM ET, Wednesday Feb 2 @ Detroit 7:30 PM ET

Players Joining

Viktor Arvidsson (Nashville)

Alexander Edler (Vancouver)

Phillip Danault (Montreal)

Players Leaving

Kurtis MacDermid (Colorado)

Matt Luff (Nashville)

How will the Red Wings stack up against Los Angeles?

On paper, Los Angeles should be an improved hockey team this year.  The additions of Arvidsson, Edler, and Danault will provide more depth to a team that have missed the playoffs for three consecutive years.  The Red Wings will match up well against the Kings and you can expect a split in the season series.

San Jose Sharks

2021 Record: 21-28-7

Playoff Result: Did not make playoffs

Projected Cap Hit: $78,921,667

Cap Space: $2,578,333

Expectations: Make Playoffs

Former Red Wings: None

vs Red Wings: Tuesday Jan 4 @ Detroit 7:30 PM ET, Tuesday Jan 11 @ San Jose 10:30 PM ET

Players Joining

Adin Hill (Arizona)

James Reimer (Carolina)

Nick Bonino (Minnesota)

Andrew Cogliano (Dallas)

Lane Pederson (Arizona)

Jonah Gadjovich (Vancouver)

Players Leaving

Josef Korenar (Arizona)

Alexander True (Seattle)

Christian Jaros (New Jersey)

Martin Jones (Philadelphia)

Kurtis Gabriel (Toronto)

Ivan Chekhovich (KHL)

Marcus Sorensen (SHL)

Ryan Donato (Seattle)

How will the Red Wings stack up against San Jose?

There is trouble in Shark land.  The Evander Kane debacle needs to disappear if the Sharks have any chance of salvaging a season before it begins.  With some cap room available, the Sharks need to make some moves or they will likely miss the playoffs for a third consecutive season.  San Jose and Detroit should split the two game series.

Seattle Kraken

Projected Cap Hit: $73,106,666

Cap Space: $8,393,334

Expectations: Make Playoffs

Former Red Wings: Dennis Cholowski, Riley Sheahan, Calle Jarnkrok

vs Red Wings: Wednesday Dec 1 @ Detroit 7:30 PM ET, Saturday Mar 19 @ Seattle 10:00 PM ET

Notable Players

Philip Grubauer-G

Mark Giordano-D

Vince Dunn-D

Adam Larsson-D

Jamie Oleksiak-D

Jordan Eberle-RW

Jaden Schwartz-LW

Alexander Wennberg-C

How will the Red Wings stack up against Seattle?

It’s hard to determine how the Red Wings will stack up against the Kraken.  If Seattle plays anywhere near as well as Vegas did during their first season post-expansion, Kraken should be competitive.  They have a mixture of veteran and young players.  In the next week, Seattle will have to expose some players to the waiver wire because they currently have more than the 23 player allotment to start the season.

Vegas Golden Knights

2021 Record: 40-14-2

Playoff Result: Conference Final Loss

Projected Cap Hit: $86,677,439

Cap Space: $0

Expected LTIR: Alex Tuch-RW (Cap Hit:$4,750,000)

Expectations: Win Stanley Cup

Former Red Wings: Mattias Janmark

vs Red Wings: Sunday Nov 7 @ Detroit 6:00 PM ET, Thursday Nov 18 @ Vegas 10:00 PM ET

Players Joining

Brett Howden (New York Rangers)

Nolan Patrick (Philadelphia)

Yevgeni Dadonov (Ottawa)

Laurent Brossoit (Winnipeg)

Players Leaving

Cody Glass (Nashville)

Marc-Andre Fleury (Chicago)

Nick Holden (Ottawa)

Tomas Nosek (Boston)

Ryan Reaves (New York Rangers)

How will the Red Wings stack up against Vegas?

Vegas has reached the playoffs in each of their four seasons in the NHL.  This season should also include a deep run in the playoffs and possibly their first Stanley Cup Championship.  The Golden Knights may even be better this year than they were last year when they won 40 of 56 games.  Look for Vegas to sweep the two game series with the Red Wings.