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.
Vancouver Canucks
2021 Record: 23-29-4
Playoff Result: Did not make playoffs
Projected Cap Hit: $83,710,659
Cap Space: $0
Expected LTIR: Michael Ferland-LW/RW (Cap Hit: $3,500,000)
Expectations: Make Playoffs
Former Red Wings: Madison Bowey
vs Red Wings: Saturday Jan 16 @ Detroit 7:00 PM ET, Thursday Mar 17 @ Vancouver 10:00 PM ET
Players Joining
Jason Dickinson (Dallas)
Oliver Ekman Larsson (Arizona)
Conor Garland (Arizona)
Vasili Podkolzin (KHL)
Phil Di Giuseppe (New York Rangers)
Brad Hunt (Minnesota)
Justin Dowling (Dallas)
Jaroslav Halak (Boston)
Luke Schenn (Tampa Bay)
Tucker Poolman (Winnipeg)
Alex Chiasson (Edmonton)
Players Leaving
Kole Lind (Seattle)
Loui Eriksson (Arizona)
Antoine Roussel (Arizona)
Jay Beagle (Arizona)
Jake Virtanen (KHL)
Tyler Graovac (KHL)
Braden Holtby (Dallas)
Alexander Edler (Los Angeles)
Nate Schmidt (Winnipeg)
Travis Boyd (Arizona)
Jayce Hawryluk (SHL)
Jimmy Vesey (New Jersey)
Jonah Gadjovich (San Jose)
How will the Red Wings stack up against Vancouver?
Vancouver recently re-signed Elias Pettersson to a three-year extension with an annual cap hit of $7.35 million. They also re-signed Quinn Hughes to a six-year extension with an annual cap hit of $7.85 million. These two contracts pushed the Canucks dangerously close to the cap ceiling. On paper, Vancouver looks improved compared to the team that missed the playoffs. This year, games between Detroit and Vancouver should be exciting and face paced. Both teams are younger and more skilled. The season series should be a split between the two teams.
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.