‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring… except for the teams in the Pacific Division, who haven’t yet sent their letters to Santa. He’s already heard from the Atlantic Division, the Metropolitan Division, and the Central Division. Let’s not keep St. Nick waiting any longer. Here’s what every team in the Pacific Division wants for Christmas.
Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks have a scoring problem. They’ve scored just 80 goals through 33 games this season, which is dead last in the league. The three words that best describe Anaheim’s 30th ranked powerplay are as follows: stink, stank, stunk.
The reason for this lack of offense isn’t exactly a mystery. Since 2019, the Ducks have had six top-10 draft picks, but none of these young players are taking the next step. Leo Carlsson, the second overall pick in 2023, has just 12 points in 27 games. Mason McTavish, the third overall pick in 2021, has four goals and 14 points in 27 games. And Cutter Gauthier– not an Anaheim Ducks draft pick, but still the fifth overall pick in the 2022 NHL draft– has just four goals and 14 points in 33 games.
I’m not sure if this is an issue with coaching, or if it runs deeper with player development. But for Christmas, the Ducks would like their young stars to start to establish themselves in the league.
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a tricky team this year. They’re just one point out of a playoff spot, but they shouldn’t be. Their 16-11-7 record suggests that they’re a much better team than they are. Calgary’s 21.5% successful powerplay is 16th in the league, but their 72.6% successful penalty kill is ranked 29th.
The Flames don’t seem to have an easy answer to this. They shouldn’t be buyers at the trade deadline. But at the same time, I’m not convinced that they can become bad enough to get a high enough draft pick to warrant selling. So, for Christmas, the Flames could use an identity.
Edmonton Oilers
Last year’s run to the Stanley Cup Final was a nice plot twist, but the Oilers are back to normal. Edmonton has scored 111 goals, and on 71 of them, Connor McDavid and/or Leon Draisait recorded a point. To simplify, just under 64% of Edmonton’s offense comes from just two players.
What the Oilers really want for Christmas is a time machine to go back to the offseason and give Warren Foegele an extension. Four of Foegele’s nine goals are game-winners, and he has 18 points through 34 games. But since that’s impossible, a little more depth scoring would be a fine consolation prize.
Los Angeles Kings
For the past three years, the Los Angeles Kings have collided with the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Thrice, the Oilers have emerged victorious. In 2022, the Kings took the Oilers to game seven. In 2023, the Oilers beat the Kings in six games. Last year, it only took them five games.
It seems that Edmonton and Los Angeles are on a collision course to meet in the postseason for a fourth consecutive year. For Christmas, the Los Angeles Kings are begging Santa to give them a new playoff opponent and spare them from this recurring nightmare.
San Jose Sharks
Last year, for the first time ever, the San Jose Sharks had the first-overall pick in the NHL draft. They selected the consensus first-overall pick in Macklin Celebrini. And boy, was that the right call. He’s already making an impact in his first NHL season, and has 11 goals and 25 points through 25 games. Three of those goals are game-winners, with one coming in overtime.
Just one Sharks player has won the Calder Trophy before: goaltender Evgeni Nabokov in 2000-01. For Christmas, San Jose would love for Macklin Celebrini to become the second Shark ever to win the Calder.
Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken are perfectly average. They have the 21st ranked powerplay, firing at an 18.5% clip. They have the 15th ranked penalty kill with an 80% success rate. Their team average save percentage is .899, which is tied for 17th in the league. Unsurprisingly, Seattle is eight points out of a playoff spot.
In sports, average is the worst thing a team can be. It means they aren’t going to contend for a championship, but they’re not going to be bad enough to get a high draft pick. So, the Kraken would like to escape mediocrity for Christmas.
Vancouver Canucks
A rumor is a funny thing. It doesn’t matter if it’s true or false– once that little rumor seed has been planted, it just grows and grows. And right now, there’s a rumor circulating about the Vancouver Canucks. Allegedly, Vancouver’s two alternate captains JT Miller and Elias Pettersson aren’t playing well together. Both players have insisted that there’s no truth to this story, but that doesn’t matter. Once the media has a story– especially the Canadian media– it’s not easy to prevent them from running with it.
For Christmas, the Vancouver Canucks would like one of two things. If this rumor is true, and Miller and Pettersson truly can’t stand each other, the Canucks would like them to learn to get along. Or, more likely, if the rumor is false, the Canucks would just like it to die down. That would be a Christmas miracle.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Golden Knights have allowed just 95 goals against in 34 games– an average of 2.79 goals per game. In both categories, they’re tied for eighth-best in the league. Despite this, neither of their goaltenders are having a particularly good season. Starting goaltender Adin Hill has a .905 SV% and a 2.61 GAA. Backup Ilya Samsonov has a .898 SV% and a 2.97 GAA. So, for Christmas, the Golden Knights would like just a slight boost to their goaltending stats.
I know, I know. That’s pretty nitpicky. But there’s not much to wish for in Vegas! The Golden Knights have the sixth-best powerplay in the league. Their penalty kill, ranked 18th, is struggling a bit, but it still has a 79.2% success rate. They’ve scored 119 goals, which is seventh-best in the league– but they’ve done so in just 34 games, which averages out to a fourth-best 3.5 goals per game. One might say that Vegas is pretty… lucky. Ba dum tissss.
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