Faceoff Factor

A Season in Review: Western Conference

Ashley Gallant | National Hockey League

Apr 7, 11:00 PM | Hype this story!

After looking at the Eastern Conference, I’ll now look to the West.

TOP PLAYERS

Jarome Iginla, RW, Calgary Flames (82 games, 50G, 48A, 98P)
Jarome Iginla simply had a season worthy of an MVP nomination and I think he would have won the Hart if a certain player in Washington hadn’t gone nuts on the stats sheets. He was the best player for the Flames, leading the team in goals, assists, points, plus/minus, and power play goals/assists/points – all this without a top tier centreman on his line.

Pascal Leclaire, G, Columbus Blue Jackets (54 games, 24-17-6, 2.25 GAA, .919 SV%)
This kid seemed to come out of pretty much nowhere to give his team a ray of hope of making the playoffs – but it wasn’t meant to be this year. He has dramatically improved all around and
he finished the season with 9 shutouts (one behind Lundqvist) – last year he had one lonely shutout.

Pavel Datsyuk, C, Detroit Red Wings (82 games, 31G, 66A, 97P)
It was really a toss-up between Datsyuk and Lidstrom, but I decided to go with the guy who led the team in assists, points, and power play assists/points, and plus/minus (an league-leading +41). More amazingly, Datsyuk was the only player for the Red Wings to survive the entire season without missing a game. But yeah, Lidstrom was a pretty decent player this season, too.

SURPRISE PLAYERS

Sam Gagner, C, Edmonton Oilers (79 games, 13G, 36A, 49P)
Gagner was the youngest player in the NHL this season, and he made a name for himself. Sure, his shootout goals were insane (see below), but I like to consider the “Evolution of Sam Gagner.” In 2007, he played for Team Canada at the WJC as a 17-year-old and didn’t make much of an impression – he was sort of invisible. Eight months later, he was a force that led Canada to a convincing win over Russia in the Super Series. He went from the Super Series to Edmonton’s training camp and made the team with his WJC teammate Andrew Cogliano. They both gained tons of experience in just one season with the Oilers and established themselves as the future of the franchise.

Jeremy Roenick, C, San Jose Sharks (69 games, 14G, 19A, 33P)
I wanted Roenick to retire last summer and go to work in broadcasting, but it wasn’t meant to happen. The Sharks decided to give him a home for the 2007-08 season, and a legitimate chance to win the Cup. He really seemed to find that drive and passion for the game, and it has paid off. He scored his 500th career goal earlier this season, and an incredible 10 of his 14 goals have been game winners – second in the NHL to Ovechkin’s 11 GWG.

Peter Forsberg, C, Colorado Avalanche (9 games, 1G, 13A, 14P)
For all the rumours and questions about Forsberg this season (“Will he return?”....“Will he suck?”....“Where’s he gonna go?”), I honestly didn’t think that we’d see him back in the NHL this year. I was shocked to see him return, and I was a little surprised to see that he hasn’t really lost his touch. Now the question is: how long will he stay?

TOP INJURIES

Edmonton Oilers – varied injuries
The Oilers were a beat up team all season long. Fernando Pisani missed the first few months with ulcerative colitis and made a miraculous comeback. All-Star Shawn Horcoff cut his season short to have shoulder surgery. Raffi Torres suffered a torn right ACL in December. Captain Ethan Moreau has been limited to just 32 games over the last 2 seasons due to various injuries. Sheldon Souray, the big newcomer this season, played a very ineffective 26 games before his torn labrum and bicep forced him out of the lineup for the rest of the season.

While these injuries played a role in how their season played out and some would say that it may have cost them a playoff spot, I would argue that it allowed the kids to log 20+ minutes a night and accelerate their development.

Jonathan Toews, C, Chicago Blackhawks – knee
My, my, the future is bright in Chicago and this kid is in the centre of it all. He missed 18 games this season due to a sprained knee, and still ended up 3rd in team scoring and 2nd for goals. The Blackhawks should hope that he remains healthy in years to come because he will be the heart and soul of that team.

Vancouver Canucks’ Defensive Corps – various injuries
Vancouver’s blueline suffered so many injuries this year. Bieksa was out long term with a deep laceration in his calf. Krajicek suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. Sami Salo was out for an extended period of time. There were games where the ‘veteran’ defenseman had only played maybe a season in the NHL – the rest were all players called up from the Manitoba Moose.

TOP GAMES

Los Angeles Kings (4), Anaheim Ducks (1) – September 29th, 2007
Who can forget the season opener in London? With Jonathan Bernier in net, the Kings cruised to a 4-1 victory over the Stanley Cup-winning (and sluggish) Ducks. Unfortunately, it was probably the highlight of the season for Los Angeles.

San Jose Sharks (3), Philadelphia Flyers (1) – February 21st, 2008
The Sharks had been on a 5-game losing streak, and Philly was their fourth game on their tour of the Atlantic Division. This win sparked an 11-game winning streak – a franchise record – and they only had two regulation losses for the rest of the season. I don’t know what the Flyers did to get them out of their funk, but I’m sure many teams would like to know that secret.

TOP STORIES

The stars return to the west
A number of star players who were supposed to be retired or washed up decided to return to the NHL – and they all went west. Is this an indication that most people believe that the next Cup Champion will be a western team? The returnees included: Scotty Niedermayer, Teemu Selanne, Peter Forsberg and Curtis Joseph.

The mess in Nashville
The Nashville Predators this year are basically last year’s Pittsburgh Penguins. Jim Balsillie tried to buy them. He then tried to move the team before the sale was even final, which put an end to the deal. Nobody knew who owned the team, whether the team would remain in Nashville or if Kansas City would get an NHL team. The team basically imploded as all of the star players were traded last summer, or left through free agency, making it hard for Nashville to reach the minimum payroll. In fact, I heard that Steve Sullivan was kept active even though he didn’t play all season just so that his salary would count towards the cap.

All of this drama, and yet the Predators managed to find themselves in the playoffs. Sure, it’s an 8th seed and they’ll probably get tossed by the Red Wings, but it’s amazing that they’re even playing at this time of year. Barry Trotz for Jack Adams consideration?