Last up in our division roundup series is the Pacific. There’s no doubt it was the weakest in the NHL last season, and it doesn’t look like it’s changed all that much this summer. Let’s look around the Pacific, what moves teams have made, and how it could play out next season.

Vancouver Canucks

• Additions: Brendan Gallagher, Paul Cotter, Jamie Oleksiak, Luke Schenn
• Subtractions: Teddy Blueger, Evander Kane, Marcus Pettersson

The Canucks were by far the worst team in the NHL last season, finishing with 58 points and in last place in the Pacific. For context’s sake, the Calgary Flames, who finished seventh in the Pacific, were 19 points ahead of the Canucks.

There’s been some change in Vancouver this offseason, but most of it has been around the edges. Jamie Oleksiak is a solid defensive defenseman, while Paul Cotter and Brendan Gallagher should bring some bottom-six depth. Marcus Pettersson is a loss, but the hope is Zeev Buium can take the next step forward in his development and replace Pettersson.

Per the organization itself, they’re in rebuild mode, so don’t expect them to compete for a playoff spot. But they also should not be as bad as they were in 2025-26. Adam Foote was arguably the worst head coach in the NHL, so Manny Malhotra should be an upgrade.

Calgary Flames

• Additions: Maxim Tsyplakov, Šimon Nemec, Jacob Middleton
• Subtractions: Blake Coleman, Olli Maatta

Much like the Canucks, the Flames are rebuilding, though they’re a bit further along. They’ve had a relatively quiet offseason, with Šimon Nemec being their main acquisition.

Nemec is an interesting player. He showed offensive upside in his time with the New Jersey Devils, but there are glaring flaws in his defensive game. Right now, it’s not passable, but even with his defensive struggles, he was still worth a wins above replacement (WAR) of 1 last season. He’ll get more of an opportunity to play top-four minutes with the Flames, but the key will be developing his defensive game.

The Flames also parted ways with Blake Coleman and Olli Maatta. In return, they received Jacob Middleton and several draft picks. That felt like a weak return for Coleman, who’s still one of the more underrated top-nine forwards in the NHL, but Middleton is a decent No. 4 or 5 defenseman. He’ll add a stabilizing presence defensively.

Seattle Kraken

• Additions: Mackie Samoskevich
• Subtractions: Jaden Schwartz, Eeli Tolvanen, Jamie Oleksiak

I’m not sure there’s a team stuck in NHL purgatory more than the Kraken. To their credit, they’ve made attempts to acquire elite talents such as Artemi Panarin and Jason Robertson, but they’re not a desirable destination at this time.

They’ve had a quiet offseason, with Mackie Samoskevich being their lone acquisition. He finished with 12 goals and 32 points and a WAR of 0.9 last season, but this is a good bet by the Kraken. He has breakout potential and should have more opportunity to play in the top six, which he did not have with the Florida Panthers.

Unfortunately, Samoskevich probably won’t help the Kraken move up the standings all that much. The team still lacks star power, but they don’t seem interested in a full rebuild, which is the best way to acquire high-end talent via the draft.

San Jose Sharks

• Additions: Mason Marchment, Darnell Nurse, Michael Kesselring, Jacob Trouba, Ivar Stenberg
• Subtractions: William Eklund, Philipp Kurashev, John Klingberg, Mario Ferraro, Vincent Desharnais, Shakir Mukhamadullin

The Sharks had one of the most active offseasons of any NHL team. GM Mike Grier made multiple additions, specifically on defense, a position group that sorely needed some upgrades. The problem is I’m not sure they upgraded their defense all that much.

Darnell Nurse needed a change of scenery from the Edmonton Oilers, but it’s fair to question the Sharks’ thought process. His play was worth a WAR of -0.5 last season, and he comes with a $9.25 million cap hit for four more years. Is he better than what the Sharks had? Maybe, but it’s a low bar to clear.

Nurse was not the only eye-opening move the Sharks made, either. They also signed Jacob Trouba in free agency to a four-year, $8.25 million AAV contract. His counting totals improved last season, but his underlying metrics raise some red flags. His play was worth a WAR of -0.8 last season, and his game has been in decline for a couple of years.

If there’s one move on defense the Sharks made that looks like a good bet, it was acquiring Michael Kesselring from the Buffalo Sabres. He struggled last season, but he looks like a good bounce-back candidate. I doubt he suddenly forgot how to play hockey at 26 years old. He likely just needed a change of scenery.

Up front, Mason Marchment should give the Sharks a power forward with 20-25 goal upside. The wild card is Ivar Stenberg, who the Sharks selected with the second overall pick in the 2026 draft. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of impact he has if he makes the NHL roster, but there’s little doubt he’ll be a star in due time.

Los Angeles Kings

• Additions: Mats Zuccarello, Erik Haula, Corey Perry
• Subtractions: Anze Kopitar, Andrei Kuzmenko

Mats Zuccarello may be 38, but he totaled 54 points in 59 games for the Minnesota Wild last season. His underlying metrics are still excellent, too; he finished with a WAR of 1.7 in 2025-26. He’ll add more scoring pop to the Kings’ lineup, but their aging roster isn’t getting any younger by adding him.

Erik Haula still puts up points, but the underlying metrics have fallen off a cliff. His play was worth a WAR of -1 last season, and as of now, it looks like he’ll be the Kings’ second-line center. Corey Perry still has some juice, but he’s 41. There’s just not a lot to be excited about with this team because their roster is too old to be a legitimate contender.

Anaheim Ducks

• Additions: A.J. Greer, Jeff Malott, Nick Jensen
• Subtractions: Mason McTavish, Jeffrey Viel, John Carlson, Jacob Trouba, Olen Zellweger, Radko Gudas

It’s been quite the offseason for the Ducks. It started with the Philadelphia Flyers tendering a five-year, $18 million AAV offer sheet to Leo Carlsson. The Ducks matched the offer sheet, but it will change how they do business moving forward.

On defense, the Ducks still have work to do. John Carlson, Radko Gudas, and Trouba all departed for other teams, and they traded Olen Zellweger to the Sabres. There haven’t been many replacements, either, with Nick Jensen being the only defenseman they’ve added so far.

That’s partly because of Carlsson’s contract, but they also still need to re-sign Cutter Gauthier, who remains an RFA. The Ducks are lucky the Pacific Division is the weakest in the NHL at the moment, because it’s hard to argue they’ve improved much this offseason, if at all.

Edmonton Oilers

• Additions: Ryan Shea, Frederik Andersen, Devon Levi
• Subtractions: Jack Roslovic, Darnell Nurse, Connor Ingram

Is the clock ticking in Edmonton? Connor McDavid will be a UFA in 2028, so the Oilers need to put a winner together after taking a step back last season. Their offseason was a mixed bag. They did well to get out of Nurse’s contract, and Ryan Shea should be an upgrade.

Shea finished with a WAR of 3.3 with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season, and he’ll come at half the price ($4 million AAV) of Nurse. He may not be a 3.3 WAR player again, but odds are he will bolster the group.

Goaltending was a problem for the Oilers last season, but time will tell if they upgraded. Frederik Andersen starred for the Carolina Hurricanes in the playoffs, but he struggled during the regular season, finishing with a WAR of -0.6. Perhaps Devon Levi can be part of the solution, but he’s unproven in the NHL. Goaltending remains the team’s biggest question mark heading into 2026-27.

Vegas Golden Knights

• Additions: Victor Olofsson, Parker Wotherspoon
• Subtractions: Pavel Dorofeyev, Colton Sissons, Keegan Kolesar, Kaedan Korczak

The Golden Knights may be defending Western Conference champions, but they haven’t had the best offseason. I can’t blame them for not wanting to pay Pavel Dorofeyev $11 million per year, but he was a valuable player for them, totaling 49 goals between the regular season and playoffs.

Victor Olofsson is unlikely to come close to that level of production, but his best season as an NHLer came with the Golden Knights in 2024-25. He’ll add some depth up front in a middle-six role.

Meanwhile, Parker Wotherspoon, who they acquired for Kaedan Korczak, looks like a solid pickup for the team’s blue line. There’s been some improvement on the edges for the Golden Knights, but they’ll largely be running back the same team next season.

Predicting the Pacific in 2026-27

The Canucks are the worst team in the Pacific, but they should not be 58 points bad again. There’ll likely be some improvement, but eighth place looks like a good bet again.

The Flames and Kraken don’t look much better and will likely be out of the playoff picture, too. Where the Pacific gets interesting is with the three California teams. The Ducks and Sharks are on the rise, while the Kings seem to be trending in the wrong direction.

I don’t love the Ducks’ defense. They need to add another right-handed shot before the season starts, but they’re in limbo until they re-sign Gauthier. Even then, I think they’ll be able to outscore their problems, and they have one of the better young netminders in the NHL in Lukas Dostal.

This isn’t a particularly bold pick, but the Sharks look like a better team than the Kings on paper, even though Trouba and Nurse aren’t meaningful upgrades. Macklin Celebrini is on his way to superstardom, and other young players, such as Michael Misa and Will Smith, will probably take further steps forward in their development. I’d take their young, high-end talent over the Kings’ aging roster.

At the top of the division, the Golden Knights and Oilers remain the favorites. Goaltending was an issue for each team last season, so whoever figures it out in between the pipes has the best odds for first place.

1. Oilers – 99 points
2. Golden Knights – 98 points
3. Ducks – 94 points
4. Sharks – 90 points (WC2)
5. Kings – 85 points*
6. Kraken – 79 points*
7. Flames – 76 points*
8. Canucks – 71 points*

*= eliminated from playoff contention

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Advanced stats from Evolving Hockey