Pacific: Despite stagnant offseason, Sharks might still be tops

That big shakeup a lot of folks were expecting from the San Jose Sharks after another disappointing post-season? Hasn’t happened yet and may not at all.

The Coyotes should get some good offense from Ray Whitney. (Getty Images)

San Jose has lost a couple of big names since being swept by Chicago in the conference final, but the key pieces remain the same and if nothing else it means the Sharks are going to win the Pacific Division. They are still the best team out there, at least when it comes to the regular season, but the Los Angeles Kings have closed the gap even without adding the impact player they have been desperately seeking.

Meanwhile the Phoenix Coyotes and Anaheim Ducks have made some interesting changes, while the Dallas Stars are trying to keep things as normal as possible during the sale process of the team.

Here’s a snapshot of the Pacific Division since the season ended.

San Jose Sharks: San Jose’s big coup so far was getting Patrick Marleau to re-sign. Marleau would have rivaled Ilya Kovalchuk for the most sought-after free agent title, but he came to terms with the only team he’s been with, and early enough for the Sharks to set up a plan for the open market. That enabled San Jose to begin quickly filling the gaps created when captain Rob Blake retired and goalie Evgeni Nabokov was let go. San Jose jumped on goalie Antero Nittymaki as soon as free agency began, getting a talented and underrated goalie at a bargain price, and will offset Blake if Chicago is unable to match San Jose’s offer sheet to Niklas Hjarmalsson. The Sharks will feel the loss of Manny Malhotra though. Heading: Sideways.

Phoenix Coyotes: The challenge now for the Coyotes, one among many actually, is to prove that last season wasn’t a fluke. Phoenix wrote the story of the year with the best season in franchise history under trying circumstances, but they snuck up on a lot of teams along the way and won’t be able to anymore. The Coyotes added some much needed offense by signing Ray Whitney and brought back Derek Morris for the blue line, but lost two key contributors, defenseman Zybnek Michalek and center Matthew Lombardi. Both signed what would be called fair-market free agent contracts elsewhere, but they didn’t fit into the salary structure of a league-owned team that is supposed to be well below the cap. Heading: Sideways.

Los Angeles Kings: All the big name players who were expected to be available this summer have been linked to the Kings. Patrick Marleau would have been the top target had San Jose let him go free, but Los Angeles went hard after Kovalchuk, and has made inquiries about Simon Gagne and Vincent Lecavalier. The Kings have the cap room and the inclination to make a big splash, and the young talent to take the next step even if they don’t. Part of the issue is that the Kings are thinking about this group for the future too and are already planning for next year when young stars like Drew Doughty and Wayne Simmonds will be due big raises. Heading: Up.

Anaheim Ducks: The Ducks won’t be able to replace the retired Scott Niedermayer, but they might be able to fill the hole he left by their new committee. Getting Toni Lydman through free agency was a solid pickup for the blue line while 12th overall pick Cam Fowler was expected to go much earlier and could very well be in Anaheim next season. Bringing back Saku Koivu might encourage Teemu Selanne to stick around for a little while longer, which couldn’t hurt a team that relies too much on its top line for offense. Heading: Down.

Dallas Stars: Owner Tom Hicks is in the process of finding a buyer for the team, but a new era has already begun because the Stars said goodbye to franchise icon Mike Modano. It was an amicable parting on the surface, brought on as much by Modano’s age as the fact that Dallas couldn’t spend much money on a 40-year-old given their circumstances. The Stars have a lot of ground to make up in the division and have done little so far in terms of upgrades, adding only fourth-line forward Adam Burish from Chicago and backup goalie Andrew Raycroft from Vancouver. But if the Stars do get the ownership situation settled soon, there is lots of cap space and only a few roster spots to fill. Heading: Down.