Utah Mammoth

 

Division Projected Order of Finish - 5th

 

Current Lineup Score... 72.1

Division Rank 6th

 

Financial Power Flexibility Score... 9.2

Division Rank 1st

 

Quality Draft Capital... 8.0

Division Rank 3rd (tied)

 

It's been a bit of a slow retool for Joel and his Coyotes / Hockey Club / Mammoth, but it's beginning to come full circle.  One thing I have not mentioned yet in my rundown of the Pacific Division is that it is, by far, the closest division top to bottom, with no truly bad teams.  2nd place, all the way through 8th, are almost interchangeable, which sounds crazy, but that just happens to be the reality here this season.  Joel boasts a nice 1-2 punch down the middle with Sid and Suzuki (or maybe even a dynamic duo with Suzuki's wing eligibilty).  He's got a great top 4 on the backend, featuring lots of firepower, but could use at least one more true shut down defender.   Goaltending is the Mammoth's big weak spot that should be addressed asap if they want to compete in a tight division.  Joel has decent cap space which helps... the best in the division... at least by a little.  While he's shoring that up, he might want to add one more middle 6 forward, as I only see 5 forwards that I consider to have good rates.  He has okay draft capital, so he could tap into that to shore up the roster.  A middle six forward and a shutdown D-man won't be expensive to add, but nabbing a star goalie usually is. 

 

Biggest Strength: A balanced roster with cap and draft assets to improve

 

 

 

Colorado Avalanche

 

Division Projected Order of Finish - 6th

 

Current Lineup Score... 72.7

Division Rank 5th

 

Financial Power Flexibility Score... 7.8

Division Rank 5th

 

Quality Draft Capital... 8.0

Division Rank 3rd (tied)

 

Yet again, we have Pat's Avalanche overflowing with expensive RFAs to keep happy.  It's very hard to put a number on how much cap space and cash will be left over if he's to retain them all, but my estimates have him in the bottom half of the division there, but with at least some extra money left over to throw around.  If he keeps everyone, he will have one of the league's best top 6 units up front, but the good times kind of end there.  It's easy to build a bottom 6 forward group, so I'm not overly concerned with his lack of depth up front, though it's important to note.  The real work is the D core and the goaltending.  His group of defenders is one of the worst in the league, filled with bottom pairing, or at best, mid pairing guys.  Multiple moves will be required to rectify that.  In net, many teams have what I deem to be "adequate, but not great" goaltending, but unfortunately, Skinner falls even slightly beneath that tier.  One positive Pat has going for him that may help him run out a competitive team again, is a boatload of cash.  It wouldn't surprise me to see a blockbuster trade where a massive sum of money leaves Colorado with an impact defender or tendy returning. 

 

Biggest Strength: Top tier forwards leading the charge