For the bulk of last season, the NHL's Western Conference was Detroit, San Jose, and a bunch of other teams. As the playoffs came closer and closer, the Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks (the team everyone referred to as "Not your typical No. 8 seed") grew into the second-tier of feared teams.
How did it all play out? That "not-so-typical" No. 8 seed took out the President's Trophy winner in San Jose and scared the bejesus out of the defending Stanley Cup champions in Detroit before falling in the final minutes of Game 7. Those defending Wings battled in overtime for several games against the upstart Blackhawks in the Conference Final before losing in seven dramatic games to the eventual Cup champions.
Then came trades and free agency, and suddenly, everything's different. The reason to fear each of those teams has diminished, and the Western Conference seems to be more competitive and more unpredictable than ever before. Here's why each of those four teams won't have teams shaking in their skates come next season:
Detroit Red Wings
The Wings beat teams because of their unmatched skill and depth. What happens when you remove a good portion of that skill and depth? Suddenly, the team's aura of invincibility gets deflated, even just slightly. The departure of Marian Hossa (more on that later) was the biggest blow; despite a mediocre Cup Final, losing a player of Hossa's skill will affect any roster. Add in the departure of Mikael Samuelsson (a 15-20 goal guy in Detroit and a solid playoff performer), Jiri Hudler (his 57 points are stuck in an NHL/KHL transfer battle), and checker Tomas Kopecky and suddenly the entire Detroit depth chart takes a hit. Don't forget about the loss of Ty Conklin, who won 25 games in net for the Wings.
San Jose Sharks
As of mid-July, the Sharks' only dramatic roster moves is the gutting of their third and fourth lines. Despite being ravaged by injury and facing a "not-so-typical" No. 8 seed in Anaheim, everyone doesn't quite see the Sharks as legitimate anymore. Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau have become the butt of jokes and the subject of trade rumors, and critics have started wondering whether Evgeni Nabokov can thrive under pressure. In this case, a lack of significant movement means more than a serious shake-up, and one has to wonder if teams will simply brush aside the President's Trophy winners as postseason chokers yet again.
Chicago Blackhawks
Yes, they signed Marian Hossa — but the Blackhawks still are an enigma. Last year, they had two No. 1 starters in Nikolai Khabibulin and Cristobal Huet; Huet didn't perform well and Khabibulin grabbed the ball. With Khabibulin gone to Edmonton, it's up to Huet to show that he can be a consistent starter — something he hasn't been able to do whenever given the opportunity. The signing of Marian Hossa, coupled with Brian Campbell's absurd contract from last season, has handcuffed new-GM Stan Bowman and the Hawks will have to make significant moves to become a cap-friendly team, with some changes due prior to the start of this season and more freed-up cap space required in the long-term. Don't forget, next year's free agency period sees Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Duncan Keith hit restricted status.
Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks scared everyone because of two names: Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger. Now Pronger has taken a new set of wings in Philadelphia, and the Ducks — who should be commended for their big-picture ability to rebuild on the fly — are weaker for it. The Pronger trade should help the team's prospect depth and will make it easier five years down the road, but for now, the loss of Pronger destroys that pure fear factor Anaheim carried. In terms of depth, the Ducks' defense took a further hit with the departure of Francois Beauchemin. The additions of Saku Koivu and Joffrey Lupol provide much needed secondary scoring support, but there's no question this won't be the same Ducks squad that masterfully prevented teams from getting scoring chances with its two Hall of Fame defensemen.
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