Chernoff's picks Part 2: Western Conference Rankings

Sorry for the delay, it's been a busy week but finally have time to make my Western Conference Pre-Season Rankings. So without further ado, here's how I think the West will play out in the regular season. 

Western 

1. Vancouver Canucks- Despite not showing up in the Stanley Cup Finals, any team with Luongo, Henrik and Daniel Sedin, and Ryan Kesler is sure to be deadly. 

2. San Jose Sharks- Look for Logan Couture to pick up where he left off left season; I see him as a blossoming superstar. 

3. Detroit Red Wings- Every year it's the same story: the Red Wings are always among the best teams in the league. Everything is gonna be fine in the city of hockey town; Goalie Jimmy Howard has 35-40 win potential. 

4. Anaheim Ducks- After Corey Perry's year long scoring binge, I expect Anaheim to surprise a lot of people with the help of Hiller in net and Bobby Ryan dropping jaws with plays like this. Watch that and try not to smile. I dare you. 

5. Los Angeles Kings- After getting Mike Richards, the Kings will get a boost offensively along with the usual production of Kopitar. 

6. Chicago Blackhawks- The team that took the eventual Western conference champions to OT in game 7 of the first round will rebound after having an underachieving regular season last year. Michael Frolik looks to bolster the offensive depth in his first full season with the windy city warriors. 

7. Minnesota Wild- They haven't made the playoffs in a few years, but after making two shrewd trades and acquiring Devin Setoguchi and Dany Heatley, they will be back in the postseason. 

8. Columbus Blue Jackets- Jeff Carter, Derrick Brassard, Rick Nash. Those are the three names that will lead CBJ back to the playoffs. 

For the teams that weren't lucky enough to make the playoffs (hypothetically of course), read about them after the jump. 

9. Nashville Predators- Pekka Rinne can only do so much. Nashville is gonna need a step up from last year's offense if they wanna go back to the postseason. 

10. Calgary Flames- Poor Jarome Iginla. The 2004 season was the closest he's come to a shot at the Cup and it will take a little bit of luck just for the Flames to get into the playoffs this year. 

11. Dallas Stars- Without Brad Richards, this team will come closer to the playoffs than most people think. 

12. Edmonton Oilers- Finally after having what seems like one million first overall picks in a row, the Oilers come out of the cellar and get Taylor Hall back from last year's silly season-ending injury. 

13. Phoenix Coyotes- I'm not giving this team much of a chance after the departure of Ilya Bryzgalov. 

14. St Louis Blues- No one on this team really jumps out at me besides David Backes, and when you consider him the star of your team, you're in big trouble. 

15. Colorado Avalanche- Maybe next year.  

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