Wild West: Core Three – Western Conference

Grant Campbell

2022-10-10

A core three is what I would consider the three players in an organization who the team should build around. The best teams in the NHL have six or seven players that we could put as that team’s core three. Some teams it seems like we are scraping three players together and these are probably the teams looking to get Conor Bedard in the 2023 Entry Draft.

Core players are rarely available and usually only acquired for other core players. This off season saw the Flames move two of them and get one back, Minnesota move one to Los Angeles, Chicago move one to Ottawa and one in Arizona ask to be traded. Teams were a little more willing to make some big changes very recently.

Here are my Core Three from last season.

Here are the core threes as I see them for each of the Western Conference Teams as the 2022-23 regular season begins.

Anaheim Ducks (Average Age of Core-Three: 20.0)

Trevor Zegras (21 years old) – Zegras had 61 points in 75 games in his rookie season last year. The Ducks went out and got Ryan Strome to help out Zegras with matchups and some defensive responsibilities. His offensive ceiling is high.

Jamie Drysdale (20) – Drysdale had 32 points in 81 games in his rookie season, while struggling defensively. He might lose some power play time with the addition of John Klingberg, but he is the future of this team on defense.

Mason McTavish (19) – McTavish had an excellent World Juniors tournament in August and made it clear that he is ready for the NHL this season.

Last year, I had Troy Terry here, but I think he is more of an accessory than a core piece like the three above.

Arizona Coyotes (24.0)

Clayton Keller (24) – Keller broke his leg last year and missed 15 games after he had 63 points in 67 games. He is an offensive key to this team.

Nick Schmaltz (26) – Schmaltz had 59 points in 63 games last year and the team will need him to produce again this season.

Barrett Hayton (22) – After being excluded from this list last year, Hayton is back as he should be ready to take a step this season.

Jacob Chychrun has requested a trade from the Coyotes, so I've removed him. Prospects Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther could be here next season.

Calgary Flames (29.33)

Elias Lindholm (27) – Lindholm will hope to create some chemistry this year with Huberdeau and maintain his point per game that he had last season.

Jonathan Huberdeau (29) – The Flames were able to extend Huberdeau until the end of 2030-31. He had 115 points last season with Florida, but he will be hard-pressed to duplicate.

Jacob Markstrom (32) – Markstrom had probably his finest season in the NHL last year, where he played 63 games and had 37 wins with a 92.2 save percentage.

Over a few weeks this summer, the Flames lost Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk but gained one core in Huberdeau. The average age of 29.33 is not ideal and it is not a sure thing that Matthew Coronato becomes a core piece in the future. The Flames are all-in this year and next.

Chicago Blackhawks (26.67)

Patrick Kane (33) – I'm not sure how you have an impending UFA as a core piece, but I'm considering the trade return for Kane if he does accept a trade this year as the real piece.

Seth Jones (28) – Jones must regret signing with Chicago as he is the only player signed past 2025-26. He might not be a core piece on most teams.

Frank Nazar/Kevin Korchinkski/Lukas Reichel (18/18/20) – With their 2023 Entry pick, these two of these three prospects will need to be on this list in a year or two, if Chicago has any hopes of competing before 2026.

The Blackhawks traded a core piece in Alex Debrincat to Ottawa this past summer and Patrick Kane is set to become an unrestricted free agent after this year. They also traded Kirby Dach to Montreal, who might have been on this list in the future as well. Essentially, the Blackhawks have arguably one core piece right now. 

Colorado Avalanche (25.0)

Nathan MacKinnon (27) – Colorado was able to extend MacKinnon for eight more seasons, not that many believed he was in danger of going elsewhere.

Cale Makar (23) – Makar had a phenomenal season last year, culminating in the Conn Smythe trophy after putting up 28 goals and 58 assists in the regular season.

Mikko Rantanen (25) – Rantanen quietly had 36 goals and 56 assists in 75 games last year.

Colorado lost some talent this off-season, but still have Devon Toews, Bowen Byram, Alex Newhook and Gabriel Landeskog in the mix.

Dallas Stars (23.0)

Jason Robertson (23) – Robertson and the Stars left it almost to the last minute before coming to a contract agreement before this season. Robertson had 41 goals and 79 points in 74 games last year and will look to duplicate.

Miro Heiskanen (23) – Heiskanen will need to improve his offense after the Stars let John Klingberg go. He had 36 points in 70 games last year, but could see 50-60.

Jake Oettinger (23) – Oettinger took over the number one role in Dallas last season and into the playoffs. He will look to play more than 48 games this year and get more than 30 wins.

Roope Hintz could be in the mix here as well as Wyatt Johnston in a year or two.

Edmonton Oilers (24.33)

Connor McDavid (25) – The best player in the NHL would be on anyone's list and he is still only 25-years old.

Leon Draisaitl (26) – He put up 55 goals and 110 points last year. For any perceived shortcomings in other areas of his game, 31 other teams would take him in a heartbeat.

Evan Bouchard (22) – He had an excellent rookie season with 12 goals and 31 assists. He should continue to take time away from Tyson Barrie on the power play and continue to improve.

Darnell Nurse should always be considered on this list, and it will be interesting to see if Dylan Holloway can emerge enough to be considered in one or two more years.

Los Angeles Kings (26.0)

Drew Doughty (32) – He is still signed for five more seasons at $11 million AAV. He is a core piece, healthy or not. The team will need him to play more than 39 games every year.

Kevin Fiala (26) – The team made him a core piece by trading for him and extending him for seven more seasons.

Quinton Byfield (20) – Byfield is still the best bet in my opinion to make a difference at the top of the lineup in a season or two from the list of Kings prospects.

With only two more years remaining under contract, Anze Kopitar will need to transition to a complementary piece of this roster at the age of 36. Prospects that could make an impact in the next year or two are Alex Turcotte and Brandt Clarke but this season is important for Turcotte to get back on track.

Minnesota Wild (22.33)

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Kirill Kaprizov (25) – Kaprizov had an impressive season last year with 47 goals and 61 assists. He might be the best 135th overall draft pick ever.

Matt Boldy (21) – Boldy impressed last year with 15 goals and 24 assists in 47 games. If he can get 60-70 points this year, he might cement his spot here.

Marco Rossi (21) – It looks like Rossi has made the Wild this season after playing most of last year in the AHL. I'm hoping that they will give him an opportunity in the top-six rather than have him start on the fourth line.

The Wild dealt away one of their core pieces in Kevin Fiala during the summer. Calen Addison has a chance to put up some offensive numbers this season, if he can get and keep power play time. The Wild have a deep supporting cast.

Nashville Predators (29.0)

Roman Josi (32) – Josi had a career-year last season with 23 goals and 73 assists in 80 games. He is the leader of this team and will continue to be for the next two or three years at least.

Juuse Saros (27) – Saros played 67 games last year and had 38 wins and a 91.8 save percentage. He is signed for three more seasons at which point Yaroslav Askarov might be ready.

Filip Forsberg (28) – By re-signing until the end of 2029-30, Forsberg is now back as a core piece over Matt Duchene. He's a risky signing as he might not be able to duplicate his 69-42-42-84 from last season.

The Predators have a pretty strong supporting cast outside of their top-four.

San Jose Sharks (25.66)

Timo Meier (26) – Meier had 76 points in 77 games and had an outstanding overall season last year. He emerged as a leader and the Sharks hope he will do it again this year.

Erik Karlsson (32) – Karlsson played 50 games last season, which seems to be about right for the number of games in a season for him. His offense did come back a little as he had 10 goals and 25 assists. He is signed at $11.5 million AAV for another five seasons.

William Eklund (19) – He didn't dress in the first two games of the regular season in Europe, but he will hope to get in as a regular this season. He might not be ready to make a significant impact this season, but the Sharks need him to make one in two or three years.

Tomas Hertl and perhaps Tomas Bordeleau are the only other players on the roster that might warrant an inclusion here at some point.

Seattle Kraken (23.0)

Shane Wright (18) – By adding the player who most people had going first overall, the Kraken have given themselves a potential core piece in the next two or three years.

Phillip Grubauer (32) – Grubauer disappointed in his first season with the Kraken, but he still has five more seasons remaining at $5.9 million.

Matty Beniers (19) – After completing his college career, Beniers played 10 games for the Kraken at the end of last season and put up nine points. He has a good chance to win the Calder Trophy this year.

Including Jared McCann here last year was more a testament to the lack of top-end talent on this roster.

St. Louis Blues (26.0)

Jordan Kyrou (24) – Kyrou was extended until 2030-31 off of his 27 goals and 48 assists in 74 games last season.

Brayden Schenn (31) – Schenn is signed until the end of 2027-28 and had 58 points in 62 games last year. It's hard to believe he is 31 already.

Robert Thomas (23) – Thomas was extended to the end of 2030-31 as well after putting up 20 goals and 57 assists in 72 games.

The Blues are transitioning their core as Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O'Reilly are both set to become UFAs after this season.

Vancouver Canucks (25.67)

Quinn Hughes (22) – Hughes had 68 points in 76 games last season and improved his play away from the puck as well.

J.T. Miller (29) – The Canucks extended Miller for another seven years at $8 million AAV and replaced him over Pettersson as one of their core pieces. He had 99 points last year and will be hard-pressed to duplicate.

Thatcher Demko (26) – Demko played 64 games last year and had 33 wins with a 91.5 save percentage. He kept the Canucks in a lot of games last season and will be expected to do the same this year.

Elias Pettersson and Bo Horvat could be considered core three players but Pettersson will need to produce this season and Horvat is an impending UFA after the year.

Vegas Golden Knights (27.33)

Jack Eichel (25) – Eichel only managed 34 games last year, but it is just good to see him healthy and playing after the surgery he had. He should be back to 100% this year.

Mark Stone (30) – Stone only dressed for 37 games with his bad back. If he can play 65-70 games this year, Vegas will be just fine for the playoffs.

Shea Theodore (27) – Theodore ended up with 14 goals and 38 assists in 78 games. He's not a kid at 27 any more, but he's an important piece to this roster.

Other important players for Vegas are Jonathan Marchessault and Alex Pietrangelo. The importance of top five picks is crucial and how they need to become a core piece to a roster. In 2020, I had Cody Glass on the list for Vegas and in 2022 he's now in Nashville in the bottom six.

Winnipeg Jets

Kyle Connor (25) – Connor had 47 goals and 46 assists in 79 games last year. He's capable of getting to 50 goals as a Jet.

Mark Scheifele (29) – Scheifele is only signed for two more years before he becomes unrestricted. His time on this list might be coming to an end although he is more than capable of 90 points or more.

Nikolaj Ehlers (26) – Ehlers is hoping for a season where he can play 75 games or more and put up 70-80 points.

Other key players for Winnipeg are Connor Hellebuyck, Blake Wheeler, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Neal Pionk and Josh Morrissey. Cole Perfetti and Ville Heinola still have a chance to move up and do well over the next two or three years as well as Chas Lucius and Brad Lambert.

More changes are imminent as some of these cores age and become unrestricted free agents or teams move them to get value while they can.

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions or players you'd like me to look at please message or follow me on Twitter @gampbler15.

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Starting Goalies

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TAGE THOMPSON BUF
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