As it is the dog days of summer, I thought it would be an interesting exercise to rank the Western Teams from 16th to 1st and see what teams are locked to make the playoffs, on the bubble or not even close. Comments below are to be taken with a bit of caution as rosters can change significantly and these are just my notes on them as they stand.

Without further ado, here we go:

Not Even Close

#16 – Arizona Coyotes

I don't think 5,000 fans need to worry about watching playoff hockey at the University of Arizona while the Coyotes play there for the next three or four years. The good news is that I don't think they will be #16 next year as Chicago is doing everything they can to take over this spot.

This is not to say that there are no positives with their roster and prospect pool. Clayton Keller, Barrett Hayton, Nick Schmaltz, Lawson Crouse and Jacob Chychrun are all players that any team would want on their rosters and are good building blocks between the ages of 22 to 26. Karel Vejmelka is an unknown quantity in net as he had flashes last season behind a poor defensive team. He could be another building block if he plays well this year. Chychrun's name seems to be associated with a move from the Coyotes sooner than later which won't help the short-term if it happens.

Their top prospects are Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, Connor Geekie, Matias Maccelli, Jan Jenik, Nathan Smith, Jack McBain, Victor Soderstrom and Maveric Lamoureux. Maccelli, Jenik, Smith, McBain and Soderstrom are all looking to secure roles this season.

They had three 1st round picks this year and have an extra five 2nd round picks and four extra 3rd round picks over the next three years. Bill Armstrong is doing the right thing by building through the draft and if this club stays patient, they should climb the ladder.

#15 – Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks made it painfully obvious their intentions for this season by trading Alex DeBrincat at the draft. They want a lottery pick this year and ideally in the top three and have scorched the earth to get there. The team doesn't have a forward on the roster signed past 2023-24 right now and Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are entering the last year of their contracts in Chicago.

Seth Jones (who should never have been traded for in the first place) is now an island as perhaps the only Blackhawk who should be built around.

Their top prospects are Kevin Korchinski, Lukas Reichel, Frank Nazar and Wyatt Kaiser. Reichel might be able to crack the lineup this season.

This team is still on the way down and should be comfortably in the 16th spot next year.

#14 – San Jose Sharks

The Sharks have lost ground from last season with the departure of Brent Burns and not adding anyone of significance for this season.

They still have Timo Meier, Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture and Erik Karlsson but Meier might be the only player that we could still consider on the rise. The Sharks are hoping for a bounce-back season from Kevin Labanc, but even that won't be enough to get them close to the postseason. One good line and decent goaltending is rarely good enough.

Their top prospects are Thomas Bordeleau, William Eklund and Filip Bystedt. Eklund and Bordeleau should each get an opportunity this season and should be exciting additions to this roster for the future.

They should be comfortably ahead of Chicago next season but will have trouble staying ahead of Arizona over the next two to four years unless they make some significant upgrades.

On the Rise

#13 – Seattle Kraken

For a team that made some mistakes during and after the expansion draft with respect to their roster construction, they have made some good moves recently.

With the additions of Oliver Bjorkstrand, Matty Beniers and Andre Burakovsky they should possess an average top nine in their forward group which is a noticeable improvement. The only addition on the back end was Justin Schultz, but that leaves the Kraken's defense still below average which doesn't bode well for Phillippe Grubauer and Martin Jones who will start the season as the top-two goalies in Seattle.

Top prospects are Shane Wright, Kole Lind, Ryker Evans and Jagger Firkus. Wright will be given every opportunity to stick with the Kraken this season but Lind will need to win a job.

If the Kraken get better defensive play and better goaltending, they could be a .500 team next season, but they are making strides.

#12 – Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks put some accelerant in the mix to speed up their rebuild this offseason. They brought in John Klingberg, Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano to bolster their already improving lineup. Mason McTavish looks ready to make an impact at the NHL level and should be a regular as well.

Even with the addition of Klingberg, the Duck’s back end still needs to improve and they need a better season from John Gibson in the net as Anthony Stolarz is not the long-term solution. If Troy Terry, Trevor Zegras, McTavish and Jamie Drysdale all continue to improve this team could get quite better in a hurry.

Their top prospects are Brayden Tracey, Jacob Perreault, Ollen Zellweger, Nathan Gaucher and Sam Colangelo. Perreault could earn a roster spot this season and make some waves.

This team could become a bubble team this season if they overachieve, but they should be in that category at the very least in two years.

On the Bubble

#11 – Dallas Stars

If healthy Dallas has a pretty impressive top-six which has been bolstered with the signing of Mason Marchment. The team lost John Klingberg and hasn't replaced him, so the jury will be out on Thomas Harley, who could see an increased role this year along with newcomer Colin Miller. Neither is at the level of Klingberg, so the team has gone backwards a little this season. Miro Heiskanen will need his breakout year to make up for Klingberg's departure.

Top prospects are Harley, Ty Dellandrea, Wyatt Johnston, Mavrik Bourque, Logan Stankoven and Lian Bichsel. Harley and Dellandrea should see some games this year and will hope to improve at the NHL level.

The team still hasn't signed RFAs, Jake Oettinger or Jason Robertson who are two very important players on this team.

The Stars made the playoffs last season but will need to dig deep again this year and get production from Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin as well as Joe Pavelski once again at the age of 38. There are some pretty large uncertainties and I would put them on the outside looking in at the moment.

#10 – Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks have improved just slightly from last season, but have the issue of J.T. Miller hung over them a little this offseason. If the Canucks move him, they move down this list perhaps below Anaheim. Management is playing a game of chicken, as they want to make the playoffs but get value for Miller, but they can't get both.

They are hoping for improved years from Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, Jason Dickinson and Nils Hoglander. An improving Vasily Podkolzin and additions of Ilya Mikheyev, Curtis Lazar and Andrei Kuzmenko should help bolster the forwards.

A below-average defense remains pretty much unchanged and will rely on another very good season from Thatcher Demko.

Their top prospects are Jonathan Lekkermaki, Jack Rathbone and Danila Klimovich. Rathbone should see some more NHL games this season and could make an impact.

This season might be similar to last year, where the team might claw its way into the fight and crawl into the playoffs. But, if they don't get value for Miller, then it is unlikely to have been worth it.

#9 – Winnipeg Jets

The Jets didn't make any external improvements this off-season, nor did they lose anyone of significance. Any improvements to the roster lie with internal improvements. Young players they hope will be full-time this season are Cole Perfetti, Kristian Reichel, David Gustafsson, Dylan Samberg and Ville Heinola.

A lot of their offense next season will rest on the shoulders of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Blake Wheeler, Nikolaj Ehlers and Pierre-Luc Dubois. Cole Perfetti could get an opportunity on the second line on the right side. The forward group weakens after the top-six and will be an issue if the team runs into any injuries next season with key players. They lack depth.

The defensive corps is slightly above league average as a group and potentially are a pretty solid six. Neal Pionk and Josh Morrissey lead the group with Nate Schmidt, Brendan Dillon, Dylan DeMelo and one of Heinola, Stanley, Capobianco or Samberg.

In goal, the club has brought in David Rittich to back up Connor Hellebuyck, but this might not be an improvement over last year with Eric Comrie in that role.

The Jets could finish anywhere from 6th to 11th in the West next season with the roster as it is.

Next week, I will look at the top eight in the West and break it down for bubble teams and teams that are locked into the playoffs.

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.