Biggest question facing each NHL Western Conference team ahead of training camp

Training camp for all NHL teams will open later in September. No team will enter the 2025-26 season without questions, so here's the biggest one facing each team in the Western Conference. (Eastern Conference questions are here.)

Anaheim Ducks: Will the plan work? Anaheim has checked three major boxes: draft and develop premier, elite talent at premium positions, bring in veteran players with a history of winning to support the young core and hire a coach (Joel Quenneville) with a history of winning big in the NHL. But the Ducks haven't made the playoffs for eight consecutive seasons, so they have much to prove.

Calgary Flames: Can Dustin Wolf carry the load again? The overachieving Flames played a respectable two-way game last season and got excellent goaltending from 24-year-old Wolf, who is undersized (6-foot, 166 pounds). Getting a repeat performance from Wolf is the best path toward Calgary remaining competitive with a hodgepodge roster. 

Chicago Blackhawks: Does Connor Bedard silence the critics? Criticism of Bedard (5-foot-10, 185 pounds) has mounted in some circles despite him scoring 128 points in his first 150 games, all of which came as a teen for one of the worst teams in the NHL. It's not clear if he's a center or a winger long term, but Chicago fans hope Bedard follows a path similar to another undersized No. 1 overall pick, New Jersey's Jack Hughes, who scored 56 points in 49 games in Year 3.

Colorado Avalanche: How much is left in the tank for Gabriel Landeskog? Landeskog's dramatic playoff return after a rare knee condition kept him out of the lineup since Colorado's win in the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals was one of the best stories of last season. The power winger contributed four points in five playoff games, but an 82-game grind is very different from a playoff series. 

Dallas Stars: Could winger Jason Robertson be dealt in-season to bolster depth? It's hard to believe the Stars could be considering a Robertson trade after watching what Mikko Rantanen did for them in the playoffs in beating Colorado, his old team. But perhaps there's logic in the idea that team building in the NHL is more than just about having the most superstars. 

Edmonton Oilers: This can't be the plan at goalie, right? The Oilers appear to be betting on the idea that having the best 18 skaters will, eventually, trump the issues in net. The Oilers made the choice to spend $3.85M per year on depth winger Trent Frederic while leveraging their prospect system to acquire disgruntled NCAA star Isaac Howard, a winger, from Tampa. There's not much left to spare on a goalie upgrade — for now.

Los Angeles Kings: Can center Quinton Byfield and defenseman Brandt Clarke carry the Kings? This is the question most Kings fans probably have wondered since Clarke went No. 8 overall in the 2021 NHL Draft. The league's best regular-season defensive team lost a critical piece of their blue line after Vladislav Gavrikov signed with the New York Rangers. As a result, the Kings need Clarke, 22, and Byfield, 23, to pick up even greater responsibility amid the backdrop of a veteran core led by top-line center Anze Kopitar, 38, and top-pair defender Drew Doughty, 35. 

Minnesota Wild: Does this group have enough to win a playoff series? The modern Wild shouldn't have to pay for the sins of the past, but that's what happens when the franchise has lost nine consecutive playoff series (including one best-of-five qualifier). They're deep at seemingly every position, but it's possible the top of the lineup behind winger Kirill Kaprizov isn't strong enough to consistently win in the playoffs. 

Nashville Predators: If this doesn't work, will this group get another chance after this season? It would be difficult to tear down this Nashville team via trade, but it wouldn't be impossible after an awful 2024-25 campaign. There's a lot of pressure on a team that started last season 0-5-0 and on a coach (Andrew Brunette) who is fortunate to be back for a third season.

San Jose Sharks: What do the steps forward look like? San Jose is getting close to being out of the basement of the league after spending years camped there, but how quickly they escape will be based on the play of 19-year-old revelation and center Macklin Celebrini, 20-year-old forward Will Smith and 23-year-old goaltender Yaroslav Askarov. 

Seattle Kraken: Can Seattle get another level at the top of their lineup? The Kraken desperately need a big step forward from a few young players, particularly centers Matty Beniers and Shane Wright. Winger Kaapo Kakko found some offensive touch last season, but his possession and defensive metrics cratered. Seattle will need some combination of last season's post-trade player and the guy who was lauded for his defensive chops in New York. 

St. Louis Blues: Did St. Louis set the template for rebuilding on the fly? It looked like the Blues were headed for the dreaded uncertainty of a youth movement, which their ownership would never refer to as a rebuild. Staring down a 9-12-1 start and a possible third straight year out of the playoffs, St. Louis caught fire under HC Jim Montgomery, integrated young talent in creative ways beyond the NHL Draft, developed the players at the top of the lineup and made savvy offseason additions to bolster the core. 

Utah Mammoth: Is the goaltending good enough? Utah seems poised to take the next step. The Mammoth have elite, top-end scoring talent in center Logan Cooley and forward Clayton Keller, size added in the offseason and seem to be without holes among their 18 skaters. The team save percentage of .898 wasn't good enough last season, and it probably won't be good enough this season in the NHL's most difficult division. 

Vancouver Canucks: Who is forward Elias Pettersson? There's virtually no offensive metric that fans can feel good about from this potential star's 2024-25 campaign (15 goals, 30 assists). Vancouver has more questions than maybe any other team in the Western Conference.

Vegas Golden Knights: How hot is HC Bruce Cassidy's seat? Perhaps only in the desert heat of Vegas would this question even be asked, but Cassidy became the longest-tenured coach in franchise history in 2024-25 by surviving a full third season on the job. After Vegas added winger Mitch Marner in a sign-and-trade, Cassidy probably can't survive anything less than a trip to the Western Conference Finals. 

Winnipeg Jets: Is playoff Connor Hellebuyck broken? In the first four playoff trips of his distinguished career, Hellebuyck went 16-19 with a sterling .921 save percentage. In his past three trips, the player who will go down as one of the greatest Jets in history is 8-15 with an .870 save percentage. Per Natural Stat Trick, Winnipeg was a top-10 team in high-danger chances against per 60 minutes in the regular season in 2024-25. That number dropped off some in the playoffs, but not enough that it would explain Hellebuyck's comically awful .866 save percentage in the 2025 playoffs.