One quarter of the way through the NHL season, the Northwest Division is topsy-turvy, but the rest of the West seems to be falling pretty much in line. Three of the four teams spending $60 million or more are right at the top -- and Colorado likely will right its ship in the next quarter.
So how does that break down on a team-by-team basis?
Anaheim Mighty Ducks (8-6-3-3)
It might be a little simplistic, but all of the credit given here for the Ducks turnaround is going straight to Bryan Murray. Coming in as the coach-GM last season, he had a plan to build from the back forward. He made some key decisions concerning goaltending and defense and he instituted a defensive system that the forwards could buy into. While that didn't result in a huge surge in the standings, the Ducks saw their goals against average drop from 2.99 to 2.41 and their penalty kill go from 23rd in the league to 7th.
This offseason, Murray added coach Mike Babcock and gave him a little more offense to work with in the form of Adam Oates, Petr Sykora and Stanislav Chistov. Oates has been hurt, but Sykora is rounding into form and Chistov is one of the more talented rookies in the league. Now you have a confident team that's not relying on two guys to carry it. Now you have a confident team that believes it can win a 2-1 game. That's progress.
Calgary Flames (5-9-3-3)
The good news is the Flames have seen a serious drop in production from Jarome Iginla and Craig Conroy, and yet their record isn't that much worse than it was at the end of last season. The bad news is this team should be so much better than that. GM Craig Button has made all the right moves on paper, but it's not coming together on the ice. The trade to get Chris Drury and Stephane Yelle was great. Signing free agent Martin Gelinas was smart. Acquiring Jamie McLennan as a backup goalie was prudent. So, can they all come together and work out? We'll see.
One good sign is that the Flames are 4-3-0-2 on the road and 1-6-3-1 at home, and it's generally easier to fix your home problems than your road problems. Also a good sign is that if Iginla and Conroy kick in, there's offensive depth there that could be helpful this season. Still, we have to go with what's on the ice right now.
Chicago Blackhawks (9-7-3)
Here's a team poised to make a big run. The Blackhawks lost Tony Amonte to free agency in the offseason, but replaced him with Theo Fleury. However, Fleury was suspended in accordance with his substance abuse program and Eric Daze missed the first part of the season following back surgery, so the Blackhawks have been treading water. They tread it so well, however, that they're sitting two games above .500 and looking for a scoring boost from the return of both Daze (now) and Fleury (soon).
Brian Sutter is simply a great coach at working on the details and having his team prepared. He believes every game is the Stanley Cup finals, and that's exactly the approach the Blackhawks need. Jocelyn Thibault is ready to carry a team. Give him a few extra goals (from Daze and Fleury possibly) and there's no telling where the 'Hawks might end up.
Colorado Avalanche (6-5-6-3)
Nobody is going to panic in Colorado any time soon, but this is worthy of concern. The Avalanche started the season slowly last year and were propped up by the goaltending of Patrick Roy. This season, Roy has been a little closer to average, and the team hasn't been able to do anything. You could say that Pierre Lacroix's wheeling and dealing has left the team with a severe dent in forward depth -- and the losses of Chris Drury and Stephane Yelle have been noticeable. However, this is still a team with Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Milan Hejduk, Alex Tanguay, Steve Reinprecht, Radim Vrbata, Vaclav Nedorost and Mike Keane. That's plenty of forward depth right there, and it's just a matter of those players getting the job done.
Derek Morris has stepped in and played well and Rob Blake will surely bounce back from his early slump. But Colorado has created an uphill climb and it will have to make that climb against an improved Western Conference. Suddenly, playing in the Northwest Division isn't so easy anymore.
Columbus Blue Jackets (8-7-2-2)
Lost in the rush of Minnesota's amazing season has been the fact Columbus has turned itself into a pretty good team. The Blue Jackets are no longer an easy mark -- and in fact are becoming pretty competitive with a 5-2-1-2 mark in their last 10 games. GM Doug MacLean made a few smart moves by unloading Ron Tugnutt and Lyle Odelein and then helping Kevin Dineen segue smoothly into retirement. He then went about picking up a few younger veterans in Andrew Cassels and Scott Lachance with the thought that Cassels would help Geoff Sanderson and Lachance would help the defense. Both moves have worked out perfectly.
There's still a concern that the only players under 28 getting significant playing time are Marc Denis, Rostislav Klesla and Rick Nash, but those are issues that can be worked out in the future. Right now, the Blue Jackets are improving and gaining confidence.
Dallas Stars (12-4-4-1)
Stars GM Doug Armstrong has wanted to get bigger, stronger and younger since taking over for Bob Gainey last season, and it appears he's accomplished that task. Armstrong has added Bill Guerin, Jason Arnott, Philippe Boucher, Manny Malhotra, Niko Kapanen, Stephane Robidas, Aaron Downey and Ulf Dahlen -- and most of those additions have worked out wonderfully.
New coach Dave Tippett has installed a system that calls for a little more offensive creativity and Mike Modano and Sergei Zubov have responded by posting their names among the league leaders in assists and defensemen scoring, respectively. Mix in a strong start for Marty Turco (a league-best 1.84 GAA) and solid work by backup Ron Tugnutt, and the Stars seem to be in great shape for a comeback season.
Detroit Red Wings (11-5-2)
No team has to battle high expectations more than the Red Wings. Detroit stumbles out to a little bit of a slow start and the President commissions an investigative panel. The Red Wings simply are adjusting to a new coach, a new goalie and some defensive changes. Captain Steve Yzerman is out for much of the year following knee surgery. Defenseman Jiri Fischer is gone for 4-6 months -- and yet the team still is pushing for the best record in the West.
Sergei Fedorov has 12 goals and is en route to a monster season. Nicklas Lidstrom is battling for another Norris Trophy. The Grind Line is just getting warmed up and Brendan Shanahan is "struggling'' with 14 points in 16 games. We should all have it so bad. Two things to watch: goalie Curtis Joseph has to get better and Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg need to take the next step.
Edmonton Oilers (8-8-3-1)
Like most of the West, the Oilers can't afford a slow start. In fact, they can't afford a slow middle or a slow end either. With little depth to fight the big spenders of the West, teams like the Oilers have to be quietly consistent and pick up their points when they can. This team is starting to come on, but that puts it in a five-team battle to come up with the last playoff spot. And while it's only the quarter pole, players understand that kind of pressure.
Ironically, Edmonton has struggled with the crackdown as much as any team in the West. While the Oilers were supposed to skate freely and use their speed, they didn't anticipate that their defensemen would have so much trouble with the forecheck and give so many pucks away. Now that things are straightened out, Edmonton should be better defensively. But will that be enough to ensure that they can consistently play with the rest of the West?
Los Angeles Kings (8-6-3-3)
Like St. Louis, it's amazing the Kings are still competing. They have lost center Jason Allison (knee) for 8-12 weeks, missed Aaron Miller for a good part of the early season and have been nursing Adam Deadmarsh (concussion) along from game to game. In addition, they just played 13 of 15 games on the road and Zigmund Palffy is in one of the worst slumps of his career. But Jaroslav Modry has stepped up, rookies Alexander Frolov and Mike Cammalleri have shown promise and the Kings have their heads above water. Just think what might happen when Allison returns and Palffy starts scoring goals.
Minnesota Wild (11-5-4)
Maybe we should have known better. The crackdown on obstruction allows forecheckers to get in on defensemen and force turnovers -- and that's what the Wild are all about. Sure, coach Jacques Lemaire likes to trap when he gets the chance, but his game is mostly about creating mistakes and turning them into goals.
Marian Gaborik is taking the next step in his expected-to-be-great career by scoring 21 points (including 12 goals) in the first 20 games. He's on pace to fire off 336 shots, just a few behind Bill Guerin's league-leading total last season.
Now, the shot differential (Minnesota ranks 27th at minus-4.8) assures us that the Wild aren't dominating, so there are also other factors at work. The goaltending has gone from average last season to out-of-this-world. Manny Fernandez has a 1.90 GAA and a .935 save percentage and Dwayne Roloson has a 2.10 GAA and a .926 save percentage. That's a 1-2 punch that should be able to carry the Wild to its first playoff berth.
Nashville Predators (2-9-4-4)
The Predators aren't nearly as bad as their record, but then again they're not that good either. Nashville has battled injuries and is still fighting to find itself as a team. And that's not unusual when you consider management traded away key veterans last season and asked kids to step up. A study of the Predators' stat sheet will find that seven of the top nine scorers are 25 or younger -- and that's great. The problem is that they're not scoring much.
But now is a good time to find out what the youngsters can do -- and that probably includes in net. While it was tough to part with Cliff Ronning, it had to be done. The same might be said for Mike Dunham, 30. This season is shot, so why not find out what Tomas Vokoun, 26, and Jan Lasak, 23, can do?
Phoenix Coyotes (7-10-2-1)
After the Coyotes aggressively went out and got Tony Amonte and Kelly Buchberger in free agency, many thought the team would jump right into the mix as a middle-tier contender in the West. However, an ankle injury to Sean Burke has shown just how much the veteran goalie meant to Phoenix's playoff run last season. While Burke has been out, backup Brian Boucher has been inconsistent and the Coyotes have struggled. Maybe it was too much to think that so many players could repeat career seasons. Maybe there was too much pressure on a young defense.
Whatever the case, Phoenix has not found its formula this season. Teppo Numminen has been hobbled and Brian Savage is always hobbled, so there is hope if they (and Burke) can get healthy. This team has solid depth from top to bottom, it's just a question now of whether every player can step it up a notch.
St. Louis Blues (12-5-1)
There is no legitimate explanation for why the Blues are playing well. They have lost captain Chris Pronger until the playoffs because of wrist surgery. They have lost sparkplug Jamal Mayers for the season due to knee surgery. No. 1 goalie Brent Johnson has been hobbled. No. 2 Fred Brathwaite has been hanging on by a thread. Keith Tkachuk has been sidelined for 10 games and gritty Tyson Nash still is struggling with his health. And yet the Blues keep winning.
Doug Weight is healthy and carrying the team the way he used to carry the Oilers. Cory Stillman has responded well to the extra ice time and Eric Boguniecki has been the surprise of the league with 10 goals among 17 points. Injuries can definitely wear this team down by season's end, but the Blues resilience so far could bode well for the team once the bodies start returning to play.
San Jose Sharks (7-9-2-2)
The Sharks are hoping that what hasn't killed them will make them stronger. And it could work out that way. The team is healthy now and playing well -- and it could get on a run and get right back into the thick of the Pacific Division. But you do have to wonder what would have happened if Evgeni Nabokov would have been with the team from the start of training camp and Brad Stuart would have returned as soon as he was healthy. Both contract situations nibbled at the confidence of the team, and that could hurt long-term.
It's unfair, because Dean Lomardi has built a heck of a team here, but the Sharks could simply be odd-man out in a conference where some billionaire owners want to win a Cup more than the Sharks' ownership group. Even if the Sharks' get hot, you have to ask yourself if the Red Wings, Stars, Blues or Avalanche will just go out at the trade deadline and make a deal that San Jose can't. On the positive side, Teemu Selanne is on fire, Patrick Marleau and Marco Sturm are improving, Scott Thornton is healthy and Stuart looks good.
Vancouver Canucks (10-5-4)
The Canucks are simply one of the nicest collections of young talent in the league, and they should be one of the teams that continues to rise in the West. Held to a $31.8 million payroll, the Canucks had to let go of two solid, relatively young players over the summer in Andrew Cassels and Scott Lachance, and there was the thought that it would be difficult to replace the them. However, Canucks GM Brian Burke swung a trade for Marek Malik to help the defense and spread Cassels minutes among Trevor Linden, Matt Cooke and Henrik Sedin. Voila, holes are plugged and Vancouver rolls along.
Of course, it helps that Markus Naslund is one of the most underrated players in the league and Todd Bertuzzi continues his development as a legitimate scorer. Now, the next step is to bring it together in the playoffs -- and that will likely fall on the shoulders of goalie Dan Cloutier. The thing is, he's starting to show he's ready.
Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.
