While the West still is a conference run by a big-spending, star-laden top three in Detroit, Dallas and Colorado, it's nice to know some of the little guys can play, too.

	MIKE HEIKA'S WEST ALL-STARS
	FIRST TEAM Forwards Peter Forsberg, Colorado Markus Naslund, Vancouver Todd Bertuzzi, Vancouver Defensemen Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Al MacInnis, St. Louis Goaltender Marty Turco, Dallas SECOND TEAM Forwards Milan Hejduk, Colorado Mike Modano, Dallas Pavol Demitra, St. Louis Defensemen Derian Hatcher, Dallas Sergei Zubov, Dallas Goaltender Patrick Roy, Colorado

Minnesota is the most encouraging team for competitive play on a small budget, while Vancouver and Anaheim also are showing that teams can succeed without spending $60 million.

Still, you'll find few who would give any of the "competitive" teams a chance to come out of the West this season. For the record, the representatives from the West since 1994 have been: Detroit (four times), Colorado (twice) and Dallas (twice). The West has claimed six Stanley Cups in those eight seasons.

Sadly, that's the best sign of all that spending works.

Still, the signs are there for a shakeup. It might not come until 2004-05 or beyond, but the signs are there.

Here are this season's grades with a look toward the future:

Anaheim Mighty Ducks
The rebuilding plan leaped ahead a year or two this season, as coach Mike Babcock brought the product together quickly on the ice and GM Bryan Murray and Disney's monetary backing pulled strings off the ice. Credit Babcock for changing the Mighty Ducks' philosophy of chugging along in a city that didn't force its team to be accountable. The first-year coach was aggressive and enthusiastic and demanded excellence. He made players and fans care about the outcome, and there is an environment of accountability now. Credit Murray for being aggressive in pursuing Petr Sykora, Adam Oates, Steve Thomas, Rob Niedermayer and Sandis Ozolinsh. Murray probably took on too much contract in the overpaid Ozolinsh, but he finally gave the Ducks enough offensive weapons to get Paul Kariya excited. Now, the Ducks have a group of players that can score goals to go with two young goalies who can stop them. Although it's difficult to predict Anaheim would upset any one of Dallas, Detroit or Vancouver in the first round, fans at least get to taste playoff hockey for the first time since 1999. And the future looks very bright.
Grade:

Calgary Flames
Where to start? Honestly, no team is more puzzling going forward than the Flames. They have a legitimate MVP in Jarome Iginla, talented young forwards in Chris Drury, Oleg Saprykin, Chris Clark, Scott Nichol and Steve Begin and one of the more talented young defenses in the NHL with Denis Gauthier, Robyn Regehr, Jordan Leopold and Tony Lydman. So what's the problem? A lot of people will tie the slow start of the Flames to Iginla's slow start (brought on by a hand injury suffered in a fight with Bill Guerin), but a good team has to overcome that. The more serious issue is that the defense might be too young and not confident enough to take chances (thus, playing on its heels much of the time) and the goaltending is simply inconsistent. It will be interesting to watch this team under Darryl Sutter for a full season and it will also be interesting to see what management decides with GM Craig Button. The core is there to move forward quickly. Whether that happens or not is still a giant mystery.
Grade:

Chicago Blackhawks
Where do you go from here? Can removing Theo Fleury from the team this summer make that much difference? It can, if you believe in Brian Sutter's idea of team chemistry and sacrifice. That said, the Blackhawks have more issues than just Fleury. They have to decide whether GM Mike Smith and coach Sutter are working from the same plan, whether they can find help for Jocelyn Thibault in net and whether the youth movement that was started two seasons ago will produce rewards. Kyle Calder, Tyler Arnason and Mark Bell can score goals at the NHL level, but they have to improve their consistency if the Blackhawks are going to have any kind of scoring depth. What's more, Eric Daze has to find a way to stay healthy or the Blackhawks have to find a way to trade him and get something special in return. There is a solid base of talent to work from, but the question is can the Blackhawks overcome the rest of their distractions and realize their potential?
Grade:

Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche have become a team of a few superstars with a consistently phenomenal goalie. But there's nothing wrong with that in today's NHL. The problem for the future is that if one or two of those superstars (say, Peter Forsberg and Patrick Roy) decide to retire, then everything could fall apart. In the mean time, though, things are hunky-dory in the Rockies. Colorado struggled early in the season and recent reports hint that former coach Bob Hartley had strained relations with a few of his big guns (namely Forsberg). That makes the naming of rookie head coach Tony Granato a stroke of genius by GM Pierre Lacroix. Granato has pulled his players on board and has aligned a team that can both score goals and stop them. Forsberg, Milan Hejduk and Alex Tanguay have combined to become one of the best lines in hockey and you can't argue with a defense that includes Rob Blake, Adam Foote and Derek Morris. Plus, Roy's numbers show that he hasn't lost anything yet.
Grade:

Columbus Blue Jackets
Marc Denis played more minutes than any other goalie in the NHL, Rostislav Klesla received another year of NHL experience and Rick Nash appears to have a tremendous upside. All in all, the Blue Jackets did about what they were expected to do this season and that was take the next step forward. That the next step didn't include a huge boost in the standings is disappointing, but Columbus will simply have to readjust its expectations. The Blue Jackets relied on a few more kids this season and that's great news. Players like Derrick Walser, Duvie Westcott and Matt Davidson should be better next season. Still, it's all about the future for Columbus, so it would be wise to follow the blueprints of teams like Nashville and Atlanta and just toss all of the kids out there right now. In the new economy of the NHL post 2004, you never know how quickly a young team will be able to climb the standings.
Grade:

Dallas Stars
The Stars fixed their problems in one season, but in doing so, created a little bit of problem for the summer. Dallas has $56 million in guaranteed contracts for next season, including a raise for Pierre Turgeon to $7.5 million. That $56 million covers 16 players, not including captain Derian Hatcher (unrestricted free agent), goalie Marty Turco (restricted free agent) and defenseman Richard Matvichuk (restricted free agent). If you consider Hatcher and Turco will combine to cost at least $10 million, it doesn't leave much room for anything else. Still, if the Stars can either win the Stanley Cup or come close this spring, the financial problems will become lighter. American Airlines Center is one of the top cash cow arenas in the NHL and can help fund future improvements. The reason all of this financial talk is so important is the Stars really need to make a run at the Cup in the next two playoffs -- and that urgency will either become a motivator or a burden.
Grade:

Detroit Red Wings
The Red Wings started the season as a team on its last legs trying to win one more championship. It ended with some of the best young talent in hockey and Brett Hull under contract for another season. It is madness to suggest this, but would this team be that bad off if it lost both Steve Yzerman (to retirement) and Sergei Fedorov (to unrestricted free agency) over the summer. One imagines GM Ken Holland would use the money made available and patch the holes appropriately and that coach Dave Lewis would juggle his players in just the right way. Can the Red Wings repeat? Much lies on the shoulders of Curtis Joseph. Would it be foolish to bet against them? Oh, yeah.
Grade:

Edmonton Oilers
This was not supposed to work out for the Edmonton Oilers. In a cut-throat conference where no fewer than five teams were supposed to fight for the eighth and final playoff spot, the Oilers decided to trade away key players and roll the dice down the stretch. Yet instead of allowing their tight pockets to keep them out of the postseason, the new-look Oilers have steamed along to their sixth playoff appearance in the past seven years. Truthfully, the team probably would be better if it still had Anson Carter, Janne Niiniimaa, Mike Grier and Jochen Hecht. Of course, it would probably be better if it still had Doug Weight, Bill Guerin, Tom Poti and Curtis Joseph. Bottom line, the new guys like Radek Dvorak, Brad Isbister and Cory Cross are fitting in, and the kids like Mike Comrie, Ales Hemsky and Shawn Horcoff are stepping up. The Oilers are what they are -- a team hanging on by its fingernails -- but they do a better job at that than just about anybody else.
Grade:

Los Angeles Kings
Do you pity the Kings for such bad luck or do you criticize them for bad planning? Losing all of these key players to injuries was devastating to a squad that, when healthy, has pushed the best teams in the Western Conference during previous playoffs. Then again, it's not like they didn't know about the injury histories of players like Jason Allison, Adam Deadmarsh and Aaron Miller before they acquired them. So, what are you left with? Is this a team that could work hard in the offseason, clear up its goaltending situation and come back strong next season? Or is this simply an injury-prone team ready to repeat its pattern for five seasons, a la the 1990s Washington Capitals? Both Allison and Deadmarsh will be iffy players moving forward in their careers, and it's hard to build your team around iffy players. You can't just keep pulling the carpet out on your team every year and not expect problems (see Lindros, Eric). The Kings have some of the best role players in the NHL. If they can straighten out their superstars, they might be able to make a huge jump up next season.
Grade:

Minnesota Wild
What's not to like about what the Wild has accomplished? The team has posted 40-plus wins in only its third season of existence, it has the lowest payroll in hockey and it is scaring the pants off its potential first-round playoff opponents. Things are good in Minnesota. Still, you do wonder about a few things. The Wild rank 24th in the league in goals per game and 24th in the league in shot differential, basically allowing opponents to control large portions of the game and waiting for mistakes that can be converted into transition goals. That's a tough way to play hockey, and it does little to help your team develop offensive skill moving forward. The Wild rank 26th in power-play success, but showed its hard working side by ranking 4th in penalty killing. So do you praise it for getting the most out of its talent or do you criticize for not pushing the players to be more talented? Right now, everything has to fall on the side of praise, but you would like the team to maybe push for a little more skill development from the youngsters. Then again, if the Wild win a round in the playoffs, that experience for players like Marian Gaborik, Pascal Dupuis and Filip Kuba could mean more than anything else in their development.
Grade:

Nashville Predators
So close, and yet so far away. The Predators made a tremendous run toward the playoffs with a roster consisting almost entirely of 20-somethings, and that's impressive. It's even ironically heartening to know that an injury to 22-year-old David Legwand was the monkey wrench the team couldn't overcome. That says something about the importance of Legwand. Nashville moved out almost every veteran it had and rode the likes of Legwand (22), Kimmo Timonen (28), Denis Arkhipov (23), Andy Delmore (26), Scott Hartnell (21), Vladimir Orszagh (25), Adam Hall (22) and Tomas Vokoun (24). That's smart. Now, you could say it's also why the team collapsed down the stretch (lack of veteran leadership), but think what these players learned during the late-season surge and fall. It could make the Predators a playoff team next season.
Grade:

Phoenix Coyotes
The Coyotes are moving in the right direction, but they have to make a decision on Sean Burke this summer. If they keep the veteran goalie, they might be able to win a few more games next year. If they cut him loose, they could join Nashville, Columbus and Anaheim in moving forward with a good, young netminder. The Coyotes are loaded with goalies, it's time to make a move. As for the rest of the team, they still have to ponder their coaching situation, reassess once again whether Chris Gratton can be a top center and get their young defense healthy. If they can do that, they might be able to fight for eighth place next season.
Grade:

St. Louis Blues
You can't possibly criticize the effort with everything this team has accomplished, and yet there will be almost nobody who would pick the Blues to win the Stanley Cup this season. So does that mean St. Louis is just the victim of unfortunate injuries that have hurt a talented team or does it mean the team is not as talented as it should be? First, the Blues have shown a tremendous amount of resilience during a season in which several key players (Doug Weight, Keith Tkachuk, Peter Cajanek) have missed large portions of the season and two (Chris Pronger and Jamal Mayers) have missed almost the whole thing. Mix in the fact that injuries and poor performance have forced the team to use seven goalies and it's amazing St. Louis has almost 100 points. However, if you believe that GM Larry Pleau should have been able to convince any one one of Dominik Hasek, Curtis Joseph, Ed Belfour or Nikolai Khabibulin to come to St. Louis in the past three seasons, then you have to say that the Blues' goaltending woes are of their own making. Still, if the team gets healthy and Chris Osgood finds his focus, this could be a team to be scared of in the playoffs. The fact it could have to face a gauntlet of Colorado, Detroit and Dallas to get out of the West makes the Blues look a little less scary.
Grade:

San Jose Sharks
Is this season a bump or a mountain? Can the Sharks restructure in one offseason and come roaring back like the Stars? Or are they in for a long uphill battle to again become one of the West's premium teams? The answers lie somewhere in the boardrooms and bank vaults of the San Jose organization. There is a wonderful core here, players like Patrick Marleau, Marco Sturm, Mike Rathje, Mike Ricci and Evgeni Nabokov -- but they need direction and they need some support. Teemu Selanne is ready to walk, but he was ready to do that last summer and never received a better offer. The Sharks are ready to part ways with Vincent Damphousse, and that might be the best thing. Bottom line, the new GM will have plenty of work to do and probably not much budget to do it with. He probably needs to go out and find a veteran bargain to help pull things together, a la Cliff Ronning in Minnesota. If that happens, the Sharks can be right back in the playoff fray next season.
Grade: no pucks.

Vancouver Canucks
Few teams are in better shape to move forward than the Canucks. GM Brian Burke has his stars inked to contracts at reasonable prices, meaning this team has time to grow and the line of Brendan Morrison, Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi should be together for years to come. Vancouver has become a solid offensive force this season, but there's still the concern that it isn't built for the playoffs. While the Canucks can trade goals with any team in the league, they still haven't proved they can win a chess game in the playoffs. Goalie Dan Cloutier continues to improve, but his lingering knee injury certainly is cause for concern entering the postseason. The Canucks' improvement from 83 to 90 to 94 to 100-plus points has been impressive, but the question is can they challenge the big-spenders in the West and stay on a budget or are they just biding their time until a new economic environment brings the big-spenders to their knees?
Grade:

Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.