Pressing Western Conference questions heading into 2022-23 NHL season

The Eastern Conference has more questions than the Western Conference heading into the 2022-23 NHL season. The league seems to have been pushed closer together, as the flat salary cap has forced the top teams to take little steps back.

Colorado won the Stanley Cup last season. They did it with the help of goalkeepers Alexandar Georgiev and Pavel Francouz.

Darcy Kuemper won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche. Francouz has never played more than 34 games in a season and Georgiev was 15-10-2 with an .896 save percentage last season.

The Flames are among the favourites to win the Stanley Cup this season. They went on a run last season and are now counting up their chips. They are in a small group of favourites from the West.

The Oilers forwards group is one of the best in the NHL. The defence is good enough to compete with the elite forwards. Jack Campbell and Stuart Skinner are good in goal. If they limit chances and move the puck up quickly, the Oilers will be a serious Cup contender.

Matt Duchene, Roman Josi and Filip Forsberg had career seasons for Nashville Predators.

Ryan McDonagh, Nino Neiderreiter and Ryan Wojciechowski were part of a team that was competitive last year. They need to do it all over again to stay there and take a step forward.

Vegas is in need of a miracle to win the Stanley Cup. The team's core is aging past 30 and they need to be healthy and have a good season from their goalkeepers.

Vancouver is running back the same D-corps as last season. They have a lot of talent up front, but they need to improve their defense. Bruce Boudreau will be in charge for the next full season, and they have to score their way out of trouble.

Winnipeg Jets finished eight points out of a playoff spot last season. They changed coaches and took away Blake Wheeler's captaincy. They have a similar roster to 2021-22. Western Conference questions heading into 2022-23 NHL season

The San Jose Sharks were 30 in goal scoring last year and lost a good offensive player in Burns. The team made a change at GM and head coach, but it's hard to see how they can improve their offence.

Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane will wear different jerseys this year or ever. Toews would be willing to leave Chicago, but he needs to play well enough to get a chance on his salary. Kane would want to stay, too, as Ryan Getzlaf recently demonstrated.

The Kraken came out of the gates with a passive game plan. They've been the anti-Golden Knights. Seattle was not a "stop on this channel, the Kraken are playing" team.

Matty Beniers is the favourite for the Calder Trophy. Oliver Bjorkstrand and Andrei Burakovsky have been added to the team. Shane Wright has a chance to make the NHL team this year.

Arizona is going to be embarrassing to watch. They are trying to lose more than they win by trading away good players and playing a lot of games on the road. The team is playing out the string hoping to get to the playoffs three seasons from now. They play 37 of their final 58 games at Mullett Arena.