NHL Preview: Central Division

It’s the final day of my NHL division by division preview and I’ll end things by taking a look at the toughest division in the league; the Central Division.

(TheUltimateSportsBlog.com)

St. Louis Blues

Last season: 51-24-7 (109 points). Lost in 1st Round of Playoffs.

Offseason Moves that Matter: Traded T.J. Oshie for Troy Brouwer because when you fail in the playoffs it’s always good to acquire a guy who also fails in the playoffs.

This season: The Blues have a lot of offensive talent. Vladimir Tarasenko, Jori Lehtera, Alex Steen, Jaden Schwartz, and the list goes on. Plus, they get offense from their defense as Kevin Shattenkirk, Alex Pietrangelo, and Jay Bouwmeester are all capable of putting up points. Goals won’t be a problem for this team. It’s goaltending and the playoffs.

Biggest question: Can they finally get over the playoff hump?

Outlook: The Blues are going to be great in the regular season again. Unless they’re hit with the injury bug, they have plenty of offensive firepower and a strong defensive system to win around 50 games. However, Jake Allen and Brian Elliott aren’t #1 guys and they’ll be judged by what they do in the playoffs, not the regular season. 

Prediction: 1st in Central Division.

Nashville Predators

Last season: 47-25-10 (104 points). Lost in 1st Round of Playoffs.

Offseason Moves that Matter: None.

This season: The Predators are nothing if not consistent. They’re always a threat to fly under the radar, make the playoffs, and be a difficult out in the postseason. Filip Forsberg is one of my favorite players in the league, thanks in large part to his last name, they’ve got Carrie Underwood’s husband, Shea Weber is a top defenseman to go along with Joman Josi and Seth Jones, and Pekka Rinne is a #1 goalie. 

Biggest question: Will their lack of center depth hurt them?

Outlook: The Preds are going to be right there in the Central race all season as long as Rinne stays healthy. I worry about Fisher and Mike Ribeiro as the top two centers since they’re both on the wrong side of 30, but they have stellar wings and a great defense. 

Prediction: 2nd in the Central Division.

Chicago Blackhawks

Last season: 48-28-6 (102 points). Won Stanley Cup.

Offseason Moves that Matter: Once again had to trade everyone because of their cap situation, Patrick Kane may’ve forced himself onto a woman. 

This season: The Blackhawks are a dynasty. With Jonathan Toews and Kane up front and Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith on the back end, and Joel Quenneville behind the bench, they’ve won three Stanley Cups in six years. All of those players are back, so there’s no reason to think that the Blackhawks won’t be competitive once again. That said, they were forced to deal key pieces like Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg, and Brandon Saad and it remains to be seen whether or not their new pieces will work. Plus, there’s that whole Patrick Kane rape thing. 

Biggest question: Will Patrick Kane miss time?

Outlook: Assuming Kane plays more of the season, the Blackhawks will be fine. They’ll show signs of fatigue after a long season, especially Keith and Seabrook, but they’ll remain competitive.

Prediction: 3rd in the Central Division.

Minnesota Wild

Last season: 46-28-8 (100 points). Lost in 2nd Round of Playoffs.

Offseason Moves that Matter: None

This season: Devan Dubnyk saved the Wild’s season last year and got paid as a result. Now he’ll really have to prove himself. If it turns out that he’s a legit #1 guy capable of winning 40 games, the Wild will be in great shape. If he proves to be the guy who couldn’t keep a job in Edmonton or Arizona, the Wild are screwed. That said, they do have a great defense, so Dubnyk is well protected. Their offense is good, but Mikko Koivu is showing his age, Thomas Vanek is inconsistent, and Zach Parise will never live up to that contract.

Biggest question: Is Devan Dubnyk the real deal? 

Outlook: I’m not a fan of the Wild (mainly their fans) and their fans aren’t fans of me based on my twitter mentions. I judge teams fairly though and there’s enough to like this Wild team. They have one of the top defenses in the league and play a frustrating style. They’ll be fine in the regular season before losing to the Blackhawks again in the playoffs. 

Prediction: 5th in the Central Division.

Winnipeg Jets

Last season: 43-26-13 (99 points). Missed Playoffs.

Offseason Moves that Matter: Lost Michael Frolik

This season: The Jets have one of the top defenses in the league, led by Dustin Byfuglien to go along with top talents like Tyler Myers and Jacob Trouba. However, their offense is just alright and they have a question mark in goal. Michael Hutchinson and Ondrej Pavelec are fine options, but they really need one of them to really take the reigns as the #1 guy. 

Biggest question: Who is their #1 goalie? 

Outlook: The Jets are going to be in a lot of close, low-scoring games. They’ve built a strong defense and they just don’t have the offensive talent, especially past their first line, to run-and-gun with teams. In a tough Central division, I’m just not sure that they have enough firepower. 

Prediction: 6th in the Central Division.

Dallas Stars

Last season: 41-41-10 (92 points). Missed Playoffs.

Offseason Moves that Matter: Brought in guys who have Stanley Cup rings.

This season: After trading for Jason Spezza last offseason, everyone expected the Stars to be a threat in the West. However, things didn’t quite go their way and, despite Jamie Benn winning the scoring title, they missed the playoffs. This year they brought in former Blackhawks in Patrick Sharp, Johnny Oduya, and Antii Niemi. All three guys have their name on the Stanley Cup. Their top two lines should be big point producers. Their defense is what let them down last season, and while Odya will help, he won’t solve everything. 

Biggest question: Has this defense and goaltending improved enough?

Outlook: The Stars are going to be very fun to watch this season. Tyler Seguin, Benn, Spezza, Sharp, Val Nichushkin, and Ales Hemsky are going to put up a lot of points and with their shaky defense, they could be involved in a lot of high scoring games. 

Prediction: 4th in the Central Division.

Colorado Avalanche

Last season: 39-31-12 (90 points). Missed Playoffs. 

Offseason Moves that Matter: Traded Ryan O’Reilly, overpaid Carl Soderberg and overextended Francios Beauchemin. 

This season: On paper, this should be a good hockey team. The pieces are there. They’re got skill players, veteran leaders, defense that can contribute, and a world-class goalie. But for some reason it’s not clicking. It didn’t click last season and I’m fearful, as an Avs fan, that it won’t click again. It certainly doesn’t help that they are in the strongest division in hockey. 90 points is nothing to sneeze at, but it doesn’t get you close to the playoffs in the Center. 

Biggest question: Can they score enough goals?

Outlook: I’m a sports pessimist, so I’m not exactly looking forward to watching the Avs this season. The talent is there, but I have no reason to believe that they’ll figure it all out after a miserable and downright embarrassing preseason. 

Prediction: 7th in the Central Division.