Chicago Blackhawks
Last year: 1st Central, lost in round 1
Additions: Jean-Francois Berube (VGK-FA), Lance Bouma (CGY-FA), Cody Franson (BUF-PTO), Connor Murphy (ARI-Trade), Brandon Saad (CBJ-Trade), Patrick Sharp (DAL-FA), Tommy Wingels (OTT-FA)
Departures: Brian Campbell (Retired), Scott Darling (CAR-Trade), Niklas Hjalmarsson (ARI-Trade), Marcus Kruger (VGK-Trade), Johnny Oduya (OTT-FA), Artemi Panarin (CBJ-Trade), Trevor van Riemsdyk (VGK-Expansion)
The Good: The new Blackhawks are the old Blackhawks! The same Blackhawks that won three Stanley Cups in six years. Nick Schmaltz and Ryan Hartman showed some signs of something greater last season, you can bank on those two to continue their stellar play and probably take another step forward. They won the Central even with Jonathan Toews having an off year. Kane and Saad should provide some valuable primary scoring as well. Duncan Keith is still one of the games best defenders and Corey Crawford has someone pulled off the rare feat of being underrated and overrated all at the same time. He is a very good goalie.
The Bad: Um... has anyone checked on their defense? Keith is great but beyond that its Brent Seabrook and a bunch of guys who are somehow worse than Brent Seabrook. If they sign Cody Franson to a contract that would help but they need work. The depth is very questionable, with guys like Tommy Wingels and Lance Bouma brought in to try and help. The loss of Panarin will put unreasonable pressure on Saad that will likely be very hard to match.
Prediction: 4th Central, 1st Wildcard
Colorado Avalanche
Last year: 7th Central, no playoffs
Additions: Jonathan Bernier (ANA-FA), Colin Wilson (NSH-Trade), Nail Yakupov (STL-FA)
Departures: Francois Beauchemin (ANA-Bought-out), Rene Bourque (Sweden-FA), Mikhail Grigorenko (KHL-FA), Calvin Pickard (VGK-Expansion), Patrick Wiercioch (VAN-FA)
The Good: As bad as last season was for the Avs, this is still a (relatively) young team. Nathan McKinnon is only 21, their captain, Gabe Landeskog, is 24, and even Matt Duchene, who seems ancient by now, is still just 26. Other young talents, like Tyson Jost and Mikko Rantanen, emerged briefly last season and will likely have the chance to earn bigger minutes this year. It was about this time last year that Patrick Roy suddenly resigned, leaving new coach Jared Bednar scrambling to implement a system. In many regards, the season was over before it even began. This year, with Matt Duchene signed for two more years, the Avs should have no distractions and can leave it all out on the ice.
The Bad: They aren't actually very good. Beyond the players mentioned above, this team is largely has beens and never weres. Calvin Pickard was just beginning to emerge as a real option between the pipes when he was snatched up by Vegas. Tyson Barrie is an above average NHL d-man but they really don't have anyone below him that can pass as high quality. They have a good Top 3 and slightly below average depth but the lack of secondary scoring is going to be the death of this team.
Prediction: 8th Central
Dallas Stars
Last year: 6th Central, no playoffs
Additions: Ben Bishop (LAK-Trade), Brian Flynn (MTL-FA), Martin Hanzal (MIN-FA), Marc Methot (VGK-Trade), Alexander Radulov (MTL-FA)
Departures: Cody Eakin (VGK-Expansion), Ales Hemsky (MTL-FA), Antti Niemi (PIT-Bought-out), Patrick Sharp (CHI-FA)
The Good: After years of inadequate goaltending, the Stars seem to have finally found the answer in Ben Bishop. The defense also has improved with the acquisition of Marc Methot and the development of Esa Lindell and Stephen Johns. They also retain an offense which terrorized the league two seasons ago with Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, and Jason Spezza. Now, they've added Alexander Radulov and Martin Hanzal to the mix. This team could be the team many of us were expecting last season and then some.
The Bad: Last season they didn't only look like a team that lacked a goalie, but they also seemed lost in general. New coach Ken Hitchcock may not be enough to fix that. Jason Spezza had his worst full season in terms of points of his career and at 34 years old, we may have seen the last of him as an elite offensive player. If Dallas can't get the kind of secondary production they've become accustomed to it might spell serious trouble for them in a jam-packed top of the the Central.
Prediction: 1st Central
Minnesota Wild
Last year: 2nd Central, lost in round 1
Additions: Matt Cullen (PIT-FA), Tyler Ennis (BUF-Trade), Marcus Foligno (BUF-Trade), Kyle Quincey (CBJ-FA), Daniel Winnik (WSH-PTO)
Departures: Tyler Graovac (WSH-Trade), Martin Hanzal (DAL-FA), Erik Haula (VGK-Expansion), Jason Pominville (BUF-Trade), Marco Scandella (BUF-Trade), Ryan White (VAN-PTO)
The Good: This team is oozing with depth. Not the kind of depth you often hear about, where a team has a dozen adequate players fighting for a few spots, the kind of depth that you can look at and be intimidated by the lack of holes, especially up front. Players like Eric Staal Tyler Ennis will likely be playing Bottom 6 minutes while on defense, young talents like Jonas Brodin and Matthew Dumba continue to push others down the lineup. With Devan Dubnyk between the pipes, this is a team that all of a sudden looks like a serious Cup contender.
The Bad: How will the older players keep up? They're deep, but if suddenly Zach Parise, or Mikko Koivu, or Eric Staal, or Ryan Suter, or any combination of them, lose a step, all of a sudden players will be pushed up the lineup and have a ripple effect through the lineup. In particular on defense, where they have to be hoping Kyle Quincey and Ryan Murphy won't be forced to much more than a dozen minutes a night.
Prediction: 3rd Central
Nashville Predators
Last year: 4th Central (2nd WC), lost in Stanley Cup Finals
Additions: Nick Bonino (PIT-FA), Alexei Emelin (VGK-Trade), Scott Hartnell (CBJ-FA)
Departures: Vernon Fiddler (Retired), Mike Fisher (Retired), James Neal (VGK-Expansion), Colin Wilson (COL-Trade)
The Good: After barely squeaking into the post-season, the Nashville Predators finally showed their potential and came agonizingly close to winning it all. This year, most of them are back. The young forward core of Johansen, Forsberg, and Arvidsson, will continue to be great and may even improve. Kevin Fiala looks like the real deal and they still maintain what is possibly the league's greatest blueline. Led by the always divisive PK Subban. No matter how you feel about him though, there's no denying he is one of the top d-men in the NHL.
The Bad: Pekka Rinne has been declining gradually and, although he showed glimpses of brilliance early in the playoffs, was wildly inconsistent in the finals. With the inexperienced Juuse Saros as the only real backup option, Nashville better hope Rinne is able to find his game from a few years ago, if it still exists. The loss of some forward depth is also a potential issue, Fisher and Fiddler retired in the off-season, but perhaps there was no single greater loss to Vegas than James Neal. Nashville will have to bank on someone picking up their offensive game if they're to have a quasi-replacement for him.
Prediction: 2nd Central
St. Louis Blues
Last year: 3rd Central, lost in round 2
Additions: Brayden Schenn (PHI-Trade), Chris Thorburn (VGK-FA)
Departures: Jori Lehtera (PHI-Trade), David Perron (VGK-Expansion), Ryan Reaves (PIT-Trade), Nail Yakupov (COL-FA)
The Good: This team is very well built, with a defense corps comprised of the likes of Pietrangelo, Parayko, and Bouwmeester. Up front they have a pair of 25 year olds in Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz. Jake Allen had some ups and downs last year but his first year as the undisputed number one goalie was, all-in-all, a positive one. With the addition of Brayden Schenn, this team looks fairly well rounded.
The Bad: They appear to be having the same problem as many Metro teams, good, but maybe not good enough to be a factor this year. Their lack of forward depth will be even more evident this year with Robby Fabbri hurt again. If they can't get top calibre production from the forwards beyond Tarasenko, they may very well miss the playoffs for the first time since 2011.
Prediction: 5th Central
Winnipeg Jets
Last year: 5th Central, no playoffs
Additions: Dmitry Kulikov (BUF-FA), Steve Mason (PHI-FA)
Departures: Ondrej Pavelec (NYR-FA), Paul Postma (BOS-FA), Brian Strait (NJD-FA), Chris Thorburn (VGK-Expansion)
The Good: The Hockey News once proclaimed the Winnipeg Jets as the 2019 Stanley Cup champions. While they haven't really shown all that much progress, that could all change. The Jets made a nominal playoff push late in the season and with a healthy Patrik Laine, that might be enough to finally get them over the hump. The core of Scheifele, Wheeler, Byfuglien and the aforementioned Laine, have a strong and youthful supporting crew around them. With just a few steps forward by a few players, this could be the year the Jets finally fulfill their potential.
The Bad: This team is very similar to the Sabres, perennially on the verge of breaking through and, much like the Sabres, it seems that they might still not be quite good enough to become relevant. Their problem, as always, remains in goal. They made a slight upgrade by bringing in Steve Mason to compete with Connor Hellebuyck for the starting job, but unless Hellebuyck can assert himself as a true number one, they will always be less than they should be. They also may suffer from a tight Central division in which their lack of discipline could cost them a couple of games which could cost them a playoff spot. It doesn't seem like much of a stretch to say that this is a critical season for the Jets.
Prediction: 6th Central
Predicted Standings:
- Dallas
- Nashville
- Minnesota
- Chicago
- St. Louis
- Winnipeg
- Colorado
Beyond Colorado, all of these teams are very evenly matched. It seems thought that the slight advantages by the top teams could turn out to be a huge edge as the season goes along. Look for the Western wildcard race to be an intriguing one.
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