The Central Division has two legitimate Stanley Cup contenders, Colorado and Dallas. The rest of the division should be entertaining enough when they’re playing the Chicago Blackhawks and Connor Bedard.
- The Colorado Avalanche are a jauggernault. Last year was a blip due to injuries, cap constraints and a Cup hangover. The Avs are loaded upfront. Nathan MacKinnon is one of the five best centers in the NHL. Mikko Rantanen is one of the five best wingers in the league. Acquiring Ryan Johansen, Ross Colton and Miles Wood replenished Colorado’s diminished depth. The Avalanche’s blueline is an embarrassment of riches. Cale Makar is a modern- day Bobby Orr. Devon Toews is almost as good as Makar. Alexandar Georgiev is a good goaltender. He can win a Stanley Cup with this team in front of him. The Avs are scheduled to have their captain Gabriel Landeskog back for the playoffs. It’s Stanley Cup or bust in the Rockies.
- The Dallas Stars would be the best team in any other division. The Stars forwards are the perfect mix of size, speed, skill, youth and experience. Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz are emerging stars but Joe Pavelski, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin are not quite ready to leave centerstage. The Stars blueline was exposed in the playoffs last season. Miro Heiskanen is underrated and Norris quality, but he can’t play sixty minutes. Goaltender Jake Oettinger is nop notch but needs to bounce back after a shaky playoffs.
- The St. Louis Blues will either be a solid playoff team or an unbridled mess. Head Coach Craig Berube will either be in the running for Coach of the Year or a talking head on a television by trade deadline. Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas must live up to their contracts or wingers Brandon Saad and Pavel Buchnevich will be on the move at the deadline. The blueline has been underwhelming since Alex Pietrangelo left. NeitherColton Parayko or Torey Krug has been able to fill his skates. The Blues season depends on whether goaltender Jordan Binnington is busy stopping pucks instead of serving suspensions because he didn’t stop any..
- The Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros is the backbone of the franchise. He backstops a defense led by offensive minded Roman Josi. Ryan MacDonagh and newly acquired Luke Schenn will handle of the defensive responsibilities. Ryan O’Reilly has been brought in to lead a rag tag bunch of forwards. Filip Forsberg continues to put up points. The Predators are hoping their youngsters can follow his lead.
- The Minnesota Wild’s goalie tandem of Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury was exceptional last season. Can they do it two years in a row? Wild winger Karill Kaprizov is one of the most exciting players in the league. He adds scoring and flash to a hardworking ,straight line group of forwards. The blueline is also workman like. It needs young Calen Asisson to provide offense from the backend.
- The Winnipeg Jets cannot bottom out with Connor Hellebuyck in net. They also can’t bottom out when they keep scoring forwards Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor. Newly captain Adam Lowry will attempt to instill pride in this rudderless team. Defensemen Josh Morrissey was lights out before the All-Star break than faltered like the rest of the team. Hellebuyck will get enough save to keep the Jets out of the basement.
- The Arizona Coyotes are punchlines around the league. You can make fun of everything surrounding the team but what they put on the ice is respectable. Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz and company will be bolstered upfront by rookie sensation Logan Cooley. The Desert Dogs defense is certainly a work in progress. Coyotes netminder Karel Vejmelka is the new John Gibson. A great goaltender on a struggling team.
- The Chicago Blackhawks won the lottery. Connor Bedard appears to be the NHL’s next big thing. They have surrounded Bedard with Corey Perry and Nick Foligno for leadership and security. Taylor Hall and Andreas Athanasiou give the highly touted rookie a pair of snipers. The Chicago defense is a mish mash of underachievers led by Seth Jones. Jones has never lived up to his huge contract. Any team with Petr Mrazek has their number one goaltender will be picked for last no matter who they drafted first.
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