LOS ANGELES – The Central Division is the weakest it has ever been. The Chicago Black Hawks are no longer a juggernaut. Every team in the division has question marks, some just more than others.
- NASHVILLE PREDATORS- The Nashville Predators exceeded everyone’s expectations in last year’s playoffs. They comeback this year experienced and more dynamic. PK Subban joins Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis to form the best top four defensemen in the league. The Predators top line of Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen and James Neal are as talented as they come. The Predators will need to find more secondary scoring than they did last year. Craig Smith was the only depth forward who played to his potential. Goaltender Pekka Rinne regained his elite status in the playoffs. Rinne must remain healthy because adequate back up Carter Hutton has left.
- DALLAS STARS – The Dallas have the best one-two scoring punch in hockey. Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn are magnificent. Throw in Jason Spezza and
Jason Spezza – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
Patrick Sharp and goals will not be a problem. Maturity is a problem. Antoine Roussel plays with fire but not always smart. John Klingberg is a star on defense. Dan Hamhuis will help Johnny Oduya actually play defense. The Stars have over $12 million locked into mediocre net minding. Antti Niemi was not the savior and Kari Lehtonen always lets one in.
- CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS – This is the weakest Blackhawk team in years. The Blackhawks top players are the best in the league but the team lacks depth. GM Stan Bowman appears to have run out of roster miracles. The salary cap has finally taken its toll. Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Artemi Panarin remain as superstars. Glue guys like Andrew Shaw and Teuvo Teravainen are gone. The Hawks did finally get their fourth defenseman. Brian Campbell joins Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and criminally underrated Niklas Hjalmarsson. Corey Crawford is a clutch goaltender and a winner. Scott Darling gives Chicago a great goaltending tandem.
- WINNEPEG JETS – Last year was a step backward for the Winnipeg Jets. This year will be a step forward. Power forward Blake Wheeler is the new captain. Wheeler, an all
Dustin Byfuglien – file by Lewis Bleiman
-star has size and can snipe. Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers and newcomer Patrick Laine provide even more fire power. Drew Stafford leads a respectable group of 3rd and 4th liners. The Jets defense is huge and skilled. Dustin Byfuglien is monster. Tyler Myers, Jacob Trouba and Toby Enstrom are coming into their own. The Jets need goaltenders Ondrej Pavelec and Michael Hutchinson to either play well or move out of the way for Connor Hellebuyck.
- ST LOUIS BLUES – The St. Louis Blues lost David Backes and Troy Brouwer. Both players provided leadership on a team of chronic underachievers. Vlad Tarasenko had a phenomenal regular season then disappeared in the post season. Paul Stastny and Robby Fabbri had good post seasons but Jaden Schwarz and Alexander Steen underwhelmed again. Alex Pietrangelo is a stud on defense. Jay Bouwmeester regained his reputation after a solid World Cup. Kevin Shattenkirk and Colton Parayko add to Blues stout defense. They will need to be stout because goaltender Kevin Elliot is gone. Jake Allen has not proven he can be the man. Head Coach Ken Hitchcock is a lame duck and will not go out gracefully.
- COLORADO AVALANCHE – The Colorado Avalanche are too talented to be as bad as they were last season. Nathan McKinnon and Matt Duchene need to play for Colorado like they did in the World Cup. Gabriel Landeskog needs to play more like the Avs Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla. The forwards need to back check and help the team’s maligned defense. Francois Beauchemin is solid defenseman but Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie need to live up to their contracts. Newcomer Fedor Tyutin can help if he stays healthy. Net minder Semyon Varlamov is either amazing or awful. He might enjoy not having Goalie God Patrick Roy looking over his shoulder this season.
- MINNIESOTA WILD – When Eric Staal is your number one center, you get picked last in your division. Zach Parise is great but this is the worst roster new head coach Bruce Boudreau has coached since he was in Hershey. Forward Jason Zucker can score. Chris Stewart can score if and when he plays hard. Defenseman Ryan Suter is an Iron Man and needs to play like a superhero because the rest of the defenseman are very mortal. Goalie Devan Dubnyk will need to stand on his head all year after Boudreau opens up the offense.
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