NHL Central Division: Chicago Blackhawks dynasty continues
Who is going to take home the NHL Central Division title?
The NHL Central Division is a toughie, with more than half of these teams developing into powerhouses. Colorado is getting scary, St. Louis is deeper than the ocean, and Chicago has either won the Cup or made it to the conference finals four of the last six years.
1) Chicago Blackhawks
This is essentially the same team as last year; Michael Handzus was replaced by Brad Richards (an upgrade, really). Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith – they’re all hungry to succeed after losing out last year. They just wish that Corey Crawford can hold up his end of the deal. Imagine if they had Jonathan Quick? Yikes. LA still has the edge on the Hawks in the West.
2) Colorado Avalanche
The Avs were so impressive last year, and their only loss from their roster is Paul Statsny. Coach Patrick Roy will look past that, as Statsny was still behind Matt Duchene, Gabe Landeskog, Ryan O’Reilly, and Nate MacKinnon in points. They’ve also brought the leadership of Jarome Iginla in, and Iggy wants a ring. PA Parenteau and Daniel Briere were an appropriate trade, as neither of them will do anything. Colorado hadn’t reached 50 wins since 2000-2001, the last time they won the cup (with guess who, GM Joe Sakic and Roy). Erik Johnson is starting to actually look like the first overall pick he was drafted as, and as long as Semyon Varlamov continues his Vezina-contention play, they’ll be just fine.
3) St. Louis Blues
Their main losses are Brenden Morrow and Ryan Miller, who really had better careers before even arriving in St. Louis. The addition of Paul Statsny should help their already impressive forward core. This team has a ridiculous amount of depth. Hopefully Brian Elliot can finally prove himself as a season-long number one. I dismiss the idea that they’ll ever win the cup any time soon with teams like LA and Chicago to go through in the west, but still, the Blues have no blues to sing.
4) Dallas Stars
The Stars acquired Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky from Ottawa – looking for fresher starts – only having to give up Alex Chaisson, really. Tyler Seguin is finally coming into his own, and Jamie Benn is there to lead him. They would be higher on this list, but Kari Lethonen can only stop the puck for so long.
5) Minnesota Wild
The Wild were seventh in goals against last season, but only 23rd in goals for. With Zach Parise in good health, that can certainly improve, especially with the additions of Thomas Vanek and Matt Moulson.
6) Nashville Predators
James Neal is a huge player to score. Derek Roy and Mike Ribeiro could help the Preds, but have been inconsistent. Their only major loss really was Mike Del Zotto, but no one wanted him on their blueline anyway. Peter Laviolette is a strong coach who down the line could improve his young squad. Not to mention, Nashville have two of the best in the league at their position in Shea Weber and Pekka Rinne.
7) Winnipeg Jets
After Claude Noel was fired last season, Paul Maurice brought a fresh start to the squad. Unfortunately it only lasted for a bit. The Jets are better off without Devin Setuoguchi and Olli Jokinen, but I expect Zach Bogosian and Evander Kane to be moved as well. With Al Montoya gone, Ondrej Pavolec needs to be the number one he’s expected to be. Three clubs in this division had over 100 points last season; while Winnipeg is still in their transition phase, they’re stuck near the bottom.
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