We Hit Dingers: NHL Preview - Central Division

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Nashville finished in fourth place last season and really only got better over the offseason. They added Norris Trophy-winning defenseman P.K. Subban via trade and will rely on goaltender Pekka Rinne bouncing back and having his normally elite-level season. I think them winning a round in the playoffs last season will be instrumental to their success this year and propel them to win the division.

The Blues finished second in the division last year and that's where I expect them to finish again this year. They certainly have enough talent to win the division, however, but I don't think they will, just because I think Nashville is still better. This year will be HC Ken Hitchcock's last season as coach and the first year for Jake Allen as the true starting netminder. I think them trading away Brian Elliott and the possibility of maybe losing Kevin Shattenkirk midseason will be enough to keep the Blues from winning the division.

Dallas came out of nowhere last season and won the division through a wicked offense that could score at any moment. They return nearly everyone from their forwards group and even added Jiri Hudler to the mix. On defense, they lost Alex Goligoski and Jason Demers but added Dan Hamhuis, so that could be a wash. Their struggle will remain in net if neither Kari Lehtonen nor Antti Niemi take the reigns as the Stars' number one. I think that their goaltending will remain an issue this season and keep Dallas from winning the division, but still making the playoffs, however.

As I mentioned in my team preview for the Blackhawks, I think there could be hard times coming to Chicago in the coming years unless they are able to keep bringing up young talent to help the NHL roster. Over this past offseason, Chicago once again was forced to move out players for salary cap reasons in the players of Andrew Shaw, Teuvo Teravainen, and Bryan Bickell. I think that there are really good pieces on this roster and their defense excellent in addition to goaltender Corey Crawford, but I question whether they will score enough to be a true Cup contender again. It is really difficult for a team to succeed when they spend over $44 million of the $66 million salary cap on just six players. That means a large reliance is placed on young players with cheap contracts playing big roles. I don't think this is a good recipe for success and think that the Blackhawks take a step back this year.

First of all, I could see the Wild actually winning this division if everything breaks right. The addition of Bruce Boudreau as head coach is enough for them to be that much better. My only question about Minnesota will be whether or not they can produce enough offense to be a division winner. Regardless, I think they are headed in the right direction at becoming a bonafide Cup contender.

It was a toss up for me as to who I was going to pick to finish last in the division and I think that the Avalanche have enough talent in their forward group to be better than Winnipeg. I don't like their second or third defense pairings and I'm not sold on Semyon Varlamov as a starting goaltender in the NHL. I think that Patrick Roy leaving Colorado and them signing Jared Bednar to be their new head coach is truly a blessing for the franchise and will make them a better team immediately.

I think that Winnipeg is close to being a really good team but that their struggle will be their goaltending, which is not very good. After starter Ondrej Pavalec's contract is up after this season, goalie-in-waiting Connor Hellebuyck should get the opportunity to be the starting next season, at which point, the Jets will automatically be a better team.

We Hit Dingers