We are two months away from the start of the NHL regular season. No more projections, predictions, outlooks, or speculation. Two months away from play on the ice speaks for itself. Until then, we have two more editions of our divisional power rankings. Today, we dive into the Central.
The Central may be the most compelling division in the NHL. There’s been a lot of change for the majority of the teams, and for the ones that didn’t change, the curiosity about where that leaves them is fascinating. Whose window is open? Whose window is closing? Whose is just starting? Let’s get to it.
8. Chicago Blackhawks
Last year: 23-53-6, 52 Points, 8th in Central
Since the turn of the decade, the Blackhawks have been paying the price for their championship years and have been glued to the bottom of the league as a result. Last year, the only excitement revolved around Connor Bedard. Other than that, the product was unwatchable at times.
In sports, if you’re honest with the fanbase about where you are and what your plan is, the fans will support and believe in you. That is certainly the case for the Blackhawks. This summer, they continued to add veterans around their young core, setting themselves up for a potentially decent return at the deadline if they choose to go in that direction.
Tyler Bertuzzi and Tuevo Teravainen add some stability to the top six, while Alec Martinex and TJ Brodie bolster a young defense group. Adding goaltender Laurent Brossoit will make sure that a good goalie will be in the net every night. Bedard, Kurashev, and Vlasic are all great young talents, and GM Kyle Davidson did a great job in making sure they are surrounded by a team that will allow them to grow.
The Blackhawks will still be a bad team, but the idea here is to take multiple steps forward and be competitive. Bedard alone wasn’t enough of a reason for the casual fan to turn on the TV on a random November night. At least now the hockey will be compelling and fun to watch, as opposed to the guaranteed loss night we witnessed last season.
7. Utah Hockey Club
Last year: 36-41-5, 77 Points, 7th in Central
The former Arizona Coyotes have finally made the move to Utah in what is a highly anticipated 24-25 season. If there is any team that can rebel against the order of these power rankings, it’s Utah. Last season, they were competitive for the majority of the year in a season that was filled with obstacles. Injuries were not their friend; they were playing in a cow barn, and speculation of their future was widespread in the last half of the campaign.
Not only do they have a good young core and a large number of picks in the bank, but management did an excellent job of adding substantial talent to this roster. Ian Cole, John Marino, and Mikhail Sergachev, paired with young D-man Sean Durzi, make this defense group one of the best in the Central.
There wasn’t a ton added to the offense, but another year of Keller, Cooley, Crouse, and Smaltz growing together will be nothing but a good thing for Utah. Rookie Josh Doan, son of Coyotes legend Shane Doan, had an exciting start to his career, scoring five goals and 9 points in 11 games.
They were on the cusp of competing for a playoff spot all year until distraction hit. With a solid defensive unit, it should give their young group enough to take a significant leap this season.
6. St. Louis Blues
Last Year: 43-33-6, 92 Points, 5th in Central
The Blues missed the playoffs by just six points last year and were extremely consistent after Craig Berube was fired last December. Drew Bannister was hired as the interim head coach and is coming into his first full season with the Blues. Since he was hired, St. Louis had the 13th-best record in the NHL and allowed the 12th fewest goals. On a team with not a lot of depth, defensive stability is going to be a must.
Thomas, Kyrou, and Buchnevich are the offensive leaders on this team and the only three players to score more than 50 points. Kyrou had a down year for someone of his talent and will be expected to have a major bounce-back season. The Blues were 24th in the NHL in goals per game, and with the ink on Buchnevich’s new six-year $48 million deal barely dry and coming off of a 63-point season, they will be counting on his play to live up to that contract.
Jordan Binnington had a resurgence in net last year with a .913 SV% and a 2.84 GAA. It was his best statistical year since he won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019, and with the new defensive structure previously mentioned, it will need to continue to rise.
The Blues have enough to keep themselves relevant and maybe push for a wildcard spot. They have $7.25 million left in cap space, and with their lack of depth up front, they may need every bit of it at the deadline.
5. Minnesota Wild
Last year: 39-34-9, 87 Points, 6th in Central
Due to bad goaltending and a laundry list of injuries, the Wild started the season 21-23-5, causing yet another NHL coach to be fired and essentially costing Minnesota a playoff spot. John Hynes is set to start his first season as the head coach. After being hired in November, he has now coached longer than 12 coaches in the league. That’s a topic for another day.
A healthy Jared Spurgeon is a welcome addition to the roster of a team that was 20th in goals allowed last year and -12 in goal differential. Goaltender Filip Gustavsson had a career year in 22-23, showing he can be the goaltender of the future. Last year’s poor play put them in a hole early, but the team will need him and veteran Marc-Andre Fleury to improve their play.
Past buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter will cost the Wild $14.7 million for one more season, which is great for the future but makes it hard to bring in reinforcements this summer and for the rest of the season. With Kaprizov, Boldy, Faber, and Eriksson Ek only getting better, they will have to be more than good enough.
When healthy and well-coached, the Wild could play with any team in the league. But, the margins are thin, and the Central is more competitive than it’s been in a long time. Last year was the franchise’s first time missing the playoffs since 2012, but confidence should be high that they can end the streak at one.
4. Winnipeg Jets
Last year: 52-24-6, 110 Points, 2nd in Central
Before getting into the Winnipeg Jets, it should be noted that every year, they surpass all of the expectations the media and fanbase give them. That could very well be the case in 24-25. Last year, there were doubts about them even making the playoffs. To everyone’s surprise, they led the Central for almost the entire year before giving way to the Stars in the last couple of weeks.
The recent coaching change will be smoother than usual, with associate coach Scott Arniel taking over for newly retired Rick Bowness. Arniel has coached his team in Bowness’ absence before, and he knows this group of players very well.
Losing Brossoit weakens the goaltending duo, even with Hellebuyck owning the crease, and losing Monahan and Toffoli to free agency will be hard on their depth. Still, keeping Vilardi and Iafallo from the PLD trade for one more year will bolster the depth, and having a healthy Kyle Connor will be a must.
The Jets were 15th in the NHL in goals scored last year, and that followed them into a first-round exit against the Avalanche. Winnipeg was known for their epic streak of 30 games allowing two goals or fewer. As much as that is stat to hang their hat on, goal scoring has gone up throughout the division, so it will need to in Manitoba’s capital as well.
3. Colorado Avalanche
Last year: 50-25-7, 107 Points, 3rd in Central
The Jets and Avs could easily flip-flop by April, and most of that is due to the goaltending advantage that the Jets own. However, there is no denying the superior firepower that the Avalanche put on the ice every night. Depth is important for any team, but if they have MacKinnon, Rantanen, and Makar on their roster, their chances are pretty darn good. Bowen Byram was an excellent addition as well, as the Avs try to keep this championship window open on the fly.
There are two elephants in the room. One is significantly bigger than the other. The first is that of captain Gabriel Landeskog. Landeskog is the definition of a leader both on and off the ice, but his injury history has kept him off the ice the last few years, and it is unclear if he will lace up in 24-25.
The second is Valeri Nichushkin. He was placed back in the player’s assistance program in the playoffs for the third time in as many years. His health and wellness are of the utmost importance. That being said, he has become unreliable, and at some point in time, the business side of hockey will come into play. Quite a bit needs to happen before he is reinstated, so it’ll take some time to watch it play out.
2. Nashville Predators
Last year: 47-30-5, 99 Points, 4th in Central
After a mediocre first half of the 23-24 season, the Predators went 21-7-3 in the final 31 games, entering the playoffs as one of the best teams in the NHL. With an aging core, and money to spare, GM Barry Trotz made sure to give his team everything they need to compete for the Central, and some think, the Stanley Cup.
Aside from Paul Kayria, back in the 2000s, Nashville hasn’t been known for targeting goal scorers or goal scoring at all. They changed that and took over the summer by acquiring Jonathan Marchessault and Steven Stamkos in free agency. If the star forwards can repeat last year, they added 80+ goals in the span of hours. Add that to Nyquist, Forsberg, and O’Reilly, and the Preds suddenly have maybe the best top-six in the division.
Roman Josi is one of the best defenders in the game, and adding coveted D-man Brady Skjei helps add depth to a thin blue line. Backup goalie Scott Wedgewood was also signed in July, making this a formidable goaltending duo. Wedgewood went 16-7-5 last year, posting a 2.85 GAA and a .899 SV%. Juuse Saros signed an eight-year extension, giving the back end some much-needed longevity.
1. Dallas Stars
52-21-9, 113 Points, 1st in Central
The Dallas Stars are the defending Central champs and were two wins away from advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals. That deserves the number one start in our divisional power rankings. That being said, the defense took a massive hit this summer, losing Ryan Suter and Chris Tanev to free agency and legendary forward Joe Pavelski to retirement.
Suter is in the back nine of his career, while Tanev was only acquired at the deadline. Ask anyone. Tanev was a massive reason why they made it to the conference finals, and Suter’s experience is hard to replace. Heiskanen and Harley are two top-notch defensemen who are still with the club, and summer pickups Dumba and Lyubushkin are serviceable defensemen who will help their depth on the back end.
The Stars are still a championship-caliber team, but young guns Robertson, Johnston, and Hintz will need to break out even more and carry the load more than in the past few seasons.
On your way out, check out our NHL Power Rankings for the Atlantic and Metro divisions.
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