Rapid Fire: Central Division
By: Mike McKenna
Every season brings new hope and faces to NHL teams. The inevitable churn of personnel in search of the magic combination is never-ending. Going into the 2021-22 season, I’ve got one fire question for each team in the Central Division.
Dallas Stars
Will the Dallas Stars play to their potential?
After a magical run to the 2019-20 Stanley Cup Final, last year was rough for the Stars. COVID-19 ravaged the team early, they weren’t consistent enough and ultimately ended up missing the playoffs. The Stars were competitive, but with the roster they have, that’s not good enough. Tyler Seguin is healthy, Ryan Suter has bolstered an already impressive D-core and young talent like Roope Hintz, Denis Gurianov, and Calder Trophy runner up Jason Robertson have made the Stars more dynamic. There’s currently a 4-headed monster in the goal crease, but with Ben Bishop’s health status uncertain, general manager Jim Nill wasn’t taking any chances on goaltending depth. If their veteran core can produce, the Stars should be a threat.
Chicago Blackhawks
Will the addition of Jones and Fleury be enough to keep the puck out of the net?
With Jonathan Toews back in the lineup, the Blackhawks have effectively upgraded in all categories: forward, defense and goaltending. Their top two lines are strong and you know Patrick Kane will do Patrick Kane things. But depth is a very real concern at forward and even more so on the back end. Seth Jones is a premier NHL defenseman, but he doesn’t have much of a supporting cast. Duncan Keith is gone. Adam Boqvist was dealt. Jones will have to make up for both of them (and then some) in order to live up to the massive $76M contract he signed this past July. Fleury won the Vezina trophy last season for the Golden Knights. His traditional and advanced metrics were outstanding. But unless the Blackhawks suddenly become better defensively, even Flower might struggle to keep the team in games.
Nashville Predators
Can Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene figure it out?
They have to be better: $16M between them and back-to-back disappointing seasons. The Predators punched above their weight last year – largely thanks to Roman Josi and Juuse Saros – but they need their top players to bring it. With Viktor Arvidsson gone, that’s another sizable chunk of offense out the window. Head coach John Hynes has done a nice job of mixing lines and extracting depth scoring. Defense has been the Preds’ bedrock, but trading Ryan Ellis might end up haunting them. Nashville is a young team with some talent. But any chance at playoff success depends on how their big ticket players perform.
Minnesota Wild
Will the Wild regret saying goodbye to Ryan Suter?
Minnesota was the real deal last season, pushing a stacked Vegas Golden Knights team to Game 7 in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Kirill Kaprizov ignited a previously sleepy offense and retaining head coach Dean Evason proved to be the right choice by GM Bill Guerin. And speaking of Guerin: this summer he made the gutsy decision to buy out organization stalwarts Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. They were expensive contracts and both will cost a tangible cap hit in the coming years. Parise’s usage (and production) was lagging – he was healthy scratched at times – but Suter remains one of the most reliable all-around defenders in the NHL, making his departure a surprise. And he’s not the only Wild defenseman not coming back. Ian Cole signed in Carolina. Carson Soucy was picked up by Seattle in the Expansion Draft. To backfill the D-core, Guerin signed Alex Goligoski, Dmitry Kulikov, Jordie Benn, and Jon Merrill. That’s a nice crop of replacements, but major turnover. And don’t forget Suter signed with the Wild’s central division rival Dallas Stars: there’s a chance he makes his old team eat crow.
St. Louis Blues
How long until the Tarasenko situation blows up?
Vladimir Tarasenko requested a trade. It hasn’t happened. No matter what either side may say publicly, this never ends well. St. Louis was already a team that’s spent a good portion of time searching for a consistent identity since winning the Stanley Cup in 2019 and now one of their star players has caused a major distraction. The Blues were streaky last year and at one point late in the season, had to battle their way back into the playoff picture. They have a solid roster and recent memory of winning the Stanley Cup, but turnover has been palpable. The defense looks very different. Young talent like Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou have a higher ceiling than they’ve shown thus far. But the Blues still need scoring and Tarasenko should be a huge part of that need. Except he doesn’t want to be there. It’s a headache and needs to be resolved as soon as possible before things get even weirder in that locker room.
Arizona Coyotes
Is there any chance the Coyotes stay out of the gutter?
Probably not. The bar has been set so low in the desert that consistently winning games seems like a foreign concept. GM Bill Armstrong has taken the Coyotes down a path of total rebuild, amassing an almost obscene number of high draft picks. Conor Garland, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Christian Dvorak, Derick Brassard, Michael Bunting, Tyler Pitlick, Adin Hill, Darcy Kuemper and Alex Goligoski are all gone. Old players on bad contracts are in (for the short term). But I wonder if this roster might surprise on occasion. Dmitrij Jaškin was a goal-scoring force in the KHL. Jakob Chychrun is the best defenseman in the NHL that no one knows about. The goaltending tandem of Carter Hutton and Josef Korenar might be the weakest in the league, but sometimes underdogs prosper. Maybe the Coyotes develop an us-against-the-world ethos and feed off it. Just don’t plan on it.
Winnipeg Jets
Is this the year?
The Jets are good on paper. Really good. They’re balanced, they can score and they receive outstanding goaltending from Connor Hellebuyck. Winnipeg’s players are all on reasonable contracts. And they’ve managed to build a positive culture in a city that’s proven difficult to attract free agents to. Head coach Paul Maurice’s team has made the playoffs four straight seasons but haven’t been able to make it past the third round, which they reached in 2017-18. Adding Nate Schmidt should help the Jets in transition and his personality ups the locker room fun factor. Brenden Dillon further improves the blue line. The only real question mark in Winnipeg is backup goaltender Eric Comrie. Forget just making playoffs: the Jets should contend for the Stanley Cup.
Colorado Avalanche
How much are the Avalanche going to miss Joonas Donskoi?
It’s hard to find any fault with the Avalanche. They’re arguably the most talented team in the NHL, they have an excellent coaching staff and they’re going to be strong for the foreseeable future. Cale Makar is a Norris Trophy threat and Nate MacKinnon has the potential to be the league’s MVP. Rantanen fills the net. Landeskog re-upped long-term. The d-core is rock solid. And amazingly, despite losing Vezina-finalist goaltender Phillipp Grubauer to the Seattle Kraken, Colorado has held serve – and possibly gotten even stronger – in goal when they traded for Darcy Kuemper. But I wonder how big of an effect losing Joonas Donskoi in the Expansion Draft will have. Donskoi was an integral part of the Avalanche’s power play and provided a nice boost in secondary scoring behind the big top line of MacKinnon, Rantanen, and Landeskog. They will miss him. Just how much is the question.