How well is each NHL team in the Central Division pursuing their season goals after the trade deadline? While some are hot, a handful missed the mark, says Adam Proteau.
Tyler ToffoliThe 2024 NHL trade deadline is now nearly a week in the past, and we’re continuing our look at each team in all four NHL divisions.
We looked at which teams in the Atlantic and Metropolitan Divisions were trending upward or downward earlier this week. Today, we’re grading each team in the Central Division based on how effectively they're pursuing their season goals.
Here they are in their place in the division standings:
1. Colorado Avalanche, 42-20-5, 89 PTS, .664 Point Percentage
Post-Deadline Grade: A
The Avalanche were already an elite team before the deadline. GM Chris MacFarland made big moves to add to their team, landing defenseman Sean Walker and forwards Casey Mittelstadt, Brandon Duhaime, and Yakov Trenin to shore up Colorado’s second and third lines.
The additions, along with the return to action of Valeri Nichuskin, give the Avalanche a dynamic, fast and talented lineup from top to bottom. While there’s still a question about the franchise’s backup goaltending – youngster Justus Annunen has looked good in seven games this year, but he’s only had four career games of NHL experience before this season – the Avs are going to be fearsome to any team they take on in the first round of the post-season.
Colorado is setting the bar very high for itself, but its top-end talent could well prove to be the difference-maker this year.
2. Dallas Stars, 40-18-9, 89 PTS, .664 Point Percentage
Post-Deadline Grade: A
The Stars entered the deadline as one of the NHL’s strongest teams. Adding veteran defenseman Chris Tanev now makes Dallas’ defense corps one of the best groups of blueliners in the league.
Young forward Logan Stankoven has also been very solid in his initial NHL run, generating five goals and eight points in his first nine NHL games.
With a few additions, the Stars are now as talented and deep as any Central team. They’re expected to enjoy another deep playoff run, and if they can stay healthy, there’s no reason they can’t pull off what would be the second Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.
3. Winnipeg Jets, 41-19-5, 87 PTS, .669 Point Percentage
Post-Deadline Grade: A
The Jets added good depth with the pre-deadline additions of veteran forwards Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli, as well as defenseman Colin Miller.
Winnipeg was an above-average squad before those additions, and they now have every reason to improve on their first-round exit from last season.
Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff was under enormous pressure to deliver more wins this season, and he’s held up his share of the deal so far. That said, if Winnipeg has another first-round loss, there’s going to be cause for change this summer.
4. Nashville Predators, 38-25-4, 80 PTS, .597 Point Percentage
Post-Deadline Grade: B
The Predators didn’t bowl anyone over with their pre-deadline moves, bringing in veteran forwards Anthony Beauvillier and Jason Zucker to fill needs on their second line. But they’ve been on a roll at the moment, going 8-0-2 in their last 10 games to put themselves in position to claim a wild-card berth in the Western Conference.
Nashville still lacks generational talent up front, but it does have needle-movers in star defenseman Roman Josi and elite netminder Juuse Saros. That could be enough to win them a round or two in the coming post-season.
We still think the Preds would’ve been better off engaging in a full rebuild under first-year GM Barry Trotz, but in a league that always encourages teams just to make the post-season and see what happens once they get there, Nashville could still make a notable amount of noise.
5. St. Louis Blues, 34-29-3, 71 PTS, .538 Point Percentage
Post-Deadline Grade: C
The Blues were thought to be a peripheral playoff team when the season began. When that didn’t look like a possibility the longer this season went on, St. Louis was thought to be ready to make many moves on the trade front.
Instead of that happening, all they did was trade journeyman goalie Malcolm Subban for future considerations. That’s hardly something to be excited about. It now seems the Blues will almost certainly miss the playoffs, yet not be bad enough to secure a top spot in the 2024 NHL draft. They’re the definition of a mushy-middle team, which does them no good in the long term.
Blues GM Doug Armstrong will be at a crossroads with many of his team’s veterans this summer, but for now, they’re simply not nearly good enough to be formidable for any opponent.
6. Minnesota Wild, 32-27-7, 71 PTS, .538 Point Percentage
Post-Deadline Grade: C+
It’s been a tough season for the Wild, and the trade deadline period was no different for Minnesota.
They did make a couple of moves, dealing center Connor Dewar to Toronto and enforcer Patrick Maroon to Boston. But they didn’t deal goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, and it’s clear Fleury’s streak of always making the playoffs is about to end this season.
The Wild will need a minor miracle just to have any hope of earning a wild-card berth, but far more likely is a mushy-middle season that ends with Minnesota in the fifth or sixth spot in the Central. Any way you slice it that will be a disappointment for a veteran team that much more was expected of, and the Wild’s near future is likely to be just as underwhelming.
7. Arizona Coyotes, 26-35-5, 57 PTS, .432 Point Percentage
Post-Deadline Grade: C
Following another disappointing season, the Coyotes were in seller mode at this year’s deadline. But after moving out veterans Zucker, Matt Dumba and Troy Stecher, all Arizona GM Bill Armstrong had to show for it was a third-round draft pick, a fourth-rounder and a fifth-rounder. If that sounds underwhelming, that’s because it is.
The Coyotes are going to miss the playoffs once again this spring, and while they do have some young players worth building around, there’s not nearly enough support talent to make them winners at or after the deadline. They need to make some bold moves this summer because what they’ve done thus far isn’t good enough.
8. Chicago Blackhawks, 18-43-5, 41 PTS, .311 Point Percentage
Post-Deadline Grade: C
The Blackhawks could’ve been much more active at the deadline, but GM Kyle Davidson made just one move, shipping about Beauvillier for a fifth-round pick.
It would be one thing if their on-ice woes had led to a couple more first-rounders, but the way things worked out, Hawks fans have less to be excited about at the moment than most people expected they would have had so far.
Employing dynamic rookie Connor Bedard does give them hope for better days, but even with Bedard on board, their 2024-25 odds of doing something impressive are extremely low. Something tells us the Blackhawks will be sellers once again at this time next year, and that’s unfortunate for their fans.