The Avalanche have had a lot of success since moving from Quebec, but their present doesn't look to shabby either, says Ken Campbell. Dallas Stars players celebrate [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA2NTk5NDI1NjM4ODAyODc4/usatsi_23309233_168400847_lowres.jpg] Dallas Stars players celebrate We’re near the beginning of the NHL’s 2024-25 regular season, and this writer is nearing the end of the annual process of pre-season predictions as to where teams will finish in all four divisions. We began the analysis Thursday by looking at the Atlantic Division [https://thehockeynews.com/news/predicting-the-nhls-atlantic-division-rankings-in-2024-25]. Friday, we focused on the Pacific Division [https://thehockeynews.com/news/predicting-the-nhls-pacific-division-rankings-in-2024-25]. Saturday, we turned our attention to the Metropolitan Division [https://thehockeynews.com/news/predicting-the-nhls-metropolitan-division-rankings-in-2024-25]. Today, we’re winding things up with a breakdown of the Central Division. In the predictions below, we’re also pointing out THN’s collective picks from the 2024-25 Yearbook [https://archive.thehockeynews.com/issue/633831/923753?t=IT%E2%80%99S%20IN%20THE%20STARS], to give you a sense of the consensus take on the NHL standings this year. But the main point of these files is this writer’s picks, so take them as an educated guesstimate. Here we go: 1. DALLAS STARS The Hockey News Yearbook Division Rank: 1st Why I've Ranked Them First: Tremendous balance, stellar coaching, Grade-A goaltending, star defenseman – the Stars basically have it all. Granted, they’re a different team than the ones that have made it to the Western Conference Final in each of the past two seasons, but the core of this Dallas squad is, for the most part, intact and still approaching its prime. That ought to frighten the feathers out of opponents. The Stars do so many things so well, that it’s almost comical. Their defense was sixth-best in the NHL last season, while their offense ranked third overall. Their penalty kill was eighth overall, and their power play was sixth overall. Their goaltending is well above average, and their face-off win percentage was second-best in the league. We could go on, but suffice it to say Dallas GM Jim Nill has assembled an excellent collection of NHLers who can take their game to a new level and push them into the Stanley Cup Final. Many people like the Stars to do well this year, and for good reason. On paper, at least, they’re as good as it’s likely to get. Why I Could Be Wrong: Maybe losing veteran Joe Pavelski to retirement, and a defense corps that’s undergone significant change, will lead to Dallas slipping down the Central standings. Maybe injuries play a role in them falling out of first place. But make no mistake – the Stars have enough depth to sustain them if they’re tested by fate. It’s always possible a favored team can take a header and stumble into the post-season (or worse), but Dallas is going to be expected to win against most teams they take on, and their leadership understands this particular iteration of the Stars has a closing competitive window (for veterans Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin). So there’s a pressure there that Dallas has to contend with. But we think they can handle it, and the Stars will once again be one of the biggest threats in the league. 2. NASHVILLE PREDATORS The Hockey News Yearbook Division Rank: 3rd Why I've Ranked Them Second: Off-seasons don’t get much better than the one the Predators had this summer: up front, they brought in longtime Tampa Bay superstar forward Steven Stamkos and former Vegas Golden Knights winger Jonathan Marchessault – both of them Stanley Cup champions. On the back end, the Preds signed ex-Hurricanes D-man Brady Skjei, and in net, star Juuse Saros agreed to an eight-year, $61.9-million contract extension that carries a $7.74-million-per-season salary cap hit. The Preds weren’t a bad team before the summer moves, but now, they’re one of the league’s most dangerous teams and a bona fide threat to challenge for the top spot in the Central and to vie for the Cup with a lengthy playoff run. Nashville GM Barry Trotz is savvy, smart and always ready to improve his team. He’s definitely done that this year, as the Predators have $4.67-million in cap space to upgrade during the season. Your chance to jump on the Preds bandwagon is well underway. Why I Could Be Wrong: The Predators’ top-four-paid players have an average age of 33.5 years old, while their top-four-paid defensemen have an average age of 31.25 years old. Clearly, this is not a youth movement Nashville has embarked on, and its window to win is closer to being closed than being open. If Saros is injured, backup Scott Wedgewood may not be dependable enough to carry the load. But otherwise, we can’t help but see Nashville as a playoff team in the Central and a legit threat to secure home-ice advantage in the first round. They’ve got too much talent and too many focused leaders to have this season go sideways on them. It's going to be one of the Predators' best seasons in the history of the franchise, and their status as a post-season difference-maker should be illustrated by their play this year. 3. COLORADO AVALANCHE The Hockey News Yearbook Division Rank: 2nd Why I've Ranked Them Third: We’re not here to pour cold water on Avalanche fans who see their team as a true Cup frontrunner this season, but we’re also not here to convince you the Avs are the cream of the crop at the highest level. A closer inspection of this squad shows some definite question marks, and things can go wrong enough for them to be challenged by other Central teams for a playoff berth. Now, we still like the Avalanche to make the playoffs, but not enough to put them up with the Preds and Stars. Colorado has two top-10 players on the planet in Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, as well as other stars Mikko Rantanen and Devon Toews. They may no longer have elite depth, but their high-end players should be enough to carry them into the post-season. Why I Could Be Wrong: It’s highly unlikely the Avs finish below third or fourth in the division, but we acknowledge we could be wrong by rating them this low. If goalie Alexandar Georgiev wobbles and can’t provide decent-enough netminding, Colorado could be in trouble and in a multi-team rumble for the fourth spot in the Central and a wild-card slot in the West. Also, let’s keep an eye on the Avalanche’s second line of forwards [https://thehockeynews.com/lineups/central/colorado-avalanche-projected-lineup-and-depth-chart]. The picture will change once captain Gabriel Landeskog returns to action – and when winger Valeri Nichushkin returns from the NHL and NHL Players’ Association’s player assistance program – but for now, it’s fair to question a Casey Mittelstadt, Joel Kiviranta and Calum Ritchie trio as a legitimate first-rate second line. And if that line does struggle to produce, Colorado’s road to another championship could break down into rubble. 4. WINNIPEG JETS The Hockey News Yearbook Division Rank: 4th Why I've Ranked Them Fourth: The Jets have a solid amount of above-average assets, including star goalie Connor Hellebuyck, center Mark Scheifele and top defenseman Josh Morrissey. So they’re unlikely to fall completely out of the playoff picture in the West. But this is also a Winnipeg team that isn’t especially full of high-end talent, and a team that wins by playing excellent defense (their 2.42-goals-against average was tied for first in the league). That’s probably not going to change this year, for better or worse. This isn’t to say the Jets are a terrible team. But these predictions are about comparing teams, and compared to the Stars, Predators and Avalanche, Winnipeg is a lesser-than team. They’ve struggled in the playoffs for a long time, and we don’t see that changing this year. Decent regular-season team, playoff fodder – that about sums it up for the Jets. Why I Could Be Wrong: Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has believed in his team, and that’s every GM’s right. So yes, there’s a universe in which Winnipeg’s patience is rewarded and the Jets do a lot of damage in the post-season. We don’t think that’s likely, but you have to allow for teams possibly overachieving. The Jets feel like they’re close to a 'mushy middle' team – not in the highest echelon of NHL teams, but not in the basement, either. Winnipeg fans have been frustrated by the Jets’ performances when the games matter most, and we can see that frustration mounting this year with a letdown season. The Jets could surprise most of us with a fantastic season, but we just don’t see it happening. They’re not a top-tier organization, but they’re not sad sacks, either. 5. UTAH HOCKEY CLUB The Hockey News Yearbook Division Rank: 5th Why I've Ranked Them Fifth: Let’s be clear out of the gate – we like Utah to take a competitive step forward this year and earn the second wild-card spot in the West. That doesn’t mean they’re not going to lose their share of games, but at long last, we can see them shaking off past disappointments and having their young core carry them to a post-season berth. Utah’s defense corps was the biggest area of change this summer, and with newcomers Mikhail Sergachev, John Marino and Ian Cole will help push them into the playoffs for the first time in five seasons. The UHC is stocked to the brim with on-the-rise youngsters, and GM Bill Armstrong’s patience should be rewarded this year with meaningful hockey down the stretch and a post-season run that underscores how bright the future is for this team. They’re going to get a new team name next season, but they’re going to start making a name for themselves this year. Why I Could Be Wrong: This wouldn’t be the first time we thought the now-former-Coyotes were on the right track, only to find out we were wrong at season’s end. One of the reasons why the franchise couldn’t hold onto their Arizona roots was because, competitively speaking, they couldn’t coax enough fans to watch them come up short time and again. After too many losses, they were branded for the life of their time as the woe-is-us Coyotes, and now they’re getting a clean slate in Utah. The UHC could take another step sideways or backward, but Armstrong’s alteration of his defense corps has turned this team into a playoff-caliber group on paper. They need to outlast at least a few teams in the Central to be in a fight for a post-season slot, but we think Utah is capable of that and more. It’s gut-check time for them as an organization, and if they show progress, they can reassure their fans this is soon going to be a Cup frontrunner. 6. ST. LOUIS BLUES The Hockey News Yearbook Division Rank: 7th Why I've Ranked Them Sixth: There’s an argument to be made that the Blues should’ve torn everything down shortly after winning a Cup and starting anew with a different collection of young talent. But clearly, St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong has faith in the players who are still around from the Cup-winning team, and he’s changed up the lineup to take another run at a playoff spot and a deep playoff run. They’re definitely a new-looking team – with first-year Blues including forwards Radek Faksa, Mathieu Joseph, Alexandre Texier, Dylan Holloway and defenseman Philip Broberg – but the Blues aren’t especially intimidating, either in the division or the league itself. St. Louis might flirt in the fringes of the playoff race, but in the end, we see them as slightly less-than-average, and thus, they’ll probably miss the post-season for the third straight season. Why I Could Be Wrong: Armstrong knows what a winning team looks like, and his management team has come up with gems including forwards Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, so this Blues squad might be able to sneak up on opponents and earn a wild-card spot. But the Central doesn’t have many pushovers, and we honestly don’t see St. Louis having enough high-quality depth to keep them near a playoff spot this season. The Blues won’t be anyone’s favorite to win it all this year, so maybe that lack of pressure will allow them to play freer and easier, and pull off a decent season. They may not be a traditional Cinderella story, but St. Louis has its pride and its own share of talent, and it could come to pass that they have just enough to qualify for the post-season. We’re not holding our breath, though. 7. MINNESOTA WILD The Hockey News Yearbook Division Rank: 6th Why I've Ranked Them Seventh: There’s been few teams who are more of an exercise in mediocrity than the Wild, who’ve finished higher than third place just once in their division since 2017-18. Minnesota GM Bill Guerin has been on the job since the summer of 2019, and his vision of a winner has not materialized. And this summer, because of salary cap constraints, the Wild were one of the least-active teams in the trade and free-agent departments. Consequently, we don’t see Minnesota having nearly enough depth and overall talent to put the fear of the hockey gods into opponents. The Wild won’t be the Central’s worst team, but they’re on the periphery of relevance, and even stars including forward Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy and Brock Faber aren’t enough to carry this lineup into the playoffs. One day, Minny’s pipeline of prospects could supply sufficient talent to make the Wild a fearsome unit, but that day is not this day. It’s shaping up to be another sub-par season for Minnesota unless they pull off what would be a massive upset and do get into the post-season. Why I Could Be Wrong: This is the final NHL season for star goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, and perhaps he goes out on a high note, leading the Wild to playoff action and shocking a team or two once they get there. But be honest – do you really think Minnesota is better than the teams we’ve listed above? We don’t think so. Far more likely is another season without playoff action, and a bigger crossroads for Guerin and company to deal with. The Wild do have puzzle pieces for the long term, but when it comes to their supporting cast, there’s not enough meat on the bone in Minnesota for them to do better than expected and start a new era that includes playoff success. Once you’re out of the playoff picture, getting back in can be a monstrous task indeed – and that’s currently the Wild’s fate until they take that next competitive step. We don’t see that step coming this year, but for the sake of Wild fans, let’s hope we’re incorrect in that assessment. 8. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS The Hockey News Yearbook Division Rank: 8th Why I've Ranked Them Eighth: The Blackhawks have taken some strides since embarking on a full rebuild in 2022. GM Kyle Davidson has stripped down his roster with an eye on the long-term picture, and last year, he received the best prize he could get in the No. 1 draft pick and generational talent Connor Bedard. Chicago now has an exciting number of dynamic youngsters, and Davidson augmented them this summer with a bunch of signings and trades for veterans including Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, Alec Martinez and T.J. Brodie. Unfortunately, while those vets will help, they won’t help enough to pull the Hawks out of the Central basement this season. Blackhawks fans won’t be overjoyed with what they see this season, but they will have sufficient depth to be harder to play against. That will have to be enough for Hawks brass, as the roster won’t ripen into full bloom for some time to come. Why I Could Be Wrong: Generational players have a way of elevating their team to new heights, and the 19-year-old Bedard could indeed put the franchise on his back and drag it into a wild-card slot. Just saying that does seem like a bridge too far for Chicago, doesn’t it? Their goaltending is hardly imposing, their defense has numerous holes, and their forwards are a dog’s breakfast of solid-enough veterans and aging assets nearing the end of their NHL days. It would be an incredible shock if the Blackhawks get out of the Central basement, let alone qualify for the playoffs. The future is bright in the Windy City, but the present remains a mixture of encouraging development and sub-standard scratching and clawing. The Hawks are no longer a laughing stock, but they’re also far from a menacing leviathan.
