As the NHL season enters the second year since its lockout, teams and players are anxiously trying to prepare and make a favorable impression on the rest of the league. This season aims to generate puzzles in terms of winners and losers similar to last year’s winners of Carolina, Edmonton and Buffalo or the losers of Toronto, Boston and Vancouver. This update I will address the Central division with the hope of finding new changes, surprises and disappointments.
For the past decade or so, the Detroit Red Wings have been known as the cream of the crop for what an NHL team should be. The Wings have won three titles that propelled them to elite status with the likes of Yzerman, Federov and Shanahan. However, with these players currently located elsewhere, the Detroit Red Wings look like a team from the past, severely impeding their chances of making the playoffs. True, the team still has notable young stars in Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Kronwall, but aside from these excellent players, the Detroit Red Wings lag far behind in most other aspects. While the Red Wings have two solid lines of defense, a lot of back-line depth is lacking, and heaven forbid Lidstrom or Schneider get hurt, the Red Wings could be in serious defensive trouble, especially when Hasek comes around again. Offensively, the situation is similar as depth is a big concern after the first or second line. With notables like Williams and Samuelsson having career years last season, Detroit is expected to struggle in all areas this year, which will unfortunately knock them out of the playoffs for the first time in a long time.
The Nashville Predators have continued to evolve each season since the expansion and look to deliver a great season again this year. With notable additions like Vasicek, Arnott and Dumont, the Predators add to an already solid team, which could make them favorites in the West this year. With one of the best goaltenders in the game in Vokoun and a solid defense led by Zidlicky and Timonen, the Predators should have absolutely no problem making the playoffs, especially when playing in such an easy division. With a lethal power play that only Anaheim or Ottawa can compete with, and young rookies like Radulov looking to make an impact this season, Nashville looks to be a strong contender in the West as its impressive roster illustrates.
As the last expansion team in the NHL, the Columbus Blue Jackets have had limited success in the playoffs compared to other newly formed teams like Nashville and Minnesota. However, while the Blue Jackets play in a fairly easy division, there are a few issues regarding Columbus’ lineup that make me wary as to why they should be placed in the playoffs. Offensively speaking, the Blue Jackets look solid with a good young core in Brule, Zherdov and Nash. Alongside other notables like Carter, Modin and Fedorov, Columbus should have no problem scoring. Defensively it’s another story unfortunately. Aside from Foote and possibly Berard if his steroid problem is fixed, the Blue Jackets are severely limited in this area. Coupled with Denis’ departure to a lesser goaltender in Leclaire, the Blue Jackets might have to score a large number of times each game to compete. While Columbus appears to be successful in finding another hockey city, Blue Jacket fans will most likely be forced to watch their team miss the playoffs yet again.
What a mess it’s been in Chicago. From a lousy owner to an incompetent team, Blackhawk fans (if they even exist at all) have put up with too much over the past decade. While there was a bit of a sense of shakeup this offseason in signing players like Handzus, Havlat and Smolinski, the Hawks had to pull off just as favorable a feat in dumping their previous stars in Bell and Calder. While goalkeeping is solid with Khabibulin, regardless of his stats last year, with that terrible defense, Brodeur would also have significant trouble protecting the net. The first two lines for the Hawks look solid, but after that they give you fringe players who probably should be in the AHL. The Hawks have a good prospect base in Barker and Toews among others, but don’t expect anything spectacular this season from this dismal team.
Infamously the worst team last season, the St. Louis Blues went from being the record holder for consecutive playoff appearances to a disgrace. However, things are looking better for Blues fans this season. Adding a bevy of players in Weight, Guerin, Rucinsky, McKee and Legace, among others, the Blues look to return to playoff action after stealing Erik Johnson in the draft. The peculiar idea behind this ideal is that this situation could work. Many of the players the Blues signed underperformed last season, and with the right motivation you could see a potential playoff team. With a solid offense, a solid defense and a good pairing of goalkeepers, the Blues have the keys to possibly sneak through. The only issue I can foresee, however, is a lack of chemistry during the early season, which could unfortunately cost them a playoff spot. However, if St. Louis manages to keep the same pool of players in later years, expect the Blues to sing anything but that in the near future.
Final central results of the 2006-2007 season (ranking based on Western ranking):
2. Nashville Predators
9. St. Louis Blues
10. Detroit Red Wings
14. Columbus Blue Jackets
15. Chicago Blackhawks
