By Peter Valentino
After the trade deadline, the Central Division will come to an interesting finish.
Nashville: After the Predators’ impossible run to the cup final last year, the team has managed to put itself in position for the President’s trophy and home field throughout the playoff. Bringing back much of the same roster as last year, the team traded for Letestu, Bollig and Ryan Hartman to officially “go for it.” And the Predators just might do it too. They know what it takes and have the leadership, since they brought back old captain Mike Fisher. They may be having a parade in Tennessee come June this year.
Winnipeg: It is about time that this team played up to its expectation. The Jets are another one of the NHL’s surprise teams this year, however, looking at their roster, they look like just late bloomers. Patrick Laine and Blake Wheeler are studs, and Winnipeg just added another one in Paul Stastny. The last time the team was in the playoffs was 2015, and the one thing that I remember was how loud that place was. Expect it to be the same way this April. They are going to be fun to watch.
Dallas: Probably the most underachieving team in hockey is back playing up to expectations. The Stars incredible offense with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin will most likely end up in a playoff spot, but will have to play better to compete with Nashville and Winnipeg. Much like the Atlantic, Dallas is the Maple Leafs of the Central. I think Dallas has a decent chance of coming out of the Central in the playoffs, and with Bishop, they have a better chance. However, I will need to see more for them to be considered serious contenders.
Minnesota: This team is annoying. You know it isn’t good, you know it is an out in the playoffs, but the Wild are still there. They’re still in the thick of it, but with how stacked the West is, I can’t see them making it in. All they got was Mike Reilly at the deadline, and they have Mr. Exit himself in Bruce Boudreau. They should start to sell if they could.
St. Louis: What the Wild should do, the Blues are starting to do. Selling Stastny to their in conference rival is indicative of the direction of the team. The injuries drowned out their fast start, but the front office is smart enough to know when to start over. They can still make a wild card, but they aren’t going anywhere.
Colorado: I’m proud of this team. They proved that they’re not as bad as they were last year with their run at the wild card this team. Mackinnon is back to playing like first overall draft pick form and overall the team isn’t heinously under-performing. I don’t know if they are good enough to make the playoffs, but they should be proud that they aren’t as historically bad as they were last year.
Chicago: As much as collective hockey fans are probably happy that the Blackhawks are terrible, they probably will be back in it next year. The loss of Panarin clearly has hurt them this year, and that first round pick they got for Hartman should be able to aid in a quick retooling. With Kane and Toews, they probably should be able to compete next year, but the team still does have things to fix.
