Central: The central division has long been owned by the Detroit Red Wings as they make their annual march to the playoffs. In recent years the Chicago Blackhawks have given them a challenge and look to do so again this season. At the bottom of this division are three teams that could push to make the postseason depending on how things go.
Chicago
The Hawks look to rebound from a season long hangover and have retooled themselves after having to dump salaries to get out of salary cap jail. Back again to lead the way is Captain Jonathan Toews and fellow top sixers Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa, and Dave Bolland. Joining them is newcomer Andrew Brunette who figures to start out on the top line with Toews and Kane, which allows Coach Joel Quinnville to put Patrick Sharp on the 2nd line with Hossa and Bolland to spread out the offensive punch. Last season the Hawks lacked the role players that helped them win the Cup in 2009-2010, so this offseason GM Stan Bowman picked up Dan Carcillo, Jamal Mayers, Sean O’Donnell, Steve Montador, and Sami Lepisto, who along with Brunette will provide support for the stars that already glitter the roster.
The blue line features the top defensive pairing in the league with Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. The pair had a down year last season and look to bounce back to the form that earned them spots on the Canadian Olympic team. With the departure of Brian Campbell (Florida), Nick Hjalmarrson, and Nick Leddy are the only other two returnees to the group. Newcomers Montador, O’Donnell, and Lepisto will bring experience to the group with a little bit of toughness. Leddy will be the odd man out for the most part but could find a way to crack the line up since they like the speed he brings.
In goal the hawks are young but skilled. #1 goalie Corey Crawford took charge and became the go to guy the second half of last season and they will rely on him again next season. His back up will be former Amerk Alexander Salak. Not the calmest of characters, and a little unorthodox but he does very well for himself. My favorite memory of him was watching him squirt his water bottle at the goal judge in Syracuse and clean the glass for him after the turned the light on for a shot that clearly hit the post. (1st Cent. 3rd WC)
Detroit
The Red Wings boast many veteran players up and down their line up and two early playoff exits have given their older players time to rest up and get hungry to make a deep run this year. The team and it’s defense is led by Nicklas Lidstrom who is back for his 20th season in Motown. The loss to retirement of Brian Rafalski will be offset by free agent addition Ian White who will start out paired with the Captain. Niklas Kronwall and Brad Stuart team up to form a very solid second pairing for Coach Mike Babcock. His third pair will be made up from a combination of Jonathan Ericsson, Mike Commadore, and Jakub Kindl. The wings are hoping for Ericsson to finally put everything together and no longer be a question mark on the back end. Commadore is getting a chance to get back in the league after spending most of last season in the AHL. The wings are hoping he can bring some toughness to their squad. There is an outside chance that prospect Brendan Smith can make the squad and begin to take his place as their future franchise defenseman.
Up front the Wings have two superstars and a bunch of solid two way players that slide up and down the line up. Coach Babcock has the luxury of being able to roll four lines that can do damage. Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg lead the charge with offensive punch that is only rivaled by their defensive ability. Tomas Holmstrom is back for anther round of punishment in front of the opponents net on the powerplay. Johan Franzen, Jiri Huddler and Daniel Cleary form a solid second line. The rest of the forwards include Patrick Eaves, Darren Helm, Valtteri Filppula, Todd Bertuzzi, Drew Miller and Jan Mursak.
Jimmy Howard is looking to solidify his place as number one goaltender in Detroit after taking over from the aging Chris Osgood, Howard has put up decent numbers but some say the skaters in front of him have carried him. Ty Conklin the journeymen back up will be back in Detroit for his second go round. (2nd Cent. 5th WC)
Columbus
One of the busier teams in the offseason, the Blue Jackets are looking to get themselves back into the playoffs for the second time in franchise history. The addition of number one center Jeff Carter will help. GM Scott Howson made a blockbuster move sending underachieving winger Jakub Voracek and 8th pick overall in the June draft to Philadelphia for Carter. This was great news for franchise cornerstone Rick Nash who has never had a real number one center on his line, and still has managed to put up solid numbers. With a premier center on his line who knows what Nash will produce point wise. Joining Nash and Carter on the top line will most likely be R.J. Umberger who has found a nice home for himself in Columbus. There’s an outside chance that veteran Vinny Prospal could find himself on the top line at some point. The second line will be made up of thus far disappointment Derick Brassard, Antoine Vermette, and Krisitan Huselius. The 3rd and fourth lines are a mix of grinders and youngsters such as Derrick Dorsett, Matt Calvert, and Jared Boll.
James Wisniewski was brought in over the summer to take over a defensive unit that lacked an established top player. Though I don’t think he’s a real number one guy, he is an upgrade over what they have. Fedor Tyutin, and Kris Russell could see top minutes though the Jackets would prefer it was Russell since he was supposed to be the guy when he was drafted 10th overall. Grant Clitsome, Marc Methot, and Radek Martinek fill out the defense and do an adequate job.
The goaltending is the biggest question on this squad. Which goalie will they get? The guy who carried the team to the playoffs in 2008-2009 or the stiff who has sunburn on his neck from all the red lights behind him from 2009-2011? The Jackets hope it’s the 2008-2009 model that will again bring them to the postseason. If not, then they will turn to an unknown in Mark Dekanich and that won’t bode too well. (3rd Cent. 8th WC)
St. Louis
The Blues could jump up the standings and into the playoff picture but injuries and failure to devleop top line talent will most likely keep them out of the hunt. The Blues brought in veteran leadership this offseason in the form of Jamie Langenbrunner and Jason Arnott, who are very solid role players that are successful in 2nd and 3rd line roles at this stage in their career’s. But the Blues will go as far as their home grown talent will take them. Top line of newly elected captain David Backes, T.J. Oshie, and David Perron, have all come up through the system and have great potential but have yet to show it consistently. Backes is the most proven of the three and is close to being an elite power forward in the NHL. Oshie has had problems with growing up and being in the NHL at a young age. There were some disipline issues with him and the team last season. Perron is on the comeback trail from a concussion suffered early last season. Funny how nobody talks about his injury yet we get updates on Crosby’s daily. A combination of Langenbrunner, Arnott, Chris Stewart, Andy McDonald, Alexander Steen and Patrick Berglund will form the second and third lines. There is plenty of talent and experience lines 2-4, the question is if they will stay healthy.
On the back end the Blues rely heavily on Alex Pietrangelo. The 21 year old’s emergence as a franchise defensemen made former number one pick Erik Johnson expendable and was used to bring Stewart to the Show Me State. After Pietrangelo the group isn’t flashy and could use some help. Roman Polak and Barrett Jackman bring a physical presence but lack speed to keep up with speedy forwards. Kent Huskins came over from San Jose and might get top pair minutes. Kevin Shattenkirk who also came over with Stewart can put points on the board for both teams, and Carlo Colaiacovo continues to be an average NHL defenseman even though he was drafted 4th overall by Toronto.
The biggest question in St. Louis is if Jaroslav Halak is a real #1 goalie like he was during the 2009-2010 playoffs where he stonewalled Pittsburgh and Washington in consecutive series’ or is he the stiff that played for them last season? They hope he can return to his playoff form and also stay healthy which was a problem last season. Brian Elliot will be his backup and is best suited for that role. (4th Cent. 10th WC)
Nashville
This season will be the season that the “little engine that could,” can’t. The Predators magic will wear out this year and they will end up moving two out of their three star players at the deadline. My guess is they send Pekka Rinne and Shea Weber packing, and sign Ryan Suter to a long-term deal. As for the rest of the team, there aren’t many big names and not a lot of scoring. The top line is Martin Erat, David Legwand, and Colin Wilson. Does anyone else see a problem with that? David Legwand is your top center? Ouch…. After that the second line is made up of Sergi Kostitsyn, Mike Fisher and Patric Hornqvist. That line has some scoring punch but not a lot. The rest of the group is made of youngsters and grinders that Coach Barry Trotz has to develop annually to be competitive.
The strength of this team is in its approach to defense. Suter and Weber form a great top pairing and can shut down any line any time. Jonathan Blum and Kevin Klien developed into a solid second pair and might make the departure of the top guys a little easier. Veterans Brett Lebda and Francis Bouillon form the third pair.
Behind the skaters is a solid European pair of goalies. Pekka Rinne became a Vezina Trophy candidate last season and could be in line for a big raise in pay if he does it again this season. His back up is Anders Lindback who filled in for Rinne last season during an injury stint and didn’t skip a beat. Lindback is looking to prove that he can be the #1 guy if Rinne ends up getting moved. (5th Cent. 11th WC)
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