Who's going to win the Central Division?

by Dirk Hoag on Oct 1, 2010 5:05 PM EDT in Discussions

Chicago Blackhawks fans turned out in droves to celebrate a Central Division championship, ending Detroit's 8-year reign. Who will take it this year?

For this weekend's hockey conversation, the last before the 2010-11 NHL Regular Season begins, we come to a question of special importance to the Nashville Predators - which team will win the Central Division this year?

Follow after the jump as we review each of the five teams, and cast your vote in the poll below...

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For the sections below, each team's name will take you to their Season Preview.

Chicago Blackhawks

The defending Stanley Cup champions would normally be considered a heavy favorite to win their own division, but the Blackhawks went through an unprecedented dismantling this summer due to the salary cap train wreck that former GM Dale Tallon orchestrated in putting that team together. While Stan Bowman has done an admirable job jettisoning the replaceable elements of the team (depth forwards & goaltending), there are three players in particular that I see Chicago missing dearly over the long haul - Dustin Byfuglien, John Madden, and Kris Versteeg.

The star-studded core of this team is still intact, however, so the question here is whether that handful of All-Star level talent (Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith, etc.) can carry Chicago to the 110 points or more that it will likely take to win the Central.

Columbus Blue Jackets

They've got a new coach and a new system in place, and hey, you never know, they might catch lightning in a bottle, right?

Detroit Red Wings

This season of Red Wings hockey is brought to you by the letter "H", as Health, Howard and Hudler are the keys to Detroit's hopes. They were decimated by long-term injuries to key players last season, and the sophomore performance of starting goaltender Jimmy Howard is perhaps the most significant open question surrounding this team. The return of skilled forward Jiri Hudler adds to the Red Wings' tremendous depth up front, and should help them contend for the Stanley Cup once again.

Nashville Predators

An already deep and dedicated team shed its biggest injury risk up front (Jason Arnott), and has prepared the ground for the emergence of young stars like Patric Hornqvist and Colin Wilson. If special teams can approach NHL-average levels of performance, the Preds can keep pace with the Blackhawks and Red Wings.

The risk, as it has been the last few years with the Preds, is whether Pekka Rinne will deliver on his potential as the #1 goaltender.

St. Louis Blues

They relied heavily on Chris Mason in goal for the last two seasons, but opted to trade prospects to Montreal for Jaroslav Halak instead. Paul Kariya and Keith Tkachuk are no longer around, and they didn't bring anyone else in that raises your eyebrows. So why do so many outside observers peg them for a big rise? Yes there's some young talent emerging here, but is that enough to lift the team as a whole to a new level?

Celebrate the weekend, and take advantage of a special offer to save big on Nashville Predators tickets.

Poll

Which team will win the Central Division this season?

Chicago

60 votes

Columbus

3 votes

Detroit

79 votes

Nashville

194 votes

St. Louis

7 votes

343 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 14 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

I’m selling the Red Wings. Lidstrom is 40, Bertuzzi is equal parts crazy and old, and their two acquisitions (Modano and Ruslan Salei) combine for an age of around 156. I don’t see anything that leads me to believe Jimmy Howard has the same type of year. Everyone thought Steve Mason was a messiah, and he came crashing back to earth. Rinne’s the only goalie in the division with more than one good year.

All that to say, I voted Chicago and would vote Nashville 2nd. The Blackhawks, despite the losses, have the best top six forward corps in the NHL (Kane, Toews, Hossa, Sharp, Bolland, whoever), and the best top 4 defensive unit (Keith, Seabrook, Campbell, Hjalmarsson). If Marty Turco doesn’t fall apart, they’ll repeat as Central champs.

by Chris Burton on Oct 1, 2010 5:10 PM EDT reply actions

If the Red Wings can escape having an injury riddled year again, I think they have at least one more year of serious competition before the old men have to start giving away to the kids. Howard may or may not have the sophomore slump; I know some fans gasped and cringed when they lost 5-1 to the Rangers Wednesday, but that was a primarily mixed team in front of Jimmie. I’m seeing the Wings pull first in the division and 3rd overall. I think our division is too hotly contested to see a Presidents Trophy this year.

If Marty Turco doesn’t fall apart, they’ll repeat as Central champs.

That is a mighty big ‘if’, in my opinion. They are definitely not a team to be discounted this year though, for sure.

EASports' NHL 11 doesn't suck; in fact, it's really damn good! Wait, what!?
Go Predators!!!

by Poiju on Oct 1, 2010 5:36 PM EDT up reply actions

The Steve Mason Comparison

The big difference is that Steve Mason didn’t have Detroit’s blueliners or defensive forwards playing in front of him for his sophomore season.

To be honest, I do see a slight fall off for Jimmy Howard, but nowhere near the Steve Mason freefall. Not even enough to make the Predators magically rise above having a weaker top three lines and at best a comparable defensive corps to finish ahead of Detroit in the standings.

Modano and Salei are the third-line center and a third-pairing defenseman. Lidstrom at 40 would be fantastic if teams overlooked him. Even if he has slowed down a ton (which I haven’t seen), the Wings top line has two of the best defensive forwards in the game who’ll be sharing ice time with him.

by J.J. from Kansas on Oct 2, 2010 9:31 AM EDT up reply actions

I think your point about the defensive power in front of Steve Mason is a moot point. Mason didn’t have a noticeably better defense in front of him his freshmen year.

EASports' NHL 11 doesn't suck; in fact, it's really damn good! Wait, what!?
Go Predators!!!

by Poiju on Oct 2, 2010 11:05 AM EDT up reply actions

I would say he did.

We can argue cart-horse here, but the BJs were without both Peca and Malhotra, last year. Peca might have sucked in his last year with the BJs compared to his earlier career (minus rating), but those are two very good defensive forwards who weren’t available to Columbus. They tried to replace that with Pahlsson, who had one good defensive season and has completely fallen off the map since then.

Regardless, the point isn’t moot. It’s not a good comparison. Howard had an excellent rookie season with a very good Red Wings defensive group in front of him. I would say that it’s easier to re-create similar results with a better defensive group in front of you. It is entirely possible that a decent goaltender can have an amazing season with a mediocre defense in front of him (like Mason did his rookie season). However, all Mason’s case shows is that it makes it much harder for a decent goaltender to re-create an amazing season while the team’s defense remains mediocre. Detroit’s defense (both the blueliners and as a team) are top-ten in the league. Based on the teams around them, it seems the situation that more closely resembles Howard’s chances belongs to Pekka Rinne, who had an excellent rookie season and only a slight drop-off in both GAA and SV% for his sophomore campaign.

I get that it’s nice to pipe dream about Jimmy Howard falling apart like Mason, but the percentages say he’s more likely to end up like your guy.

by J.J. from Kansas on Oct 2, 2010 11:42 AM EDT up reply actions

I’ll concede its’ not a totally moot point., it is a good point that the drop off will never be as drastic when your def. is of a higher quality. My point though, is although the numbers may not be as drastic as a Chris Mason style plummet, it doesn’t mean that the sophomore slump can’t happen.

Now, on your very final point. I don’t hate the Wings. We’ve had a couple of Detroit natives move here to Chattanooga, TN and really, it’s a great team to watch! I see the Wings as a team that the Predators could become in the not so distant future. As for Howard, anyone who face washes Sidney Crosby gets an ‘A’ in my book. I do NOT want Howard to fail this year. I want Detroit to have another good year and then get wiped out in the playoffs, paving the way for a Nashville’s supreme victory (a 2nd round appearance).

EASports' NHL 11 doesn't suck; in fact, it's really damn good! Wait, what!?
Go Predators!!!

by Poiju on Oct 3, 2010 12:11 AM EDT up reply actions

It’s a night of Minecraft and whiskey, please excuse all of the previous grammatical and/or spelling errors.

EASports' NHL 11 doesn't suck; in fact, it's really damn good! Wait, what!?
Go Predators!!!

by Poiju on Oct 3, 2010 12:12 AM EDT up reply actions

This year division is ours. I’m pretty confident for that.

Chicago will have their Stanley hungover, Detroit is going older and older (Modano doesn’t help), Columbus well… no, Saint-Louis “Butcher” Blues, I hope not.

Nashville has to get profit of these different situations in the Central.

by PatrickB on Oct 1, 2010 5:59 PM EDT reply actions

Love all the homer votes..

and ONE vote (so far) for Columbus! You can do it, Jackets! Have faith! haha.

In all seriousness, I believe the Wings will probably win the division, but I wouldn’t be surprised to to see it shake out a lot like last season. I also would not be too surprised to see the Preds do it. But I’m not going out on that limb just yet.

by BradPerala on Oct 1, 2010 10:14 PM EDT reply actions

Too close to call

I honestly can’t see a clear favorite in the division this year. Chicago has changed the chemistry of their team significantly. They still have their talented core, so it’s possibly they will be able to keep going with what they had last year. But they did get rid of some key elements and depth players so perhaps they won’t be as good.

Detroit can never be counted out. Just when you say they are too old, not talented enough, etc – they come out on top. If Howard has a good season, they could easily win the division.

Columbus and St. Louis are largely unknown – CBJ’s are starting from scratch – again – and it’s anyone’s guess as to how that’s going to play out. STL has Halak and you just never know what a hot goalie can do for a club. That said, I really don’t expect either of these teams to win the division.

So where does that leave the Preds? I really believe we have a much of a chance as anyone. We didn’t make a lot of significant changes to our core players, and that’s a good thing. There weren’t any big distractions in the off season for the first time in years. There are questions about the backup goalie situation, but I expect that will be resolved either by someone stepping up and filling the position or the club bringing someone in. This feels like our year. I don’t want to get too excited, but it feels good. With our young leadership, core veterans and hard working mentality, I believe there isn’t much going against this team this season.

Now I’m ready to drop the puck and find out!!

by PredsGal on Oct 2, 2010 9:47 AM EDT reply actions

In order for 60% of the votes on the poll to be correct...

and for NAS to win the division, several things must happen.
1. NAS must improve points compared to CHI by 12+.
2. NAS must improve points compared to DET by 2+.
3. NAS must not lose 10+ points compared to STL.
4. NAS must not lose 21+ points compared to CBJ.

As I see it,
3 and 4 are highly likely—STL and CBJ are not looking at an excellent season in the next year or two.

1 is plausible, perhaps even likely. “CHI still has their core intact”? Nonsense. Plus, in addition to not being allowed to again exceed the cap significantly, they will instead have a large cap penalty. They showed they can do more with more, but have done nothing to convince me they can do more with less.

2 is the least likely to occur, in my opinion. Yes, DET is old. Yes, arthritis is as common a cause for a player sitting out in DET as concussion. No, that doesn’t mean they can’t play. When healthy, DET was perhaps the single team I would least like to see the Preds play. And they suffered a lot of injuries last season. I would be surprised if this season sees a worse DET, unfortunately.

I do believe NAS has a legitimate shot at the division this year, but I am far from believing it is all but certain.

by Smashvillain on Oct 2, 2010 5:47 PM EDT reply actions

Just because...

I say Nashville wins the division for four reasons:
1. Some people wear Superman pajamas. Superman wears Shea Weber pajamas. Shea Weber knows where Carmen Sandiego is. Shea Weber ordered a Big Mac at Burger King and got one.
2. I have it on good authority from Phoenix that Matthew Lombardi’s speed is the result of a Canadian government experiment involving gene-splicing human DNA with that of the Sascatchewan Jackolope
3. Jordin Tootoo eats burning cigars for breakfast and Red Wing’s fan’s children for lunch.
4. Jason is Arnott our captain anymore

So with those inarguable points, GO PREDATORS!

by Predanooga on Oct 2, 2010 7:12 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs