Saturday's notes: How is the Central shaping up?

I am not-so-secretly pulling for Dex to take that job away from Mason, just cuz I like Dex. But either way, I expect CBJ to be better in net—new competitive atmosphere and new goalie coach. Mason is much more likely to take it all very seriously and get prepared for games. He has the skills, he’s just been mentally lazy (IMO, of course).

It sounds like the holdup with Hannan is term, not dollars. I think he has had a number of 1-2 year deals but he’s looking for a longer term deal. I’m not sure if that fits with what NSH is trying to do, but he’s still a good player and he’ll eventually become a solid addition for some team’s blueline.

Also, Dekanich clocked in at 16 on the Goalie Guild’s prospect ranking. I’m rooting hard for the guy, but I’m totally biased. He’s still a long shot but it’s great to see that he’ll be in the NHL full time (or so it appears as of now). I’d also love to see him rip the starting job away from Steve Mason, but I don’t think it’s very likely.

isn’t exactly a non-factor to me and Crawford could easily see a dip in his numbers as he was good but not exactly elite. I look for the Hawks to be pretty pedestrian defensively. Top notch offense again though. Don’t count them out of any game. Also…Chelsea Dagger. Best goal song in the NHL.

CBJ should be one of the worst defenses in the West, so I think they once again reward a wounded fan-base with a streaky team, at best, with some very bad decisions in the off-season, sans the signing of Dex. It’s hard to imagine he will looks as good in their system as he has in ours though.

STL… They picked up guys three guys who are in decline but could still add some consistency and leadership…maybe? I think they are the hardest team in the division to gauge so who knows?

DET is going to dip. It has to happen sometime and I think that time is finally here.

The Preds should be stellar again on defense and in goal and should improve offensively this year, even if it is only marginally. I see them finishing a little closer to the top 3rd on offense than the bottom 3rd.

So, I think the west will again logjam overall but my crystal ball says:

1 – NSH
2 – CHI
3 – DET
4 – STL
5 – CBJ

Looking at the changes, and what we know now, (Matt Lombardi anyone?) I have my doubts that we will place that high. Not to be a pessimist, and I know we are traditionally good on D, but we will have some adjustment period for the new kids coming up. They will have some growing pains, and as fans, let’s not forget that.

As objective as I’d like to be, I have a hard time seeing us out defending Chi’s offense, including many of the other teams in our division. I’d pick Chi to take the top spot.

Detroit’s Howard was not as solid last year, and while he’s not a bad goalie, I feel he’s on the better side of mediocre in the league. Detroit will continue to contend, and their “dropoff” may not be as drastic as some may hope. How many years have we been talking about “this is the year” when it comes to Detroit’s slide out of the dynasty years? I’m looking for Det to contend for 2nd or 3rd place.

Depending on our ability to not be a streaky team, and actually put some goals into the net, I think we are looking at being anywhere from 2nd at best, and as poor as 4th. Realistically, if something happened to our D, we will be looking at some talented but green young men filling spots. We rely so heavily on our Defense, (because we have to) don’t forget we still have to outscore the other team to win. I have hope for some of our young boys up front, but I doubt that it will all click at once, and be consistent throughout the year.

Columbus and STL, are teams that have been on the bottom for the last several years, and I’m looking for someone to break out of the funk.

STL has pieces in place to rise from their recent depths. If they can be healthy, they have the talent to overtake us in points. If their goalie plays as well as he has in playoff times, they should have an increase over last year with their star players and the injuries.

Columbus has added some talent, and I can’t but think that they cannot continue to be so low in the standings year after year. If Mason gets his rookie year back, and Nash and Carter click, Wis brings the grit, don’t expect to be talking down that far about Col. Expect them to be nipping on our heels, unless we are nipping at theirs.

Let’s celebrate that we can all enjoy the coming season and see how it will all play out starting in just 61 days. Go Preds!

I don’t think losing Hejda is going to impact us as much as y’all might think. Martinek is arguably the exact same sort of player. And Methot is getting much much better.

Worst D in the Central? Unquestionably – but the Central is the home of the likes of Weber, Keith, Lidstrom, Suter, Seabrook, and Kronwall, so that frankly isn’t saying much. Worst in the West is arguable, but a bit of a stretch – we at least have four or five top-4 defensemen (even if none of them are really top-pairing guys in an ideal world). That’s more than quite a few teams out there can say.

In any case, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how the season turns out! :D

No more Goc, Ward, Sully, Dumont, Franson, or O’Brien. Bouillon is a total question mark, so that’s potentially two spots open to who knows? Sully and Dumont might not be missed, but this team WILL feel the loss of Goc and Ward, with no one to immediately take their places. By the end of last season this team appeared to be half Admirals anyway, and it appears more will be called up now to fill these vacant spots. Throw in some inevitable injuries and that number will increase even further. I personally find a roster of mostly AHL players laughable, and without a lot of veteran leadership, what happens?