The Central Division had the best top-three teams in the NHL last season, but a terrible last-place club kept it from being the league’s best from top to bottom.
That might change this season.
It’s been a splashy start to the 2024 offseason around the league, but a few of the also-rans in the Central look much improved just a few days into July. With big trades and big free-agent signings, the Colorado Avalanche’s division has been at the vanguard of the league’s offseason action.
Where do the eight clubs stand after the initial flurry? Which way are they trending?
Let’s dig in.
Dallas Stars (113 points)
In: F Mathew Dumba, D Ilya Lyubushkin, D Brendan Smith, F Colin Blackwell, G Casey DeSmith
Out: D Chris Tanev (trade), D Ryan Suter (buyout), F Radek Faksa (trade), F Ty Dellandrea (trade), D Jani Hakanpää, F Joe Pavelski (retired), F Craig Smith, G Scott Wedgewood
Prospects: F Mavrik Bourque, D Lian Bischel
Cap space: $7.14 million (RFA Thomas Harley)
Recap: The defense corps is not better. Maybe the Stars have a No. 6 that coach Pete DeBoer can trust but swapping out Tanev and Suter for Dumba and Lyubushkin or Smith is a downgrade. Wedgewood has been slightly better than DeSmith each of the past two seasons. A full season of Bourque and Logan Stankoven could improve the forward group, which was already one of the best in the league.
Still one of the best teams in the NHL and the rising young talent could push the Stars forward, but the changes to the edges of the roster were questionable.
Stock: Down, ever so slightly
Winnipeg Jets (110 points)
In: G Kaapo Kahkonen, G Eric Comrie
Out: F Sean Monahan, F Tyler Toffoli, D Brenden Dillon, D Nate Schmidt (buyout), G Laurent Brossoit
Prospects: F Brad Lambert, F Chaz Lucius
Cap space: $7.89 million (RFAs Cole Perfetti, David Gustafsson and Logan Stanley)
Recap: The Jets were unable to keep their two big trade deadline additions and haven’t done much to improve the team. There have been reports about possibly trading top prospect Rutger McGroarty because he doesn’t want to sign with the club. The top addition is a backup goalie who probably isn’t as good as the one they lost.
The bones of the breakout team from a year ago are still in place, but in an improved division one or two key injuries could lead to a tumble in the standings.
Stock: Down
Colorado Avalanche (107 points)
In: D Calvin de Haan, D Erik Brannstrom, F Parker Kelly, F Jere Innala
Out: D Sean Walker, D Jack Johnson, D Caleb Jones, F Zach Parise (retired), F Andrew Cogliano (retired), F Yakov Trenin, F Brandon Duhaime
Prospects: F Nikolai Kovalenko, F Jean-Luc Foudy, D Sam Malinski
Limbo: F Valeri Nichushkin (suspended until at least mid-November)
Cap space: None, or $3.89 million while Nichushkin is out
Recap: Getting Casey Mittelstadt and Jonathan Drouin signed for a combined $8 million was fantastic work. Some combination of de Haan, Brannstrom and Malinski isn’t better than Walker and Johnson, but it might not be a significant dip. The ultimate ceiling of this edition is tied entirely to what the Avs get from Nichushkin and captain Gabe Landeskog, or what they add in place of one or both of them once there is clarity about their situations.
Stock: Steady, pending … you know
Nashville Predators (99 points)
In: F Steven Stamkos, F Jonathan Marchessault, D Brady Skjei, G Scott Wedgewood
Out: F Jason Zucker, F Anthony Beauvillier, D Tyson Barrie, G Kevin Lankinen
Prospects: G Yaroslav Askarov
Cap space: None
Recap: Certainly the flashiest moves on July 1. There will be lots of excitement to start the year in Smashville with Stamkos and Marchessault filling out a suddenly more dangerous lineup. That’s a lot of years and money for Skjei, who now needs to be a No. 2 guy. The Predators are deeper, and definitely older. Feels like a low ceiling (good, maybe really good … but not great) but a high floor for this group.
Stock: Up, maybe not quite as much as some think
St. Louis Blues (92 points)
In: F Radek Faksa (trade), F Mathieu Joseph (trade), D Pierre-Oliver Joseph,
Out: F Kevin Hayes (trade)
Prospects: F Zachary Bolduc
Cap space: $8.11 million (RFA Nikita Alexandrov)
Recap: This franchise has three sets of players – the old guys, the in-their-prime guys and the kids who aren’t ready yet. It feels like improvements by the young-ish core will be muted as the aging guys keep declining, and most of the prospects are still a year or two away.
Fun group of forwards, aging-and-not-great defense corps and a volatile No. 1 goalie. Stuck in the middle of the league, but could slip a couple of spots in this division.
Stock: Down
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Minnesota Wild (87 points)
In: F Yakov Trenin, F Jakub Lauko (trade)
Out: F Vinny Lettieri (trade), F Mason Shaw
Prospects: G Jesper Wallstedt, F Marat Khusnutdinov
Cap space: $2.79 million (RFA Declan Chisholm)
Recap: A franchise with too many guys in the middle of the roster on long deals for too much money added another one. But the kids are starting to arrive and captain Jared Spurgeon returning from injuries will be a boost. Easily the quietest team in the division so far, but this is the final year with $14 million in dead money from the Parise/Suter buyouts. The Wild played better after naming John Hynes coach. It’s still a low-ceiling club, but the floor is rising and Minnesota could be a playoff team.
Stock: Up, slightly
Utah Hockey Club (77 points)
In: D Mikahil Sergachev (trade), D John Marino (trade), F Kevin Stenlund, D Ian Cole
Out: D J.J. Moser (trade), F Connor Geekie (trade), F Travis Boyd, D Josh Brown
Prospects: F Dylan Guenther, F Josh Doan
Cap space: $15.16 million (RFA Barret Hayton)
Recap: The Utah … to be named franchise lit up the first night of the NHL draft with a pair of big trades. New city, new ownership group and a new budget for general manager Bill Armstrong. That said, momentum on “Utah is much improved” has slowed after a quiet free agency period, while other clubs in the Central got better, too.
Should continue to be plucky, with a small chance of breaking through. Look out next summer, though.
Stock: Up, slightly
Chicago Blackhawks (52 points)
In: F Ilya Mikheyev, F Tyler Bertuzzi, F Teuvo Teravainen, F Craig Smith, F Patrick Maroon, D TJ Brodie, D Alec Martinez, G Laurent Brossoit
Out: F Tyler Johnson, F Colin Blackwell, F Taylor Raddysh, F MacKenzie Entwistle, D Nikita Zaitsev, D Jaycob Megna
Prospects: F Frank Nazar
Cap space: $4.77 million
Recap: Are they 50 goals better this year? That sounds great. It would be a massive improvement … to leap exactly two teams in goal differential (Ducks, Blue Jackets) from a year ago. It’s a long way back. Chicago has a more competent lineup, and might have better injury luck. Is that going to move the needle a lot in the standings? Probably not in this division.
Connor Bedard has more help in his second year, but this is just a weird roster that will likely still need another overhaul before it’s time to try and win big again.
Stock: Up, but not as much as the spending spree might suggest
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