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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/10/2015 (3651 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Trevor Hagan / THE CANADIAN PRESS files
Winnipeg Jets' Alexander Burmistrov, right, plays the puck in front of Minnesota Wild's Maxime Fortunus during the Sept. 22 preseason game. The two teams are in one of the most cut-throat divisions in the league.
There is guaranteed heartbreak for at least two teams in the NHL’s seven-team Central Division.
Possibly three.
That’s because there’s only room in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the top three teams in each division, plus two wild cards.
In the last two seasons, both Western Conference wild-card teams have come from the Central, which is far and away the deepest of the league’s four divisions.
In the previous two seasons, all members of the Central have been to the playoffs. No other division can boast that — not even close.
The Central’s tightness last season showed only a 19-point gap between first and last place.
It’s this depth that surrounds the Winnipeg Jets, who jumped to 99 points last season and gained entry to the post-season for the first time since the 2011 relocation.
After October, the Jets were a consistent bunch last season and their in-division record of 16-8-5 was a major factor in reaching the playoffs.
The Jets are bringing more youth to the party in 2015-16 — three rookies have made the team out of camp.
They’re not the only team with changes and adjustments. Here’s a rundown of their Central rivals in the order of last year’s finish:
Alex Brandon / THE CANADIAN PRESS files
Washington Capitals right wing Troy Brouwer (20) smiles as he leaves the rink after the Winter Classic outdoor NHL hockey game against the Chicago Blackhawks at Nationals Park in Washington on Jan. 1, 2015. In trading for Brouwer, the St. Louis Blues have more size and heft as general manager Doug Armstrong doubles down on big and heavy, going against the league-wide trend toward small and quick that got the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning to the Stanley Cup final.
St. Louis Blues
Last season: Won division, 109 points, eliminated in first round.
Fast forward: The Blues are no doubt a quality outfit, difficult to play against and possessing offensive weapons that produce.
The team has averaged 107 points per season over the last three (pro rate the lockout year) but has faltered badly in April with three straight first-round exits.
It’s this angst that is embedded in the discussion about St. Louis’s year ahead.
The Blues have made one major shift up front, trading T.J. Oshie to Washington for the cheaper and grittier Troy Brouwer. The team’s top four defencemen, Kevin Shattenkirk, Jay Bouwmeester, Alex Pietrangelo and Carl Gunnarson are rock solid and many are looking to Jake Allen, who took over as No. 1 in goal last season, to key a better fate.
It’s worth noting coach Ken Hitchcock has implored his team to remember to qualify for the playoffs before tackling the April demons.
AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
Nashville Predators center Craig Smith, right, is congratulated by Victor Bartley (64) and Roman Josi (59), of Switzerland, after Smith scored a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first period of a preseason NHL hockey game Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015, in Nashville, Tenn.
Nashville Predators
Last season: Second in division, 104 points, eliminated in first round.
Fast forward: The Preds, like the Jets, jumped into the playoff picture last season. For Nashville, it was a return to the consistency of some years past, this time under new coach Peter Laviolette.
Laviolette was hailed as the one who would unleash Nashville’s offence, but it’s worth noting his plan increased the offence by just 16 goals. More important was the Preds’ 34-goal improvement on defence.
A fast start a year ago nearly carried the team to top spot. Only a late six-game swoon cost them the top berth and put the Preds into a first-round matchup with Chicago.
There is consistency with this season’s lineup and important cast members Pekka Rinne, a Vezina finalist, and defenceman Shea Weber return. GM David Poile managed to re-sign important free agents Mike Ribeiro and Mike Fisher to two-year extensions, shoring up the middle.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Nam Y. Huh
Chicago Blackhawks' Johnny Oduya celebrates after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series on Monday, June 15, 2015, in Chicago. The veteran defenceman has signed a two-year contract with the Dallas Stars.
Chicago Blackhawks
Last season: Third in division, 102 points, won Cup.
Fast forward: The Hawks — with three Cups in six seasons — are again jockeying their roster to stay under the salary cap.
The in-out action is prompted by winning and also by the kicking in of new deals for Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane for cap hits of $10.5 million each.
Chicago has sacrificed scorer Patrick Sharp in a deal with Dallas, forward Brandon Saad to Columbus and defenceman Johnny Oduya to Dallas.
Trevor Daley joins the Hawks from Dallas and moves into the important top-four on the blue-line, a foundation group that includes Smythe-winner Duncan Keith.
Chicago rookies, some by necessity this season, will include forwards Kyle Baun and Artemi Panarin and 27-year-old Viktor Tikhonov, who returns from Russia. He played one season for the Arizona Coyotes in 2008-09. On defence, Trevor van Riemsdyk and Viktor Svedberg look to be the less-expensive third pair.
Carlos Gonzalez/Minneapolis Star Tribune/TNS
Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk (40) makes a save during the third period on Sunday, April 26, 2015, at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.
Minnesota Wild
Last season: Fourth in division, 100 points, eliminated in second round.
Fast forward: Atrocious again in the first half, the Wild were one of the league’s best teams in the second half last season, surging into the playoffs.
But for the third straight year, the Hawks authored their exit from the post-season, an April/May issue like the Blues’, that is lurking down the road.
Minnesota’s strength is its consistency, which was solidified by the excellent goaltending of Devan Dubnyk in last year’s second half. A new deal for the 29-year-old goalie was key in the off-season.
The Wild belong in the discussion about the Central’s top teams in part because they have dispatched the division’s No. 1 seed the last two years running in the first round of the playoffs.
Left-winger Zach Parise and defenceman Ryan Suter are the team’s clear performance leaders and the Wild will likely go as they go.
AP Photo/LM Otero, File
In this Sept. 29, 2015, file photo, Dallas Stars left wing Jamie Benn tries to play the puck after he was tripped during the third period of an NHL preseason hockey game against the St. Louis Blues in Dallas.
Dallas Stars
Last season: Sixth in division, 92 points, out of playoffs.
Fast forward: There has been much talk in Dallas about avoiding the plot of last season, where the Stars got behind early and chased a Central playoff berth all season long. The team made a run late, going 14-5 in its last 19 games to make a bad situation look a little better, missing the playoffs by seven points.
Awful defence and goaltending was Dallas’s Achilles heel, regressing to 32 goals to 260 against, worst in the Central. Tied to that was goalie Kari Lehtonen’s worst season in the NHL.
Acquisition Antti Niemi joins Lehtonen to shore up the Dallas net.
Dallas also added defenceman Johnny Oduya and winger Patrick Sharp to a talented group of skaters that includes Art Ross Trophy winner Jamie Benn and slippery Tyler Seguin.
CP
Centre Ryan O'Reilly was traded to the Buffalo Sabres from Colorado.
Colorado Avalanche
Last season: Last in division, 90 points, out of playoffs.
Fast forward: The Avs were a dramatic fallback team last season, down 22 points to go from first to last in the Central.
Why? A little offensive slippage and less defensive slippage than you’d think. Colorado was down 31 goals, and only went up seven in goals against.
The Avs need a little more from all of Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog this season and some kind of contribution from Carl Soderberg, acquired from Boston and signed to a five-year deal, and Mikhael Grigorenko, over from Buffalo in the Ryan O’Reilly swap.
Colorado also made an important addition to help a struggling blueline, signing UFA François Beauchemin, a battle-tested competitor.
Worth noting, Colorado had a league-best 10 shootout wins last season.
Love has not been abundant for the Winnipeg Jets in the pre-season polls and previews.
The national television networks see the Jets as a fallback team for 2015-16. Even the NHL’s own website is touting Winnipeg for a drop from last spring’s playoff qualification.
Only The Hockey News showed any faith that the Jets can repeat their playoff appearance last season, picking them to finish third in the Central.
The apparent lack of respect for their advance to 99 regular-season points a year ago has caused barely a notice in the Jets locker-room as of Tuesday.
“Don’t care,” said winger Drew Stafford. “Not really. It doesn’t mean anything.
“If we all cared what everyone thought of us, we’d be in tough shape. We proved a lot of people wrong last year. We don’t play the game to get picked in hockey previews and magazines.”
The consensus complaint about the Jets seems to be their track record shows only that one playoff appearance, and that the team will remain among the youngest in the NHL this season.
Winnipeg has decided to introduce three more rookies to its team, repeating the trend from the previous two seasons.
“I guess it’s going to motivate us even more this year,” said veteran defenceman Toby Enstrom about pre-season rankings and predictions. “I’m not the guy that reads a lot of newspapers or anything. But we took a step forward last year and we weren’t happy about (only) that. We want to keep pushing, to keep moving forward and be that team that goes deep into the playoffs.
“A lot of the guys realize how fun it was last year. Especially for me. I’ve been over here for eight years and had never made the playoffs. So that’s why you play the game, to have a chance to win the Cup. Last year we were in the race and we want to go even further this year. I can say that for all the guys.”
Veteran defenceman Mark Stuart fairly scoffed at all the expert prognostication that’s been going on.
“That’s fine,” he said. “I’d prefer this actually, It doesn’t really matter. You’ve got to pave your own way.
“We made the playoffs but, you know, we haven’t earned the right yet for people to be picking us super high. You continue to pave your own way. That’s what we’re getting at.”
One doubt-causing element some of the pundits may have seen during the Jets’ training camp was a mishmash of lineups from start to finish in the pre-season games.
Head coach Paul Maurice did a lot of experimentation in exhibition games, rarely rolling out his projected regular lineup as the team was inconsistent early before finishing 3-2-2.
“That’s how training camp goes,” Stuart said. “You’ve got to get a look at a lot of different players, so it’s a mix. And most of the guys that played together last year are back so they’ll have that chemistry back in practice. I don’t think there’s a concern.”
Enstrom saw it similarly, as a non-issue.
“There are a lot of bodies around and some people get hurt and some guys feel a little in groins and backs,” Enstrom said. “I think it’s tough to put the team he wants on the ice every night in the pre-season. You want to see as many people as possible, too. It’s tough having that many on the ice but overall our camp was great. We did a good job.”
Season No. 5 in Winnipeg and the real games for the Jets begin Thursday in Boston.
