The National Hockey League will be here before we know it. We expect a great season on ice as the Vegas Golden Knights are looking to defend their Stanley Cup title. Let’s take a look at an Early Season Outlook for the National Hockey League:
View the 2022 NHL Standings here
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche are the team to beat in the Central Division. Losing Gabriel Landeskog for likely the season is not a good start. But starting the 2023-2024 season with a stable roster could be good for them. Nathan MacKinnon is still one of the elite players in the league and will be among the leaders in offensive categories.
Dallas Stars
Many will not remember that this team was just two wins away from getting the Stanley Cup Finals. Dallas continues to get better and should be able to be among the best this season as well. The signing of Matt Duchene is going to prove to be a big one for Dallas. They will make Colorado sweat at the top of the division.
Winnipeg Jets
It is the final year of the contract for both Mark Schiefele and Connor Hellebuyck. Alex Iafallo, Gabriel Vilardi, and Rasmus Kupari should help the team.
Minnesota Wild
The Wild spent much of the off-season trying to recover from the dead cap space left by Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. They did acquire some veteran help by getting former Blues and Lightning champion Patrick Maroon.
Nashville Predators
Grabbing Ryan O’Reilly to help bring up the Predators was a good addition for Nashville. Luke Schenn also moved to Nashville, a team that will be a pain in the side of Central Divisional teams.
St. Louis Blues
St. Louis badly needs Jordan Binnington to be better. The Blues did add Kevin Hayes, a cheaper and younger version of Ryan O’Reilly.
Arizona Coyotes
The Coyotes grabbed Jason Ducker, Alexander Kerfoot, Matt Dumba, and Sean Durzi to the team. Arizona may be turning the corner, but still have some work to do to get to playoff contention.
Chicago Blackhawks
The Blackhawks will probably be bad again, but they have Connor Bedard. The first pick in the draft will look to help a Blackhawks team that won just 36% of their possible points a season ago. The Blackhawks also added Nick Foligno and Corey Perry.
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There you have it. That’s a quick look at all the teams in the NHL Central Division 2023. Enjoy the season, and best of luck!
Check out the other divisions coming soon!
