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19
Sep
2009
NHL Central Division Preview PDF  | Print |  E-mail
Fantasy Hockey Blog
Written by Carl Lombardi   
Hello again, hockey fans! Today on Fantasypros911.com I will continue my NHL previews which today with focus on the Central Division of the Western Conference! Over the weekend and into the beginning of next week, I am going to focus on the Western Conference, and a week from tomorrow will come the first Power Rankings of the season here on Fantasypros911.com!

alt(1) Chicago Blackhawks--- The Chicago Blackhawks are without question a team who finds themselves set to take the “next step” into the top echelon of   teams both in the Western Conference as well as the entire NHL. After reaching the Western Conference finals last year, and with some key additions to their team, this could be the year that the Detroit Red Wings stranglehold on the Central Division comes to an end.

Forwards--- Not only do the Blackhawks have one of the best young nuclei in the entire NHL, but they made some key additions this off-season. One of the moves that didn’t get a ton of press was the addition of C John Madden (7g 16a) from the New Jersey Devils. Madden is not a huge goal scorer, but he is a great defensive forward, as he is a four-time nominee for the Selke Trophy (best defensive forward) with a win in 2000/01.

Defense---  One aspect of the Blackhawks that can sometimes be over looked is their defensive corps. They were third in the West in goals against but had some issues on the penalty kill. Still, as a relatively young unit there is still time for them to come together and not only continue to play well at even strength, but to improve on the penalty kill. One player who last season has a breakout year was D Brent Seabrook (8g 18a). He was a plus-23 and has 12 points in 17 playoff games. Look for him to build upon his strong playoff showing and have a very good year.

Goalies--- Here is where the fun begins for the Blackhawks.  G Cristobal Huet is a talented goalie as he went 20-15-4 last season with a 2.53 GAA and a .909 save percentage, but he only started 40 games as he shared goaltending duties with the departed G Nikolai Khabibulin. Now, the success of the Blackhawks pretty much rests on Huet’s shoulders. The Blackhawks have a team where he does not need to be nominated for the Vezina Trophy for the team to win.
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(2) Detroit Red Wings--- The Red Wings are coming off back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances. This season, the team could see that two year run come to an end, along with their decade long grip on the Central Division. Not to say that the Red Wings are going to be even an average team. They should still be above-average and will make a run into the playoffs but winning the division could be a stretch.

Forwards--- Looking objectively at the Red Wings forward situation, they lost a lot more then they gained this off-season. With RW Marian Hossa signing with the rival Blackhawks and the loss of C Jiri Hudler (23g 34a) to the KHL, the Red Wings lost 63 goals from a year ago as Hudler scored 23 and Hossa put in 40. This off-season, the Red Wings brought back RW Todd Bertuzzi (15g 29a) who played for the team briefly in the 2006/2007 season. He won’t be able to totally make up those goal totals, but if he can even increase last season’s total by 6-7, he will really help the Red Wings this season.

Defense--- The Red Wings defense is probably better at creating offense then stopping the other teams offense in some respects. Don’t get me wrong, the Red Wings have a very good defense, yet still they gave up the second most goals among playoff teams in the Western Conference last season. The main draw of the Red Wings defense was the offense they created. Nicklas Lidstrom (16g 43a) and Brian Rafalski (10g 49a) are two of the best defensemen in the NHL, with Lidstrom arguably being the best of this generation.

Goalies--- Goaltending could be an issue this season for the Red Wings. The loss of Ty Conklin is going to hurt the team more then Red Wings fans want to admit. He went 25-11-2 with a 2.51 GAA and a .909 save percentage. Chris Osgood was not the same goalie last season as he has been in seasons past, but thanks to the Red Wings offense, he went 26-9-8 with a 3.09 GAA and a .887 save percentage. Those numbers are not going to win many hockey games, so the pressure is on Osgood this season.

alt(3) St. Louis Blues--- The St. Louis Blues were one of the surprise teams last year, as they made the playoffs while dealing with a plethora of injuries. Now the question for the Blues, who head into the new season with pretty much a clean bill of health as a team will follow up last seasons performance. They are a team with a few questions heading into 2009/2010 and depending on the answers, Blues fans could see anything from another playoff berth to a disappointing finish to the year.

Forwards--- Last season, the Blues had a mad dash to the playoffs, winning eight of their last ten games in regulation to qualify for the playoffs. It was a short stay however, and the Blues see this year as a stepping stone into contention and to be a perennial playoff teams. LW Paul Kariya (2g 13a) missed almost the entire season with a hip injury. He is going to be counted on to produce this season, and if he goes back to his before-the-injury production of about a point-per-game then the Blues should be fine in terms of scoring. The team still has C Brad Boyes (33g 39a) who has scored 76 goals the last two seasons combined, and him teaming up with Kariya will give the Blues a top scoring line which could be among the best in the division.

Defense--- The loss of D Erik Johnson before last season even started due to a freak injury in a golf cart put a damper on the team’s outlook for the year. Fortunately for Blues fans, the rest of the defensive corps played extremely well and was a key reason that the Blues found themselves in the playoffs last season. Offensively, the top scoring defenseman was D Carlo Colaiacovo (3g 27a). Johnson should help the scoring from the blue line immensely. The Blues has the second best penalty kill in the West last year, and should be right near the top yet again; if that is true, look for the Blues to be back in the playoffs.

Goalies--- Despite sharing time with G Manny Legace last season, G Chris Mason put together a fine season. In 57 games with 51 starts, Mason put together a 27-21-7 record with a 2.41 GAA and a .916 save percentage. Those numbers are very solid no question, and if the Blues are to make it back to the playoffs, he will need to put up those numbers again. To back him up the Blues brought in Conklin, who is coming of a stellar season of his own with the Red Wings, and could provide solid play if Mason goes down with an injury or is ineffective.
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(4) Columbus Blue Jackets--- The Columbus Blue Jackets come into the 2009/2010 season attempting to build upon last season, where they made the playoffs for the first time. It was a year to remember for fans of the team, who have spent much of the team’s existence rooting for a team which did not have much success on the ice. After last season’s run to the playoffs, Blue Jackets fans are hoping for another season of playoff hockey at Nationwide Arena.

Forwards--- When it comes to the Blue Jackets, look up and down the roster and you will find youth. This is especially true up front, as the team’s star, LW Rick Nash (40g 39a) is only 25. So far for his NHL career, Nash has 194 goals, which isn’t bad for a young player who was pretty much the team’s only offensive threat for a few years. This season, C Derick Brassard (10g 15a) is looking to stay healthy, as he had a solid rookie season but dealt with a number of injuries, as he only played 31 games. Look for him to have a very productive season this year assuming he stays healthy.

Defense--- When the oldest member of your defensive corps is only 31 (D Jan Hedja…3g 18a) that means one of two things. The team is totally in a rebuilding phase and struggling to be successful (See: New York Islanders) or a team that is on the upswing who struggled recently and have drafter well and signed some talented free agents (See: Chicago Blackhawks). Obviously, the Blue Jackets are more like the Blackhawks in that analogy. Anyway, one defenseman who is primed to continue his success of last season is D Kris Russell (2g 19a). One part of his game which was lacking last season was the ever important plus/minus. That should improve this year, and with some more ice time should see both that statistic and his offensive numbers improve. He will try to build upon last season’s brief playoff appearance, as he had two points in four games.

Goalies--- The question for last season’s Calder Trophy winner, G Steve Mason is whether he can continue that success into the new season. He went 33-20-7 with a with a 2.29 GAA and a .916 save percentage. He also had 10 shutouts, which was top in the entire NHL. For this season, the Blue Jackets are going to struggle to make the playoffs unless Mason puts up similar numbers to make this prediction of fourth in the division moot.

alt(5) Nashville Predators--- After a season where they finished last in the division yet missed the playoffs by a mere three points, the Nashville Predators find themselves in a bit of a tough spot. They are good enough where they don’t get in the Top-10 when it comes to draft picks, yet they are bad enough where they tend to make the playoffs, but their stay is usually brief. So, what does this season hold for Nashville? It could be more of the same, good…but not good enough.

Forwards--- One issue last season for Nashville that may have contributed most to the lack of playoff hockey in the Music City was their lack of ability to put the puck in the net. When your leading scorer only has 65 points (J.P. Dumont (16g 49a)) , that is not conducive to winning hockey. This season, the team is looking to increase their goal scoring, but they did not bring anyone in who could help in that regard. Apparently, it seems that the Predators are looking for more production from C Jason Arnott (33g 24a) and LW Steve Sullivan (11g 21a) as both missed time last season. Still, those players at this stage of their careers are not definite point-per-game scorers, so look for Nashville to have an issue when it comes to goal scoring this season.

Defense--- As for their defense, the Predators are actually in pretty good shape. D Shea Weber (23g 30a) is among the top young defensemen in the NHL. He has talent on the power-play as he scored 10 of his goals with the man advantage, and that was top on the team. He also had four game-winning goals. Another young defensemen to look at this season is D Ryan Suter (7g 38a). He has a breakout year last season, and look for his offensive numbers go up. At the same time, he was a minus-16 a year ago, and that has to change if the Predators are going to be successful this season.

Goalies--- In net this season, it will be all about G Pekka Rinne. He went 29-15-4 last season with a 2.38 GAA and a .917 save percentage. He has proven, over one season at least, that he is among the top young Goalies in the NHL. Rinne had seven shut-outs last year, but the question is whether he can perform well enough for the Predators to make it back to the playoffs. Judging upon last season’s somewhat anemic offense, it will take one heck of a season by Rinne to get Nashville back to the playoffs.
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