2015-2016 Season: Division Predictions part 3 - Central Division

WESTERN CONFERENCE - Central Division

1. Nashville Predators

What Nashville brought last season was tremendous regular season success. While sitting atop the Western Conference for multiple periods of time during last season, the Preds saw the emergence of their young forward prodigy Filip Forsberg. Forsberg put on a spectacular show in his rookie season, finishing with 26 goals and 37 assists. Still quite amazing how he did not win the Calder Trophy. Defenseman and captain Shea Weber has been the man for Nashville for awhile now. He's been the team points leader for a couple seasons in a row, and is the heart and soul of the Preds. A first round exit to Chicago last season will remain fresh in the mind of olympic goalie Pekka Rinne, as the Finnish net-minder looks to backstop his team to a deeper playoff run in 2016. Seth Jones is only 20 and he already looks to be on the path to becoming a solid defenseman for the Predators. All is well in Smashville. This team will be solid for a long time. 

2. St. Louis Blues

Oh, St. Louis. Is this the year they finally turn it around and escape their postseason demons that have been tormenting them for what seems like forever? I have hope for the Blues in 2016. They will get past the first round. Expect yet another dominant regular season for St. Louis. Russian sniper Vladimir Tarasenko tore it up last season, and with a fresh 8-year/$60 million contract freshly signed, Vlady-T will have another stellar year in 2016. The Blues made a move to trade forward TJ Oshie in the summer and brought in Troy Brouwer. The goal seemed to be to add another power forward to the roster and give the Blues a little more on the physical side. They are set on defense. Alex Petriangelo is one of the best in the league and, along with Kevin Shattenkirk and Jay Bouwmeester, can be the deciding factor on the Blues finally going deep into the postseason. Will Brian Elliot and Jake Allen be enough in net to get it done? I see the Blues skimming the market for a goalie upgrade come the trade deadline. 

3. Minnesota Wild

The Wild are team with a lot of potential. They just have not seemed to be able to pull themselves out of holes, especially in the postseason. The 3-0 hole they had in the second round against Chicago last year is a prime example. Minnesota will snag the 3rd playoff spot in the Central after really making no changes to their roster in the offseason. Zach Parise and Mikael Granlund as both will put up more points than 2015. Captain Mikko Koivu will move down on the center depth chart with the solid play of Charlie Coyle being one of the standouts of last season. Tomas Vanek needs to have a better year. After being virtually invisible last season, the Austrian will have to improve if he wants to help his team. Ryan Suter and Jonas Brodin are at the head of the Wild's solid defensive corps. Defense is undoubtably Minnesota's strongest asset. Having another year of experience under everyone's belt has made them a stronger team already. Darcy Kuemper will be given the starting role in net and looks to build on what was a strong and unexpected 2015 performance. 

4. Winnipeg Jets

This is where the Central will turn into an all-out war for the 2 wild card spots. It will be two of Winnipeg, Dallas, and Chicago for sure, but it could result in any combination of the three. The Jets will finish with the top wild card spot. This is a very exciting team, fueled for the future. There is a lot of excitement surrounding Winnipeg. Getting swept in the first round wasn't ideal last year, but they will rebound a put out a better playoff performance. Blake Wheeler and captain Andrew Ladd will again lead the Winnipeg forwards. Young center Mark Scheifele is a very promising player, and in this author's opinion will replace Bryan Little as the Jets' first line center by the end of the season. On D, Winnipeg is headed by the physical Dustin Byfuglien, young phenom Jacob Trouba, and 6-foot-8 monster Tyler Myers. Ondrej Pavalec and Michael Hutchinson make up the goalie tandem for Winnipeg, and Hutchinson will replace Pavalec as the starting goalie for the Jets. 

5. Chicago Blackhawks 

The reigning Stanley Cup champions had an interesting offseason with a lot of key losses. LW Patrick Sharp was traded to Dallas, bringing back d-man Trevor Daley. LW Brandon Saad was dealt to Columbus. Saad brought back center Artem Anisimov and young winger Marko Dano. Defenseman Johnny Oduya left via free agency and reliable winger Kris Versteeg was traded away to Carolina. Veteran Brad Richards left and signed with Detroit as did Antoine Vermette signing with Arizona. So the Blackhawks are left with a lot of missing components from last year's championship team. KHL signee Artemi Panarin will look to fill Sharp's spot, Anisimov will fill Richards' or Vermette's spots, and Daley will fill Oduya's spot. The Hawks have lost a bit of their fire power. They will be a low seed playoff team in 2016. Leader Jonathan Toews is one of the best in the sport, and having two players like Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith are always a plus. While a bit of a weaker team, Chicago can still make a deep push. 

6. Dallas Stars

Dallas is a team that could surprise a lot of people. Again, they'll be in a tight race for the final wild card spot with Chicago and Winnipeg. They are a much better team that last season. The Stars acquired coveted winger Patrick Sharp from Chicago, which automatically boosts there offense. A line of Sharp-Seguin-Benn looks deadly on paper, and will be incredibly productive in 2016. Art Ross Trophy winner and captain Jamie Benn has proved to be a good leader and point scorer. Russian power forward Valeri Nichushkin is finally healthy again, which is fantastic for Dallas. Val will continue to grow as a player and fulfill his potential. Dallas also signed defenseman Johnny Oduya to add some needed help to their defense. John Klingberg and Jyrki Jokipakka are on the rise and growing into some solid players. Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi will need to be forces in net if they want to help their team snag a playoff spot. All is shaping to be very nice in Dallas for a few years. 

7. Colorado Avalanche 

The Avs suffered a disappointing 2014-2015 campaign after coming off an incredibly strong season the year before. Unfortunately, they will finish at the bottom of the Central division again in 2016. They have gotten a bit stronger, but not enough to the point where they can compete with the stronger teams in the Central. They're just the odd-man out this year. Captain Gabriel Landeskog still has to prove himself as a reliable leader at 22 years old. Nathan MacKinnonis entering his third season, and still has the potential to be a top player in this league. Carl Soderberg was brought in from Boston to fix the center depth issue. The signing of defenseman Francois Beauchemin adds physicality and veteran experience to an other wise very young Avs team. Tyson Barrie continues to develop into a solid d-man and has some great two-way potential. Semyon Varlamov posted some insane stats in net just a few seasons ago, and he will look to rebound fro last year and step up with a solid performance.