While the Pacific Division was expected to be the weakest in hockey, the other half of the Western Conference, the Central Division, was expected to be one of the strongest. However, slow starts by teams like Colorado, Dallas, and Chicago have left top of the division open in the early season to teams like Winnipeg, Minnesota, and Nashville. While we should expect some teams to improve and others to decline throughout the year, this division should be very interesting, and competition will be tight for a final playoff spot.
The St. Louis Blues have gotten off to a strong start, jumping out to an early lead in the Central. This looks a lot like the St. Louis team that won the cup in 2019, with four strong lines that are capable of scoring goals. This is probably a better “real life” team then they are for fantasy purposes, but they certainly have multiple players who could contribute to a few categories. They have strong point-producing defenseman like Torrey Krug and Justin Faulk, and veterans like Ryan O’Reilly and David Perron, who can consistently put up 45-60 points, while chipping in a fair number of hits. Younger players like Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas have also established themselves as solid NHL options, who’ve provided some fantasy value as later-round picks. Meanwhile, newcomer Pavel Buchnevich (acquired in an off-season trade with the Rangers) and rookie Klim Kostin may ultimately prove to be some of the better goal-scoring options on the Blues, as the season progresses. However, the most interesting storyline in St. Louis has to be Vladamir Tarasenko. After missing significant time due to injuries the past few seasons, and facing trade rumors in the offseason, Tarasenko has been scoring at the pace he was earlier in his career, when he would consistently push 70 points. If he can stay healthy this season, it’ll be very interesting to see what his numbers look like at the end of the year. Finally, Jordan Binnington will be one of the better fantasy goalie options, if the Blues continue to win games.
Currently neck-and-neck with St. Louis are the Minnesota Wild. The Wild may have been overlooked fantasy-wise the past few seasons, but the emergence of Kirill Kaprizov last season should certainly change that. The Calder trophy winner put up 51 points in 55 games and looks like he’s going to be a star in the league for a while. The wild have several players who can still provide value at a lesser price than Kaprizov. Mats Zuccarello, Kevin Fiala, and Joel Eriksson Ek all capable of putting up strong offensive numbers, while Jared Spurgeon and Matt Dumba are solid options defensively. The goalie situation in Minnesota is worth monitoring. Kaapo Kahkonen looked very impressive as a rookie last season. However, he’s been relegated to backup duty behind veteran Cam Talbot. It’ll be interesting to see how this tandem splits time throughout the season.
In the middle of the pack in the Central, and improving of late, are the Winnipeg Jets and the Nashville Predators. Winnipeg’s offensive prowess is no secret to fantasy players. Winger Kyle Connor continues to emerge as one of the better young scoring options in the NHL and will be looking to post another 30+ goal/70+ point season. Centering the Jet’s second line alongside Connor is Pierre-Luc Dubois. Acquired for Patrick Laine in last-season’s blockbuster, Dubois is showing signs of a return to all-star form and is rewarding those who bought low on him prior to the season. Meanwhile, Winnipeg’s first-line duo of Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler have each missed some time to start the season. Fantasy players know how prolific these two can be, so their health will be crucial if the Jets make a push in the Central. Defensively, Neal Pionk has come on as a reliable option for both the Jets and in fantasy, as his offensive game continues to impress. Pionk should continue to receive time on what figures to be a strong Winnipeg power-play. Goalie Connor Hellebuyck got off to a shaky start, but I’d expect him to return to form as one of the leagues more reliable goaltenders.
Nashville is an interesting team as well, with a mix of familiar names and potential breakout candidates. Roman Josi remains an elite fantasy defenseman, who should put up a forward-like stat line. On the top line, Matt Duchene seems to have found a home on the wing, centered by an underrated playmaker in Mikael Granlund. Duchene’s offensive revival is big for the Predators, especially as Filip Forsberg remains out with an injury. One-time top prospect Eeli Tolvanen was expected to inherit a top spot in Nashville’s lineup but has struggled to start his NHL career. However, Tolvanen is still only 22 and he’s shown the goal-scoring skill is there, so it’d be foolish to give up on him already. Phillip Tomasino, meanwhile, supplanted Tolvanen as top prospect in Nashville’s system, and made his NHL debut this season. His numbers may not jump off the page yet, but he’s looked like he belongs in the league. Keep an eye on him as he continues to adjust, because the points will come. Goalie Juuse Saros was a name I was targeting in the mid-rounds in drafts, and he’s certainly been paying dividends as the main beneficiary of Nashville’s early success. He’s the undisputed starter for the first time in his career, and he’s shown the ability to succeed in that role. Even if the Predators do ultimately cool off over the course of the season, I expect Saros to remain a solid, top-10 goalie option.
As for the teams struggling early in the Central, Colorado remains the least concerning to me. Goaltending has been shaky, and the Avalanche certainly miss Phillip Grubauer in net, but this team is just too talented to not compete in the West. Losing Nathan Mackinnon to injury will certainly hurt, but Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog are both good enough to make this a strong top line. Cale Makar, meanwhile, is one of the best defenders in hockey. Samuel Girard and Bowen Byram are both excellent young defenseman in their own right and should be rostered in all leagues.
Chicago has continued to struggle defensively, and they haven’t shown that they have the offensive depth to make up for it. Dallas, however, was a team I thought could make a jump this season, but their offense has been disappointing. Roope Hintz has been struggling to score, but I’d still be targeting him as a buy-low option on the Stars’ top line. Jason Robertson is another young forward who’s shown elite scoring ability, finishing as the runner-up to Kaprizov in last seasons Calder race with 45 points. After missing a handful of games to start the year, Robertson seems to be healthy again, and his presence in the lineup should benefit Hintz as well. Defense is still the strength of this team. At 22 years-old, Miro Heiskanen has the makings of the next elite defenseman, who can play himself into the Makar/Adam Fox tier. John Klingberg and Ryan Suter are also reliable, veteran options. Ultimately, this team should be talented enough to work back into the division race, so I wouldn’t be trying to sell any of these players just yet.
In last, unsurprisingly, are the Arizona Coyotes. This team is bad. Very bad. If we’re looking for positives, defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere has found some offensive production again – in fact, he leads the Coyotes in scoring….as a defenseman. This was the production I would have expected from Jakob Chychrun, who’s one of my favorite young defenseman in the league, but his production has been essentially non-existence to start the year. Unless you’re desperate for D-men/hoping for a Chychrun trade, I’d want no part of this team in fantasy.
