NFL
By Greg Rector
The realigned Central Division sees the Arizona Coyotes come to the division as they made room for the expansion of Seattle Kraken in the Pacific Division. There’s been plenty of player changes for these teams as well. Once again I will go from the bottom to the top as I see the division shaping up.
Arizona Coyotes
Perrenial doormats no matter where they go, the Coyotes will also be homeless as their long-running arena issues have finally resulted in the teams’ eviction being confirmed by Glendale, AZ officials after this season. Houston or Kansas City seems to be the leading contenders to be their new home. On the ice, there’s not much to hope for either. This team has Phil Kessel well past his best before date and not much else. This franchise has been embarrassing for too long and new ownership along with a new location is badly needed.
Nashville Predators
After challenging for many seasons the Predators are now in a rebuild mode. Pekka Rinne long one of the league’s best netminders retired, they traded away Ryan Ellis from the blueline and Viktor Arvidsson is in Los Angeles now. Phillipe Myers will assume the Ellis minutes and the Predators must hope a change of scenery for Cody Glass will ignite his career. This team needs a whole lot of things to go right for them this year, I just don’t see it happening.
Dallas Stars
Stanley Cup finalists in 2020 had a disappointing season and the changes they made after the title run didn’t work out for them. Tyler Seguin is still a special talent and a joy to watch, however, health is a concern. Veteran goaltender Braden Holtby joins Anton Khudobin, so the Stars should be solid between the pipes. Ryan Suter along with Jani Hakanpaa were signed to bolster the defense corps. So there’s some talent here but the supporting cast isn’t there for a deep playoff push in my opinion.
Chicago Blackhawks
The Hawks will get Jonathan Toews back who missed all of last season. They will rely upon the brother’s Jones’ as in Caleb and Seth to replace Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook on defense. Marc Andre Fleury originally balked at coming to Chicago but changed his mind and will play in goal. They also acquired forward Tyler Johnson from the champion Lightning. It will be a thin group outside of that and if they don’t stay healthy there won’t be a return to the playoffs. The Blackhawks are basically on the verge of being in or out f the playoff picture.
Minnesota Wild
The Wild certainly turned the page in the off-season they bought out the contracts of both Ryan Suter ad Zach Parise anchors of the roster for many years. Enter veteran defensemen Alex Goligoski, Dmitry Kulikov, and Jon Merrill. This team will be in the picture because they won’t get blown out by anyone. Kirill Kaprizov’s contract needs to be finalized, but the exciting young Russian winger will get signed. With the tandem of Cal Talbot and Kaapo Kahkohen in goal, this team will be a factor.
Winnipeg Jets
With the Patrick Laine saga finally concluded the Jets have a roster that is deep. Veterans and young players in a nice balance. Pierre- Luc Dubois the player acquired for Laine is a talented center, and they still have veterans Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifle, and Nikolaj Ehlers up front too. Connor Hellebuyck is one of the best goaltenders in the game. They should be a lock to enter the playoffs.
St.Louis Blues
This roster has an issue the Blues must solve. Vladamir Tararsenko one of the league’s best snipers has demanded a trade. The Blues don’t want the dissension hanging over them. Brandon Saad and Pavel Buchnevich will bolster an already solid forward group. The return that a Tarasenko trade would give this team would likely mean they might end up with the deepest roster in the league. Ryan O’Reilly, Tyler Bozak, Brayden Schenn, and Ivan Barbashev down the middle are the envy of many other teams. Jordan Binnington has emerged as an excellent goaltender.
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche might have won the President’s Trophy as the best team in the regular season, but they once again exited the playoffs earlier than expected. This season is the make-or-break year for this highly talented roster. Captain Gabriel Landeskog, superstar Nathan MacKinnon must lead them beyond being the regular season terrors. They lost goaltender Phillip Grubauer, so acquired veteran Darcy Kuemper who will have one of the best defensemen in the game Cale Makar anchor a very solid group along the blueline. This roster simply has disappointed when it matters and gets one more chance to shine before there are big changes in Denver.
