The Pacific is volatile, the Metropolitan is unpredictable and the Atlantic is stacked, but no division features as massive a gap between its best and worst teams as the Central.
On one end of the spectrum sit the Avalanche, fresh off one of the most dominant Stanley Cup runs in recent history, and the Wild, a burgeoning title contender in their own right.
At the other end sit the Coyotes, long the NHL’s most well-known punching bag, and the Blackhawks, a team constructed to land the No. 1 overall draft pick next summer. The gap in talent, depth and just about everything else is enormous — almost comparable to the NHL-versus-AHL divide.
It’s an interesting time to be in the Western Conference, which clearly has become the inferior half of the league — aside from the Avalanche — in the last few years. Entering the season, one can make a convincing argument that five of the top seven teams in the NHL reside in the East.
But every season packs some surprises, and 2022-23 likely will be no different. Here are the Sun-Times’ projected standings for every division:
CENTRAL DIVISION
1. Avalanche: As is typical for Cup winners, the ensuing offseason salary-cap crunch cost the Avalanche several key contributors: Nazem Kadri, Darcy Kuemper and Andre Burakovsky. Evan Rodrigues and new starting goaltender Alexandar Georgiev aren’t equal replacements, but the Avalanche still have so many elite players that there’s no reason to worry.
Nathan MacKinnon (now locked up through 2031), Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen are three of the best forwards in the league, Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen are two of the best defensive forwards in the league and defenseman Cale Makar might be the best player in the league, period. Few, if any, teams can stack up to that.
2. Wild: They broke through into the NHL’s upper echelon last season, finishing second in the West with 113 points, and a very similar team returns in 2022-23.
Kirill Kaprizov is now an established superstar, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno are annual Selke Trophy candidates, youngsters Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi are ready to explode, the defense is well-rounded through all six members and ageless Marc-Andre Fleury remains a solid starting goalie. Their sole problem is the Avalanche being in the same division.
3. Stars: A coaching change from Rick Bowness to Pete DeBoer likely will result in a more offensive mindset for the Stars. Considering how impenetrably good young goalie Jake Oettinger looks as though he’ll be moving forward, that’s probably a smart decision.
Up front, the key will be finding production from players beyond the top line, which — featuring Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski — pretty much carried the whole team last season. On defense, Miro Heiskanen will need to carry a bigger load now that John Klingberg is with the Ducks.
4. Blues (wild card): Nine forwards hitting the 20-goal mark for the 2021-22 Blues was a remarkable accomplishment, reflecting what arguably is their league-best offensive depth. Eight of them are back in 2022-23, and top prospect Jake Neighbours potentially could take David Perron’s place.
The Blues’ weaker aspects are on defense, where Colton Parayko, Torey Krug and Justin Faulk are all more like second- than first-pair guys, and in goal, where now-departed Ville Husso largely carried Jordan Binnington last season.
5. Jets: Bowness is now with the Jets, and he arrived with a bang, stripping Blake Wheeler of his captaincy with two years left on his contract.
That controversial decision reflects built-up frustration in the organization over the fact that the core — forwards Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers and Pierre-Luc Dubois, defenseman Josh Morrissey and goalie Connor Hellebuyck — has yet to deliver much notable team success. After a disappointing 89-point finish last season, this season feels like a tipping point in the Jets’ long-term direction.
6. Predators: The Predators have managed to be an above-average, annoying-to-play-against team every season for years, no matter which players come and go.
After a tumultuous 2021 offseason made no difference, the team hardly changed at all this summer, with Nino Niederreiter being the lone notable addition. Elite defenseman Roman Josi and elite goalie Jusse Saros are cornerstones, but the forward group leaves a lot to be desired and might be in line for some negative regression after greatly outperforming expectations last season. Might the Predators finally encounter some inconsistency this season?
7. Coyotes: Between the Coyotes and Hawks, the team that finishes seventh in the Central this season might be one of the worst teams in NHL history not to be the worst in its own division.
The Coyotes are bringing back roughly the same awful lineup they fielded last season — a lineup headlined, in a generous use of the word, by Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller and now without Phil Kessel.
8. Blackhawks: If Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews remain on the team for the entire season, out-tanking the Coyotes might be a challenge. But make no mistake: The surrounding cast is bleak. Scoring goals might prove to be difficult for this roster.
Where the Hawks’ new goaltending tandem of Petr Mrazek and Alex Stalock falls on the spectrum of respectable to atrocious also will make a big difference in the battle for last place.
PACIFIC DIVISION (playoff teams in bold)
Seven Pacific teams conceivably could make the playoffs, but none are slam dunks. Whether the Golden Knights can reverse their downward trajectory is the most intriguing question in the division, an the upstart Ducks and Bruce Boudreau-revived Canucks are fun Cinderella candidates. The two Alberta teams clearly pack the most star power, however.
1. Oilers
2. Flames
3. Ducks
4. Canucks
5. Golden Knights
6. Kings
7. Kraken
8. Sharks
METROPOLITAN DIVISION
The Hurricanes look like the runaway favorites, but they’ve yet to prove they can translate their recent regular-season dominance into the playoffs. How the Capitals’, Penguins’ and Islanders’ aging cores fare compared to one another will be interesting, as will Johnny Gaudreau’s impact (or lack thereof) on the Blue Jackets.
1. Hurricanes
2. Rangers
3. Capitals
4. Penguins
5. Devils
6. Blue Jackets
7. Islanders
8. Flyers
ATLANTIC DIVISION
With Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux on board, the Senators are the most improved team this season. But they’ll have to challenge a loaded group of contenders. Five of the NHL’s top 11 teams might play in the Atlantic. Surely the Maple Leafs, who have perhaps the best on-paper roster of the bunch, will make a postseason run one of these years, right?
1. Maple Leafs
2. Lightning
3. Panthers
4. Bruins
5. Senators
6. Red Wings
7. Sabres
8. Canadiens
CONFERENCE FINALS
West: Avalanche defeat Flames.
East: Maple Leafs defeat Rangers.
STANLEY CUP FINAL
Maple Leafs defeat Avalanche.
