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Colorado Avalanche – I actually have the Avs grading out as the top team in the Western Conference, and there are a few reasons as to why I am making this prediction. The primary reason is because of chemistry and experience playing together. The Avs were not happy with their start last year and made major fundamental changes to their roster including: trading Mikko Rantanen, both of their goalies, as well as many other supplementary moves around the edges. Now, Mackenzie Blackwood knows his defensemen’s tendencies, Martin Necas has a half season of experience playing with Nathan Mackinnon, and Brock Nelson got used to his team in the playoffs as well. Brent Burns is a new addition added in free agency and I think he is a very sneaky pickup on that final D-pairing. Their captain Gabe Landeskog is back and looked solid in the playoffs which is a huge shot in the arm for them. I just think with experience gelling together that this team is incredibly dangerous. They have 2 of the top 5 players in the world, and a lot of other talent in their top 6 forwards. They should be one of the top scoring teams in the league, and their defense is also fantastic on paper. If Blackwood is a league average goalie, this team may take the Central Division.
Dallas Stars – This is going to be a pretty straightforward and vanilla breakdown sadly, because there isn’t much to say quite frankly. This team top to bottom is one of the best teams in the NHL, period. Oettinger is the spine of the team in net, and he has a very solid defense in front of him which includes a now healthy Miro Heiskanen. I love their center depth with Hintz, Johnston, and Duchene, and they have awesome scoring forwards as well headlined by Robertson and Rantanen. Rantanen has a half year with his teammates, and now a training camp, and I think that he will be clicking with the Stars. This a no nonsense team with a great roster and home crowd, and they will make sure to get the job done in the regular season.
Winnipeg Jets – The Jets are kind of another boring breakdown because there really isn’t much to report on. I have them as a playoff team, but I don’t have them dominating again, because it is really hard for a goalie to repeat an MVP season. The story starts and ends with future hall of fame goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who needs a lighter workload in general. The Jets have a nice blue-line in front of Hellebuyck still, and their forwards are decent but leave more to be desired. Losing Nikolaj Ehlers hurts this team, and it will be interesting to see if and how big of a step the young game 7 hero Cole Perfetti takes. Jonathan Toews is somehow back, and if he resembles 65% of his former self, he is a very good 3rd line center. I just see the Jets not allowing that many goals, and scoring just enough to make the playoffs. Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, and Josh Morrissey have to all 3 stay healthy all year however, because offensively this team is top heavy.
Mar 14, 2025; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor (81) is congratulated by his team mates on his goal against the Dallas Stars during the second period at Canada Life Centre. Mandatory Credit: Terrence Lee-Imagn Images
St Louis Blues – The Blues looked like a real playoff team last year and I have them marching right back in. They have a lot of their same team from last year including some solid additions of Pius Suter and Nick Bjugstad. Their vets are all the same for the most part, but they added 2 more solid vets to the lineup with those 2 guys that can play up and down the lineup. I also think all of their young guys can get better organically and they already played a big role. Those young studs include Jake Neighbours, Jimmy Snuggerud, Dylan Holloway, and Philip Broberg. This is just a strong lineup up and down and I like the fact you can mix and match Binnington and Hofer in net whenever you want. Shoutout to Robert Thomas who is one of the most under-rated centers in the league, and Jordan Kyrou who is an automatic 33 goals every single year. The Blues make the playoffs, jot it down.
Utah Mammoth – I may have the Mammoth as 5th in this division, but I have this inked as the best division in hockey, and I have the Mammoth making the playoffs in their first season as the Mammoth. JJ Peterka is the perfect young goal scoring talent to add to this roster in my opinion, and I also like the tone setter in Brandon Tanev that they brought in as well. The top 6 is pretty set in Utah and they are young, fast, and scary. Logan Cooley and Clayton Keller making plays and Dylan Guenther and JJ Peterka smacking in the goals. I also like their defense, especially their depth adding in guys like Nate Schmidt and Olli Maatta. Sergachev is a stallion, Sean Durzi is very under-rated, and John Marino can be good if he stays healthy. They have slightly above average goaltending with Karel Vejmelka and decent backups. I simply don’t have much negativity in my view of the Utah Mammoth. Their fans will be buzzing and they should be! This team at the very least should be in the playoff mix at the end of the year, and I have them getting in.
Minnesota Wild – I weirdly having the Wild as a fringe team missing the playoffs. I like their top players who have a ceiling, but this team simply doesn’t have enough muscle for me to navigate the toughest division in hockey. Kaprizov is a glass cannon, Zuccarello is old, and Marco Rossi is a smaller player that they tried to trade but couldn’t. They probably have enough goals scored to make the playoffs, but I question their ability to keep the puck out of their own net. Their defense is a combination of too old or too young, which is a recipe for conceding goals. Buium and Jiricek are big question marks this year as if they are ready to make the leap or not, and guys like Spurgeon, Bogosian, and Brodin are oft-injured veterans even though they are solid guys. Filip Gustavsson is a big question mark in net as he has given us very erratic months, and fellow countryman Jesper Wallstedt is very inexperienced if he makes the leap into the NHL. This team is just too soft in my eyes. They have the talent to make the playoffs, but I question their longevity throughout a season which also requires the Olympics.
Chicago Blackhawks – The Blackhawks are headed in the right direction, and the path they are taking is making sense. They have tons of great young prospects, especially on defense, and a young starting goalie with a high ceiling in Spencer Knight. Kyle Davidson still stinks in general so far, letting Gustav Forsling, Dylan Strome, and Brandon Hagel all go for minimal or no returns, but they are headed on a decent path now. I think all of their young players take a step this year, and they will be a fun team to watch at the bare minimum. The veteran players they have are decent and could potentially be traded in the future for even more assets. I don’t mind the addition of Andre Burakovsky to their middle 6, and I think Ryan Donato was a good contract to sign. This year hopefully we get to see whether Connor Bedard actually is “him” or not, and hopefully we see which young defenseman takes a further step than the others. My bet is that Levshunov is their main defenseman of the future, and Rinzel and Korchinski factor in on the 2nd pair or so. It’s tough to win in this league with an inexperienced blue-line, which is why I have them still missing the playoffs.
Nashville Predators – Barry Trotz needs to be studied by science. How can someone be such a great coach, and then not know how to run a hockey team at all when they get into the front office? This team is somehow both full of veteran players over 30 years old, and awful. This team should be way better than they are, but they have no centers at all, and zero speed or playmaking. If I was running this team, Josi, Forsberg, Marchessault, Stamkos, Ryan O’Reilly, and Saros would be gone. Especially in a seller’s market, they would have smashed with future assets this past offseason. I don’t really know what the plan is with this team and I don’t know how Erik Haula helps them this offseason. There isn’t much else to say here sadly, this team does not excite me at all, even though they do own the best mustache in the NHL in Filip Forsberg.