NHL 2021-2022 Midseason Report Cards: Central Division
As the middle of January transitions into the end of January, the NHL is at the midpoint of its 2021-2022 campaign.
With the holiday break and the Winter Classic in the books and the All-Star break and trade deadline lurking, this is the natural point in the NHL season where teams begin to determine how to proceed for the remainder of the year.
Some teams have Stanley Cup championship aspirations, while some just want to get into the playoffs, and others are simply seeking improvement over what they accomplished a season ago. Whatever the case may be, each team can be assessed based on expectations, and what better way to do that than with report card grades?
Where do things stand in the NHL’s Central Division?
I’ll go division by division to gauge how teams have faired this season, and the next group on the list is the Central Division. Let’s start with the standings as they appear entering action on Wednesday, January 26:
- Colorado Avalanche (29-8-3, 61 points)
- Nashville Predators (27-14-3, 57 points)
- St. Louis Blues (25-12-5, 55 points)
- Minnesota Wild (25-10-3, 53 points)
- Dallas Stars (22-16-2, 46 points)
- Winnipeg Jets (17-15-7, 41 points)
- Chicago Blackhawks (15-20-7, 37 points)
- Arizona Coyotes (10-27-4, 24 points)
Arizona Coyotes: F
Not only have the Coyotes not played well this season, but they haven’t made an effort to do so either. Arizona is once again the drop-off site for unwanted contracts, while simultaneously, talent is being shipped out of town in a rebuild effort that seems to never end.
Off the ice, there are constant relocation and trade rumors, plus there was the arena payment situation a few months ago, where the Yotes were almost locked out of their arena. That is only the tip of the arena iceberg, as the franchise does not have a home yet for next season.
The poor on-ice product is expected, but the all-around state of hockey in Arizona garners the failing grade.
Chicago Blackhawks: D
The Blackhawks might be my most disappointing team in the NHL this season. I really thought that adding players like Seth Jones and Marc-Andre Fleury, while also getting captain Jonathan Toews back, would help this team return to the playoffs.
Instead, a horrific start to the season has kept Chicago down, and as the club is still nine points out of a playoff spot, they have struggled to close the gap. Only four teams in the NHL have a worse point percentage than the Blackhawks, further exemplifying just how far out of the playoffs Chicago is.
I want to remain optimistic, but that is getting harder by the game. The Hawks can hope for a stronger second half, but the first half earns low marks.
Colorado Avalanche: A+
There is not one thing going wrong in Colorado right now. The Avalanche have the best point percentage in the NHL, and they are four points clear of the next closest team in the Western Conference.
A trio of Colorado forwards are in the top-20 in the league in points, while defenseman Devon Toews owns the best plus-minus rating in the NHL. Countless other Avalanche players are having statistically outstanding seasons, but diving into each of them would require a separate article.
The penalty kill could be better, so not everything is perfect in Denver, but it’s about as close as any team has gotten so far this season.
Dallas Stars: C
For several seasons now, the Stars have been a team that intrigues me. The defense is often impressive, while the offense boasts top-level talent that makes Dallas a dangerous team on any given night.
Unfortunately, the offense still doesn’t look explosive like it did in the 2020 playoffs, and worse, the defense has regressed this year. On average, the Stars score three goals per game and concede three goals per game, as demonstrated by their -1 goal differential.
If the offense gets hot at the right time, Dallas could win the West. If it doesn’t, this team could miss the playoffs entirely. Since the team currently resides well behind a few division rivals, it will take a pretty big effort to earn more than a wild card spot.
Minnesota Wild: A
The Wild may be fourth in the division right now, but if the games that they have in hand turn into wins, they will be knocking on Colorado’s door before you know it. Minnesota has the second-best point percentage in the West and ample opportunity to climb the standings.
So far this season, only three teams across the NHL have a better goal differential than the Wild, thanks to Minnesota’s 3.8 goals per game (third in the NHL). This team has positioned itself well to brace for a loaded second half of the season, especially in January, where it is 6-1-1.
The questions with Minnesota never come in the regular season, but rather the postseason. Until we get there, I like what I’ve seen from the Wild this year.
Nashville Predators: B+
The Predators have been a very pleasant surprise this year in the NHL. Players like Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen have had nice bounce-back seasons and are big reasons for Nashville’s surprising position.
The reason this team doesn’t receive an A is that I’m not sure if I can trust what I’ve seen. Do I believe that the star players that failed to live up to the hype for several years are going to continue the solid first half of the season? Am I positive that the team will maintain its sold special teams efforts? No is unfortunately the answer to both questions.
Maybe I’ll be wrong, but there are a lot of playoff-caliber teams in the Central, and I’m not sure that Nashville will be able to keep up. In the meantime, I have to acknowledge that this team has played well to this point, so the grade is a B+.
St. Louis Blues: A
The Blues are a team that I have changed my opinion on completely this year. At the beginning of the year, I picked St. Louis to miss the playoffs entirely, but now, I think this is a team that could make a deep run.
Why the change? Because the offense of the Blues is playing well, which is a bit of a new phenomenon for this team. Usually, defense guides this club, so the fact that both the offense and defense are playing well is encouraging.
The only improvement that I would want to see is the goaltending. Jordan Binnington has been good, but if he can capture his 2019 form, that A will turn to an A+.
Winnipeg Jets: C-
I did not have the Jets qualifying for the postseason when the year began. That was not because I expected the team to be bad, but I thought the Western Conference would be crowded, and they’d be the first team out.
As it stands, however, the Jets are struggling. Since mid-November, Winnipeg is 8-12-4, and the team has fallen five points out of a playoff spot. The fact that the offense for the Jets is scoring just under three goals per contest is very concerning to me, because after goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, I don’t love the defense in Winnipeg.
The Jets are essentially in the same spot as the Stars, but I don’t see as much upside with Winnipeg. I’ll give this club a C- in the first half, as I see it as an underachievement that could cost them a postseason berth.
Related Story. NHL 2021-2022 Midseason Report Cards: Pacific Division. light
The Central Division has some extreme highs and some extreme lows, but in total, this might be the division with the most true Cup contenders. As such, the second half of the season should be fun.