2022-2023 NHL Season Preview: The Central Division

There’s not a ton to say about the two teams at the bottom of the Central Division, but they have to have their own section, because they are so far below their rivals.

To start, the Arizona Coyotes are not to be taken seriously until we see some sign of competency. The Yotes have made the playoffs one time in the last decade, and it was in 2020 when 24 teams were in the field.

There is some talent on the roster, but players like Phil Kessel took their first opportunity to leave the desert, and it’s fair to wonder if the good players still with the Coyotes will be dealt at some point this season.

When Zack Kassian is the biggest addition of the offseason and the most interesting thing about the team is that it will be playing its home games in a college arena, things don’t exactly look promising for Arizona this season.

Similarly, the Chicago Blackhawks have officially given up on clinging to their championship hopes and are now in full rebuild mode. Kirby Dach, Alex DeBrincat, and more were let go over the summer, leaving Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews to pick up the pieces.

Last offseason, the team made a few big splashes that made me believe that it could make one last run at a deep trip through the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That thought was met with resounding rejection, and now the club’s trajectory is going completely in the other direction.

Fans can’t even say for sure that Kane and Toews will finish the 2022-2023 campaign in the Windy City, so this is going to be a long season for the Blackhawks.

This team, without question, has more talent than the Coyotes, so I have them finishing in seventh place, but there is enough uncertainty that, in one of the other divisions, this could be a last-place team.