1. The Central Division will make it hard
The Colorado Avalanche plays in one of the best divisions in the league.
The Colorado Avalanche are going to be playing against some stiff competition in 2023-24. The Central Division of the NHL is a very good one as the teams in it all think they will be competitive.
Teams like the Chicago Blackhawks and Arizona Coyotes have a long way to go so they won’t be a big problem for a squad like the Avalanche but that is about where the lowly team list in this division ends.
The Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, and St. Louis Blues are all question marks. They could all be very good and they could all sink this year. How they begin the year will likely determine how they handle things as far as the trade deadline and their prep for the future.
The top of the division is where things get interesting. The Dallas Stars are right there with the Avalanche for being known as the best teams in the league and the Minnesota Wild are trying to rise to that status. Those three teams are going to battle hard all season long.
If the Avalanche gets past one in the first round, they’d likely have to battle another one in the second round. Either way, the division will make both the regular season and playoffs very difficult for all the teams in it.