The Central Division featured the league’s best regular-season team in 2024-25. The race for the division crown wasn’t even close. The Winnipeg Jets ran away with the division, leaving the rest of the clubs to jockey for position.
The Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche cemented themselves in second and third, respectively, killing any uncertainty in the standings for months on end.
The interesting portion of the division came with three teams fighting for two playoff spots. That battle landed both Central Division clubs in the playoffs. While they didn’t get very far, the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues laid the foundation of what looks to be a bright future.
Fast forward to the 2025-26 season, and the Central Division could be one that delivers the most fascinating race in the standings. So, let’s do our best to determine where the teams in the Central will end up in the 2025-26 season.
2025-26 Central Division Preview
#8 Chicago Blackhawks
Picking the Chicago Blackhawks to finish last in the Central Division is pretty much a slam-dunk bet. The Blackhawks have no true incentive to go for broke this season. The allure of landing another top-three pick, and, most importantly, a shot at Gavin McKenna, could be too much to pass up.
The Blackhawks did not make any significant upgrades during the offseason. That’s somewhat of a disappointing situation for Chicago fans. But the tantalizing prospect of building a forward group including Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, Anton Frondell, AND McKenna could be the makings of a dynasty.
Add Alex Vlasic and Artyom Levshunov, and the Blackhawks could be unstoppable in the late 2020s heading into the 2030s. In the meantime, another painful season could be on the horizon for fans in the Windy City.
As a caveat, the Blackhawks could be much better than expected. So, they may climb out of the cellar. But that seems more like wishful thinking at this point.
#7 Nashville Predators
Last season was an unfortunate harbinger for the Nashville Predators. They bet on aging stars that just didn’t mesh well together. Ryan O’Reilly, Steven Stamkos, and Jonathan Marchessault, while talented individually, weren’t enough to move the needle in Nashville.
This scenario means the Predators could be stuck in neutral in the Central Division. Despite a Norris Trophy winner in Roman Josi and a Vezina-caliber netminder in Juuse Saros, the Predators don’t seem poised to hang with the big fellas of the Western Conference.
Nashville is a much better team than they’re record showed last season. But the lack of substantial upgrades this offseason makes it tough for the Preds to overtake other rising clubs in the Central.
#6 St. Louis Blues
It’s tough to put the St. Louis Blues in the sixth spot. But there are reasons to believe the Blues were a flash in the pan last season. They rode an unbelievable winning streak in the middle of the season.
Their 12-game winning streak toward the end of the season catapulted them into the postseason. They got hot at the right time and pushed the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets to the brink in the first round.
That may not happen this season. The Blues may fall back down to Earth. Unless they can consistently pull off big wins against the best clubs in the league, the Blues should regress. They might hang around the fringes of the playoff hunt in the Western Conference, but it won’t be enough to leap past the other clubs in the Central Division.
#5 Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild is the toughest team to assess in the Central Division. If they hold onto Kirill Kaprizov despite the contract saga, the club could fight for a spot in the top three. That assumption, of course, takes into account that Kaprizov plays a fully healthy season.
Brock Faber, Matt Boldy, and Marco Rossi have the makings of a solid young core. The addition of Vladimir Tarasenko is a wild card. If the Wild can squeeze 20 goals out of Tarasenko, they could end up making a dent in the Western Conference playoff race.
Additionally, goaltender Filip Gustavsson will need to play at the top of his skills to keep the Wild relevant in the Central.
Two newcomers could add more fuel to the Wild’s fire. Defenseman Zeev Buium could take the NHL by storm the way Faber did. Then, Danila Yurov could quickly climb up the team’s depth chart.
All told, the Wild’s veteran core could get the boost of talent it needs from upcoming youngsters. But there is a caveat. If the Wild are forced to move Kaprizov, it could derail the entire season unless the Wild get a king’s ransom for their franchise player.
#4 Utah Mammoth
Here’s a bold prediction: The Utah Mammoth will be a playoff club in 2025-26. They had a fabulous inaugural season, but faded down the stretch. Part of it had to do with goaltending.
But this season, the club’s overall core will be tough to beat. Captain Clayton Keller looks like a solid top-line forward. Strong seasons from Dylan Guenther and Logan Cooley could provide much of the offense this club needs.
The addition of JJ Peterka will be one that fans must keep an eye on. Peterka could explode in Utah, surpassing his career highs. The bottom six may need some tweaking. But veterans like Alex Kerfoot, Kevin Stenlund, and Brandon Tanev are solid options.
A fully healthy blue line for Utah could stack up with the best in the Central Division. Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino look good. Olli Maata and Sean Durzi seem poised to have a good season.
The addition of Stanley Cup champ Nath Schmidt will solidify the club’s bottom pairing. But as stated, goaltending could be the Mammoth’s Achilles heel. Karel Vejmelka figures to be the starter. Free-agent pickup Vitek Vanacek could see more action than the typical backup.
But Mammoth fans shouldn’t be surprised if the rumblings emerge regarding the addition of another goalie.
#3 Dallas Stars
This pick may be the most controversial one. The Dallas Stars finished second in the Central Division last season. While the club had a fantastic year, they were unable to catch the Jets.
This time around, the Stars are running it back with the same core. A full year of Mikko Rantanen bodes well for the club. They kept Jason Robertson and captain Jamie Benn. Matt Duchene came back on an uber team-friendly deal.
The blue line, well, there’s not much to be said there. Miro Heiskanen is a good as they get. Thomas Harley could emerge as the next great young blue liner. Esa Lindell will continue to evolve into a legit top-pairing D-man.
The goaltending is there with Jake Oettinger. Of course, that is assuming that his playoff shortcomings were an aberration, mostly due to fatigue. But it was that postseason rough patch that cost former coach Peter DeBoer his job.
Newcome Glen Gulutzan will look to continue the team’s success. But there’s no telling how long it could take the Stars to adapt to Gulutzan’s system. The team may struggle somewhat out of the gate. By the time they get back in sync, there may not be enough time to catch the Jets and the Colorado Avalanche.
However, Dallas fans shouldn’t worry about the Stars missing the playoffs. The gap between the Stars and the Mammoth could easily be in the double digits.
#2 Winnipeg Jets
It’s unreasonable to expect the Winnipeg Jets to reprise their Presidents’ Trophy-winning season. While they certainly could, the loss of Nikolaj Ehlers could lead to some regression in the standings. The Jets could still easily win the Central Division. But their best efforts may not be enough to beat a peak Colorado Avalanche team in the standings.
The additions of Jonathan Toews and Gustav Nyquist could give the Jets a boost. But there’s no telling how much Toews has left in the tank. Nyquist was a dud for the Wild last postseason. But fans should never count the Jets out. They have the best goalie in the world in Connor Hellebuyck.
So, the Jets could be the team everyone will be looking to beat in the Central next season. But unlike the New York Rangers of last season, don’t expect the wheels to fall off. They won’t sink and miss the playoffs.
This upcoming season could be the year the Jets break through to the Western Conference Final, if everything falls into place.
#1 Colorado Avalanche
It’s impossible to pick a team with all-world stars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar to finish below first or second in their division. That's the reality of the Colorado Avalanche.
Last season, the Avalanche had an inexplicable 0-4 start. That start was too much for the Avs to overcome in the standings. The runaway season by the Jets and Dallas’ dominance didn’t give Colorado much of a chance to climb the standings.
The Avalanche also overhauled their goaltending tandem on the fly and faced a ridiculous amount of injuries throughout the season.
Assuming none of those variables come into play in 2025-26, the Avalanche could hit the ground running. A great year from MacKenzie Blackwood could be enough to propel the Avalanche to a strong season.
MacKinnon should be in the mix for multiple awards. Makar could land his second-straight Norris Trophy. Complementary pieces like Artturi Lehkonen, Valeri Nichushkin, and Brock Nelson will shine. The bottom six looks solid despite a couple of question marks on the wings.
The blue line is arguably the best in the NHL. Devon Toews, Samuel Girard, and Josh Manson are money in the bank, barring injuries. Newcomer Brent Burns could have a resurgent season at 40.
The only monkey wrench in the works could be captain Gabe Landeskog. If he goes down with injury again this season, the Avalanche may be in the market for a top-six winger. While the club is deep enough to get by without Landeskog (they have for the last three seasons), his absence could force GM Chris MacFarland’s hand.
Colorado should be among the picks to unseat the Edmonton Oilers as the Western Conference’s top team.