The Central Division has seen an increase in star power presence through the return of Mikko Rantanen and the arrival of Martin Necas, but how have the other teams in the division fared during the dog days of the NHL offseason?
Stock Up
Utah Mammoth
Utah, besides finally deciding on a name, has had a very decent offseason that could see them equipped to take that next step. To start off their offseason, the Mammoth traded for disgruntled winger JJ Peterka from the Buffalo Sabres, in which they exchanged defenseman Michael Kesselring and forward Josh Doan. Peterka desired a change of scenery after posting a career best of 27 goals and 68 assists in 77 games, which earned him a 5-year contract with a $7.7 million AAV. The rising star is projected to play top-six minutes next to Barrett Hayton and Nick Schmaltz.
Utah continued their offseason by drafting Caleb Denoyers at 5th overall and proceeded to add some forward depth during the free agency period. The Mammoth both signed Brandon Tanev and Stanley Cup Champion, defenseman Nick Schmidt, to a three-year contract in order to provide both their defense and bottom six with their veteran presence.
Utah also extended Michael Carcone to a one-year deal to round out their bottom six as well as signing both Kailer Yamamoto and Scott Perunovich to provide some insurance to their roster in case of injuries. The final piece to their puzzle was the extension of Jack McBain, who will act as the team’s third-line center, regardless if his contract is peculiar due to the small sample size of his production.
The Mammoth are trending in the proper direction towards contention and have assembled a pretty competent roster. While they cannot be listed as contenders due to their question marks at second-line center and in between the pipes, the Mammoth have more than deserved their place in the sun when it comes to buying stock in their upcoming season.
Colorado Avalanche
After winning the Stanley Cup in 2022, the Avalanche were poised to have several more years of contention. But after a series of poorly planned moves and decisions, the Avalanche are now staring down the barrel of uncertainty. This isn't to say that the Avalanche are done competing; that would be a gross miscalculation, but the Avalanche are currently racing against their own biological clock due to the aging core they have assembled alongside the limited resources they have to maintain a stable future.
The Avalanche began the offseason by extending their second-line center for the near future in Brock Nelson, who was acquired from the New York Islanders at this year’s trade deadline. The extension could be seen as rather steep, especially considering his age, but nevertheless the Avalanche did some great work in keeping the term short and retaining him, especially considering the price they paid to acquire him, to fill one of the most glaring gaps in their lineup since they won the cup in 2022.
Their next move was a fantastic trade to acquire prospect Gavin Brindley, a 2025 third-round pick, and a 2026 second-round pick, where they traded Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to the Columbus Blue Jackets. This move was very decent because they acquired a decent prospect and draft capital while shedding some much-needed cap space for the upcoming season, where the Marty Necas extension is likely staring them in the face.
Colorado proceeded to extend defensemen Sam Malinski, who is projected to fill their third-pairing defenseman on the left-hand side, and Josh Manson, who will retain his role as the team’s second-pairing right-handed defenseman. To round out their defensive depth, Colorado brought on Brent Burns to provide a veteran presence and fill in as the team’s third-pairing right-handed defenseman. To add to the bottom six, a continuous issue on a team that is considered top-heavy, the Avalanche signed Joel Kiviranta to a new contract and signed free agent Victor Olofsson.
The reason the Avalanche are in this category is due to their roster composition being very decent on paper. They finally acquired their ever-elusive second-line center in Brock Nelson as well as added a veteran presence to their blue line in Brent Burns. But what those two gentlemen have in common is how they are up in age and will only pose as a temporary solution to long-term issues.
St Louis Blues
After a remarkable season, where they almost upset the reigning President’s Trophy winners, the St. Louis Blues fell short to the Winnipeg Jets in game 7 of the first round of the playoffs. The Blues decided to regroup this offseason and make some depth signings; however, there are still questions if this team has the composition and firepower to properly stake a claim in a division that is already a dogfight to make any moves in. Nevertheless, this upcoming season will begin a full year under former Boston Bruins’ head coach Jim Montgomery, who could provide this team with the structure and tenacity it needs to stake a proper claim.
The Blues began their offseason by extending netminder Joel Hofer to a two-year deal, which ensures he will continue to play backup to Jordan Binnington. St. Louis began their free agency deadline by trading Zachary Bolduc to the Montreal Canadiens for Logan Mailloux, one for one. This does make sense due to the Blues needing young and promising defensemen to develop for their aging blue line, but it does raise an eyebrow if it was worth giving up a promising forward prospect considering their lackluster forward prospect pool besides Jimmy Snuggerud. The Blues proceeded to sign Nick Bjugstad to a two-year deal; he is projected to play on the third line centered by Pius Suter, who was also signed to a two-year deal to provide further middle-six depth.
St. Louis has had an interesting offseason in the sense that it was difficult placing them in this category. The Blues haven't made any extravagant moves but still conducted some cost-effective transactions to round out their lineup and provide reinforcements to star players Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou. The Blues will likely remain in the race for a playoff spot and could be poised to make some moves at the trade deadline to acquire that star forward or defenseman that will put them over the top to make some waves in this year’s NHL Playoffs.
To Be Determined
Dallas Stars
The Stars had a rollercoaster of a season as a team that has been struggling to take the final step in their quest for the Stanley Cup. Dallas made a colossal move during the NHL trade deadline when they acquired superstar Mikko Rantanen from the Carolina Hurricanes after he was traded by the Colorado Avalanche earlier in the year. The Stars proceeded to extend him to a lucrative deal where he assumed his role as the team’s first-line right winger alongside Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson. While this team made a very decent push in this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Stars ultimately came up short against the Edmonton Oilers despite the depth of their roster.
The Stars began the offseason by extending Matt Duchene to a 4-year deal in which he will serve as a middle-six presence. Up next on the docket was the extension of right-handed defenseman Nils Lundqvist, a veteran and responsible defensive defenseman. The reasoning to highlight this particular transaction is due to how limited Dallas is on the right side of the blue line, which a healthy Lundqvist will likely help stabilize. With Matt Dumba being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a salary cap dump move, the Stars will likely be relying on a right-handed side composed of Heiskanen, Lundqvist, and Ilya Lybushkin.
The Stars went on to extend Mavrik Bourque to a one-year deal, which came as a bit of a shock due to his disgruntled sentiments of not receiving enough meaningful minutes during Peter DeBoer’s regime. Dallas extended their captain, Jamie Benn, to a very team-friendly deal as well as welcoming back Radek Faksa to the bottom six after a brief stint in St. Louis. The last piece of business conducted by general manager Jim Nill was signing Nathan Bastian to serve as the team’s 13th forward for the upcoming season.
After careful evaluation, the Dallas Stars are likely to have a coin flip of a season in the sense that they will either continue their regular season domination of the West or will take a step back under their new head coach, Glen Gulutzan. The Stars will still likely be a dominant major power in the west, as they are currently headlined by big names in Mikko Rantanen, Roope Hintz, Miro Heiskanen, and Jake Oettinger. However, they did lose some depth pieces but were able to restock them with some interesting assets that require further examination through witnessing their performance during the regular season.
Minnesota Wild
The Wild had a very lackluster playoff run this year in which they continued their first-round playoff defeat streak, 8 consecutive first-round exits. After being defeated by the Vegas Golden Knights, where they threw rookie defenseman Zeev Buium into the deep end, to say the least, the Wild have made some interesting yet small tweaks to their lineup for the upcoming season, as they are likely anticipating a very large and lucrative extension for franchise winger Kirill Kaprizov.
Minnesota began their offseason by trading for winger Vladimir Tarasenko to amplify their middle six. The former star will be a solid and cost-effective addition for the Wild, for whom they only parted ways with “future considerations,” where he will likely find playing time alongside newly extended Marco Rossi and Matthew Boldy. During the free agency period, the Wild signed centerman Nico Sturm to fill their fourth-line center position and signed Cal Petersen to round out their goal crease.
After inviting veteran defenseman Jack Johnson to their fall training camp and signing experienced forward Nicholas Aube-Kubel to a two-way deal, the Wild recently completed their offseason by extending their most promising centerman in Marco Rossi. The talented forward was extended to a three-year deal with a $5 million AAV, which makes this one of the best contracts signed this offseason considering some of the other more questionable deals that were bestowed upon younger players. A perfect example would be recently extended Frank Nazar on the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Wild and their offseason transactions were likely conducted with caution due to the upcoming albatross of a contract that will be Kirill Kaprizov’s extension. On that matter, general manager Bill Guerin was quoted saying, “Nobody can offer him more than we can,” which can allow fans to assume that the Wild will throw every single available dollar in order to extend their franchise winger. This team, overall, is poised to make a decent push for the playoffs and looks to be buyers at the trade deadline. However, the Wild also find themselves in a division that is due for some competition and the path to a playoff spot is increasingly unclear due to their recent performance, which is why they find themselves in this particular category.
Stock Down
Winnipeg Jets
The Jets, after a disappointing run in the NHL playoffs, had a very tame offseason, with their only noteworthy transaction being the addition of NHL veteran and legend Jonathan Toews. The former Chicago Blackhawk and three-time Stanley Cup Champion will likely assume a role as the team’s second-line center, which will bump down Vladislav Namestikov to the third line. The Manitoba native is looking to bounce back after a potential career-ending injury almost cut the remaining twilight years of his career short.
After getting bounced by the Dallas Stars in the second round of the playoffs, the Jets looked to make some complimentary moves to brace for the inevitability of Nikolaj Ehlers’ departure. The Jets began by extending defenseman Haydn Fleury to a two-year extension and will likely serve as the team’s third-pairing left-handed defenseman. The Jets maintained some stability on their fourth line through the extensions of Rasmus Kupari and Cole Koepke while also signing Gustav Nyquist to provide some middle-six firepower. To round out their offseason, the Jets extended both defenseman Dylan Samberg and first-line winger Gabriel Vilardi to new deals and avoided salary arbitration. The two former restricted free agents signed lucrative deals that will keep them in Winnipeg for the long term, no matter how steep the contracts look after a closer examination.
While many readers could make the assumption that this offseason wasn't exactly good nor bad for the Jets, Winnipeg is currently in their contention stage, and this past offseason can be seen as a step back considering that many teams in their division have improved or maintained the same rosters that stand as obstacles for the Jets. It can be argued that the Jets made some rather salary-cap-savvy moves to prepare for the inevitability of Kyle Connor’s extension, but it is prudent to assume that the Jets could see some increased competition from the more developing teams in the division due to their very tame offseason moves. The Jets are still a playoff team, but it will be very interesting to see if their new approach to their roster composition will continue to provide them security in the standings.
Chicago Blackhawks
With Connor Bedard’s last year on his entry-level deal on the horizon, the Blackhawks have attempted to round out their roster with an amalgamation of veterans and players with something to prove. A prototypical player that was just extended this offseason was Ryan Donato, who surpassed the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career this past season. The Blackhawks also traded for decorated veteran Andre Burakovsky while welcoming back Sam Lafferty, the former Blackhawk who was traded to Toronto in 2023 and spent a tour in Buffalo before being reacquired during this year’s free agency period. Chicago also signed their third overall pick in this year’s NHL draft to his entry-level deal, Anton Frondell, who is expected to develop before cracking the NHL lineup.
Now for the elephant in the room, on August 21st the Chicago Blackhawks extended their former 13th overall pick from 2022, Frank Nazar, to a lucrative extension after one full season in the NHL. It is becoming a tendency for many developing teams and their general managers to extend their budding rookies to very expensive deals despite the significantly small sample size, with some players receiving deals right after their first full year in the NHL, with examples such as Jackson Blake and now Frank Nazar. While time will tell if this deal will age like wine or milk, Frank Nazar will have a large yet lucrative burden to carry as he is poised to center the Blackhawks’ second line for the next 8 seasons.
The Blackhawks have done very little to give Connor Bedard a fighting chance at remotely competing for a playoff spot. Their season currently rests on young players and former prospects to break out and carry their offense with their veterans acting as their chaperones. Connor Bedard will likely ask for a significant extension, similar to how Connor McDavid received his extension a few years back in 2017, which will likely hamper down their cap space and their opportunity to make meaningful improvements. For now, their stick remains the same as it has been for the past few years, at a very cautious buy low with little confidence for improvement.
Nashville Predators
The Predators, after acquiring a stellar amount of top-tier talent during last year’s free agency deadline, had a very disappointing year that exposed the egregious holes in their lineup. This offseason has been relatively quiet for the Predators, in which they made some slight tweaks and tinkering within their lineup, such as trading for Eric Haula from the New Jersey Devils to serve as their third-line center, as well as signing former Tampa Bay Lightning Nick Perbix to serve as their third-pairing right-handed defenseman.
Nashville began their offseason by extending a waiver pickup, Andreas Englund, who will likely assume the role of the team’s seventh defenseman. The last piece of business conducted before the free agency period was trading for defenseman Nicolas Hague from the Vegas Golden Knights, who will likely function as Nashville’s left-handed third-pairing defenseman alongside freshly acquired Nick Perbix. Finally, after drafting him 5th overall in this year’s NHL draft, the Predators signed Brady Martin to his entry-level deal, who will likely spend some time with the Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL before assuming his role in the middle six.
The Predators have had a very tranquil offseason compared to last year’s spending spree. But their relaxed composure is not something to be content about due to the fact that they are still missing some critical pieces to their lineup, such as a proper first-line center since Ryan O'Reilly is not getting any younger. While Nashville has some solid wing depth and a decent youth movement in progress, having a young forward in Luke Evangelista in the top six, who had a very mediocre year, is a cause for concern.
Nashville is positioned to deploy a top line of Steven Stamkos, Ryan O'Reilly, and Jonathan Marchessault, which is incredible for the short term but poses questions for the long term. The Predators have still achieved a great amount by restructuring their defense through their additions, but their lackluster middle six spells out some questions in their ability to compete. As a result, this offseason likely doesn't answer any of the pending issues plaguing Nashville which will probably result in them needing another year or two before they can properly compete.