2014-15 Outlook: Central Division

Now that we have gone through each team in this division, lets predict where they will finish!

2014-15 Outlook: Dallas Stars

Dallas Stars

Head Coach: Lindy Ruff (2nd Season in DAL)

Arena: American Airlines Center (Capacity: 18,532)

2013-14 Record: 40-31-11 (4th in Central Division)

Record vs MIN in 2013-14: 2-1-1

2013-14 Corsi For %: 51.5% (10th in NHL)

Top Scorer: Tyler Seguin (84 Points, 2.81 P/60)

Top Goaltender: Kari Lehtonen (33-20-10, 2.41 GAA, ..919 SV%)

Trade Destinations For Niklas Backstrom

Photo: Dennis Wierzbicki/USA Today

Today, Mr Russo of the Star Tribune is reporting that the Wild are shopping Niklas Backstrom to various teams. In the story Russo says that the Wild would be willing to retain some of Backstrom's salary to see if they can get a taker.

A Tribute to #9

Every so often, a team gets a chance to draft that once in a generation type of player. A player who can instantly change the fortune of your franchise and electrify the home crowd with just one stride down the ice.

Meet The New Divisions: Central Division

7. Winnipeg Jets-The Jets were a team who just missed the playoffs in a bad division. Now, they move into a much stronger division and will learn that they need to play more consistently to win. They have a few good players on this team, but they lack the depth that is necessary to help them win. The Jets fly right into the basement of the Central.

Meet The Central Division: Dallas Stars

Dallas Stars

Head Coach: Lindy Ruff (1st season with DAL)
Arena: American Airlines Center (Capacity: 18,532)

2012-13 Record: 22-22-4 (Last in Pacific Division)

Record vs MIN in '12-13: 1-2-0

Leading Scorer-Jamie Benn: 33 pts (12 G, 21 A)

Leading Goaltender-Kari Lehtonen: 36 G, 15-14-3, 2.66 GAA, .916 SV%

NHL 2013 Preview: Pacific Division

5. Dallas Stars-Dallas brought in Jaromir Jagr, Ray Whitney, and Derek Roy to help bolster their top 2 lines. So now, they have 2 solid scoring lines. Problem is, their 3rd and 4th lines will struggle, and their defense doesn't project to be that good. They have Kari Lehtonen in the net, and he has been solid since he arrived in Dallas. The Stars had the worst powerplay in the league last year (13.5%), and ranked in the bottom half of the league in total scoring (22nd in goals scored). The new additions will help, but they still are facing an uphill battle in this division. The Stars come in the cellar, in a close race with Anaheim.

4. Anaheim Ducks-A slow start will doom the Ducks in 2013. They have aging veterans Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne. Their stars Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry are set to be free agents after the season ends. So should the Ducks have a bad start, Getzlaf and Perry could end up being traded, so the Ducks dont walk away empty handed if they leave.The Ducks have 2 solid lines, and their defensive core is average at best. A healthy Jonas Hiller will be between the pipes trying to keep the Ducks in games. In an incredibly strong division, the Ducks will come in 4th, but they will battle it out with Dallas for this spott. They just simply wont be able to keep up with the others, even in a shortened 48 game schedule.

3. Phoenix Coyotes-A surprise run to the conference finals, was how the Phoenix Coyotes season went last year. They are a gritty hockey team, that wins games on its defense keeping pucks out of the net. And last year, they saw Mike Smith have a huge breakout year, which was a big help with Phoenix coming in 5th in the NHL in goals allowed. They did lose their leading scorer Ray Whitney, who signed with division rival Dallas, but other than that, they kept the core of last year's team intact. Phoenix will be a tough team to play every night, and scoring on them will not be easy. This will be a team that competes for a low seed in the playoff mix, and with a short season, Phoenix will have plenty of competition to get in the playoffs.

2. Los Angeles Kings-Everyone has the Kings pegged to win this division and make a deep postseason run again. Im not denying that the defending Cup champs will make a deep postseason run. They are returning the same roster from last year (The only player the lost or added was Ethan Moreau who retired). But they will be without their star Anze Kopitar for a few weeks to begin the year. They have great depth all around the roster. Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Quick is set to return after having back surgery in the offseason. But, the Kings finish second in this division. They make the playoffs, but the lack of Kopitar to begin the season will hurt them in the end.

1. San Jose Sharks-San Jose had a down year in 2011-12. They finished 7th in the West, and had a first round exit after two straight years of making the conference finals.The Sharks have good balance all around their lineup. They really dont have any flashy players, they just have guys who get the job done. What makes the Sharks better this year, is that they had 11 players playing overseas during the lockout, and for the first time in a few years, they are no longer considered the favorites in this division. So look for Joe Thornton and company to make one last push before age finally catches up with them. The Sharks get off to a fast start, and it helps carry them to a division title.


Follow Giles on Twitter @gilesferrell

Wild Moving To Central Conference

Today, Craig Leipold, his staff, and the entire State of Hockey can feel good when going to bed tonight. Starting next year, the Minnesota Wild will take part in the NHL realignment which will see the league go to a 4 conference set up (2 conferences of 8 teams, 2 conferences of 7 teams). Ever since taking over as princpal owner of the Wild, Leipold has lobbied for the Wild to get moved into a division with these teams, and he finally got his wish. Leipold will watch his team play in the more centralized conference with Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Nashville, St Louis and Winnipeg. Also, any team not in your division you play a home and home series with them that year. The rest of your games come within your own division.

This is terrific news for the State of Hockey. They no longer have the long Canadian road trips from playing in the Northwest division, more road games will be starting at friendlier times for Wild fans (6, 630, or 7 pm), and they can rekindle the old North Stars rivalries with Chicago and St. Louis (These games are pretty intense already). The only main rival the Wild have currently are the Vancouver Canucks, and lately this rivalry has been boring and lopsided (In favor of Vancouver). So this is a perfect time for the team to relocate.

But perhaps the best news of all, is the fact this will be the weaker division in the foreseeable future. So this will give the Wild a better opportunity to win and make the postseason (Something the Wild have yet to achieve with Leipold running the show). The front runner here will obviously be Chicago and they will have sustained success with core players (Kane, Toews, Hossa) locked up for years to come. St. Louis is a team on the rise and will pose a big threat Detroit is a sinking ship due to largely the fact that their star players are getting older and past their prime. Dallas and Nashville will be wild cards for now as they have had recent success, but do not have any marquee names power the team past the next few years. And then you will have the bottom feeders Columbus and Winnipeg who will not be successful in the near future, but a top draft pick could easily change that.

So clearly, with the talent the Wild have and the talent they have coming up, they have the potential to be successful in this division for many years to come. And their record against the Central teams so far this year (7-0-1 against CHI, CBJ, DET, NSH, STL) is a huge positive for them moving forward.

The Wild and their fans are a big winner in this realignment. Now all they have to do is build a solid hockey team that contends for years to come. And they can get far closer to achieving that in this new division...

Here's the other conferences and their teams:

Anaheim, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Jose and Vancouver

Boston, Buffalo, Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, Tampa Bay and Toronto

Carolina, New Jersey, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Washington

NHL 2011 Preview-Pacific Division

5. Phoenix Coyotes-The Coyotes have made the playoffs in each of the past two seasons. But they did so more on the strength of their defense and goaltending. But they lost key players D Ed Jovanovski and G Ilya Bryzgalov this past offseason. And the Coyotes now are looking to Mike Smith to fill Bryzgalov's shoes between the pipes. Not exactly the best guy for the job. You have to give coach Dave Tippett a lot of credit for what he did the past few years there. But the run ends this year.

4. Dallas Stars-With Brad Richards, the Stars were a team that was contending for a playoff spot. Without Richards, this is a team that won't be anywhere near the postseason. Yes, the Stars still have Loui Eriksson and Mike Ribero. But they lack a good supporting cast and solid goaltending. Kari Lehtonen has posted poor GAA and Save Percentages, and will be too heavily relied on this year. Don't expect much from the Stars this year, as they finish towards the bottom of the Western Conference.

3. Anaheim Ducks-Anaheim boasts one of the best lines in all of hockey, with Bobby Ryan, Ryan Getzlaf, and reigning MVP Corey Perry as their number one line. Its a line that put up nearly 250 points last year, and will be expected to do the same again. Teemu Selanne and his 80 points also return to the Ducks this year. The main concern for Anaheim is on the defensive side. They ranked 20th in defense last year, and made no big acquisitions to help correct that deficiency. They also don't know what to expect from their net minder Jonas Hiller, who suffered Vertigo symptoms last year. Despite those issues, the Ducks still make the postseason, but will see a first round exit.

2. Los Angeles Kings-On the day before the NHL Draft in June, the Kings made a huge offseason splash, by trading for Flyers C Mike Richards. It made this team a real contender in the western conference. They were a horrible offensive team last year, but thanks to their great defense, they were able to make it into the playoffs for a second straight year. Richards and Simon Gagne will help add some more scoring depth to the Kings. And this team is now instantly a top 4 team in the West. So hopefully, they can make an appearance in the second round of the playoffs.

1. San Jose Sharks-The past two years have seen San Jose make it to the Western Conference Finals. But both times, they didn't even come close to the Campbell Trophy. So, a change was needed. And they turned to the Wild for some needed change. The Sharks first acquired D-Man Brent Burns from MIN, then eventually traded sniper Dany Heatley for Martin Havlat. The Sharks have brought in those new faces to help bring a new result to San Jose. There is literally no weakness on this team, and they should be making another deep run in the playoffs come next April. But can they put the past behind them and finally make it into the Cup finals?

Tomorrow's post looks at the Central Division