Let’s finish our look at the teams competing against the Winnipeg Jets in the Central Division this year, continuing off yesterday’s post.
Minnesota Wild (46-28-8, 100 pts.)
The Wild’s offseason has been about as eventful as Winnipeg’s. They lost some minors pieces in deadline acquisition Chris Stewart and depth centre Kyle Brodziak via free agency. That’s not to say the Wild didn’t do anything (giving goaltender Devan Dubnyk an extension was their biggest move) or they’re not still a scary opponent.
All of the big pieces from last year’s 100 point campaign are back. The Wild boast three lines of scoring and a deep defence core. If Dubnyk can prove last year’s magnificent season was not an outlier and continue his string of excellent play in Minnesota, the Wild could even improve on last year’s record.
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Dallas Stars (41-31-10, 92 pts.)
The Stars were extremley active in the off-season and many will wonder if this is the year a talented Dallas roster breaks out. Patrick Sharp was acquired in a trade with Chicago and he will round out what is now a dangerous looking top six in Dallas. Another former Blackhawk, Johnny Oduya, was signed via free agency and will help shore up the Stars’ backend.
Antti Niemi was also acquired in the off-season. Niemi had a .914 save percentage in 61 games with San Jose last year and will give the Stars another option should incumbent Kari Lehtonen struggle.
Colorado Avalanche (39-31-12, 90 pts.)
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Zach Redmond (22) and Winnipeg Jets left wing Jiri Tlusty (91) battle for control of the puck at Pepsi Center. Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Colorado made their biggest off-season moves during the draft. The Avs acquired former first round picks, forward Mikhail Grigorenko and defenceman Nikita Zadarov from Buffalo in the Ryan O’Reilly trade and also grabbed Carl Soderberg’s rights from Boston, spinning around and giving him a five-year deal worth nearly $24 million days before he was to hit free agency.
The loss of O’Reilly will hurt the Avs on both sides of the ice, however, if Soderberg can continue the production he gave the Bruins, he should mitigate most of the loss offensively. Plus, Grigorenko and Zadarov add to a talented young group that already includes Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Tyson Barrie.
Well, there is what the division rivals of the Winnipeg Jets have been up to this off-season. It’s shaping up to be another season-long battle in the Central Division. If anyone is brave enough for division predicitions, post ’em below! We’ll try to answer that question when we near the regular season.
Next: The Other Central Division Teams
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