Central Intelligence: A look around the Central Division

While each division in the NHL can make a case, there's little doubt which one is actually the most difficult to gauge as a new season begins.
The League's two top regular season teams from last season each resided in the Central, where the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets battled for the President's Trophy for most of the season.
The Minnesota Wild have made the postseason six consecutive seasons, one of just three teams in the League to make that claim.

With Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, the Colorado Avalanche boast one of the most explosive lines in all of hockey.
By adding centermen Ryan O'Reilly and Tyler Bozak, the St. Louis Blues addressed the biggest weakness on a team loaded with talent.
A new coach should bring new life to a team that many as recently as one year ago predicted would be a Stanley Cup contender.
The Central's last place team from a year ago has won three Stanley Cups in the last decade and has three of the top 100 players in NHL history.
That's the Central, in a nutshell, where no team is guaranteed anything.
Here's a quick look at who's back and what's new in the NHL's Central Division (in order of last season's finish):

Nashville Predators

2017-18:53-18-11, 117 points
Additions:Dan Hamhuis
Subtractions: Scott Hartnell, Alexei Emelin
Bottom line: Only a few tweaks around the edges were made personnel wise for the Predators. But why mess with much? Nashville won the Central and captured the President's Trophy one year after advancing all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.

Winnipeg Jets

2017-18:52-20-10, 114 points
Additions: Laurent Brossoit
Subtractions: Paul Stastny, Joel Armia, Tobias Enstrom
Bottom line: The Jets finagled in an attempt to create cap space and re-sign Stastny, but he chose to sign with Vegas. Winnipeg was good before trading for Stastny last year, and the salary they gave up wasn't a part of its core, so the Jets should be fine. Winnipeg is hoping its exceptional young core takes a step and Brossoit can provide Connor Hellebuyck with a breather every now and then.

Minnesota Wild

2017-18: 45-26-11, 101 points
Additions: Greg Pateryn, Matt Hendricks, Eric Fehr, JT Brown
Subtractions: Matt Cullen, Daniel Winnik, Tyler Ennis
Bottom line: New Wild GM Paul Fenton is hoping a re-worked fourth line and some changes to its locker-room chemistry can help a team that has made the playoffs six-straight years but been able to take the next step in its efforts to compete for a Stanley Cup. Bounce-back years from Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter would help, as would a healthy Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Parise was fantastic down the stretch last season, producing a 30-plus goal pace over the final month of the regular season.

Colorado Avalanche

2017-18: 43-30-9, 95 points
Additions:Philipp Grubauer, Ian Cole
Subtractions:Jonathan Bernier, Blake Comeau
Bottom line: MacKinnon was one of the best players in the League last season and the Avs will go as far as its explosive top line will take them. Last year, it was an unexpected playoff berth for a team that many believed was still a year or two away. Now armed with some playoff experience, Colorado believes it has the weapons to take the next step.

St. Louis Blues

2017-18: 44-32-6, 94 points
Additions:Ryan O'Reilly, Tyler Bozak, Patrick Maroon, David Perron, Chad Johnson
Subtractions:Carter Hutton, Kyle Brodziak, Patrik Berglund, Vladimir Sobotka
Bottom line:The one area where the Blues really struggled last season, in both production and in depth, was at center. They set an offseason goal of shoring up those areas, and did just that, trading for the former Sabre O'Reilly and signing the former Maple Leaf Bozak. Maroon is a local boy who will bring some grit while Perron, in what seems like his millionth stint with St. Louis, brings oodles of speed and added punch offensively. Johnson will backup goaltender Jake Allen, who badly needs to find the form he had in the playoffs two years ago.

Dallas Stars

2017-18:42-32-8, 92 points
Additions:Valeri Nichushkin, Blake Comeau, Miro Heiskanen, Anton Khudobin
Subtractions:Antoine Roussel, Kari Lehtonen
Bottom line: Ken Hitchcock is out and Jim Montgomery is in behind the bench. The former Denver University coach won a national championship at the collegiate level in 2017 and has had success at every level he's been at, but the NHL will provide his stiffest challenge yet. Heiskanen has the looks of a star, and joins John Klingberg and Esa Lindell to provide Dallas with one of the most explosive young bluelines in the League. Can goaltender Ben Bishop stay healthy? That could be the key to the Stars' season.

Chicago Blackhawks

2017-18: 33-39-10, 76 points
Additions: Chris Kunitz, Brandon Manning, Cam Ward
Subtractions:Patrick Sharp, Vinnie Hinostroza
Bottom line: Over the first half of last season, the Blackhawks seemed poised to compete for a division championship again. But then Corey Crawford went down and Chicago's season spiraled. Ward was signed in the offseason as veteran insurance, but the Hawks desperately need Crawford to return in top form at some point. Chicago should be plenty rested after missing the playoffs, so bounce back seasons from the likes of Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Brandon Saad and Patrick Kane should be expected.