Couple of powerhouses here. Patrick Kane seems to have comeback to the NHL with a newfound focus, and despite not playing with Toews, should be putting up monster numbers. Marian Hossa has allegedly completely recovered from his terrifying incident with Raffi Torres in last years playoffs. The question is will they be able to compete with the new beasts of the Central, the St. Louis Blues. Should both teams stay healthy, this battle for the top of the division should be exciting. Expect the Red Wings, after being decimated on the blue line to try and survive on their above average forward depth. The Predators are likely to settle in nicely in the 3rd spot after losing Suter in the offseason to the Minnesota Wild. And the Blue Jackets are still a thing.
Potential impact players: Sergei Bobrovsky, Artem Anisimov, Marian Hossa, Pekka Rinne, David Backes, Jaro Halak
Drink of the division: Tequila sunrise. The red (wings) was (were) on the top for a while, but now it's on the way down.
Pacific
Not nearly as much movement here, aside from the Dallas Stars picking up some key free agents and dropping some dead weight in Steve Ott. The shortened season may help the aging Stars, however the compressed season may hurt them. Expect the Kings to fail to live up to the hype as it is very unlikely that Jonathan Quick will be able to replicate his success from last years postseason. Not that he won't be strong, but his run in the playoffs would be tough for anyone to replicate. There is a lot of decent talent here, but we will have to wait and see who rises to the top as pretty much any team could get hot and win the division in a shortened season. Ryan Getzlaf is very bald.
Potential impact players: Mike Smith, Jaromir Jagr, Patrick Marleau, Jamie Benn, Shane Doan, Jonas Hiller, Teemu Selanne
Drink of the division: Franzia: we could be looking at a wicked hangover in LA.
Northwest
Lots of moving and shaking here. What's going on with Luongo? Will Parise and Suter put Minnesota over the top? How long until Colorado breaks out? Are all of Calgary's free agent signings enough to make them dangerous? In order: Nobody knows, but he will probably be traded eventually; probably; another 2 years or so; and no. Minnesota looks very strong but could use an upgrade in net. Suter is a solid defensive defenseman and should help provide help for the tandem in goal. Vancouver looks to be on a slight downswing after running this division for so many years. Not that they won't continue to be strong, just simply no longer the powerhouse they once were. Oh and Edmonton Oilers.
Potential impact players: Zach Parise, Gabriel Landeskog, Luongo/Schneider, Jarome Iginla, Justin Schultz, Jordan Eberle
Drink of the division: flaming Dr. Pepper. Put the Flames out before you even start enjoying it.
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