1. Chicago Blackhawks
They were the best from start to finish last year. Looks that way again.
2. St. Louis Blues
A solid team that has to contend with Chicago for the top spot.
3. Minnesota Wild
The big acquisitions get a full season to show what they can do.
4. Dallas Stars
A big offseason trade changes their outlook for the better.
5. Winnipeg Jets
A loyal fan base would like to see a playoff appearance.
6. Nashville Predators
Their chances of forgetting about last year have worsened being in a tougher division.
7. Colorado Avalanche
With a new coach the Avalanche will need to make some progress.
Blackhawks
Head Coach: Joel Quenneville
Key Position: Defensemen – There really isn’t a weak point on this team. They have stayed intact at many key positions. The only thing to hold them back from staying in contention is injuries. If either Brent Seabrook or Duncan Keith go down for an extended period of time it will hurt their chances of repeating.
Key Acquisitions: G Nikolai Khabibulin, D Theo Peckham
Key to Win the Cup: Follow the same formula
Blues
Head Coach: Ken Hitchcock
Key Position: Forward – They were a solid team last year, but they were in the middle of the pack in goals scored per game. They hope the addition of Derek Roy will help solve that problem as the Blues top line was counted on too much to score goals. Letting the oft-injured Andy McDonald go helps as they relied too much on him to provide a scoring punch the last few years.
Key Acquisitions: LW Magnus Paajarvi, C Derek Roy, C Maxim Lapierre
Key to Win the Cup: Keep everyone happy
Wild
Head Coach: Mike Yeo
Key Position: Goalie – They were a solid team, but the big offseason acquisitions from a year ago were overshadowed by the inconsistent play in net. Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding are better than their numbers indicate. A full season should give the Wild better results.
Key Acquisitions: D Keith Ballard, LW Matt Cooke, D Jonathon Blum
Key to Win the Cup: Better goaltending
Stars
Head Coach: Lindy Ruff
Key Position: Forward – It will be interesting to see how the influx of talent meshes together, but one thing is for sure that the Stars are going to build this team around newly acquired Tyler Seguin. There are still some holes on defense, but the Stars will surprise some people.
Key Acquisitions: C Tyler Seguin, C Shawn Horcoff, C Rich Peverley, D Sergei Gonchar, G Dan Ellis
Key to Win the Cup: Continue to build for the future
Jets
Head Coach: Claude Noel
Key Position: Power Play – They were ranked dead last in scoring with a man advantage last year and that should change with the addition of Devin Setoguchi who is a good player on the power play.
Key Acquisitions: RW Devin Setoguchi, RW Michael Frolik
Key to Win the Cup: Improve the power play
Predators
Head Coach: Barry Trotz
Key Position: Defensemen – They seem to be struggling here with the loss of Ryan Suter last year to free agency. They were next to last in penalty kill percentage and goalie Pekka Rinne was forced to shoulder the brunt of the defense’s struggles.
Key Acquisitions: RW Viktor Stalberg, C Matt Cullen
Key to Win the Cup: No easy goals
Avalanche
Head Coach: Patrick Roy
Key Position: Forward – They have an immense array of talent on their first two lines that it would shock most if the Avalanche are not higher than 15th in goals scored per game. Their defense and goaltending are still behind in development so they might have to wait a year for it all to mesh for a playoff run.
Key Acquisitions: LW Alex Tanguay, D Cory Sarich
Key to Win the Cup: Score with the best of them
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