Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, and the holiday roster freeze is in place. After tonight, there will be a three day break from NHL games– I’m not sure what I’m going to do with myself– so there’s not much more time for teams to write their letters to Santa.
I’ve done the Atlantic Division and the Metropolitan Division, which means it’s time to get into what the Central Division teams want for Christmas this year.
Chicago Blackhawks
Since Anders Sorenson was named interim head coach, the Blackhawks have gone 4-4-0. This is kind of an improvement– Chicago had a record of 8-16-2 before Sorenson took over– but I’m not so sure that Sorenson is the solution long-term. The Blackhawks need a coach who will take them from the bottom of the league to the top. Is Sorenson the right man for that job?
Jolly old St. Nicholas, lean your ear this way… what the Blackhawks want for Christmas is an answer to that question. Can Sorenson take Chicago back to the promised land? Or should they look elsewhere for their next official bench boss?
Colorado Avalanche
Every year, just like clockwork, the injury bug hits the Avalanche, and it hits them hard. Jonathan Drouin has played just five games this season. Artturi Lehkonen and Josh Manson have both missed 12 games. Miles Wood has missed 20 games. And Ross Colton and Valteri Nichushkin have both missed 17 games– although the latter missed those games because of a suspension.
Even though Colorado’s biggest stars– Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Mikko Rantanen– have dodged injury thus far… the Avalanche could really, really use a break this Christmas.
Dallas Stars
On paper, the Dallas Stars are one of the juggernauts in the Western Conference. They’ve got nine players with at least 15 points– although one of them, Tyler Seguin, will likely miss the rest of the regular season. Their .909 team average SV% is tied for fifth-best in the league. They’ve allowed the least goals against in the entire league with just 83. But they’ve got one glaring weakness that continues to loom over them like a dark cloud, and it’s going to continue to lose them games if they don’t address it soon.
The Dallas Stars have one of the most uninspiring powerplays I’ve ever seen. It looks like they’re the team down a man instead of the other way around. Dallas is my pick to win the Stanley Cup, but they won’t do so if Santa doesn’t fix their powerplay. It’s currently 25th in the league with a 16.4% success rate.
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild have never had a Hart Trophy winner. Hell, they’ve never even had a player finish top-three in voting. But that could all change this year. Star winger Kirill Kaprizov has fallen to fourth in the league in scoring– oh, the horror!– but he’s doing so with minimal help. Kaprizov has 19 more points than Minnesota’s second leading scorer, Matt Boldy.
For Christmas, the Wild would like nothing more than for Kaprizov to win his first Hart Trophy. And, hey, if he managed to win the Art Ross scoring title… well, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind, as they’ve never had a player win one of those, either.
Nashville Predators
What a season from hell for the Nashville Predators. This year, they just can’t score their way out of a paper bag. They’ve scored 79 goals in 34 games this season, which averages out to 2.32 goals per game. Nashville is dead last in the league in both categories.
I’m not sure if Santa has access to a time machine, but if he does, the Nashville Predators could certainly use a do-over of their whole season. They were expected to be great, and instead, they’re not even good.
St. Louis Blues
The Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019, but they’ve been trending down ever since. They’ve been middle of the pack, and have missed the playoffs for the past two seasons. This season isn’t any different, as St. Louis is on pace to miss the postseason for a third straight year.
What the Blues lack is direction. Their 15-16-4 record is an accurate description of what they are: they’re not good, but they’re not bad. The Blues are perfectly average, and that doesn’t look set to change any time soon. So, for Christmas, St. Louis would like some clarity. Who are they? Are they trying to contend? Are they trying to rebuild? I sure don’t know, so let’s all hope that Santa does.
Utah Hockey Club
It’s been a season of ups and downs for the league’s newest team. The Hockey Club is currently on the upswing, as they’ve gone 7-1-2 in their last 10 games. They’re currently just one point out of a playoff spot. The most impressive part is, they’re doing this with perfectly average special teams.
So, what do they want for Christmas? Do they want to make the playoffs?
No. What they want runs a bit deeper than that. The Utah Hockey Club– formerly the Arizona Coyotes– wants a successful rebrand. They need a name. They need a logo. They need permanent jerseys. And they need to do it right.
Winnipeg Jets
As we all predicted this preseason, the Winnipeg Jets are the best team in the league going into the holiday break. Their powerplay, firing at a 32.1% success rate, is the very best in the league. They’ve scored 133 goals through 36 games, which is the most in the league. And their team average .921 SV% is, you guessed it, best in the league.
So, what do the Jets want to find under their tree? What do you get for the team, the team who has everything? Well, I guess their penalty kill could stand to be a little better. It’s perfectly average: 16th in the league, with a 79.4% success rate. For a team as good as Winnipeg has been this season, maybe that feels a little greedy. But if this Jets team ends up with a top-ten penalty kill… watch out.
Read the full article here
