NHL's Central Division remains a gantlet through the season and playoffs

Mikko Rantanen was a staple for Colorado, helping the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup as part of his dominant decade in Denver. Then, all of a sudden last winter he was gone, traded to Carolina and by spring back in the division with bitter rival Dallas.

“Someone was like, ‘Yeah, we might be like getting Rantanen,’ and we’re like: ‘What are you talking about? Like, there’s no way,’ ” Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger recalled. “Then all of a sudden the guy you hate is walking into the dressing room and you’re all like, ‘Oh.’ And then he’s just a great guy and a great teammate.”

Rantanen now plays deep in the heart of Texas for the Stars, who have made three consecutive trips to the Western Conference Final. His former team has Gabriel Landeskog back healthy after the long-term captain missed three years with a chronic knee injury. And Winnipeg hasn’t changed much from the group that was the best in the NHL last season, making the Central an unending gantlet from October through the playoffs, with at least three Stanley Cup contenders at the top.

“Unless you win the Cup, it’s a failure,” said Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who won the Vezina Trophy as well as the Hart as MVP. “It doesn’t matter how far you make it. You’re always looking for what’s going to get you to the next step, and that’s where we are now.”

On the rise

Colorado’s point total has declined from 119 points during the championship season to 109, 107 and 102, but two-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman and 2022 playoff MVP Cale Makar isn’t bothered. Landeskog is back, Nathan MacKinnon and Makar remain two of the top five players in the league and the Avalanche believe they’ve found their goalie in Mackenzie Blackwood.

“We’re going into this year with — as of right now, knock on wood — fully healthy,” Makar said. “There’s no question marks with anything. … Just as a collective whole, I think it’s a completely different feel with our organization and the excitement that’s around us.”

Dallas has a new coach, Glen Gulutzan, after firing Peter DeBoer following a rough end to the most recent trip to the West final when he abruptly pulled Oettinger and seemed to pin outsize blame on the franchise netminder. Oettinger says the Stars are full of confidence about getting over the hump.

Just getting to the playoffs would be momentous for the Utah Mammoth in their first season with that name and second in Salt Lake City since relocating from Arizona. The young core of captain Clayton Keller, fellow forward Logan Cooley and defenseman Mikhail Sergachev got a boost with an offseason acquisition of two-time 25-goal-scorer JJ Peterka and the Mammoth look capable of taking a big step forward.

“Each year, we’ve kind of gotten a bit better and realized how hard it is to win and how just tough it is make it, year in and year out,” Keller said. “It’s an exciting time, and I think we’re all ready for that challenge and I really think JJ is going to help us out.”

On the decline

Winnipeg has nowhere to go but down in the regular season after winning the Presidents’ Trophy with 116 points on 56 wins. The Jets should still be one of the NHL’s best.

Chicago is expected to struggle in 2023 No. 1 pick Connor Bedard’s third season. The good news: There are some exciting young players around him, from forward Frank Nazar to defenseman Artyom Levshunov and the Blackhawks hope Spencer Knight is their solution in net. It will take more time — especially with the salary cap rising — to improve.

Nashville general manager Barry Trotz joked at the start of training camp he was hoping the Predators would prove preseason expectations wrong a third time in a row. Two years ago that was a good thing when they made the playoffs and not so much in 2024-25 when they were a massive bust following a free agent spending spree.

“We started gelling and started playing more team hockey by the end of the season, so we once last season ended, I think everyone was just itching to get a clean slate,” said Brady Skjei, who was one of those additions on a seven-year, $49 million contract. “We really got to start off on the right foot this year and have a great start — kind of get that swagger back that we’ve known a lot of us have had in the past.”

On the hot seat

Predators coach Andrew Brunette’s job could be on the line if his team does not get off to a good start. Then again, so could Trotz’s if ownership decides he should be back behind the bench instead of running the front office.

Likewise, if Utah does not show growth, André Tourigny’s seat could be getting warmer. For now, he is safe.

Predicted order of finish

Colorado, Dallas, Winnipeg, St. Louis, Utah, Minnesota, Nashville, Chicago.