Here’s a rundown of the original content at PHR over the past seven days.
Our tour around the Central Division’s storylines to watch for continued with a look at four more teams:
Colorado: The Avalanche will be welcoming back several key players which is a huge boost for them as they try to catch St. Louis for the top spot in the Western Conference. However, their most interesting storyline may be their goaltending situation. I looked at the numbers for the now-healthy Philipp Grubauer and backup Pavel Francouz and there isn’t really a true contender for the job. Teams rarely platoon in the playoffs but this is a team where that could change.
Dallas: The Stars have basically been at the top end of the playoff bubble teams for most of the season. I broke down just how bad their offense has been but on the optimistic side, a return to form for their top veteran forwards could really give them a boost. The future of Rick Bowness behind the bench will likely be dependent on how they fare down the stretch and in the postseason so there’s a lot riding on whatever may be left of 2019-20.
Nashville: It has been a bumpy season for the Predators who have been one of the bigger underachievers relative to early expectations. As Holger noted, their top scorers haven’t got the job done while they also have had to deal with inconsistent goaltending from Juuse Saros and Pekka Rinne. Will the break rejuvenate Rinne to help take some of the pressure off of Saros and resolidify that position? That could very well make or break their postseason hopes.
Winnipeg: Their situation largely breaks down to inside their blue line. I assessed the composition of their defense corps which is certainly a weak link relative to their competitors for a playoff spot. Connor Hellebuyck has also been relied on a lot this year and with the possibility of a lot of back-to-backs if the NHL tries to make it through the regular season, he’s going to be heavily tested down the stretch.
Flipping the script, if the season doesn’t resume, the NHL awards will become more of a talking point. One of the more intriguing battles would be for the Calder Trophy with Colorado’s Cale Makar and Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes being the presumptive top two contenders. Who would win if the vote was today? Make your choice here.
Even if the NHL does resume, it’s likely that games will be played in empty arenas for a while. As the NHL is a gate-driven league, that will wreak some havoc on their revenues for the season which could result in a lower salary cap. That will put many teams in even more cap trouble than they were this year. Zach proposed a potential solution to that issue or at least something to help by suggesting the league bring back a compliance buyout. These were sometimes referred to as amnesty buyouts in the past as teams were allowed to buy someone out without any salary cap ramifications. With a probable drop in revenues, it’s something that the NHL and the NHLPA should be giving serious consideration to between now and the offseason.