Nashville Predators: Biggest Obstacle To Division Title Isn’t Chicago

That division title the Nashville Predators are trying to win for the first time in the franchise’s history no longer starts with the Chicago Blackhawks.

A shocking first-round sweep of the Chicago Blackhawks by the Nashville Predators in last year’s playoffs isn’t the only reason to stop worrying about Chicago. Their window is quickly closing on their aging roster, even it is full of future Hall of Fame inductees.

Their veterans are going to keep them in the mix and still win a lot of game for them. However, their team speed is a major concern, per Colin Likas of Blackhawk Up. That bodes well for speedy teams like the Predators.

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Young, talented teams like the Predators can now go toe-to-toe with the Blackhawks in the division, and we’re going to start seeing a shift in power this season. Now that power doesn’t necessarily shift the power solely to the Predators just because they’re current Western Conference champs. In fact, the team they’re now chasing to win a division title is St. Louis.

Two Teams to Worry About

The Blues are largely flying under the radar this offseason. They’re basically the same team that gave the Predators all they could handle in the second round of the playoffs. They’ve got an underrated defense led by captain Alex Pietrangelo, an elite scorer in Vladimir Tarasenko and an ascending goaltender with Jake Allen. Those key pieces are surrounded by a solid and balanced roster that will have the Blues back in the battle for division supremacy.

The biggest hurdle in a very tough division is St.Louis. However, another team that will make the division even tougher is Dallas.  They’re shockingly coming off of a 79-point season despite so much talent. A productive offseason has them much-improved, and with fewer excuses to lay an egg. These two pose bigger threats to the Predators than Chicago does now.

What To Expect From Chicago

This isn’t a complete bash on the Blackhawks. They’ll still be in the playoff picture, but will be a shell of their decade-long dominance. While teams like the Predators are skyrocketing to the top of the Western Conference hierarchy, the Blackhawks are trending backwards. Greg Wyshynski, editor of Puck Daddy, has the Blackhawks currently on the downswing.

Expect Chicago to finish towards the back-end of the playoff hunt. They might sneak in, but can they actually make any noise with an aging roster? It’s possible, but not as likely as years past. Until their unproven younger players show that the four-game sweep was a fluke, there’s no reason to expect a ton from Chicago outside of just name recognition. There’s a stronger argument to love the Predators’ young core, led by Viktor Arvidsson, more than Chicago’s.

Next: The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown of the Offseason

The window is getting much wider for the Predators to win its first division title, and create an easier path through the playoffs. With the Blackhawks becoming just another slightly above average team, the Predators’ chances of finally hanging a division title banner is looking highly probable.