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Nashville Predators: Offseason Central Division Power Rankings

By Chad Minton

NASHVILLE, TN - MAY 10: Roman Josi #59 of the Nashville Predators shakes hands with Blake Wheeler #26 of the Winnipeg Jets in Game Seven of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena on May 10, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - MAY 10: Roman Josi #59 of the Nashville Predators shakes hands with Blake Wheeler #26 of the Winnipeg Jets in Game Seven of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena on May 10, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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NASHVILLE, TN – MARCH 27: Mikael Granlund #64 celebrates with Eric Staal #12 of the Minnesota Wild after a goal against the Nashville Predators during an NHL game at Bridgestone Arena on March 27, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN – MARCH 27: Mikael Granlund #64 celebrates with Eric Staal #12 of the Minnesota Wild after a goal against the Nashville Predators during an NHL game at Bridgestone Arena on March 27, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Minnesota Wild

You can usually count on the Wild to have a solid regular season, and there’s no reason to expect anything less this season. They didn’t make too many changes over the offseason, keeping them in line to remain competitive. Every divisional team will have to play their top game to get two points against this club.

The Wild coming in at the ranking they’re at is a product of their division. Points are hard to come by, and I’m not sure they did enough in the offseason to move past the top dogs. In fact, other teams around them getting better might drop them out of the 100-point club. I do like that they kept key contributors like Matt Dumba around. However, their modest free agency moves don’t move the needle enough for me.

Devan Dubnyk is obviously a game-changer at goaltender. He’s coming off of another stellar season with 2.52 goals against average and nearly a 92 save percentage. He keeps the Wild dangerous even with their playoff woes. As a regular season team, they’re going to remain relevant.

I knock the Wild back because I see the teams around them doing much more in the offseason to move ahead of them. They’ll still make the playoffs again, but they have to prove they can get past the first round to move them up any further.

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