Predlines
Fansided

Nashville Predators: Ranking the Central Division’s Top Lines for 2019-20

By Chad Minton

WINNIPEG, MB - MAY 7: Ryan Johansen #92, Filip Forsberg #9, P.K. Subban #76, Roman Josi #59 and Viktor Arvidsson #33 of the Nashville Predators celebrate a third period goal against the Winnipeg Jets in Game Six of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell MTS Place on May 7, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images)
WINNIPEG, MB - MAY 7: Ryan Johansen #92, Filip Forsberg #9, P.K. Subban #76, Roman Josi #59 and Viktor Arvidsson #33 of the Nashville Predators celebrate a third period goal against the Winnipeg Jets in Game Six of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell MTS Place on May 7, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 8
Next
Winnipeg Jets
NASHVILLE, TN – JANUARY 17: Blake Wheeler #26 of the Winnipeg Jets skates against Pekka Rinne #35 of the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on January 17, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Winnipeg Jets

Top Line: Nikolaj Ehlers, Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler

Full disclosure that this is being written without knowing what’s going to happen with Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine’s contract negotiations. Both are not locks to be re-signed by the Jets at this point. Until then, it’s all speculation and we’re going to go with what the Jets for sure have for their opening night roster.

The gap between Minnesota’s top line and the rest of the division is still staggering. It gets a lot more challenging to rank these after that, but I’m going with Winnipeg next. I’m not impressed at all with their offseason. They haven’t gotten any better after losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champion St.Louis Blues in the first round of the playoffs.

However, the Jets still have Blake Wheeler, who is a superstar in his own right. He now has back-to-back 90-plus point seasons, and I don’t see him slowing down much. He put up 71 assists last season and now has seven-straight All Star selections. He’s the engine that carries the Jets, but how much can one man do?

The Jets do have a couple nice pieces around him on the top line. Scheifele has been steadily climbing the NHL ranks for a few years now. He’s looking to build off of an 84-point season, which is a career high. He’s a quality top-line center.

Then you have the 23-year-old Ehlers, who has four NHL seasons under his belt. He’s only moving to the top line if Connor doesn’t re-sign, which would be disastrous for Jets fans. Can’t put the Jets higher than sixth in the division until the Connor negotiations get worked out.

Home/Editorials