Nashville Predators: Preseason Central Division Power Rankings
Chad Minton’s Rankings (@chad_minton)
1. Tampa Bay Lightning
2. Carolina Hurricanes
3. Dallas Stars
4. Columbus Blue Jackets
5. Nashville Predators
6. Chicago Blackhawks
7. Florida Panthers
8. Detroit Red Wings
I’ve been saying for most of the offseason that the Nashville Predators are a fringe playoff team. That’s where I have them slotted in our preseason edition of the division power rankings.
You can’t move the Tampa Bay Lightning off the top spot until someone proves they can beat them consistently, or they go through a really bad drought.
The Carolina Hurricanes are my sleeper pick to go through a run in the playoffs and get into the Stanley Cup Final, which would be their third appearances in franchise history. I just love the young makeup of their team, lead Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen and Andrei Svechnikov who all posted 60-plus points last season.
The Dallas Stars shouldn’t be disrespected in our preseason rankings, so I’m slotting them in the No.3 spot even though I don’t think they’ll repeat as Conference champs.
The Florida Panthers are a hard team to put a peg on. They shouldn’t be slept on, but I see them fading down the stretch and missing out of the top-four, but not by that much.
I hate to go chalk by putting the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings towards the bottom, but I’m not the slightest bit confident either one of them are out of their rebuilds.
Colin Blouin’s rankings (@colinblouin)
1. Tampa Bay Lightning
2. Carolina Hurricanes
3. Dallas Stars
4. Nashville Predators
5. Florida Panthers
6. Columbus Blue Jackets
7. Chicago Blackhawks
8. Detroit Red Wings
Coming off a 2020 Stanley Cup Championship, the top of the Central Division as of right now for is the Tampa Bay Lightning, and until they look otherwise, they are still the class of the NHL.
A close second, and what may come as a surprise to some, is the Carolina Hurricanes; they are a young team that has made some runs and gotten some great playoff experience that one would thing would benefit a schedule like this one.
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Third is the Stanley Cup runners-up, the Dallas Stars; they’re a team that doesn’t look like they’ve gotten markedly better, but they also haven’t gotten any worse. They’re beatable as the Predators showed late in 2019-2020.
The 4-6 rankings were where I struggled, because they can and will be interchangeable. As a fan I can’t help but have hope the Predators will get the valuable fourth spot; they’ve gotten more physical, they’ve added some offensive weapons, but this will come down to coaching.
I really like the staff that Predators Head Coach John Hynes has put around him to deal with many different players in different places in their careers, and these hires will help the team mesh into a competitive club that can and should be respected.
The Florida Panthers have been on the rise, but I’m not sure how a schedule like this will treat them; the jury is still out on the Panthers, but they’ve been steadily improving and becoming more and more competitive.
The Columbus Blue Jackets feel like the more clear No.6 team, but you never know when they can overachieve, and they should at least make things interesting.
The bottom two of the division are two teams that have been considered “rebuilding” as of late; I’m not sure where this will put them in the new season, and if they are ready to show some consistency.
The Red Wings are less of a threat, and I have yet to see anything that shows me otherwise. At least we get to reignite that rivalry eight times this season.
Rich Howe’s Rankings (@Rich_Howe_9)
1. Tampa Bay Lightning
2. Dallas Stars
3. Carolina Hurricanes
4. Nashville Predators
5. Columbus Blue Jackets
6. Chicago Blackhawks
7. Florida Panthers
8. Detroit Red Wings
The new Central Division is wide open now that the Colorado Avalanche have been shipped out West. However, the other seven teams will now have to deal with the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning.
Along with the runner-up Dallas Stars, these two teams should sit atop the Central. There have been few offseason changes for both teams, so their destinies rest on their shoulders.
The Carolina Hurricanes remain a hungry and dangerous team, which also made few changes in the offseason. They are a tough team to play against and will be looking to make a bigger splash after suffering a first-round defeat against a strong (at the time) Bruins team.
Sitting in the fourth slot is the Nashville Predators. They’ve been placed in the middle of the pack because we really don’t know how they will perform after their mini rebuild. They are too good on paper to rank lower and not good enough to place higher. This re-vamped team will need to get the jump on the other teams and gel quickly.
Depending on how the Predators perform, the Columbus Bluejackets could overtake them in the rankings. They put up a tough fight in the playoffs, eventually losing to the Lightning. They will be looking to take out some revenge against their new division mates.
Ranking the Chicago Blackhawks and the Florida Panthers proves to be a challenge as well. The Panthers didn’t stand a chance in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers against the Islanders.
The Blackhawks defeated a tough Oilers team in the Qualifiers, but were then dismantled by Vegas in the first round.
Both the Panthers and the Blackhawks have made several roster changes in the offseason. This season could turn out to be a rough one for both teams.
Speaking of rough seasons, the Detroit Red Wings had an embarrassing one last year. They are in the midst of a rebuild and will continue to face challenges. They should have a better season than last. They are at the bottom and have nowhere to go but up.
Staff Composite Rankings
1. Tampa Bay Lightning
2. Carolina Hurricanes
3. Dallas Stars
4. Nashville Predators
5. Columbus Blue Jackets
T-6. Chicago Blackhawks and Florida Panthers
8. Detroit Red Wings
A lot of agreement among the staff on the top-three in the division of Tampa Bay, Carolina and Dallas. Those three should be the early favorites to come away with three of the four playoffs spots.
The middle of the division for that all-important fourth spot looks to be a real battle to behold, but our preseason rankings lean heavily towards it being a two-horse race between Columbus and Nashville, who open the season against each other at Bridgestone Arena.
Florida and Chicago aren’t too far behind, but need to show more to have full faith in them coming out of the preseason, especially with Chicago losing young star Kirby Dach to injury at the World Juniors.
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Detroit brings up the rear, but perhaps they can pull off some upsets and avoid finishing in last place when it’s all said and done.