NHL: The Toughest Division In Sports
With football season underway, I’ve been hearing a lot of talk about the NFC West once again being the toughest division to win in the NFL. A few years back, it was the NFC North, and the NFC East before that. It’s a debate that never stops, and the same is true for the NHL. We hockey fans are being spoiled nowadays by the quality of games the NHL is providing. The league has never seen more parity and better competition than it is enjoying right now. That being said, which division in the realigned NHL is going to be the toughest to win this season?
Last year I believe that this question was a lot tougher to answer, many people believed that the NHL’s Central division was the toughest in the league, while others believed the Pacific was more worthy of that title. It’s tough to say, while the Central Division produced 5 of the Western Conferences 8 playoff teams last season. It was the Pacific Division’s LA Kings that made an improbable run through the West and on to their 2nd Stanley Cup Championship in the past 3 years. I’d say that last season was a draw between these two divisions for the honor of being called the toughest in hockey. The Central Division would have been my pick if it weren’t for the Kings winning it all last year.
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This season, there isn’t much to debate. The Central Division is toughest in the NHL without a doubt, and in my opinion the toughest in all of sports. The Central Division is absolutely loaded with top quality teams and serious Stanley Cup contenders. Last season it was the Colorado Avalanche who won the Central Division after one of the most remarkable turnarounds in recent history. After finishing dead last in the NHL in the lockout shortened 2012-2013 season, the Avs came back with a vengeance to finish 3rd overall in league standings last year. The Avs look ready to contend with perennial powerhouses like the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues for the division title again this season.
The competition doesn’t end with those three teams however, which is what sets the Central Division apart from the rest this year. I wouldn’t be completely surprised to see the Minnesota wild, or the Dallas Stars near the top of the division standings this year. Dallas made a few significant moves during the offseason to further improve a team that emerged as a legitimate playoff squad last year.
The Wild on the other hand were ravaged by injuries last season, especially to their netminders, yet somehow they still managed to finish the season 7th in the West with 98 points. The Wild were able to keep most of their team intact, and also landed coveted free agent Thomas Vanek during the offseason. Let’s not forget the Nashville Predators either, who were missing their world-class goalie Pekka Rinne for most of last season. Rinne was inconsistent after his return last year, but he seems confident he will return to form this season, and that’s great news for the Preds.
What sets the Central Division apart from the rest of the NHL this year is the fact that it’s a wide open competition, and not because the top teams are getting worse. Because the rest of the division has gotten better, a lot better. With playoff caliber teams taking up 6/7 spots (sorry Jets fans) it’s naturally going to be the place to look for the best quality hockey games all year long. These facts make naming the Central Division as the toughest to win in the NHL a no-brainer this year.