NHL Central Division 2008-2009: Where Will the Surprises Come From?

So far we've gotten through two divisions—the Northwest and the Southeast—in my journey to preview all thirty NHL teams.

I figured that next up would be the Central division, however before I get to that, I've been asked to write a separate article on the Central division.

So as I thought more and more about it, although it spoils a few surprises, I figured, "Hey...why not do a preview of your preview?"

So that's what we're doing. The preview of the preview of the Central division. Hope you enjoy (look for the Central division articles to start either later tonight or tomorrow).

Look back through history, and see if you can tell me the last time the Detroit Red Wings weren’t the Central division champions.

You’d have to go back all the way to the 1999-2000 season, when the Red Wings finished second to the St. Louis Blues with 48 wins. Yeah…48 wins. What a terrible second-place finish that was.

Going back even further in time to the 1993-94 season, the Red Wings have been a model of consistency: In 14 and a half seasons (or 15, depending on how you look at 1994-95) the Red Wings have finished out of first place only three times: 1996-97, 1997-98, and the aforementioned 1999-2000. And in those two years when they finished second? They won the Stanley Cup.

Of the past seven seasons, the Red Wings have had the fewest losses in the NHL four times, culminating in a 16-loss season in 2005-06.

Granted this has led to more than a few surprises—and a few championships—come playoff time, but there’s one thing you can’t escape: The Detroit Red Wings will dominate the regular season. There’s no surprise there.

But that doesn’t mean we’re in for a season without surprises. There’s always that dark horse team that comes from nowhere to swipe that final spot in the playoffs, or that surprise player who scores 40 goals, but still gets no notoriety.

Last year, it’s fair to say that the biggest surprises were the Nashville Predators, Chicago Blackhawks, Toews/Kane, and Brad Boyes.

This year? Well, at least one of those things will stay the same.

In an interview I did with Predators’ scout Jason Bukala a few weeks ago, when I asked him how the team would do, he told me:

“The ‘prognosticators’ have a history of underestimating our team before the season begins. We will be better than people think.”

He’s right too. After five seasons of bouncing back and forth between third and fourth in the division and missing the playoffs, the Predators beat out the Edmonton Oilers for the final playoff spot in 2003-04. Following the lockout, the Preds had back-to-back 100-point seasons, surprising more than a few people along the way.

Last season it was more of the same: After saying goodbye to Kimmo Timonen, Scott Hartnell, Tomas Vokoun, and Paul Kariya, no one thought the Preds would be in the playoff picture.

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