Minnesota Wild: Central Division Preview; Chicago Blackhawks
The Minnesota Wild vanquished a lot of demons last season by sweeping their season series with the Blackhawks with a record of 5-0-0. This season might not be that simple as the Blackhawks will look to rebound and compete as the always do for the Central Division crown.
No other team has given the Minnesota Wild more fits in recent seasons than the Chicago Blackhawks. From the 2012-13 season to the 2014-15 season the Blackhawks eliminated the Wild from three straight playoffs. Although the two teams did not meet in the playoffs last season, the Wild got their revenge of sorts by sweeping the hated Hawks with a record of 5-0-0 in the regular season.
The 2015-16 season was a step back for the perennial Stanley Cup contenting Blackhawks. When I say a step back that’s a step back from the normal Blackhawks performances because the team still put up an impressive 47-26-9 record to finish 3rd in the Central Division standings. Their first round loss to the Blues was hard fought and went to seven games and could have swung the Hawks’ way easily with six of the seven games being decided by only one goal.
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GM Stan Bowman is always constrained each offseason because of the commitments he has in form of contracts to Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, so any gains in free-agency are difficult. Still dispite that Bowman seems to make one or two solid signings each summer. This summer he inked defenseman Brian Campbell to a 1-yr $2.25 million deal, which was almost half of what Florida offered him to stay. The 37 year-old defender is still a puck moving threat that should be plugging right into the top four defenders of the Blackhawks.
The loss column for the Hawks was pretty large this offseason, as Bowman struggled to keep the team under the salary cap limit. Notable departures via free agency were deadline acquisition forward Andrew Ladd and defenseman David Runblad. In the trade market the Hawks sent forwards Teuvo Teravainen and Bryan Bickell to Carolina in exchange for a 2016 second round-pick and a 2017 third-round pick.
This was a cap saving measure and is largely seen as a heavy price for the Hawks as to clear Bickell’s cap room they had to sacrifice Teravainen who was considered a bright young star and one of the future pieces of the franchise. Still the loss of Teravainen follows the narrative that happens each summer for this team. Last offseason it was the departure of Brandon Saad to Columbus to make cap room, and it just seems the challenge for these Blackhawks each offseason is not trying to keep everyone, but rather who can they expend and still keep their core intact.
That core of players for the Blackhawks is why they are always so good, and will be again this season. Toews and Kane might be the best one-two forward punch in the NHL and Duncan Keith is a Norris candidate every season. Add to that the solid goaltending of Corey Crawford, and the emergence of Artemi Panarin this is another cup contenting Blackhawks team this season.
The biggest issue for this team is their bottom. The top six forwards and top four defensemen are outstanding, but getting into the lower lines you can see their weakness. The Wild will need to take advantage of that and weather the onslaught of the Toews and Kane lines. If they can play mistake free hockey against those two top lines they’ve got a chance to beat them. In the past the Wild have gotten themselves in trouble with bad turnovers that players like Kane or Towes will capitalize on. The younger more inexperienced forwards on the bottom two lines don’t necessarily have that ability like their top line counterparts.
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To counter the Blackhawks’ defense the best thing to do is to get Keith off his game quick. Duncan Keith has a temper that makes him do dumb things, the Wild need to get him to do those dumb things rather than try to score on them or defend them. Get past the first two pairings and you can see where the third paring could give up some goals, the Wild need to keep that in mind and play high speed game pressing hockey when those defenders are on the ice.
The Wild will most likely have a hard time sweeping the Blackhawks again this season. However, at worst it seems likely the two teams will split the regular season series. The issue seems to be whether or not the two teams meet in the playoffs, and if they do the Wild match up better than they have in years so it could be the curse is reversed.
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Chicago will be Chicago again this season and battle for the division title. Sure they lost some pieces, but they lose pieces every offseason and somehow manage to make up for it. Are they going to make another run for the Cup? That’s hard to tell, but one thing is for sure they will play the Wild and the rest of the Central Division very hard. Still let’s hope the Wild bring the brooms again for them this season…it’s just fun to watch.