{"id":184079,"date":"2025-10-02T03:10:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T03:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/184079\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T03:10:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T03:10:08","slug":"central-division-winner-debated-by-nhl-com-panel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/184079\/","title":{"rendered":"Central Division winner debated by NHL.com panel"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m looking forward to seeing what Rantanen can do in his first full season with the Stars after joining them in a trade on March 7 and signing an eight-year, $96 million contract. The 28-year-old forward was a difference-maker in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, getting 22 points (nine goals, 13 assists) in 18 games. Expect more dominant play from Rantanen this season to push the Stars back to the top of the Central after they finished second behind the Winnipeg Jets last season. The Stars have scoring depth with Rantanen, Jason Robertson<\/a>, Roope Hintz<\/a>, Matt Duchene<\/a>, Wyatt Johnston<\/a> and Tyler Seguin<\/a> and skill on defense with Miro Heiskanen<\/a>, Thomas Harley<\/a> and Esa Lindell<\/a> and one of the best goalies in the League in Oettinger. — Tom Gulitti, senior writer<\/p>\n

A full season of Rantanen in the fold should help stabilize a tremendous top line with Hintz and Robertson. Johnston enters his fourth NHL season after having scored 177 points (89 goals, 88 assists) in 246 games. I feel Dallas is going to be a hungry, determined team and the core of this team has a win-now mentality. Defensively, Heiskanen, Harley and Lindell key the blue line, and hard-hitting Lian Bichsel (6-foot-7, 231 pounds) made quite an impact when he joined the team in December (team-leading 155 hits in 38 regular-season games). — Mike G. Morreale, senior draft writer<\/p>\n

Is this the year this current Dallas Stars core gets over the Stanley Cup hump? Could be, and the first step will be winning the Central Division in what should be a dogfight with the Jets, Avalanche and Minnesota Wild. But I\u2019ll take the Stars, who will be led by goalie Jake Oettinger, who is not only out to erase the painful playoff loss to the Oilers last season, but is playing for the No. 1 goalie spot for the U.S. in the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. — Bill Price, Editor-in-Chief<\/p>\n

The Stars’ center depth is strong with Hintz, Johnston, Sam Steel<\/a> and Radek Faksa<\/a>. They have arguably two No. 1 defensemen in Heiskanen and Harley, and they can play them on different pairs. They have one of the best wingers in the League in Rantanen. Robertson might not again be a 100-point forward (he had 109 points in 2022-23), but he’s had 80 points the past two seasons, which is enough on a team as deep as Dallas. Duchene and Seguin can still bring the offense. Bourque could take the next step and be a top-six forward. Oettinger is one of the top No. 1 goalies. The Stars have to deliver in the playoffs, but setting themselves up best for the challenge should be the goal, and that’s their motivation in the regular season. — Dan Rosen, senior writer<\/p>\n

Winnipeg Jets<\/p>\n

The Jets have the best goalie in the NHL in Connor Hellebuyck<\/a>, and that gives them an edge in arguably the best division in the League. He anchored a team that won the Presidents’ Trophy last season, and then added center Jonathan Toews<\/a> for a comeback tour in his hometown. Toews likely won’t be a 25-goal scorer in his return after two seasons away from the game, but with Mark Scheifele<\/a>, Kyle Connor<\/a> and Gabriel Vilardi<\/a> leading the offense, he won’t have to be. What Toews does bring is the experience of a three-time Stanley Cup champion. He’ll bring an element of mental toughness that only can help the group, which will be tested by the other talented teams in the division. But Hellebuyck, who remains in his prime at 32 years old, should be the difference in a second-straight division title. — Adam Kimelman, deputy managing editor<\/p>\n

Oh, I know, the Stars are the favorite pick among some of my colleagues and understandably so. They\u2019re great. But as much as the Jets have struggled in the postseason, I\u2019m taking them to win the Central for the second-straight season. Hellebuyck is a big reason. The goaltender may have to answer questions for his playoff issues but there\u2019s no question he remains the best regular-season goalie in the NHL. The Jets lost Nikolaj Ehlers<\/a> in free agency, but they\u2019ve still got plenty of production with the likes of Connor, Scheifele and defenseman Josh Morrissey<\/a>. I also expect Cole Perfetti<\/a>\u2019s production to increase this season. Their defense remains strong, too. I like the Jets\u2019 makeup, and the Central will be theirs again. — Tracey Myers, staff writer<\/p>\n

Winnipeg won the Presidents\u2019 Trophy playing in a tough division and still have the talent to win the Central again this season. The loss of Ehlers will hurt, but Winnipeg added Toews and Gustav Nyquist<\/a> to try and make up the offense. Toews is a proven champion and will bring a strong voice to an already veteran locker room. With reigning Hart and Vezina Trophy winner Hellebuyck in goal, it will take something special to knock the Jets off their perch atop the division. — Derek Van Diest, staff writer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I\u2019m looking forward to seeing what Rantanen can do in his first full season with the Stars after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":184080,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,575,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-184079","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184079"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184079\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}