Shots on Goal: Early Look - Top 9 Central

Early Look Top-9: Central Division
Peter Maingot, RotoWire.com

With summer well past the half-way mark, it's time to take an early glance at the NHL landscape and assess what the top three lines of each team might resemble after a summer of drafting, trading and free-agent signing. We will stress the even-strength lines, with occasional forays into possible power play (PP) deployments.

Chicago:

Andrew Shaw - Jonathan Toews - Marian Hossa
Artemi Panarin - Artem Anisimov - Patrick Kane
Bryan Bickell - Teuvo Teravainen - Mark Dano

Since they hoisted the Stanley Cup in June The Hawks have lost five top-9 forwards to free agency or trade: Brandon Saad, Patrick Sharp, Brad Richards, Antoine Vermette, and now Kris Versteeg. They added both center Artem Anisimov and winger Marko Dano from Columbus in the Brandon Saad trade and signed forwards Artemi Panarin and Viktor Tikhonov from the KHL.

Anisimov projects to be the big center that they've supposedly wanted for years. His best season for goals is 22 (2013-14) and his top season for points is 44 (2010-11) so he could be looking at new career-highs in both categories if the sticks on the second line with Kane and gets deployed on the second power-play unit, for which he should. His left winger on the second line is likely to be Panarin, who tied for fourth last year in league scoring in the KHL for Saint Petersburg (SKA). The 23-year-old Russian winger scored 26 goals and 62 points in 54 regular season games. It might make sense, at least at first, to put the two Russians together on the same line.

Dano is a 20-year-old Austrian winger drafted 27th overall by Columbus in 2013 who scored eight goals and 21 points in 35 games for the Blue Jackets last season while also splitting the year in the AHL. Dano will play either wing on the third line, depending on what happens with Teuvo Teravainen, or start the year in the AHL. Teravainen, drafted by Chicago 18th overall in 2012, really came on in the playoffs last spring amassing 10 points in 18 games after scoring just nine points in 34 regular season games. Teravainen could really explode offensively if he were to get the first line left wing spot but the Hawks may want to develop him at his natural center position. Andrew Shaw was originally slated to play right wing on the third line if Teravainen is kept at center, or centering the third line, but instead could get the gift of playing alongside Toews and Hossa. Other players who could see top-9 minutes this season at times include Bryan Bickell (hulking left winger who scored 14 goals last year and has a contract which makes him untradeable), Tikhonov (another center), and possibly Ryan Garbutt (right wing who came over from Dallas in the Patrick Sharp trade). If the new Russians pan out (especially Anisimov and Panarin) then the Hawks should be okay offensively, as Teravainen is a star in waiting and Dano has excellent speed and upside.

Colorado:

Alex Tanguay - Matt Duchene - Jarome Iginla
Gabriel Landeskog - Carl Soderberg/Nathan MacKinnon - MacKinnon/Miko Rantanen
Mikhail Grigorenko - Carl Soderberg/John Mitchell - Rantanen/Blake Comeau

Normally one doesn't project an 18-year-old to make an NHL team but sometimes a player is a special case - or two players like in 2009-10 when then 18-year-olds Matt Duchene and Ryan O'Reilly made the Avs - and that could be true for Miko Rantanen. The kid is huge (6-4/211) and he's been playing pro hockey for the past two years in the Finnish Elite League. Last season Rantanen had nine goals and 28 points in 56 games last year for TPS Turku. With possible linemates like Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon, Rantanen could finish in the top three in rookie scoring if he cracks the lineup.

Carl Soderberg was added in free agency to partially help offset the loss of Ryan O'Reilly, who was traded to Buffalo along with third-line winger Jamie McGinn. Soderberg had 44 points playing for the Bruins last year despite playing a good portion of the season on their third line. If Soderberg plays on the second line MacKinnon shifts to right wing and Rantanen or fellow newcomer Blake Comeau would be the third line right wing.

Alex Tanguay (35) and Jarome Iginla (38) were ageless wonders last season. Tanguay scored 22 goals and 55 points in 80 games while Iginla, despite his usual brutally slow start, finished with 29 goals and 58 points in 82 games. Is it realistic to expect these aging top-line scorers to play a combined 162 games this year? That's another reason they went out and signed Blake Comeau. While no star, Comeau played some top-six minutes at times for Pittsburgh last season and finished with 16 goals in 61 games. This could be Mikhail Grigorenko's last chance at the NHL. Though still just 21 and big (6-3/210), the young Russian had only three goals and six points in 25 NHL games last year. With 36 points in 44 AHL games last season, at least we know Grigorenko hasn't completely lost his scoring touch. With a new organization this is his big chance to turn things around. If both Grigorenko and Rantanen make the team, they could very well be apprenticing for Tanguay and Iginla's jobs in two years.

Dallas:

Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Valeri Nichushkin
Patrick Sharp - Jason Spezza - Ales Hemsky
Antoine Roussel - Cody Eakin - Colton Sceviour

Dallas made three big acquisitions this summer - Patrick Sharp, Antti Niemi, and Johnny Oduya. Sharp seems like the only addition to the top-9 but top prospect Valeri Nichushkin missed most of last season due to injury so he's sort of a newcomer as well. Jamie Benn led the league in scoring last season with 35 goals and 87 points in 82 games. Benn's linemate Tyler Seguin may have beaten him out for the title had he not missed 11 games, thus finishing with 37 goals and 77 points. Nichushkin, still just 20, only played in eight games last season after playing 74 games in his rookie year and tallying 14 goals and 39 points. If he can stay healthy and play the first line he should easily hit career highs in both categories.

Newcomer Sharp and Jason Spezza could form a lethal combination on the second line. Spezza had 17 goals and 62 points in 82 games in his first season with Dallas then went on to be named the top forward of the 2015 World Championships in Prague as the tournament's leading scorer while Team Canada went undefeated and earned gold. Spezza's success in Prague shows that he's still capable of top-line results if he's teamed with elite talent. Sharp's elite talent will take some of the defensive attention away from Spezza which should allow him to improve upon last season's modest (for him) offensive numbers. Ales Hemsky used to be an elite winger but Dallas' three-year $9 million investment in him, which began in July of 2014, is beginning to look dubious at best. Hemsky managed a paltry 11 goals and 31 points in 76 games. He scored 13 goals in 75 games the year before last. Hemsky may only be 31 but his last good season was five years ago (2010-11) when he had 42 points in 47 games. If he can't score with Spezza and Sharp as his linemates, they might as well drop him to the third line or make him a healthy scratch.

Like Seguin and Spezza, Cody Eakin played for Team Canada at the Worlds and accounted himself well with a plus-7 defensive rating on the checking line with four goals and six points in nine games. While Eakin finished last season on the first line with Benn and Seguin, he's more likely to find himself starting the season as the third line center. He's shown he's capable of top-six deployment and he'll be the first one moved up when injuries occur or when the coaching staff grows tired of Hemsky's ineffectiveness. Antoine Roussel has value in leagues that count penalty minutes, as he put up 148 PIMs to go along with 13 goals and 12 assists for 25 points in 80 games. After putting up 168 points in 191 AHL games over the previous three seasons, Colton Sceviour played his first full NHL season last year while scoring nine goals and 26 points in 71 games.

Minnesota:

Zach Parise - Mikael Granlund - Jason Pominville
Jason Zucker - Mikko Koivu- Thomas Vanek
Nino Niederreiter - Charlie Coyle - Justin Fontaine

While there are some big names at forward for Minnesota and the Wild did finish 12th in league scoring, the top two centers must increase their goal-scoring output for this team to be more effective. Mikko Koivu (14 goals/48 points in 80 games) and Mikael Granland (8 goals/39 points in 68 games) only combined for 22 goals in 148 games. Another weak spot was on the right wing where both Jason Pominville (18 goals/54 points in 82 games) and Thomas Vanek (21 goals/52 points in 80 games) saw a decline in production last season. They had combined for 57 goals and 128 points in 2013-14, albeit on different teams. Jason Zucker is a natural goal scorer who should see top-six minutes this year, if he can stay healthy. Zucker potted 21 goals in 51 games last year.

Nino Niederreiter is another up and comer who potted 24 goals last season as a 22-year-old. Zack Parise (33 goals/62 points) remains the best Minnesota forward in fantasy and reality but he should be 70-point player. Perhaps the team can open it up a little this season and allow the Wild's solid group of puck-moving defenseman - Ryan Suter, Matt Dumba, Jared Spurgeon, Marco Scandella, Jonas Brodin and eventually Mike Reilly - to play more aggressive and be allowed join the attack more often.

Nashville:

Filip Forsberg - Mike Ribeiro - James Neal
Colin Wilson - Mike Fisher - Craig Smith
Eric Nystrom/Kevin Fiala - Calle Jarnkrok - Cody Hodgson/Steve Moses

As expected, the Preds improved offensively last year under new coach Peter Laviolette. The two biggest surprises were Filip Forsberg, who was a frontrunner for rookie of the year early on but faded slightly down the stretch, and Mike Ribeiro. While Forsberg established himself as a bona fide NHL scorer (26 goals/63 points) in his first full season in the league, Ribeiro salvaged his career after being bought out the previous summer by Arizona. Ribeiro's 62 points in 82 games was enough to get him a new two-year deal this summer.

Colin Wilson had a career-year scoring 20 goals for the first time as well as reaching the 40-point mark. He and Craig Smith (23 goals/41 points) had nearly identical numbers last season and both could see a slight bump this coming campaign if their center - Mike Fisher - can play more than 59 games next season. Fisher, with 19 goals and 39 points in 59 games, proved that he was still a top-six center after coming back from a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in July of 2014.

The third line should be bolstered by the addition of either Cody Hodgson or Steve Moses. Hodgson is a former top-six center/right wing who flamed out for Buffalo last season. Hodgson has some pedigree as a former first-round pick and former star for the Team Canada Under-20 squad. Moses was a top scorer in the KHL last year with 36 goals and 57 points in 60 games but his size (5-9/170) will make it challenging for him to crack the lineup.

St. Louis:

Jaden Schwartz - Jori Lehtera - Vladimir Tarasenko
Alex Steen - Paul Stastny - David Backes/Troy Brouwer
Dmitrij Jaskin - Backes/Patrik Berglund - Brouwer/Berglund

Blues coach Ken Hitchcock went on record this summer in stating that he wanted his top two centers this coming season to be Jori Lehtera and Paul Stastny, meaning Blues captain David Backes (26 goals/58 points/104 PIMs) will be playing right wing more often this year, as well as possibly some third-line center duty. Just weeks after Hitchcock's declaration, the team announced that Lehtera would be sidelined for six to eight weeks after early-August surgery on his right ankle. Lehtera, who had 14 goals and 30 assists for 44 points in 75 games in his first NHL season, found success playing with his old KHL teammate Vladimir Tarasenko (37 goals/73 points) and with Jaden Schwartz (28 goals/63 points). Backes could be back at center to start the season due to Lehtera's surgery rehabilitation but if Hitchcock is true to his word, Backes could be back at third-line center by mid-fall. For this reason, Backes has some risk this year, for a guy that normally gets picked in the top 40-50.

Stastny will be expected to improve upon last season's pedestrian totals of 16 goals and 46 points in 74 games and having a top-six spot guaranteed, along with ample power-play time, should allow the center to get back to the 55-60 point level. Alex Steen's inclusion on Stastny's line can only help, as Steen has quietly averaged 29 goals and 63 points over the past two seasons.

T.J. Oshie was traded during the summer to Washington for fellow right winger Troy Brouwer. The Blues had to do something to shake up a team that has fallen on its face in three successive playoffs. Oshie, a fan favorite, was the sacrificial lamb as the team decided to keep Coach Hitchcock for one more season. Brouwer has been playing at a 25-goal clip for the last three seasons (65 goals in 211 games), has won a Stanley Cup, and he seems a perfect fit for Hitchcock's tight-checking style of play. Brouwer will play either second line or third line right wing. There's a bit of domino effect with Backes, Brouwer and Patrick Berglund. If Backes plays second-line right wing, then Brouwer is the third-line right wing and Berglund plays third-line center. If Brouwer plays second-line right wing, then Backes drops to third line center and Berglund moves over to the right side of the third line.

Dmitrij Jaskin is a player to keep a close eye on, for if he could get top six minutes and some power-play time, he'd have 25-goal/50-point potential. Jaskin, 22, is just a couple of years removed from junior hockey where he lit up the Quebec league to the tune of 46 goals and 99 points in 51 games in his final season. He's a big body (6-2/200) who scored 13 goals and 18 points in 54 games last year for the Blues.

Update: Berglund had shoulder surgery Aug. 28 and will be re-evaluated in four months, so the Blues have invited 35-year-old veteran Scott Gomez to training camp. Gomez could end up taking a top-9 spot this season for St. Louis after scoring 34 points in 58 games for New Jersey last season. Another option could be the 24-year-old speedster Magnus Paajarvi, who had 29 points in 36 AHL games last year.

Winnipeg:

Andrew Ladd - Bryan Little - Drew Stafford
Nikolaj Ehlers/Matthieu Perreault - Mark Scheifele - Blake Wheeler
Perreault/Nic Petan - Adam Lowry - Alexander Burmistrov

At right wing Blake Wheeler leads the way. Wheeler has been playing at a 67-point pace for four seasons now with 235 in 289 games as a Jet. Moreover he's averaged 27 goals over the past two seasons and he's become very comfortable with No. 1 center Bryan Little while being a mainstay of the Peg's first PP unit. Wheeler's inclusion on the second line at even strength allows the Jets to split up their three best forwards rather putting them all on the first line. Drew Stafford made a positive impact after his trade to the Jets with nine goals and 19 points in 26 games so they re-signed him for two years. No. 2 center Mark Scheifele is still a work in progress, with far more upside than last year's modest 15 goals and 49 points in 82 games. Having Wheeler on his right flank for the entire season can only aid in Scheifele's development. The big question for Winnipeg is who plays left wing on the second line?

Nikolaj Ehlers is the X-factor for Winnipeg this season. Can the junior scoring sensation (86 goals/205 points in 114 games with 118 PIMs) make the Jets as a 19-year-old? While supremely gifted offensively the young Dane is only listed at 168 lbs by the Jets. Ehlers will likely be given at least nine games with the Jets to start the season to see if he's NHL ready. If not, he's already said that the'll go play in the Swiss league rather than play another year of Canadian junior hockey. Like Ehlers, Nic Petan is another Jets prospect with excellent junior scoring numbers (110 goals/358 points in 252 games) who could crack the top nine, but he's the more likely of the two "Nick's" to start the year in the minors. Petan is only 5-9 and 175 lbs but this is the new NHL so we can't count him out. Moreover, Petan also shined on the international scene, scoring eight goals and 16 points in 14 games during his two tournaments for Team Canada at the Worlds, so he's not familiar with failure.

If Ehlers doesn't crack the top six, Matthieu Perreault will. Perreault, who also saw time as part of a 4-forward power play unit last season (along with Wheeler, Little and Andrew Ladd), has put up back-to-back 18-goal seasons (in 62 games last year). Alexander Burmistrov is back in the NHL and will have to play wing if he's to find work amongst the top nine. In his KHL-led absence, Burmistrov was usurped on the organizational depth chart at center by Adam Lowry. Jets prospect Joel Armia didn't react well to the trade from Buffalo to Winnipeg last season (his AHL production dropped considerably) and he's at least a year away from having a decent chance at making the team.