2009 NHL Central Division Season Preview

Welcome to the best and most complete 2009 NHL Central Division Season Preview available online. The teams that make up our 2009-2010 NHL Central Season Preview are the are the Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues.

The Central Division will continue to belong to the Detroit Red Wings. The Wings have too much scoring and speed for most teams in the NHL to compete with. But the Chicago Blackhawks could give the Wings a challenge, but the betting edge has to go Detroit for their experience. The Columbus Blue Jackets, Nashville Predators, and St. Louis Blues have improved, but it will be the Wings & Blackhawks fighting it out in the end for the division.

2009 Chicago Blackhawks Season Preview

The Chicago Blackhawks are good, expectations are high with the talent that has been put together and a Stanley Cup is an attainable goal. With the core group returning and the experience of last year, along with the free agent additions of Marian Hossa, the Blackhawks have grown together and are maturing into a force to be wreck en with. Coach Joel Quenneville is excellent, but if Cristobal Huet does not maintain the goaltending Nikolai Khabibulin did last year, Chicago could be fall short of competing for the Cup.

Chicago Blackhawks 2009 Season Preview – Chicago Blackhawks 2009 Season Schedule

2009 Columbus Blue Jackets Season Preview

Coach Ken Hitchcock and the Blue Jackets goal has changed from simply making the playoffs to winning in the playoffs. Rick Nash is a force and continues to evolve into a complete player. Steve Mason provides quality goaltending that helps a team win games. Columbus has youth, talent, experience and depth that makes the Blue Jackets an opponent that you don’t want to face every night, which is bad news for the rest of the league.

Columbus Blue Jackets 2009 Season Preview – Columbus Blue Jackets 2009 Season Schedule

2009 Detroit Red Wings Season Preview

The emotional misery of a loss to Pittsburgh in Game 7 is all the motivation the Red Wings need coming into the ’09 Season. They are a supremely talented team, but the departures of key offensive players Marian Hossa, Jiri Hudler and Mikael Samuelsson will not be easy to replace. Detroit’s scouting and development has been top notch in the NHL and it will be necessary for some of their young talent to fill the void left by the departing players immediately. The Red Wings “D” is arguably the best in the NHL. If the replacements play well the Wings can possibly erase the memories of that last game defeat last season in ’09-’10.

Detroit Red Wings 2009 Season Preview – Detroit Red Wings 2009 Season Schedule

2009 Nashville Predators Season Preview

Nashville has been consistently improving each season since entering the NHL. A patient development plan has paid off with 4 straight playoffs appearances and looked to be a possible Stanley Cup contender. But las year saw a halt to that progress and their playoff run was snapped. A return back to the postseason will not be an achievable task with the rise of Chicago, Columbus and St. Louis. The Predators have a solid core on defense, with solid forwards and a dependable goaltender. Under the leadership of Barry Trotz the Predators will be competitive and capable of getting into the post-season, but a jump into the group of Stanley Cup contenders does not appear imminent this season.

Nashville Predators 2009 Season Preview – Nashville Predators 2009 Season Schedule

2009 St. Louis Blues Season Preview

St. Louis has rebuilt their team emphasizing the importance of youth and letting it develop, in hopes for the future. The Blues collection of talent is exciting and is spread throughout their lineup. Erik Johnson, David Backes, Alex Pietrangelo, Patrik Berglund, T.J. Oshie and David Perron are reasons for enthusiasm. Keith Tkachuk, Andy McDonald, Brad Boyes, Barrett Jackman and Paul Kariya add important skills and much experience. Andy Murray has guided this team through many challenges and has built a fierce identity for it. The Blues future is bright, and the time for it to shine is now.