Central Division deemed best

DENVER — It might be his first season as a head coach in the Central Division, but Andrew Brunette has a long history within it, dating back to his time as a player and later, an assistant coach.

Brunette has suited up for the Nashville Predators, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks and spent two seasons behind the bench as an assistant for the Wild and one more as assistant GM there before heading to the Eastern Conference with the Florida Panthers and New Jersey Devils before working his way to his current job.

So when the bench boss of the Predators, one of the hottest teams in the NHL during the second half of the season, was asked for his assessment of the Central, Brunette gave an answer that was rooted in perspective.

“Maybe I’m biased because I played in the Central, but it’s always been, in my opinion, the best division in hockey,” Brunette said. “The three teams (at the top of) are as good as anybody we’ve played all year.

“They all have different challenges and they play different styles. But they’re as good as there is.”

When it comes to ratings and rankings, personal preference always ensures there is plenty of debate, depending on what you value or how you measure it. With the Stanley Cup playoffs set to begin in one week, revisiting what’s transpired in the Central Division this season seemed fitting, given how some of the races are unfolding.

The Dallas Stars can clinch first place with one victory during the final three games, while the Winnipeg Jets and Colorado Avalanche will meet on Saturday at Ball Arena in Denver in a game that will give the winner a significant leg up in the chase for second spot and the home-ice advantage that comes with it.

“Every team has their strength, but the biggest thing is that everyone is fast. Fast and heavy,” said Stars left-winger Jason Robertson. “Everyone is hitting their stride at this time of the year.”

The Predators are a safe bet to be the first wild-card and could end up providing plenty of grief for their first-round opponent, no matter who that is, given their relentless style of play.

“Our group worked hard for it and we feel we can take on anyone,” said Predators centre Ryan O’Reilly.

Meanwhile, the St. Louis Blues made a late push in the chase for the final wild-card berth, though it’s likely a case of too little, too late.

Jets captain Adam Lowry was asked about the ferocious competition and jockeying for position in the Central and he landed on the need to consider a change to the playoff format that sees the top three teams in each division and two wild cards rounding out the field.

Lowry pointed to the 2018 run to the Western Conference final as an example of why the seeding system makes more sense.

The Predators won the Presidents’ Trophy that season and their reward in the second round was to face a Jets team that set a franchise record with 114 points, which left them second in the NHL.

As exciting as that seven-game series was, it would have been better as the Western Conference final.

“It was an unbelievable series, so yeah you get these great series in the first round, but you lose some of the best teams right away.”–Adam Lowry

“It was an unbelievable series, so yeah you get these great series in the first round, but you lose some of the best teams right away,” said Lowry.

“That’s my little spiel on the divisional format. In the Central Division, going into the season, obviously Colorado was a favourite and Dallas thought they were going to be a really good team but us and Nashville were not write-offs, but everyone was looking to the Pacific (Division) to be high end.

“I know we have some of the lower-seeded teams in our division, but the thing with the Central is that there are no easy nights. Every team makes you work for it. They’re all competitive. The parity is so great.”

Count us among those who agree with Lowry’s take on this situation.

Given how well Marc-Andre Fleury played in those 2018 playoffs and the magical ride those Original Misfits were on, it might not have made a difference, as the Golden Knights could have eliminated one of the Jets or Predators anyway.

The point remains the same.

Stoking the regional rivalries made sense when the decision was made to go to that format, but going back to a 1 vs. 8 scenario would help reward the teams that earn the top seeds.

That’s not to suggest upsets aren’t going to occur or that great clubs won’t be eliminated earlier than they had projected.

“It’s been competitive right down to the stretch and if you look at the matchups, any team can beat any team going into the playoffs,” said Lowry. “That’s what makes watching the playoffs so exciting and what makes our game so great is the parity across the board.”

As a point of reference, based on points percentage, if the season ended on Thursday, the opening round series in the Western Conference would be as follows:

Dallas Stars (1) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (8)
Vancouver Canucks (2) vs. Los Angeles Kings (7)
Winnipeg Jets (3) vs. Nashville Predators (6)
Edmonton Oilers (4) vs. vs Colorado Avalanche (5)

With the current format, it would be:

Stars vs. Golden Knights
Jets vs. Avalanche
Canucks vs. Predators
Oilers vs. Kings

Around the glass

The players have spoken — 639 of them, in fact, and they had plenty to say as the NHLPA released its annual poll results this week.

A few highlights:

• Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy was deemed the most clutch goalie to “win one game,” getting 46.92 per cent of the vote. Jets puck-eater Connor Hellebuyck was fourth (5.03 per cent), just behind Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers and Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders. No doubt Hellebuyck would like to prove any doubters wrong with a sensational playoff effort this spring.

• Connor McDavid (48.71 per cent) and Cale Makar (56.38 per cent) were the runaway winners in the forward and defence category, to no real shock. No Jets cracked the list. McDavid also took home the best stick-handler category and Makar the best breakout passer, while Sidney Crosby, who is having another superb season, was deemed the “most complete player.” Brad Marchand won the “who do you hate playing against but would love to have on your team” honours (McDavid, for much different reasons we suspect, was second).

• There were some lighter categories such as most stylish player, with David Pastrnak edging out division rivals William Nylander and Auston Matthews. Speaking of “Pasta”, Italy led the way in the desired global destination question, getting 11.95 per cent of the vote. That was just ahead of Sweden, England, Switzerland and France.

• Winnipeg did get a shout-out in the “best ice” category, with Canada Life Centre (11.07 per cent) finishing third behind the Bell Centre in Montreal (34.48 per cent) and Rogers Place in Edmonton (14.52 per cent). However, the downtown barn didn’t register in the “toughest building to play in” category, with T-Mobile Arena in Vegas (31.36 per cent) the runaway winner ahead of PNC Arena in Carolina and TD Garden in Boston.

Last call for the mailbag

Ken and Mike will have their latest monthly mailbag posted on the Free Press website this Sunday. If you have a question about the Jets, send them an email and look for their responses online.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg