Chicago Blackhawks

 

Division Projected Order of Finish - 7th

 

Current Lineup Score... 71.2

Division Rank 8th

 

Financial Power Flexibility Score... 9.8

Division Rank 1st

 

Quality Draft Capital... 7.0

Division Rank 7th

 

Boy, this division is so tight.  Here we have the Hawks sitting with maybe the 7th best current lineup, but extremely close to teams ranked a few spots higher.  Dave could finish dead last in the Central, or he could make the playoffs easily.  Time to dissect what the game plan should be.  Horvat and Kyrou form a nice duo at the top of his forward group, but it drops off sharply after that.  He'll need Laf to chip in with some secondary scoring, along with at least one or two additions, in my opinion, to make a strong playoff push.  Of course, with Dave, when breaking down his group of defensemen, he always comes out with a top grade.   Hughes, Slavin, Walman, and Nurse have a fantastic mix of everything that a sim team could dream of.  The REAL litmus test will be in goal.  Dave owns the hometown rights of Sergei Bobrovsky.  If he retains him, which, due to being in a solid spot financially, he can, then he's a playoff team.  If not, he's in trouble.  Just like the Preds, we know exactly what Dave's needs are.  So, will be fun to watch him try to repeat what was a great 2024-25 season. 

 

Biggest Strength: A splendid top 4 D core (like usual)

 

 

 

Minnesota Wild

 

Division Projected Order of Finish - 8th

 

Current Lineup Score... 71.5

Division Rank 7th

 

Financial Power Flexibility Score... 6.9

Division Rank 7th

 

Quality Draft Capital... 11.0

Division Rank 1st (tied)

 

Not to sound like a broken record, but 3rd through 8th in this dogfight of a division is almost interchangeable.  I trust Dave to try to compete, but I don't fully trust Toby to... certainly if he gets off to an iffy start... Which is the deciding factor for me in placing him in this spot.  In fact, when I think about it, I trust every team in this division to try to win more than I trust Toby to try to.  Having said that, he's got some great pieces in place, so maybe he'll surprise.  He has okay buying power, but because his best asset to help acquire talent is his quality draft capital, and he usually hates to part with that, I'm not convinced he'll go for it.  Up front he's got maybe the sickest 1st line in the league, but does drop off after that.  He doesn't really have many 2 way forwards either, which is what you'd like to see lower in a lineup that has star power at the top.  He's got a ton of like number 3 to 4 D-men, which probably isn't going to cut it down the stretch.  In goal, Dustin Wolf is a fantastic name to have, but his rates aren't superb (maybe good enough, maybe not).  

 

Biggest Strength: Quality draft capital and a couple elite forwards