This was posted nearly four hours ago, yet there are no comments? Are Blues fans so gun shy of the Wings that they aren't even willing bravado in the off season? Even after the shellacking the Blues put on the Wings late in the season last year IN DETROIT?!

Wow. Well, I'll be the first to say that the Wings do not win the division. Blues have a shot, for sure. I'll pick Nashville to win the division with the outside chance that the Blues will push them if Perron can come back and contribute like David Perron can by mid December.

Red Wings finish second to the Preds unless Perron can miraculously be David Perron by 12/15.

There is such parity in this division right now that it could end up shaking down in just about any possible combination. The only thing I would say for sure is that injuries and goaltending are going to cause the most separation between the teams. With all these young goalies in the division, you know one or two will shine while another one or two will go through a slump.

This division is nowhere near as good as the pacific division where 4 teams made the playoffs last season. Team by team every team in the pacific is better then every team in the Central.

Realistically, I think the Blues are still the third or fourth best team in the division. Chicago is still the best, despite their place in the standings. The team that took Vancouver to OT of game 7 is the team I expect to bounce back and win the Central. Detroit is not far behind. The Blues are even with Nashville. Good, but not spectacular.

The only team I'm still writing off is Columbus. I think people are overstating the value of their improvements because there are still MAJOR holes in their roster. They are downright terrible in their own zone. Plus, like you said Andy, they're relying on Steve Mason to have a solid season in goal. Good luck with that. Oh, but their power play will be better, so they'll be slightly better than 13th in the West.

I have to agree with Ducky. Pacific is far better than the Central. Central just has a proliferation of some pretty loudmouth teams and even louder mouth fans.

Detroit...yes, very good, but that blue line is not as good.

Chicago...much better in their own minds. Bunch of old guys sign 1 year deals and suddenly they are Cup contenders? Until proven otherwise, they are just a talented team that went out in the 1st round and finished 8th.

Nashville...kinda all concerns whether Weber stays or goes, huh?

St Louis...well, they are better too, but how much?

Columbus...I might be tempted to put some money down on these guys NOT being at the bottom of this division come the end.

Oh, and finally...ummm Jammer? Chicago is still the best? They took the Canucks to 7 is a reason? Geez. They got lucky in two of those games. Henrik was right, they really had no bizness making it close. Regardless, and of course the Hawks fans will tell you otherwise, but they are talented, but not that good a team. I mean, to be more than a 1st round exit team THAT THEY ARE, they bring in an old and slow winger in Brunette, a moron that will cost their 25th rank PK even more in Carcillo, a guy that is too slow in Mayers, and the same with O'Donnell and Montador on the back end. Both those guys are going to get danced around on rushes all season!

They can try and play tough, but any team with a great PP ( Van/Det/SJ/hell, even CBJ is going to have a good one now! ) is going to eviscerate that team.

I think how the Blues fare this year will really depend on goal tending. If Halak plays well and doesn't get injured and the Blues get good goal tending from their back-up they will be in the playoffs. I think the Blues are taking a big risk going with inexperience in the back-up position. Hopefully they don't get burned.

Blues win the Central!

Detroit may end up on top again, but I don't think they "rule" this division any longer.

Prior to last season the Central Division winner had 112, 112, 115, 113, and 124 points.

Last season Detroit won with 104. I think this trend continues and it will take somewhere in the neighborhood of 105-108 points to win the Central.

The Blues seem to have a good mix of talent and if they finally get some breaks in their favor it's certainly within their reach.

Could this be a year where every team in the central makes the playoffs and if not than every team in the western division? I am a Blues fan, but I must say that would be pretty cool either way...

Remember ladies & gentlemen . . . & Carcus (jk!), "DON'T STOP BELIEVING!!!!
. . . born & raised in south Detroit!!!"

Make's me SICK!!!!

The new slogan

Ahhh Eggy. Just another hater. Its OK, I get the hate. Hawks fans are the most irrational about it, but it seems you have a good brew going. Good luck with that.

Now, as for the meat of you "thesis". Riot first. Was I aghast, embarrassed, disgusted and angry all at once as that unfolded? You bet. I copuld tell you that is not Canuck "fans" because it really is not the majority, but whatever. A bunch of folks that called themselves Canuck fans did some criminal activity. Sadly, probably not the last city to have a sports riot, and our second, we should have known better. The anger here now from the vast majority is having 449 officers to patrol 155K people, them having to leave the scene to put on riot gear, and how it got all out of control.

Investigations have repeatedly shown there was a small cadre at the heart of starting the whole thing that were not fans. One group even positioned a truck that was the first burnt ( another fact, and another strike against the planning. They allowed parking down by the fanzone!) for easy access.

So, the thing is, using an insult like the riot just shows you to be ignorant.

Roberto Luongo. What's your problem? A few more facts for you. Yes, he won 15 instead of 16 in last year's Final, but to say he crapped the bed multiple times is silly. It also shows that you are not a very good, ar real, hockey fan. Its a team game son. Not every goal is the goalie's fault. Shoot, in the 8 goal game, EVERYONE sucked, not just him having a bad game. He made a bunch of big stops early in that game too.

Another fact about Lui. In the modern era of goalies, there is one with a better Sv % currently playing. Brodeur. Hasek and one other I cannot remember are in that list too, but to call him a chump goalie just shows you are a chump too. Though, I get the hate of him. He is a confident player, and should make no apologies for it. Guys in the Top Echelon of goaltenders rarely do. Take solace that their is a small, silly minority in our city that slags him worse than you!

So, so far, we have established, with facts, that you are acting like a loudmouth, and all I did is make a few confident points about the best team in the league running away last year, that is the odds on fave for the Cup this year. I am sorry that that confidence annoyed you so...

Ballard? Whatever. Probably wins that trophy ( Masterson) for comeback player of the year. All I can say is he had a tough year, he played through injury at the start, Tanev deserved to start Gm 7 for other tactical reasons ( like, you can have one "swashbuckler" on a great blue line. Ehrhoff was ours. Its not a slight on Ballard, and I fuly expect him to have a great year )...but whatever. You are looking for negatives, and you found one in a guy that was playing bottom pairing minutes last year, because of the deepest blue line ( or one of) in the NHL. Yippee.

Sturm? Again, some ignorance showing. He had both an ACL and an MCL at the same time and came back to soon. He is on a one year deal, and if he stays healthy, he is a lock for 20 or more ( has hit that mark 7-8 times in his career ). So much for THAT one huh?

Oh my, that is the fun part of carving up your less than cogent response, mon ami. Scared? I would be far more scared of the 25th worst PK, that did little to improve it and hired two guys like Carbomb and Mayers, known PIM magnets. Do not worry about anyone being scared Eggy. But I forgive you. You are a Hawk fan, and I did not really expect much more than irrational anger anyhow. Why you guys are so carved up about being an 8th place team that needed help, and for all the fun the 1st rounder was, a first round exit is about where I had that team ending up. If they did not get up for us due to the rivalry, well, whatever.

Bill Sweatt? I like him too. He has shown flashes, but there is far more depth before we get to him. But whatever. You are right about CoHo. If I was a fantasy guy, I would take him. He will probably make the team and have a great season. Maybe you are not as dumb as I thought huh?

Yep, Schneids is pretty good. With the market being set by the Avs when they got Varly, I think we will have a much bigger return than a "bag of pucks", but again, whatever.

Lastly? I do not hate you personally. Heck, I don't even type this with any real animus. I can remember a time when banter with Hawks fans was friendly. But you got to do what you got to do right?

I hope you can learn the game a little better. Yes, we cannot say we are a Cup Winner. Yet. We are the fave once again because we are an excellent hockey team.

I am sorry that sets you off, but whatever. I can only be the polite Canadian saying sorry so much, and really, if all you want to do is trade insults, I can't help you.

Here is hoping we meet again in the playoffs.