Welcome to the Hotstove! As always, I'm your host, Travis Yost.
With the National Hockey League season now just a couple of months away and the majority of roster moves and transactions having already been completed, it's time now to begin projecting how the divisional races will play out. Up fourth? The Central division -- including the Columbus Blue Jackets, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Nashville Predators, and St. Louis Blues.
Below, I've compiled last year's standings and the notable roster moves that have been completed by each of the above-referenced clubs in preparation for the 2012-2013 campaign.
Your job? Rank the teams, one through five, and explain your rationale behind the ordering.
2011-2012 STANDINGS
ROSTER MOVES
Quick note: Any still-pending UFA's are listed as losses.
Chicago Blackhawks
Added: Sheldon Brookbank;
Subtracted: Andrew Brunette, Sami Lepisto, Brendan Morrison, Sean O'Donnell;
Columbus Blue Jackets
Added: Nick Foligno, Derek MacKenzie, Adrian Aucoin, Artem Anisimov, Brandon Dubinsky, Tim Erixon, Curtis McElhinney, Sergei Bobrovsky;
Subtracted: Rick Nash, Marc Methot, Kristian Huselius, Aaron Johnson, Radek Martinek, Brett Lebda, Darryl Boyce, Curtis Sanford;
Detroit Red Wings
Added: Jonas Gustavsson, Mikael Samuelsson, Jordin Tootoo, Andrew Murray;
Subtracted: Nicklas Lidstrom, Jiri Hudler, Brad Stuart, Garnet Exelby, Ty Conklin, Tomas Holmstrom(?);
Nashville Predators
Added: Chris Mason, Scott Hannan, Sebastien Caron;
Subtracted: Francis Bouillon, Jack Hillen, Andrei Kostitsyn, Anders Lindback, Alexander Radulov, Ryan Suter, Jordin Tootoo;
St. Louis Blues
Added: Jeff Woywitka, Mike McKenna, Scott Ford;
Subtracted: B.J. Crombeen, Kent Huskins, Chris Porter, Jason Arnott, Carlo Colaiacovo;
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Thanks for reading!
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