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This is the first of an 8-day series covering the teams in the new NHL Central Division, with the final installment predicting the order of finish.


With the offseason additions of forwards Michal Frolik and Devin Setoguchi, the Jets have likely improved themselves. The question is how much? And will it matter much in what should prove to be a very competitive Central Division.

The Jets are going to give a very long training camp look at Junior All-Everything Center Mark Scheifele. With the departure of Alexander Burmistrov and an overall lack of quality center depth, the Jets would benefit greatly from a breakthrough, or at least solid, season from Scheifele.

Regarding his chances, Scheifele recently has this to say to the Canadian Press: "My goal is to earn a spot on the Jets, and that's what I'm going to go to camp and do, and do whatever it takes to get that spot. So I think I'm looking for big things in myself. I'm definitely pushing myself to get that spot."

Otherwise, the Jets will continue to look to their "stars," power winger Evander Kane—very talented but also very controversial—and a couple of veterans of the Blackhawks' last Stanley Cup: team captain Andrew Ladd and defenseman Dustin Byfuglien.

Actually, while somewhat pedestrian in net (Ondrej Pavelec and Al Montoya) and at forward, the Jets have some talent, realized and unrealized, on defense.

But Byfuglien is the huge questionmark—'huge' both literally and figuratively.

Rumors had Byfuglien's weight fluctuating between 285 and 302 over the last several months, which is unacceptable, even for an exceptional athlete such as he is.

The truth is, when fully focused and in reasonable shape, Byfuglien can be an absolute force on an NHL hockey rink.

With some minimal to incremental improvement in talent over the offseason, the Jets will need Byfuglien to be the player he can be in order to have a reasonable shot at a playoff spot.

TOMORROW:

Minnesota Wild


HAWK NOTES:

Early reports have Brandon Saad putting on quite a bit of muscle this offseason—likely in order to step up a less speactcular aspect of his game: physical play.

Also, look for none other than the enigmatic Kyle Beach to make a real push for a job in Chicago this fall. Beach has apparently been working very hard this summer on his skating and at various camps, the latest in Sweden, to get ready for the season—likely his last real shot with the Blackhawk organization.


All for now,

JJ

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