The NHL’s 2025-26 regular season is just about underway, and one of the league’s deepest divisions is the West’s Central Division.
6 out of 8 teams in the division enter the season favored to make the playoffs. The only two not favored are Nashville and Chicago.
Although the Predators are kind of in a pick’em situation with +200 odds to make the playoffs, while the Blackhawks have the worst odds to win the Stanley Cup in the league.
Here’s a full preview of this hotly contested division with odds as of October 7.
Colorado Avalanche
- Win Stanley Cup Odds: +850
- Win Conference Odds: +425
- Win Division Odds: +210
- Make Playoff Odds: -1000
Colorado shares the best odds to win the division with the team that ousted them in the first round last year, Dallas.
Yes, after a 49-24-4 season last year, which landed the Avalanche in third place in the Central, their playoff run was short-lived.
Following a 5-1 rout in Game 1 over the Stars, they surrendered a 1-0 series lead and found themselves facing elimination down 2-1 entering Game 4. They were able to extend the series to a seventh game but lost 4-2 in the final game in Dallas.
The first round exit wasted a very strong season from Nathan MacKinnon, who finished the year with 32 goals and 84 assists. MacKinnon also had seven goals and four assists in the series against the Stars.
This year, they’re returning much of the same cast from last season, including center Brock Nelson, who was picked up at the trade deadline and re-signed this summer to a 3-year, $22.5 million contract.
This year figures to be another solid opportunity for Colorado to get back into the Stanley Cup Finals after two first-round exits and one second-round exit since their championship in 2022.
Much of that will come down to whether they can get past Dallas, who have eliminated them in back-to-back seasons.
Speaking of their conference rival, it remains to be seen just how much the Avalanche will regret the way they handled Mikko Rantanen last season. Rantanen figures to be a significant piece in the Stars’ success going forward, and he was on the Avalanche last season.
Maybe Rantanen didn’t want to sign in Colorado, or perhaps they couldn’t make the financials work, but now he’s on your division rival, and if last year’s first round was any proof, he’s going to exact revenge every time he plays you.
Dallas Stars
- Win Stanley Cup Odds: +900
- Win Conference Odds: +475
- Win Division Odds: +210
- Make Playoff Odds: -1000
Dallas had a more successful season than the team above that also has +210 odds to win the Central Division, but still fell short of a Stanley Cup berth.
The Stars finished second in the division last season after a 50-26-6 record. During Dallas’ playoff run, they first eliminated the Avalanche, then another division foe, the Jets, before a rematch in the Conference Finals against the Oilers. Edmonton beat Dallas in five games.
It was the third-straight year that the Stars bowed out one round short of the Finals. In 2023, they lost in six games to the Golden Knights, and in 2024, they lost in six to the Oilers.
Despite the addition of Rantanen, Dallas was unable to improve upon its finish from last year.
That likely led to the decision by the Stars’ front office to part ways with head coach Peter DeBoer, who had led Dallas for three seasons and had a winning percentage above 60% during his tenure.
Dallas brought in Glen Gulutzan, who most recently served as an assistant coach in Edmonton, as his replacement. Gulutzan already had a run as head coach with the Stars in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.
He was elevated from head coach of their AHL affiliate but was fired after his second season, having failed to make the playoffs in either of those seasons.
Maybe Gulutzan can smuggle some Oilers pixie dust in his pocket to sprinkle onto the Stars and lead them over his former team.
Winnipeg Jets
- Win Stanley Cup Odds: +2500
- Win Conference Odds: +1100
- Win Division Odds: +550
- Make Playoff Odds: -250
Winnipeg had 116 points and a 56-22-4 record in the 2024-25 season, earning them the Presidents’ Trophy.
They narrowly escaped falling victim to the trophy’s curse last year, eeking out a double-overtime victory in Game 7 of the first round against the Blues. They were eliminated in the following round by Dallas in six games.
Ahead of the 2025-26 season, they’ve gone from a Presidents’ Trophy-winning team last season to having only the third-best odds to win the division.
That may seem a little off, but there’s a track record of regression the season after a Presidents’ Trophy win.
Four out of the last five teams to win the trophy did not win their division in the year after. Additionally, no team since the Capitals in 2017 has won back-to-back Presidents’ Trophies.
The 2023-24 winner for the Presidents’ Trophy, the Rangers, completely bottomed out last season, despite bringing back a nearly identical roster, finishing 5th in the Metro and 11th in the East.
I doubt that the Jets will flop as spectacularly as New York did, but there’s bound to be some level of regression this season.
Their key to finding success outside of the regular season is developing an identity that isn’t so heavily reliant on goaltending. Hellebuyck is heading towards being an all-time goaltender, but Winnipeg needs more scoring to support him.
That’s going to be harder to do without Nikolaj Ehlers, who signed with the Hurricanes this summer.
Minnesota Wild
- Win Stanley Cup Odds: +3500
- Win Conference Odds: +1800
- Win Division Odds: +775
- Make Playoff Odds: -150
Minnesota was a last-minute entrant into the playoffs last season after finishing the year with a 45-30-7 record and a fourth-place finish in the Central. The Wild faced Vegas in the opening round of the playoffs, eventually losing in six games.
It was about to be a turbulent start to the season in Minnesota when all signs were pointing to a Kirill Kaprizov holdout over contract disputes.
But, somehow, in a short period of time, the two sides went from arguing over a reported initial offer of eight years, $128 million to the Wild front office handing Kaprizov a league-record $136 million extension.
Bill Guerin somehow had worse negotiation skills than Dunder Mifflin when they purchased the Michael Scott Paper Company.
I don’t know any NHL fan outside of Minnesota who would say that Kaprizov is worthy of making the most money in league history. Not even Connor McDavid, who just signed a two-year, $25 million extension in Edmonton, will make as much as Kaprizov in AAV.
Whether or not Kaprizov can live up to that dollar amount remains to be seen.
A more interesting storyline for me is second-year Wild defenseman Zeev Buium. I think that Buium, who’s still eligible for a Calder Trophy win this season, will be able to carry over his prominence at the NCAA level to professional hockey.
Utah Mammoth
- Win Stanley Cup Odds: +4000
- Win Conference Odds: +2500
- Win Division Odds: +1000
- Make Playoff Odds: -118
After their inaugural season, where they went the Washington Football Team route, Utah enters this season finally having a name.
The artist formerly known as the Utah Hockey Club went 38-31-13 in their first season in Salt Lake last year. Despite flirting with a playoff berth down the stretch, they did not qualify for the postseason last year and ultimately finished in 6th place in the Central Division.
Now the Mammoth have an improved roster and are favored to make the playoffs.
Over the offseason, Utah added Buffalo forward JJ Peterka with a 5-year, $38.5 million contract. They also signed some veteran talent like defenseman Nate Schmidt and forward Brandon Tanev.
It wasn’t the fireworks offseason that Mammoth owner Ryan Smith had signaled they could be in for — there was no late-breaking attempt at a Mitch Marner signing — but they improved enough around the fringes to hopefully make the playoffs.
They need some further maturation in their first line — currently projected to be Dylan Guenther, Logan Cooley, and Peterka — to contend with the rest of the Central Division.
Guenther, 23, and Cooley, 21, have shown glimpses in their short careers in the NHL that they could be worthy of a top-line forward spot, but Utah needs them to deliver on those expectations.
St. Louis Blues
- Win Stanley Cup Odds: +5000
- Win Conference Odds: +2500
- Win Division Odds: +1200
- Make Playoff Odds: -115
The final team in the Central Division that is favored to make the playoffs resides in St. Louis.
After quickly picking up fired-Bruins coach Jim Montgomery early on in the year, the Blues had a resurgent season, earning a playoff spot after falling short the two years before.
St. Louis had a 44-30-8 record, earning them 5th place in the Central and the final Western Conference Wild Card spot. They started off the season with a 9-12-1 record under coach Drew Bannister, who had been hired just one season before.
Following that poor start and the hiring of Montgomery, the team went 35-18-7 the rest of the way.
26-year-old forward Jordan Kyrou led the team in scoring last year with 36 goals and 34 assists. Their success was also bolstered by a rejuvenated goalie in Jordan Binnington, who had nearly career-year numbers for the Blues.
Despite that success last year, I don’t get why St. Louis is favored to make the playoffs. The Blues lack the star power that I think is needed to remain competitive in this conference. They have an overall solid team and a Jack Adams-contending coach, but there’s no headline player.
I could see them sneaking into the playoffs once again, but I’m not sure about it at all.
Nashville Predators
- Win Stanley Cup Odds: +12500
- Win Conference Odds: +6600
- Win Division Odds: +5500
- Make Playoff Odds: +200
Nashville may be on the up-and-up as a city, fighting with Scottsdale and Charleston to be the bachelorette party capital of America. Their NHL franchise, though, isn’t going to be competitive with anyone this season.
The oddsmakers have set their line as a slight favorite not to make the playoffs, currently at +200, but the Predators are far worse than that.
If Nashville does anything other than tank this year, it will be to the detriment of its fan base.
The Predators finished last season with a 30-44-8 record, finishing second-to-last in the Central Division. Just a year before Nashville made the playoffs, they lost in the first round to the Canucks in six games.
Over the last five years, the Predators have either failed to make the playoffs or have been eliminated in the first round.
I don’t know what the direction of this team is, they clearly don’t have the right mix of talent or coaching to contend in this division.
Yes, they could sneak into the playoffs, but what would be the point? They’re not getting past the first round.
Chicago Blackhawks
- Win Stanley Cup Odds: +50000
- Win Conference Odds: +30000
- Win Division Odds: +30000
- Make Playoff Odds: +1600
Chicago shares the worst odds to win the Stanley Cup with their basement-dwelling buddies in San Jose.
The Blackhawks had a 25-46-11 record last year and finished in last place in the Division and second-to-last in the conference. Last year was the fifth straight season that Chicago did not make the playoffs. The team has not been to the postseason since the Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews era ended.
Their misfortunes last year earned them the third overall pick in last summer’s draft, which they used to select Swedish defenseman Anton Frondell. But the 18-year-old will not play in the NHL this season and will instead continue his development in the Swedish Hockey League.
Another season of losing, and the Blackhawks may run the risk of losing the generational talent who was supposed to replace Kane, Connor Bedard.
Since Bedard was drafted, the team hasn’t even marginally improved. They had 26 wins in the year that earned them the first overall pick. In Bedard’s debut season, they had 23 wins, and last year, they only improved that by two wins.
If the Blackhawks can’t pull something together in the 2025-26 season, Bedard may start becoming more of a vocal critic than he has in years past. And if the preseason odds are any indication, Chicago may be headed down a path where they could fail the Bedard era before it even gets off the ground.
More than any other organization, the Blackhawks need to be competitive this season.
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