CENTRAL DIVISION
TRAVIS BOYD has lived life on the NHL’s fringes, earning cups of coffee but rarely a full-time roster spot. Case in point: in seven years since leaving the University of Minnesota, the pivot’s career-best season was a 53-game, 20-point campaign in 2018-19 with Washington. However, Coyotes. He’s alreaardaygtsaegt aArciazorenear rhoisgtherinhgasoaglisveanndBoisyodnthpeaccehatoncseurtpoasshsinheisw20it-hptohient best. At 28, he’s waited for this chance, and he’s making the most of it.
If BRANDON HAGEL wanted to assert himself as a legitimate NHL talent, one 24-point campaign wouldn’t do the trick. But his eight goals and 16 points through mid-January have the 23-year-old left winger appearing as though he’s found a steady spot in the middle of Chicago’s lineup. Better yet for the Blackhawks is Hagel’s ability to be an all-situations contributor. Beyond steady even-strength time, he’s skating second-line minutes on both special-teams units and ranked fifth in ice time among Hawks forwards.
DEVON TOEWS has gone from relative unknown to potential Norris finalist in four seasons. The star turn for the 27-year-old rearguard began during his sophomore season with the Isles, continued when he arrived in Colorado last season and has only risen further with the Avalanche this year. Before the NHLers-to-Olympics dream went kaput, Toews was considered a contender for a top-four spot on Team Canada. That’s remarkable for a player who has never before worn the maple leaf at a major tourney.
JAKE OETTINGER wasn’t necessarily in the Stars’ plans this year. Rather, Dallas’ crease was supposed to be split between Braden Holtby and Anton Khudobin, with Ben Bishop’s potential return making it a threeman battle. But Bishop’s injury-related retirement and Khudobin’s declining play opened a spot for the 23-year-old stopper, and he’s held on to it with both hands. Oettinger has been a superb 1B behind Holtby, and the 2017 first-rounder appears every bit the goalie of the future the club hoped he’d become.
The Venn diagram of those who believed RYAN HARTMAN would be a near point-per-game player this season and those who are liars is just one giant circle. Sure, the 27-year-old right winger had two 31-point seasons – including a 19-goal campaign – on his resume. But given he had scored 28 goals and 68 points across 203 big-league contests prior to the 2021-22 campaign, not a soul could have predicted Hartman would be, as of mid-January, on pace for 37 goals and 70 points this season.
The Predators’ ability to cultivate defensemen into high-quality pieces borders on uncanny, and you can add ALEXANDRE CARRIER to the list. Carrier, 25, has provided a bit of everything to Nashville’s back end this season and was averaging more than 20 minutes per game to go along with his 13 points through 34 contests. But where he’s stood out most has been on the penalty kill. In tandem with Mattias Ekholm, Carrier was an integral part of Nashville’s top-10 success rate shorthanded.
Opportunity knocked in St. Louis and IVAN BARBASHEV answered. Though the 26-year-old has been a big-league mainstay since 2017-18, he’d never skated more than bottom-six minutes. Given the chance this season, however, Barbashev exploded oensively. By mid-January, Barbashev had 13 goals and 28 points. He needed just one more goal to equal a career high and had already exceeded his best point total. Call it a hunch, but Barbashev won’t be fighting over bottom-six minutes anytime soon.
EVGENY SVECHNIKOV’S stats don’t dazzle, but they also don’t tell the whole story. The 25-year-old left winger arrived in Winnipeg on a tphrroofeusgshioonuatltthreyoJuettsa’nlidnehuaps.cOafrtveend, hoeu’tsasnuenaiqkuinegroulpetahsearohsotleer-ptoluggigveer Winnipeg’s top six a change of pace. His three goals and nine points were career-best totals and had him on pace for an eight-goal, 25-point output. That’s sound production from a player who wasn’t in the mix entering camp.