Happy Tuesday y'all!

I hope you had a great week. This week we will go over some moves made by Central Division teams and some sleepers/undervalued players that go along with them. This column has previously covered changes in the Atlantic Division and the Metropolitan Division.

Chicago Blackhawks: The Blackhawks made moves this summer to jumpstart this rebuild and start making some noise in the spring months. Chicago acquired Bowen Byram from the Buffalo Sabres and gave him a big contract extension. This is the perfect fit for the player and the organization as the Blackhawks did not have a true power play quarterback. Byram was behind Cale Makar in Colorado and Rasmus Dahlin in Buffalo, but now he is THE guy when they have the extra man. The former fourth overall pick broke the 40-point plateau for the first time last season and now with an extra couple of minutes on the man advantage, with guys like Patrick Kane and Connor Bedard, the floor is 50 points. 

Colorado Avalanche: Contracts are starting to catch up to the Avalanche, so they are going to have to start hitting on some of their prospects or be able to sign veteran players on cheap deals. First for the Avs, Artturi Lehkonen is in a contract year and has shown chemistry with Nathan MacKinnon in the past. He is cheap enough in drafts to scoop him and save as a depth play as I expect 50 points from the Finnish winger. The next winger from Colorado that I am interested in as a sleeper is Jaden Schwartz. The former Kraken plays a gritty game and anyone who has a chance to play with MacKinnon that has the tools that he has, deserves to be drafted late or at least monitored throughout training camp.

Dallas Stars: I love Jason Robertson this year, but he is a guy that gets drafted in the first or second round in every draft. One late player that I am looking at is Tyler Seguin. He is only 34 years old, but the former Bruin has only played 47 games in the previous two campaigns. If he can play a full season, I see him putting up enough points (> 40) to secure another contract in the NHL and prolong his career. 

Minnesota Wild: The Wild lost a few of their key veterans to free agency this past summer, but General Manager Bill Guerin feels fine about it because they have some young players that are chomping at the bit for that extra ice time. Bobby Brink was acquired at the trade deadline last season and re-upped by the club over the summer to a one-year extension. The 25-year-old put up over 40 points in 2024-25 and if he is able to secure a spot with Matt Boldy or Kirill Kaprizov, he has the potential to hit the score sheet much more often. Another player to keep your eye on for the Wild is Danila Yurov. He is still on an entry level deal, but he was a high pick by Guerin in 2022, who could be on the hot seat because he has not produced much since entry draft. Yurov has shown glimpses of promise when he was lined up with his Russian brethren, Kaprizov.

Nashville Predators: The Preds brought in new management this offseason and they started to put their stamp on this club. One of the big acquisitions was Mavrik Bourque, who was acquired from Dallas and signed to a six-year extension. The Stars have a history with drafting well at the forward position and ultimately moving those drafted forwards because there are too many mouths to feed. Bourque is one of those players that they will ultimately regret not paying and you will regret not selecting as he is going for free in drafts right now.

St. Louis Blues: We all know the Blues ended 2026 on a hot streak, on the backs of Jimmy Snuggerud, Robert Thomas, and Dylan Holloway. Thomas is going around pick 75 while the other two are being selected past pick 100, but if you are playing in a banger league, Holloway should be going much earlier than that. St. Louis has an influx of youth right now, but don't forget about Pavel Buchnevich. Last year was a down year for a lot of players in the Blues lineup, but both he and Mason McTavish like to use their big frames to protect and possess the puck, and they should be able to use one another to their advantage.

Utah Mammoth: The Mammoth unexpectedly won the Vincent Trocheck sweepstakes, but it's not an ideal spot, fantasy wise, for the player. Their top power-play unit is set so the American center will see a decrease in time on the man advantage and is third on the depth chart behind Logan Cooley and Nick Schmaltz. Trocheck is a player I am not drafting until I see what their lines look like in camp and possibly move to a complete fade if he is to center that third line.

Winnipeg Jets: Reports out of rookie camp are saying that 2026 1st rounder Viggo Bjorck is doing all the right things. The Jets have been looking for a second line center since they moved to Winnipeg so maybe GM Kevin Cheveledayoff rushes him to the NHL in hopes to save his job. We will have to monitor how Björck's camp goes because if the 18-year-old makes the team, it will be to provide skill and offense, not just look good in practice.

Let me know your sleeper from each squad, @LAM1926 on Twitter. Thanks for reading!