The Blackhawks are showcasing youth and speed in the Central Division center rankings

With Patrick Kane returning to Chicago on his two-year deal, the Blackhawks' centers will look to capitalize on his experience and passing. Kane will be relied on to share his years of experience with this young group. The average age of the projected centers headed into the year for the team is 23 years old. They will definitely have the legs to keep up with the skill of the rest of the division heading into the 2026-2027 season.

1 - Colorado Avalanche

1. Nathan MacKinnon (53G, 74A - 127P)
2. Brock Nelson (33G, 32A - 65P)
3. Nicolas Roy (8G, 17A - 25P)
4. Fedor Svechkov (4G, 13A - 17P)

It is hard to make a center list and not have Nathan MacKinnon lead the group. Entering his age-31 season, MacKinnon continues to be one of the most dominant players in the NHL. As Brock Nelson enters his mid-30s, he has also continued to put up points and has been a reliable center for years. Nicolas Roy brings grit and defense to the third line while being able to add scoring depth. The Avalanche are projected to slot in a younger Svechkov on their fourth line to see what he can bring to the table.

2 - Dallas Stars

1. Wyatt Johnston (45G, 41A – 86P)
2. Roope Hintz (15G, 29A – 44P)
3. Matt Duchene (16G, 29A – 45P)
4. Radek Faksa (2G, 15A – 17P)

Similar to the Avalanche, the Stars boast a superstar as their number-one center while relying on experience down the middle to fill out their center ice. The 23-year-old Wyatt Johnston continues to build on his scoring year after year and has become a breakout star in the league. Hintz has been a reliable center, scoring the majority of his goals on the power play (13 of his 15 goals in 2025-2026 came on the man advantage). Duchene, who is entering the end of his career, has not slowed down his scoring touch. Faksa is a good depth center who has embraced his role as a penalty killer.

3 - Utah Mammoth

1. Nick Schmaltz (33G, 41A – 74P)
2. Logan Cooley (24G, 19A – 43P)
3. Vincent Trocheck (16G, 37A – 53P)
4. Kevin Stenlund (4G, 14A – 18P)

When healthy, Nick Schmaltz has been one of the most productive centers in the Central Division. He has played well with Clayton Keller over the past few seasons and led them to a playoff berth last year. Logan Cooley has proved himself to be one of the up-and-coming young centers of the league. The Mammoth brought in some experience by signing Vincent Trocheck, who has spent his last few years with the Rangers. And Kevin Stenlund. If these Mammoth centers remain healthy, then they will boast one of the top center units in the league.

4 - Chicago Blackhawks

1. Connor Bedard (30G, 45A - 75P)
2. Frank Nazar (15G, 26A - 41P)
3. Oliver Moore (5G, 14A - 19P)
4. Ryan Donato (15G, 15A - 30P)

Connor Bedard is projected to miss the first month of the season with a shoulder injury, so we could see his role being filled by Anton Frondell. If Bedard comes back healthy and out of the gate strong, and Nazar plays as he did before his broken jaw last year, then the Blackhawks could have two of the top centers in the division for years to come. Oliver Moore is one of the fastest skaters in the league and will showcase that again on the penalty kill this year. Ryan Donato is now a year removed from his 30-goal season and provides good scoring depth in his fourth-line role.

5 - St. Louis Blues

1. Robert Thomas (25G, 39A – 64P)
2. Mason McTavish (17G, 24A – 41P)
3. Pius Suter (13G, 16A – 29P)
4. Jack Finley (2G, 3A – 5P)

Robert Thomas is now the main man in St. Louis and has been a consistent point-per-game player over the last five seasons. New acquisition Mason McTavish will look to fill the position left behind by Jordan Kyrou as he settles into the second-line center role. Pius Suter looks to provide some depth scoring, while 6'6" Jack Finley will provide a physical presence on the fourth line.

6 - Minnesota Wild

1. Danila Yurov (12G, 15A – 27P)
2. Joel Eriksson Ek (19G, 32A – 51P)
3. Ryan Hartman (23G, 20A – 43P)
4. Michael McCarron (8G, 9A – 17P)

Minnesota's main scoring threats come from the wing positions with Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy. The Wild will be relying on 22-year-old Danila Yurov to play the first-line center role alongside Kaprizov. We will no doubt see his point total skyrocket from playing next to Kaprizov. Joel Eriksson Ek plays a full 200-foot game while Hartman and McCarron bring some nastiness that has made them very difficult to play against for years.

7 - Nashville Predators

1. Ryan O’Reilly (25G, 49A – 74P)
2. Matthew Wood (17G, 13A – 30P)
3. Vitali Pinchuk (31G, 35A – 66P) (KHL)
4. Jack Drury (10G, 17A – 27P)

Ryan O'Reilly is entering his age-35 season and has put up his most points since the 2018-2019 season. We can expect to see some regression, especially playing alongside an older Steven Stamkos. The Predators are expecting Wood to take the next step forward after his first full season in the NHL. New KHL signing Vitali Pinchuk hopes his game translates to North America after a very successful season in Russia. Jack Drury rounds out the group after having a good season with the Avalanche last year.

8 - Winnipeg Jets

1. Mark Scheifele (36G, 67A – 103P)
2. Adam Lowry (5G, 16A – 21P)
3. Vladislav Namestnikov (8G, 6A – 14P)
4. Morgan Barron (11G, 12A – 23P)

Mark Scheifele finished a career year with 103 points playing with Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi. Unfortunately for the Jets, there is very little scoring depth after that first line. Lowry and Namestnikov are on the wrong side of 30, while Barron has yet to score over 23 points in his career. Connor Hellebuyck may be relied on to carry this team if they wish to reach the playoffs this year.

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