One underrated player to watch for each Central Division NHL team in 2023–24

We’re less than a month away from the start of the 2023–24 NHL regular season, although those last few weeks before hockey returns will feel agonizingly long for the sport’s most die-hard fans.

This time of year is all about competition. While the likes of Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews could theoretically saunter into training camp with their roster spots all but locked up, the players closer to the bubble have to fight tooth and nail to be noticed in their precious moments of preseason ice time. After all, teams are constantly searching for the next big thing.

After focusing on the Pacific Division on Thursday, we here at Daily Faceoff have now come up with a list of eight underrated players from the Central Division — one from each team — who could thrive given the opportunity to play more significant roles with their respective clubs during the upcoming season.

Arizona Coyotes: J.J. Moser

It’s only been two years, but Moser has the most points (46, in 125 career games) of all the defensemen selected in the 2021 NHL Draft. But there’s a small catch: Moser is also the oldest member of that draft class. The 6’1″ rearguard was already 21 and an established pro in the Swiss league when the Coyotes selected him in the second round (No. 60 overall), and he subsequently appeared in his first 43 NHL games with Arizona in the 2021–22 regular season.

Moser took another step forward in 2022–23. The Swiss lefty skated in all 82 games, averaged 21:03 per night, and finished second among Coyotes blueliners with 31 points. Moser firmly established himself as a key figure for the Coyotes in all situations, averaging nearly three minutes per game on the PK and upwards of two on the power play. He’s a strong skater with a good first pass and sound offensive and defensive instincts. But with the Coyotes aiming to become more competitive in 2023–24, Moser might benefit from shifting into more of a shutdown role instead of being used as a jack-of-all-trades type.

This is shaping up to be a big year for Moser, who is entering the final season of his entry-level deal. If he continues on his upward trajectory, he could be in line to put pen to paper on a significant contract extension with the Coyotes. Moser still has lots to prove — his play-driving results have never been amazing — and it remains to be seen how effectively he’ll gel with new Coyotes defensive acquisitions Matt Dumba and Sean Durzi. There’s a lot of money at stake, both for Moser and his potential partners (both of whom are also pending free agents). Moser has the potential to be a very good No. 2/3 defenseman in this league for a long time if he can simplify his game.

Chicago Blackhawks: Cole Guttman

Guttman’s recent numbers sure are something. The 24-year-old forward was a force to be reckoned with during his time at the University of Denver, topping out with 19 goals and 45 points in 41 games as a senior with the Pioneers in 2021–22. Guttman parlayed that strong campaign into an entry-level deal with the Blackhawks in August 2022.

The Tampa Bay Lightning originally selected Guttman in the sixth round of the 2017 NHL Draft. The Bolts opted not to sign Guttman before his draft rights expired, and they might end up regretting it. Guttman had an excellent first professional season with an otherwise middling Rockford IceHogs team, racking up 16 goals and 30 points in 39 games with the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate.

When Guttman received the call to join the Blackhawks in February, he looked the part of a surefire NHLer almost immediately. The 5’9″ forward racked up four goals and six points in his first 14 games with Chicago and even earned 17:55 of ice time in the team’s thrilling 4–3 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers on March 10. Guttman scored with just 45 seconds left in regulation to force the extra frame in that one.

Guttman isn’t going to usurp Connor Bedard as the Blackhawks’ top prospect, but he might just turn into a valuable secondary scorer for a Chicago team on the up-and-up. At the very least, he’s a lot of fun to watch.

Colorado Avalanche: Ross Colton

It feels like Colton only just arrived on the scene in the NHL, but he’s already 27 and has two Stanley Cup Final appearances under his belt. Now, Colton is set to debut with the Avalanche, the team that defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning to capture Lord Stanley’s Mug in 2022. Awkward …

The Lightning have churned out players like Colton with incredible regularity for more than a decade. The 2016 fourth-round pick debuted with the Lightning in 2020–21 and managed four goals and six points in 23 playoff games during the team’s run to its second consecutive championship. The following year, Colton saw his average ice time increase by more than two minutes and responded with 22 goals and 39 points in 79 games (he added five goals and nine points in the playoffs as Tampa unsuccessfully campaigned for a three-peat).

Colton racked up 47 goals and 83 points in 190 games over his three seasons with the Lightning. He did this despite averaging just 12:15 per night over the course of his tenure with the club. But after giving Tampa a second-round pick to acquire Colton, the Avalanche inked him to a four-year deal worth $4M per year. With glaring holes in their lineup at both the left wing and center positions, Colton will be asked to play a huge role this year as the Avs look to rebound from their disappointing playoff showing in 2023.

Dallas Stars: Thomas Harley

The Stars rode Harley like a motorbike during their run to the 2023 Eastern Conference Final. Having only appeared in 40 NHL games before last year’s postseason, Harley went on to skate in all 19 of the Stars’ playoff contests as they defeated the Minnesota Wild and Seattle Kraken before falling to the Vegas Golden Knights in six games.

Harley originally joined the Stars organization in 2019 as the No. 18 overall pick in that year’s draft. The 6’3″ left-handed defenseman put up outstanding numbers with the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads before making his NHL debut with the Stars in the seeding round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Harley subsequently spent the entire 2020–21 season with the AHL’s Texas Stars before appearing in 34 games with Dallas in 2021–22.

After returning to the AHL for much of last season, Harley re-established his spot in the NHL lineup just in time to become one of only four Stars defensemen (the others being Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell, and Ryan Suter) to appear in each of the team’s 2023 playoff games. Harley racked up nine points in the playoffs compared to 12 for Heiskanen, but while nine of Heiskanen’s points came on the power play, Harley collected all of his points at even-strength. Harley logged more than 18 minutes in three of the Stars’ final four playoff contests against Vegas. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see that figure exceed 20 if he begins the 2023–24 season on Dallas’ second pairing.

Minnesota Wild: Connor Dewar

Dewar, like many of the players on this list, is coming off a year in which he finally established himself as an NHL regular. The 5’10” forward spent much of the year as Minnesota’s fourth-line center and racked up 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) in 81 games with the Wild. He also appeared in all six games as the Wild fell to the Dallas Stars in the first round of the playoffs.

It’s been a long time coming for Dewar, who joined the Wild organization all the way back in 2018 as a third-round pick in that year’s draft. The Manitoba product has always been able to score, producing at a point-per-game pace in his final two years with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips and continuing to pick up steam through his first pro seasons with the AHL’s Iowa Wild. He managed eight goals and 17 points in 19 AHL games with Iowa in 2021–22 before being promoted to Minnesota for good in 2022–23.

Dewar is expected to compete with former Iowa teammates Marco Rossi and Brandon Duhaime for playing time in Minnesota’s bottom six in 2023–24. The Wild have a lot of established vets in their forward group, but it’s feasible that Dewar could someday challenge Frederick Gaudreau for the team’s No. 3 center spot. For the time being, look for Dewar to push for 25–30 points in a tertiary scoring role with the Wild next season.

Nashville Predators: Cody Glass

The Predators need all the help they can get, and Glass might end up being their de facto No. 1 center by the end of the 2023–24 season. The 24-year-old forward has never gotten this kind of opportunity to date since being selected No. 6 overall by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Draft. It started to happen for Glass in Nashville last year and it could continue going forward with Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen no longer in the equation.

Ryan O’Reilly is now in Nashville on a four-year, $4.5M AAV contract, but he turns 33 in February and is probably best suited to a middle-six role at this point in his career. He could start the year on the Preds’ top line, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him slide down the lineup if one of Nashville’s younger centers breaks the door down. O’Reilly managed just 16 goals and 30 points in 53 games split between the St. Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs in 2022–23.

The two pivots with the best chance at challenging O’Reilly this season are Glass and Tommy Novak, both of whom are coming off career years. While Glass has the pedigree of a top-10 draft pick, Novak is a former ECHLer who came out of nowhere to score 43 points in 51 games with the Preds last season. We’re banking on a bit of regression for the 26-year-old Novak, but Glass could be in line to blossom if he receives more than the 14:46 of ice time he averaged last year — particularly with an offensive-minded coach in Andrew Brunette now behind the bench.

St. Louis Blues: Alexei Toropchenko

Toropchenko is an enormous winger who produced at a decent clip in 69 games with the Blues in the 2022–23 season. The 6’6″, 222-pound Russian managed 10 goals and 19 points while averaging more than 12 minutes per night in his sophomore go-round in Missouri. That was enough to earn Toropchenko a two-year, $1.25M AAV contract extension from Blues general manager Doug Armstrong in July.

Nobody really expects Toropchenko to rise outside the Blues’ bottom-six forward group in 2023–24, but he nonetheless offers a rare and tantalizing mix of tools for a forward in this league. Toropchenko isn’t the greatest skater, but he finds his way to the right spots and can finish pretty reliably from close range. He kills penalties and even scored on a shorthanded breakaway last year. It also isn’t difficult by any means to imagine Toropchenko becoming a valuable net-front option for a team’s power-play unit.

Between Jake Neighbours, Dalibor Dvorsky, Jimmy Snuggerud, Zach Dean, and Zachary Bolduc, the Blues have more than a few top-notch forward prospects coming through the pipe. Toropchenko towers over them all, and he’s already proven he can be an NHL regular. The Blues may or may not return to relevance in 2023–24, but even if they don’t, look for Toropchenko to earn another vote of confidence from Craig Berube’s coaching staff.

Winnipeg Jets: Dylan Samberg

Samberg is projected to begin the year on the left side of the Jets’ third defense pairing, but it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see him work his way up to the second unit if he continues on the upward trajectory he displayed last season. With Brenden Dillon entering the final year of his contract, this should be a critical evaluation year to determine whether Samberg — or his counterparts — can play a bigger role going forward.

The Jets originally selected Samberg in the second round (No. 43 overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft. He turned pro in the Jets organization in 2020 after three solid years at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and made his NHL debut in 2021–22. Then, last year, the 24-year-old Samberg averaged 14:56 of ice time and collected eight points in 63 games with the Jets before skating in all five of the team’s playoff games against the Golden Knights.

Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff rewarded Samberg for his progression with a two-year, $1.4M deal in July. Given his new contract and his performance last year, the 6’3″ defenseman will enter the Jets’ 2023 training camp with a clear leg up on Logan Stanley and Kyle Capobianco for a regular role on the team’s bottom pairing. And while he won’t overtake Josh Morrissey anytime soon, it figures that Samberg could slide into the Jets’ 2LD position to finish the season if Dillon is traded ahead of the deadline.