It has been 30+ games since the State of the BRHL was released.  Much has changed except for the top and bottom of the division.  Stars are still at the top, but they have had a soft schedule and Doc's tanking has been pretty easy with the competition he's faced, keeping him at the bottom.  Blues have fallen, as predicted, and there has been a surprising rise from the Blackhawks.  The defending champs have a very respectable record and could make a run at any time, just like the Wild.  The middle teams are pretty clustered together, with only 6 points separating them.  One bad losing streak could send one of the teams to the 5th spot and possibly out of the playoffs.

Let's take a deeper look into each team to see where we can expect them to be, as we go through the second half of the year.

1. Dallas Stars (35-6-3, 73pts)

This team has been chopping down the legs of the midgets of the league, but has had issues with some of the bigger competition.  Wait, didn't they just lose to the tanking Red Wings?!  Stars backup Zachary Fucale has half of the teams losses, while only playing a third of the games.  Needless to say, Stars are screwed if stud Igor Shesterkin goes down.  The team has stayed near the top of the league when it comes to scoring (2nd GF) and goals against (4th GA), so it will not be surprising if this team stays at the top of this tough division.  With the substantial lead within the division, expect to see many more games from the backup goalie to help ensure Shesterkin is ready for the playoffs.  The GM has been pretty quiet, letting the team do the talking, but he is expecting to win the President's Trophy this year.

2. Chicago Blackhawks (31-14-1, 63pts)

Where did this team come from?!  This team is the middle of the pack in scoring (14th GF), so they aren't blowing teams away, but they seem to be holding other teams from scoring (7th GF).  This is a head scratcher as the goaltending is medocre at best.  With that formula, they can win many games against the mediocre competition, but not sure if that will hold up when it comes to playing all the teams that can do both better.  Let's see which way GM Yee goes, even though he is second in the Central Division.  It wouldn't surprise me if he sells after losing a bunch more games. They are only 6 points from being out of the playoffs.  It all comes down to chances of winning the cup and I don't think he has much of a chance without making some major acquisitions.

3. Minnesota Wild (28-11-4, 60pts)

GM Al has also jumped the Blues.  They are only 3 points from overtaking the Hawks for 2nd, with 3 games in hand.  I fully expect the Wild to take over second place by the end of the season.  As I predicted, they are near the top at stopping the pucks from going in (2nd GA), but they are having some troubles scoring (13th GF).  GM Al will have to address that, if he is going to try and make it to the cup.  With his history, that seems unlikely and he will just flame out in the playoffs.  Make a move Al!  This is will probably be the best chance you get.

4. St Louis Blues (29-12-2, 60pts)

And he comes back down to earth.  The Blues went on a terrible streak (3-8-1), bringing them back to the rest of the pack.  This team still has the scoring power (4th GF), but has been letting in much more lately (9th GA).  They haven't been able to score againt the top defensive teams in the league, which is going to be a huge issue.  This is not a good recipe for winning in the playoffs. Let's see if Catman makes any moves to improve his defense.  Just like Al, he doens't like to make many trades, so this is going to be another wasted year for him too.

5. Colorado Avalanche (28-16-1, 57pts)

The defending champs now have moved up 1 spot!  They have a very respectable record, but the Western Conference is very tough this year.  One very good team will miss the playoffs and they could be the one.  His team has some great scorers (5th GF), but his defense has been average (13th GF).  Since he missed out on a goalie this past offseason, he scrambled to get 2 average goalies.  With a bad defense and golatending, no wonder why he is this far down in a good division.  As I said before, don't be surprised if he sells, but he could be a buyer just as much.  Get the popcorn ready at trade deadline.

6. Seattle Kraken (20-20-7, 47pts)

Are there so many tankers that a roster like this is .500?  Rex has a couple stars that he is obviously trying to trade, but that's it.  His goal is to unload Crosby and Carlson, but he's very limited.  GM Rex has only 1 retention spot left for this year, so it will be interesting to see which one he unloads.  He will have to try and trade Crosby half retained this year and next, but then he will have to sell Carlson at the full price for, at least, this year.  Either way another wasted year.

7. Nashville Predators (20-23-5, 45pts)

What is GM Sheds to do?  He keeps moving players, but they keep sucking the following year, making his team bad, but not bad enough to tank.  The team is checked out like the GM, so this team will be stuck in limbo for a while.  Wasting all these great 2-way rates of Hertl.  Will you finally trade him to me?  Tell Pavel again, I said hi.

8. Winnipeg Jets (10-32-3, 23pts)

Doc is sitting next to his many pools yelling cunt after every win he gets.  Somehow this terrible roster gets wins against some good teams...or maybe those teams are just overrated.  Regardless, Doc is attempting to make a run at the worst record in BRHL history, but he has some good competition.  Did you guys know that Doughty, Brodie, and Manson are on the trade block?  He's going to have to sell them lower or he's going to have to hold onto them like he did with Carey Price.