It was a really short summer in the NHL this season with the Florida Panthers raising the Stanley Cup less than three months ago. In that time, plenty of players have changed teams, coaches have been swapped and of course, as always, new rookies will be added to the fold around the league.
We’ll forgive you if you see someone in a pre-season game and forget entirely how he’s ended up there.
NHL hockey is back. Three pre-season games set off Saturday and much more is to come on Sunday. And with that, we’re sharing one thing to remember about each NHL team — including some things you’ll begin to see in the pre-season.
Anaheim Ducks: You’ll probably hear Cam Fowler’s name in trade rumours
We’re used to hearing goalie John Gibson’s name come up in the rumour mill around every deadline and that might happen again in 2025. Trevor Zegras was a newer addition last season and might follow into this one, too. But as the Ducks add more and more young defencemen, Cam Fowler’s name is the newest one you’ll be hearing about in rumours this season.
“There is something going on here,” Elliotte Friedman reported on the Sept. 6 edition of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast. “I believe Cam Fowler and the Anaheim Ducks are working on what his future could look like. I don’t think this is a negative in any way shape or form, I believe the player and the team are working together on this.”
Averaging 24:25 in ice time per game there is some thought that Fowler, who will turn 33 in December, might have to cede some of that responsibility to the fresher faces in the organization. There’s no rush here, he has two years remaining on his contract, but if he’s not going to be an important piece of the Ducks out of the rebuild, perhaps it’s best to find him a place where he can be impactful now.
Fowler has some trade protection, in which he’d allow a move to four teams, but could expand that list.
“What I’ve heard is Fowler has a willingness to consider more teams than that,” Friedman said.
Boston Bruins: As of right now, Joonas Korpisalo is the starting goalie
With two goalies facing contract extensions, the Bruins shook up the position. Linus Ullmark, a year away from unrestricted free agency, was traded to Ottawa before the draft — and long before any pressure points hit with their other goalie. Jeremy Swayman, an RFA this summer, was not taken to an arbitration case that would have walked him to UFA, but that choice has also left the situation unresolved.
Now, with training camp underway and Boston opening its pre-season schedule Sunday, their preferred No. 1 is not around.
“He has chosen to wait, and rightfully so, until a contract is settled. It’s our intention to continue to negotiate a contract,” Bruins GM Don Sweeney said as Swayman was absent on Day 1 of training camp. “I’m disappointed, but at the end of the day I’m optimistic we’ll find a landing spot before December 1.”
That date is the deadline to get a contract in place, or else Swayman would not be eligible to play in the NHL this season. Recall back to William Nylander’s last RFA contract negotiation with the Maple Leafs, which he signed right on Dec. 1.
So, for now, the Bruins are running with Korpisalo as their No. 1. A year ago the Senators gave him a five-year, $20 million contract they wanted to get out of after he struggled with a .890 save percentage. As for a backup, Boston has mid-20s netminders Brandon Bussi (zero NHL games) and Michael DiPietro (three NHL games) at the ready.
Buffalo Sabres: Don’t overlook rookie Jiri Kulich
The 28th overall pick in 2022, Kulich is coming off a very impressive rookie tournament, in which he scored five goals and two assists in three games.
“I thought he dominated. I thought he was the best player on the ice,” Sabres GM Kevyn Adams said.
The reality in Buffalo is that this is another massive season in which playoffs are the goal. They missed by seven points last season after finishing just one point short in 2022-23, but another fallback cannot be in the cards. Lindy Ruff was brought back behind the bench to get this long, long-term rebuild in.
Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens, both already signed to lengthy, lucrative contracts, need a bounce back from last season’s dips in production. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen showed the potential of being a No. 1 in spurts and now needs to put it all together, while Devon Levi also should play a key role in the crease. Trade deadline pickup Bowen Byram flashed brightly after arriving at the deadline from Colorado and needs to be a critical player on the back end.
Rasmus Dahlin needs to lead the way, though, and possibly even be at least on the fringes of Norris talk. His training camp started on an alarming note, however, leaving the first day with a mid-section injury.
Those are all the most important factors to this season going well for Buffalo, competing in the best, deepest division where each team has playoffs in mind. A rookie shouldn’t make or break their fortunes in 2024-25 but, still, keep an eye on Kulich, perhaps a dark horse Calder candidate should he crack the team out of camp and stay there. He recorded an assist on Saturday.
“Work ethic alone I thought was really good,” Ruff said of the 20-year-old. “He’s got a bullet for a shot, which you can’t teach — you have it or you don’t and he’s got it. But a player at this level, can you play away from the puck? Can you skate with him? His skating has impressed me. I was impressed with his level of strength in one-on-one battles and keeping guys at bay, too. Very impressive young man.”
Calgary Flames: Dustin Wolf has chance to emerge as league’s next great young goalie
Without Jacob Markstrom, and after trading several other players through last season, the Flames are slowly moving towards a new era. What the final form of that looks like when the new arena opens in 2027 remains to be seen, but, if all goes to plan, Wolf will squarely be in the starter’s seat by then.
Still just 23 years old, and behind this year’s Flames, we can’t expect too much, too fast from Wolf. Goalies often take time to fully round into form. In 17 NHL games last season Wolf had a few good showings but ultimately finished with a .893 SV% and 3.16 GAA.
Dan Vladar, fully healthy, will play a factor this season and 27-year-old Devin Cooley will be motivated to earn a look. GM Craig Conroy told Sportsnet’s Eric Francis that the goalie battle would be the most intriguing one for him at training camp.
Wolf has the pedigree. After winning the WHL’s Goalie of the Year award in 2020 and 2021, he earned the AHL’s Goalie of the Year honours in both 2022 and 2023. The 6-foot, 174-pound netminder has made the long climb from 2019 seventh-round pick.
Carolina Hurricanes: One of the league’s best defence groups for years has taken a hit
The Canes have long been regarded as having one of the best blue lines in the NHL, but over the summer lost two of their four 20-plus minute eaters from last season. Brady Skjei is a Nashville Predator, Brett Pesce a New Jersey Devil, and that’s left the Hurricanes with some questions on how their pairings will come together in 2024-25.
And, heck, if it falls right, they may still have a pretty solid corps. Jaccob Slavin is still a shutdown specialist and top-pair blueliner, while Brent Burns can still flash the offence. He’s entering his age 39 season, however, so there’s got to be some wonder how much he has left to give.
Jalen Chatfield has stepped up two years in a row now and Dmitry Orlov has been sound defensively for a while — coveted by the Bruins at the 2023 deadline and acquired by Carolina last summer. Sean Walker was a Philadelphia Flyers breakout player last season at 29 years old and is one of the replacements for the outgoing two.
It’s the changeover from what had become so comfortable and familiar that brings uncertainty.
Chicago Blackhawks: Connor Bedard is on Team Canada watch
The reigning Rookie of the Year in the NHL, Connor Bedard did a lot with not much last season, scoring 22 goals and 61 points in 68 games. The Blackhawks tore the roster down and the one scorer Bedard was expected to play with, Taylor Hall, lasted just 10 games until a season-ending injury.
The Blackhawks are trying to find some improvement this season, but with playoffs still likely in the distance, we’re seeing if Bedard can do enough to work his way onto Team Canada’s 4 Nations Faceoff roster. In two more years, NHL players are expected to be back at the Olympics, and by then Bedard should be a lock for the team. but can he do it at 19 years old?
The always-stacked Canadian roster tends to go with older players most of the time and anyone in the running who would be chosen over Bedard wouldn’t be a bad pick. But oh how we’d love to see the coming together of Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid and Bedard on one team now — and hopefully again in two years.
Colorado Avalanche: Captain Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin should return this season, but Nikolai Kovalenko is an intriguing rookie to watch
Early signs are positive that captain Landeskog is finally on track to return after missing two full seasons with a knee injury. When he does, a spot back in the top six awaits.
We also wait on the return of Valeri Nichushkin, suspended until mid-November, but who the team indicated was still part of their plan when he was eligible to return. Head coach Jared Bednar said when Nichushkin is ready, he would be welcomed back “with open arms.”
In the meantime, opportunities abound in the top-six. Miles Wood could be a factor, as could Oskar Olausson on the right side, the 28th overall pick from 2021 who has two NHL games played the past two years.
Then there’s Nikolai Kovalenko, the 24-year-old son of former Norqidue Andrei and a sixth-round pick in 2018. Kovalenko led his KHL team in scoring two years ago, and in assists last season, before coming to North America late. He had three points in four AHL games, then a goal in two Calder Cup Playoff games. He got a small taste of Stanley Cup Playoff hockey too, getting in two games with the Avs in limited minutes.
Considering Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Casey Mittelstadt and likely Jonathan Drouin have top-six spots locked in, when Landeskog and Nichushkin return these opportunities may dry up. But for now, they’re there for the taking — fantasy owners may want to take note, and take a flyer on Kovalenko.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Two goalies are pushing Elvis Merzlikins for the No. 1 job
The past two seasons have been rather miserable for Merzlikins, finishing with .876 and .897 save percentages. Sure, some of that blame could be shared by the team in front of the goalie — Columbus ranked 31st in shots against per game both years — but a $5.4 million backstop should be able to patch some of those holes. Instead, Merzlikins finished 83rd among 98 goalies on MoneyPuck’s Goals Saved Above Expected metric.
So speculation kicked up in the off-season, could he be traded or bought out? There was a new GM in town after all, and Don Waddell wasn’t as tied to the player as the regime that signed him.
“Let’s be honest, nobody is going to trade for that contract. Nobody,” Waddell said in June. “People say, ‘Well, why don’t you buy out the contract?’ It’s a six-year buyout, and there are years three, four, five and six, when you might need that cap space.”
Merzlikins is back, for now. How long he’ll continue to be the No. 1 for, however, is an open question.
Daniil Tarasov is first in line to take over the position. The 25-year-old missed the start of 2023-24 with an injury but got better every month after he returned in December. By the time the season was ending, Tarasov had posted a .933 save percentage over his last 13 games. He has one season left on his contract, after which he’ll become an arbitration-eligible RFA.
And don’t sleep on 23-year-old Jet Greaves. The undrafted netminder has been steadily improving over his past three years as a pro, finishing with a .910 save percentage in 46 AHL games last season and even getting in nine NHL games, most of which came in April. Interestingly, the two-year contract Greaves signed this past summer is a two-way deal in 2024-25 — so he can be sent down and up without waivers — but becomes a one-way deal in 2025-26.
Dallas Stars: A couple of big contract years could change the picture going forward
Wyatt Johnston was probably the best story to come out of Dallas’ hockey team last season, the 21-year-old busting out with 32 goals and 65 points. Another jump could see him hit 40 goals, or become a point-per-game player, especially if he sits on the top line all season.
Jake Oettinger, as we pointed out a couple of weeks ago, is a critical player who needs to step up for these Stars if they are to hit their full potential, especially with questions on the depth of the defence. Oettinger is still one of the brightest young players at his position but is coming off a soft and inconsistent regular season.
Both of these players are up for new contracts and could re-shape Dallas’ cap picture for years to come. Oettinger is a pending RFA, but with just one more year until he’d hit UFA status, a contract with decent term would be expected. Johnston is just wrapping up his entry-level deal but, with the cap rising, another strong season would leave the Stars eyeing a long-term extension to get him in at a decent rate. Veteran Jamie Benn is a pending UFA and, if he stays, would surely take a pay cut. But that money, and more, goes directly to Johnston. Could he push up against being Dallas’ highest-paid player? How will Oettinger’s extension stack up against the other top goalies in the league?
Their performances this season will go a long way to answering those questions.
Detroit Red Wings: They missed last season’s playoffs only by the tiebreaker
It’s been a long time coming for the “Yzerplan” as Steve Yzerman begins his sixth year as GM of the Red Wings. Point totals have been climbing, and the team finished with 91 last season — their most since the last time they made the playoffs in 2015-16.
But that point total and a good finish weren’t enough to claim the East’s second wild card spot. Detroit got points in each of its last four games, and won the last three, which was enough to tie the Capitals in points. However, they needed to leap over the Caps (who also won their last three games) since Washington finished with five more regulation wins (the first tiebreaker) than the Wings.
Two critical games down the stretch turned out to be the difference, with Washington beating Detroit 4-3 in OT on home ice in late March, and then 2-1 on the road in the second last game of the regular season. One bounce really could have got Detroit in.
But now everyone starts back at zero and the Atlantic Division itself is going to be a heck of a competition to outlast. Are the Red Wings the favourites to claim a wild card spot, or even leap over one of the Big Four out front? Ottawa, Buffalo and even Montreal will all have something to say about that.
Edmonton Oilers: Stuart Skinner has to be on Team Canada’s radar
Building out a Team Canada roster for a best-on-best tournament is always a fun exercise to see what fantastic line combinations you can come up with, marvel at how skilled the defence looks, and this season, wonder if three generations can join together with Sidney Crosby (lock), Connor McDavid (lock) and Connor Bedard (oh please, oh please, oh please).
The toughest questions, for the most part, have been in net, where there largely hasn’t been an obvious stud. Martin Brodeur and Carey Price made way for no one in particular, but this hasn’t been tested since there haven’t been any real best-on-bests since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Heading into this season, Jordan Binnington probably is the favourite to take the job after he bounced back to a solid performance in 2023-24, and his GM Doug Armstrong, though not in charge of the 4 Nations roster, will be involved as the Olympics GM in two years. But what practically no one saw coming until recently was how Edmonton’s goalie, Stuart Skinner, could make a charge.
A .914 save percentage season in 2022-23, followed by a trip to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2023-24, Skinner is very much in the mix. Over the past two seasons, he’s tied for 12th in the league by save percentage among all goalies with a minimum of 60 games. That’s good for third among all Canadian goaltenders — two points behind a couple of guys in Logan Thompson and Adin Hill who have been playing for the Vegas Golden Knights.
It’s a big year for the Oilers to come all the way back from surviving until the last day of the NHL season, and also for Skinner to work his way into the conversation for Canada’s No. 1 job in February’s 4 Nations.
Florida Panthers: Three more big contracts loom over what’s ahead for this core
Winning the Stanley Cup always comes at a cost, and in the salary cap era, we’ve seen several winners struggle (and fail) to keep most of their core pieces together. It won’t be any different for the Panthers, who already lost Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson to free agency this past summer after choosing to sign Anton Lundell, Sam Reinhart and Gustav Forsling for the long term.
This season, the biggest pending UFA contracts belong to clutch scorer Carter Verhaghe, made-for-the-playoffs Sam Bennett, and No. 1 defenceman Aaron Ekblad. Florida comes into the year with less than a million dollars in cap space, so even if the upper limit increases by another $4 million in 2025-26, it won’t be enough space for all three.
Ekblad is likely a priority to shore up big minutes on the back end, but then what? Could any other sacrifices be made? Sergei Bobrovsky still has another year after this one on his big $10 million AAV, when the Panthers could get a great deal of wiggle room.
Los Angeles Kings: Players wondered aloud about changing last season’s 1-3-1 system
Making it to the playoffs and losing to the Edmonton Oilers for a third year in a row — and in just five games — the Kings weren’t the most exciting team to see. They were mostly about clogging the neutral zone than being creative and opportunistic on offence and when you have players like Kevin Fiala, that is perhaps not always the best course of action.
“It would be fun to try something else,” the 73-point winger said.
Jim Hiller, who was promoted from assistant to interim head coach in February, had the interim tag dropped over the summer. A few changes are coming to the roster — new goalie, new young prospect defenceman, new position for Quinton Byfield — but perhaps none will affect the full team as much as moving on from the 1-3-1, which can be effective at times but was run over by teams like the Oilers.
The Kings were the third-best team in goals against last season, but 16th in offence. It will be interesting to see how a structure change will impact both sides of those numbers.
Minnesota Wild: It’s Marc-Andre Fleury’s last spin around the league
Remember that at the end of last season, Fleury said 2024-25 would be his final one in the NHL. Turning 40 in November, Fleury is surely a lock for the Hall of Fame one day. If he plays 20 games this season he’ll pass Patrick Roy and Roberto Luongo on the games played list and finish up second to Martin Brodeur (who is still 241 ahead).
Fleury will continue to share Minnesota’s net with Filip Gustavsson, so young Jesper Wallstedt could also see some playing time in here, especially if either or both of the veterans continue to post sub-.900 save percentages.
So, enjoy the fan favourite while he’s still here. Of note, the Wild make their last pass through Pittsburgh early in the season on Oct. 29, Vegas on Jan. 12, and Montreal on Jan. 30, where Fleury will surely get an appreciative nod despite never playing for his home team.
“I don’t want any special treatment. I just want to go, look around, bring back some memories from my time here, but definitely not looking forward to any special treatment. Don’t need that. We’re good,” Fleury said as camp opened this week.
Montreal Canadiens: They basically get a brand new second line they didn’t have last season
While the Habs have been patiently building up, and their knowledgeable fans have understood the process, the heat is going to start turning up a little on the team this season. No longer is it OK for Montreal to languish near the bottom of the standings and get a top draft pick. Progress is the new expectation.
The Juraj Slafkosvsky-Nick Suzuki-Cole Caufield line established itself last season and all three players could be explosive in 2024-25. But it’s the second line they have that is basically brand new, and something of an X-Factor to how this season will go.
First, there’s centre Kirby Dach, a 23-year-old who showed progress in his first year with the team after coming over via trade with Chicago, but then had his last season end after only two games with a torn ACL and MCL. And second, there’s right winger Patrik Laine, a wild card of all wild cards, who is six years removed from his last 30-goal season and seven removed from his last 40-goal campaign. However, Laine has scored at a 0.42 goal per game pace in the 129 games he’s played the past three seasons, which is about a 34-goal pace.
If all works out, the Canadiens could have a heck of a unit on their hands. But with one player coming back from a huge injury and missed season, and another on to his third team and durability questions, it remains to be seen just what they get from Line 2. And it might take time for both of these players to settle in again.
Nashville Predators: As important as Jonathan Marchessault and Steven Stamkos are, playoff hopes rest on Juuse Saros returning to form
Wanting to play an exciting offensive style under head coach Andrew Brunette, the Predators were among the splashiest teams in the free agent market and landed two 40-goal scorers quickly. That right there is an upgrade to bring hope.
But while the 10th best offence from last season looks to take another step up in that department, it’s even more important to their success that their No. 1 goalie finds his groove again. Since taking over for Pekka Rinne, Juuse Saros has been one of the league’s most reliable goalies. His play in 2021-22 was really the only reason Nashville squeaked into the playoffs and he got a Vezina Trophy finalist nod for his efforts.
From 2018-19 through 2022-23, and among all goalies with a minimum of 100 games played, Saros had the NHL’s third-best save percentage, tied with Andrei Vasilevskiy and Linus Ullmark. So it was quite out of character last season to see him slip to a .906 save percentage and have a Goals Saved Above Expected mark in the negative.
New Jersey Devils: Their biggest weakness should be fixed
No team took a bigger fall last season than the Devils, who went from Stanley Cup contender to missing the playoffs by 10 points. There were some injuries — notably Dougie Hamilton played just 20 games — but the goaltending was once again atrocious. A sore spot that had been following the team for some time.
Rather than step up at the trade deadline to get Jacob Markstrom, GM Tom Fitzgerald got the deal done in the off-season and now has a proven veteran backstopper behind a still-young team seeking its sustained breakthrough.
We can wonder how long it will be until the Devils need to fix the position all over again — Markstrom will turn 35 during the season and has just two years left on his contract — but for now, this piece should be solved in a way that relaunches the Devils as a truly dangerous team.
New York Islanders: Ilya Sorokin’s concerning back injury
As soon as he was eligible to sign an extension, the Islanders locked in goalie Ilya Sorokin for eight years with an $8.25 million cap hit on July 1, 2023. This season is set to be the first of that long-term extension and it’s not off to the best of starts.
First is the fact that Sorokin struggled last season, his final of a previous three-year deal. His .908 save percentage was by far the worst of his young career and, by the end of it, had lost the net to Semyon Varlamov, who started four of New York’s five playoff games. The one Sorokin did start, he was pulled less than halfway through.
And now Sorokin starts training camp on the shelf. GM Lou Lamoriello originally downplayed Sorokin’s speculated injury, saying the ailment was minor and that would force him to miss a few days, but earlier this week head coach Patrick Roy let it out that Sorokin had back surgery this off-season.
Now we wait to see how this plays out. There is no telling yet just how serious or concerning the back injury is for Sorokin’s season — if he does indeed miss only a small chunk of training camp, is ready for the start of the season and returns to form, it won’t be a big deal at all.
But if this injury lingers, if Sorokin starts missing pre-season games, the story grows larger. Back injuries are no joke and, even when Sorokin does return, the focus will be on how he looks following the surgery. A big investment has been made in this player to be a leading contributor to the Islanders, but Year 1 of the deal is off to an ominous start.
New York Rangers: Why this is probably the last ride for the captain…and maybe some others
With two appearances in the Eastern Conference Final over the past three years, these Rangers have been close, but without a cigar. The same team that dropped last year’s Round 3 series in six games to Florida largely returns, though it won’t be surprising if greater change comes to the roster next summer…win or lose.
“In all likelihood, it’ll probably be the last crack for this core, I don’t think that’s a secret by any means,” said captain Jacob Trouba. “We have something we want to accomplish.”
Trouba is atop the list of candidates who could be a moveable asset by the time the puck drops on the 2025-26 season. His seven-year contract signed back in 2019 still has two seasons left on it, but this is the first year where his full no-movement clause converts to a 15-team no-trade list. Slowly declining minutes, impact and importance to the roster all contribute to these rumours, but a few other important pending contracts do as well.
“The other thing I do believe, my opinion based on what Trouba said, is that the Rangers and him had a conversation and I think everybody understands this is going to be his last year there,” Elliotte Friedman said on Friday’s 32 Thoughts Podcast. “I think one of the reasons everybody knows it is because the Rangers are going to sign (Igor) Shesterkin to whatever they have to sign him to, to get this done.”
Shesterkin, on a countdown to unrestricted free agency, is one of the more consequential contracts in the league now that Leon Draisaitl is locked in with Edmonton. At $5.66 million he’s vastly underpaid at the moment and will get a raise that could be large enough to surpass Sergei Bobrovsky’s $10 million as the league’s highest-paid netminder. That alone tightens New York’s cap picture but isn’t the only contract for them to do.
Alexis Lafreniere broke out four years after being the first overall pick and will look to grow his payoff through a bridge contract. K’Andre Miller, one of the young defencemen supplanting Trouba, is another RFA coming off a bridge and due a hefty increase. Kaapo Kakko faces a do-or-die season in New York after taking a step back this season and having no clear path to a top-six role.
All to say that the Rangers will have some decisions to make next summer, meaning this could be the last run for parts of this core, and perhaps more if the season doesn’t go as well.
Ottawa Senators: Everything hinges on Linus Ullmark
The Jakob Chychrun trade rumours followed the team all of last season and finally came to an inevitable end over the summer when they sent him to Washington for Nick Jensen. That should in theory help improve the defence in front of the crease.
But Ottawa’s biggest move was to send out failed free agent signing Joonas Korpisalo and a first-round pick to division rival Boston, in exchange for 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark. A pending UFA at the end of the season, a lot is on the line after that move for both the team and the player.
For the player, it’s about maximizing his next earnings. Ullmark is 32 and perhaps playing for the last big payday of his career. He also needs to prove he can handle the workload of a No. 1 NHL goalie since his best years have been spent in tandem with Jeremy Swayman behind a strong team in Boston. Even in Buffalo, where he also posted strong numbers, Ullmark never played even half the games.
For the team, this is the second summer in a row they made a big investment in a netminder to back a young team aching to take the next step. If it works this time, the Senators could find themselves back in the playoffs, and confidently try to re-sign Ullmark for a few more years and lock in the position.
If it doesn’t work, however, it likely means an eighth consecutive year outside of the playoffs and questions about how to proceed not just in net, but with the roster core in general.
Philadelphia Flyers: In a stacked year of rookies, they might have the Calder favourite
You have the first overall pick, Macklin Celebrini, playing in San Jose. You have one heck of an exciting, flashy young defenceman in Lane Hutson making headlines in Montreal. You have last year’s Hobey Baker Finalist and WJC Best Forward in Cutter Gauthier set to break in with Anaheim. And heck, the Dallas Stars have two more youngsters in Logan Stankoven and Mavrik Bourque, who were carving up the AHL last season, stepping into a deep lineup where they’ll be surrounded by plenty of talent.
So there are tons of good options for the NHL’s Rookie of the Year this season, but Matvei Michkov might be the most interesting of them all. ‘The Russian Factor’ saw him fall to seventh overall in the 2023 draft, but the Flyers had little trouble getting him to North America fairly quickly.
As a teenager, Michkov led his KHL Sochi team in goal scoring last season, a rare and difficult task for such a young player, after scoring 20 points in 27 games with them in his draft year.
Adding to the theatre is that this young, dynamic, creative player will have John Tortorella as his first NHL coach. The potential for ‘special’ moments in the media abound.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Sidney Crosby, newly extended, is still a potential Hart Trophy candidate
It would take some things falling just right, but overlook “The Kid” as an MVP player at your peril. There was a time during last season when he was on the fringes of the conversation.
But think about it: at 5-on-5, Crosby was fifth in the league in primary assists and just outside the top 10 in goals. He finished 27 points ahead of the next most productive Penguin Evgeni Malkin, who also played 82 games, and carried the team into a playoff race late in the season.
What if he puts together a performance like that again and the Penguins get in? What if he gets back to 100 points and pulls the Penguins in?
Crosby recently extended with Pittsburgh through his age 39 season for an extreme-bargain $8.7 million contract. He may not challenge Connor McDavid for the Art Ross Trophy these days, but few players are as important to their team’s success and one more Hart isn’t completely out of the question for the 37-year-old yet.
San Jose Sharks: Don’t forget about that other rookie they have
We mentioned a bit earlier that Celebrini, the first overall draft pick this summer, will be in contention for the Calder Trophy. But, in fact, the Sharks have two legitimate candidates.
Will Smith stepped out of the USNTDP third in all-time scoring behind Jack Hughes and Cole Eiserman (just ahead of Clayton Keller) and then as a freshman with Boston College last season, led all NCAA players in scoring. Second in the nation? Why Celebrini of course, seven points behind.
Seattle Kraken: Joey Daccord took the net from Philipp Grubauer last season
Philipp Grubauer was building a good track record in Washington and then Colorado, where he had become the No. 1 netminder for a rising Stanley Cup contender at the time. Shortly after landing with the Seattle Kraken ahead of their inaugural season, Grubauer signed a six-year deal with a $5.9 million cap hit — but has not delivered at all since.
In three years, Grubauer’s best save percentage is .899 and best GAA is 2.85, but his appearances have dropped every season. Then, last year, Joey Daccord seemed to take over the top job from him, making 50 appearances and sporting .916 and 2.46 numbers.
Grubauer still has the salary and term commitment but Daccord, who had just 19 NHL games across four seasons before last year, is a pending UFA making just $1.2 million. With that sort of background, Daccord’s going to have to prove he can do it all over again. And the Kraken might be depending on it if they are to jump back into the playoffs in Year 4.
St. Louis Blues: Pavel Buchnevich is probably going to try making the switch to centre
One of the Blues’ most reliable goal and point-getters, Buchnevich could be an X-Factor for more reasons than that in 2024-25. While trade speculation followed him at points last season, Buchnevich stayed and instead re-signed a long-term deal with St. Louis for an $8 million cap hit. Though the Blues haven’t made the playoffs since 2022, there has been plenty of commitment to this core, and if the results are to change, they’ll have to figure out new ways to go about their business.
One change is behind the bench, which was made last December. Drew Bannister was then transitioned from interim head coach to the permanent leader.
Another is in deployment and that’s where Buchnevich comes in. When the team discussed a contract extension with him, they asked about his interest in becoming a centre at age 29 after eight NHL seasons mostly as a winger behind him. And the player was wide open to the idea.
There are risks for sure. Buchnevich’s winning percentage in the dot is not great and was below 40 per cent last season. But he’s sizeable, highly skilled and, if it works, having a sizeable, skilled and productive centre at $8 million is a steal in this economic climate.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Change to the power play and captaincy
One decision made in the summer has a few different ripple effects on the roster. Out goes captain and right-shot Steven Stamkos, in comes left-shot Jake Guenztel. Victor Hedman, meanwhile, takes over as the third team captain in the past 15 years.
The biggest on-ice change will be felt on the power play, where a new combination of players will need to be found. It’ll be one of the bigger focuses and things to juggle in training camp since Stamkos was the team’s leader in power play goals (third overall in the league) and was obviously a key piece of the No. 1 ranked PP in the league.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Their expected starting goalie’s heaviest workload ever was 37 games…
…And that was back in 2018-19 with Boston College in the NCAA. Joseph Woll, even with the Marlies, topped out at 32 games played in 2019-20, his first year as a pro, when he posted an .880 save percentage. He’s been up and down between the NHL and AHL, dealt with several injuries, and topped out at 28 regular season games since.
The flashes have been there for sure. Woll had a .942 save percentage last October that made it seem like he could take the No. 1 job and run with it, then immediately cooled by allowing 16 goals in his next four starts. An injury followed in December and when the opportunity to take back the job surfaced later in the season, Woll allowed 29 goals in his last nine regular-season appearances.
The playoffs were a different story…sort of. Woll came on for Ilya Samsonov in Game 4 against Boston, then started and won Games 5 and 6, both 2-1 results. Heck, Woll looked like he could steal the comeback and the series from Boston, but then was injured and missed Game 7 again. Toronto lost.
Much depends on Woll again this season, though backup Anthony Stolarz won a Stanley Cup last season and has put up pretty good regular season numbers as a backup in his career. Even Matt Murray lingers in the background. But Toronto’s season comes down to Woll, who it feels we’ve been talking about for a while, but is still pretty green behind the ears.
Utah Hockey Club: Just like dad, Josh Doan has a chance to start in one city, then move and shine in another
Shane Doan began his career in 1995-96 with the Winnipeg Jets, then moved to Arizona with the team the very next season. Of course, he then went on to become a franchise legend.
Josh Doan has a chance to do something similar. A second-round pick in 2021, Doan scored 46 points in 62 AHL games last season and then was a late call-up to the Coyotes in March. And he made waves right away, scoring five goals and nine points in 11 games.
The Coyotes are gone and the Utah Hockey Club rises in its place, where Doan has a great chance to stay on this team — improved on paper — out of camp and continue to do damage. Now, he might not go on as something close to a point-per-game player over 82 games, but he has been a solid prospect for this team and the early returns were highly promising.
What if this is a start to a similar career story?
“He’s a smart hockey player, he has great hockey sense, he’s in good position, he goes at the net, he goes to dirty areas,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “He has an unbelievable feel for the game.”
Vancouver Canucks: Arturs Silovs or Kevin Lankinen may play a bigger part in this season than we first realized
Five months on from a mysterious muscle injury in his knee, we don’t yet know just how long Thatcher Demko will be out. Sure, he is confident where he’s headed, but the facts also are that the Canucks signed Kevin Lankinen to a one-year contract, and brought Dylan Ferguson to camp on a PTO.
Demko, a Vezina contender when healthy and a finalist for the award just last season, is as important to this team as Norris winner Quinn Hughes, or freshly signed Elias Petersson. “Bubble Demko” is still dreamt about and that version of him behind this team? Well, it has Stanley Cup potential now.
As it is, though, we might get more of Arturs Silovs than expected, even if Demko returns in time to start the season. Because even if the American is healthy enough to go, the team will be careful to manage his workload and best prepare him to be ready for the playoffs. Might we see something close to the games played split the Boston Bruins had been using the past couple of years?
And if it so happens that Lankinen has to factor into this season, it may be a tougher climb than the Canucks had hoped. The bottom line is that the opening to camp hasn’t been the most promising, though fingers are crossed that this is the worst it gets.
Vegas Golden Knights: Ilya Samsonov is the backup to count on in an emergency
This is a team that has been blessed with solid goaltending in its time, from Marc-Andre Fleury, to Robin Lehner, to Logan Thompson and Adin Hill, who backstopped them to their first Stanley Cup. Last season the Golden Knights had both Hill and Thompson on the roster and needed them. When Hill went down to injury, former No. 1 Thompson stepped right in, was great and actually held on to the job into the first round of the playoffs.
Now that backup spot is a little less secure with Thompson traded off to Washington and replaced by UFA signing Ilya Samsonov. The former Capital and Maple Leaf had been given multiple opportunities to assume the No. 1 job in those markets, and though he seized it at times, the consistency just wasn’t there. So, if Hill hits a rough patch or goes down to injury again, the confidence level that this year’s backup could endure over any lengthy period is lessened.
Washington Capitals: Alex Ovechkin is 42 goals from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record
The start of last season was alarming for Ovechkin’s goal scoring pace. Still close enough that we figured he’d extend his career long enough to pass Gretzky, the fact he only scored nine times in the first 44 games was a long enough cold streak to raise an eyebrow. He wound up finishing strong, scored 31 times on the season, but still, for the first time in his career Ovechkin averaged less than .40 goals per game.
Given that, with two years left on his contract, Ovechkin may yet need both of them to get past Gretzky. However, barring injury, it still seems inevitable he’ll get there. Ovechkin scored 42 goals exactly just two years ago so even at 39 years old it’s not out of reach for him to do it in 2024-25.
If he does get there this season, it may take until the very end of the schedule, which comes with its own interesting setup. Washington’s last game of the season is on the road in Pittsburgh.
Winnipeg Jets: There’s a big question and hole at second line centre
When Sean Monahan was brought in through a trade last season, he filled a key spot in Winnipeg’s lineup. They sorely needed a productive centre to better fit the second line centre spot and Monahan delivered with 24 points in 34 regular season games. When the production dried up in the playoffs, the Jets were easily dispatched by the Colorado Avalanche in five games.
But Monahan left via free agency and the Jets weren’t otherwise able to fill that hole back up again. Adam Lowry is a better fit on the third line, but could elevate, and Vladislav Namestnikov could be another candidate for it.
There’s perhaps an outside shot that Brad Lambert, the 30th overall pick in 2022, earns the spot out of camp after leading the AHL’s Manitoba Moose in scoring.
But Cole Perfetti, the still unsigned RFA, is another player who had the chance to be seen in and earn that spot in the lineup with a strong camp. He has the offensive upside Namestinkov and Lowry don’t, and possesses the NHL experience Lambert lacks. But the longer he’s out of camp without a contract, the more that spot in the lineup gets called into question for when the puck drops for real in October.