The The 2024-25 season is just around the corner and when the puck actually drops, there will be a handful of teams that deserve special attention.
Don't get me wrong. Everyone has interesting storylines, but eight of them stand out from the rest for one reason or another. Whether it's a veteran team looking to capitalize on a championship window, a young core looking to take the next step, or a legend looking to cement his place in NHL history, they just have some extra power as opening night approaches.
The Nashville Predatorsfor example, caused a huge stir in the off-season and significantly increased expectations in no time. The Detroit Red Wingson the other hand, will rely on the continuous development of important parts of its core.
Here's a look at the eight teams to watch during the 2024-25 NHL season.
Something tells me Connor McDavid won't be happy with the Conn Smythe Trophy after being one win away from his first Stanley Cup last season. McDavid is already the best player in the world and I expect him to take his game to new levels this year. In addition, his good friend and goalkeeper tormentor Leon Draisaitl I got the bag to stay in Edmonton long term.
The real difference for the Oilers may be that their offensive prowess has never looked stronger in McDavid's career. The additions of Jeff Skinner And Viktor Arvidsson Give Edmonton some nice secondary ratings and that's something Edmonton has been missing in recent years. This was already an elite offensive team, but this group will give scoreboard operators across the league a run for their money this season.
Detroit Red Wings
Steve Yzerman is a franchise legend and has enough hockey knowledge to fill a few bookshelves. Still, it's probably time for The Yzerplan to get together in Detroit. The Red Wings haven't made the Stanley Cup playoffs since 2016 and I doubt they'll end that drought this season.
Detroit almost ended its long playoff absence last season, losing a tiebreaker to the Detroit Red Bulls Washington Capitals for the second wildcard spot. Still, this team appears to be a negative regression candidate for 2024-25. Last year, the Wings vastly outperformed some concerning underlying metrics, and they didn't get much better in the offseason. Don't get me wrong, Detroit has some exciting young players Moritz Seider, Lucas RaymondAnd Simon Edvinssonbut I'm not sure Yzerman has built a strong enough supporting cast around her. Can the Red Wings exceed expectations again or will the rebuild plateau?
Nashville Predators
It didn't take long for GM Barry Despite to be aggressive in retooling the Predators. On the first day of free agency, he opened the bank vault and spent $108.5 million to bring him in Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault And Brady Skjei. That immediately opened the championship window in Nashville, but given the age of the core team, the clock is already ticking to make the most of it.
At least on paper, the Predators should be competing for a Central Division title and the Western Conference crown. The only question is whether stars like Stamkos, Marchessault, Roman JosiAnd Ryan O'Reilly can keep father time at a distance. If they pull it off, Nashville will be in the playoffs for the first time since 2017. If not, the off-season buying spree will look ugly. Either way, the Preds will be one of the most intriguing teams in the NHL in the 2024-25 season.
Washington Capitals
Let's just start with this Alex Ovechkin is only 41 goals behind Wayne Gretzky in the all-time goal tally. There will be a bounce-back season for Ovechkin, but the Capitals will do everything they can to help him get there, and there is more talent around him now than there was in 2023-24.
In addition to Ovechkin's pursuit of Gretzky, Washington made some intriguing additions in the offseason. Most notable was the mercury Pierre Luc Duboiswho the Kings was cut just one season after signing an eight-year, $68 million contract. Can he find his feet in a new role with the Caps? Washington also acquired Andrew Mangiapane to improve his forward depth, and his blue line is looking much better thanks to the introduction of Jacob Chychrun And Matt Roy. The Capitals were a surprising playoff team last season, but they won't sneak up on anyone this year.
NHL hockey's debut in Salt Lake City is certainly interesting, but the product on the ice alone deserves attention. After leaving the desert, Utah made some offseason moves to improve its defense, and now it looks like this team will be fighting for a spot in the Western Conference playoffs.
Utah got a new No. 1 defenseman in the acquisition Mikhail Sergachev from the Tampa Bay Lightningand it landed another top 4 option when it was introduced John Marino from the New Jersey Devils. We're putting these two behind a young forward group led by Clayton Keller, Logan CooleyAnd Dylan Gunther is an exciting combination. Don't be surprised if Utah takes a playoff spot away from one of the conference's more established teams.
For the past six seasons, the Hurricanes have been one of the best teams in the NHL, but that hasn't really translated into postseason success. Now, after a summer of change, Carolina must adapt and deal with the loss of key players as it tries to overcome the playoff hurdle.
Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei, two staples of this Carolina blue line for years, are now gone. Forward Teuvo Teravainen is once again a Chicago Blackhawk. Jake Guentzelthe Hurricanes' big acquisition last year, moved to Tampa as a free agent. Carolina will still be a solid team, especially with its current core and Rod Brind'Amour behind the bench, but will it be good enough to go the distance in the playoffs?
In their first full season under head coach Rick Tocchet, the Canucks posted 50 wins and 109 points en route to winning the Pacific Division. That made Vancouver one of the NHL's most pleasant surprises last season, but it needs to be built on now. If the Canucks can take another step, they will be a very dangerous contender for the Stanley Cup.
With Tocchet on the bench, stars like Quinn Hughes, JT Miller, Elias Pettersson And Brock Boeser opened their blankets. This core always had the potential to be special, and that was realized in 2023-2024. Despite losing their two biggest acquisitions from last season, the Canucks are still capable of challenging the Oilers in the division. The only major concern for this team heading into the season is the status of their starting goalkeeper Thatcher Demkowho was injured in the postseason. If it's out for a long period of time, that could be a real problem.
Montreal GM Kent Hughes is continuing his methodical rebuild of this roster and I want to see how he develops this season. The Canadiens have some really promising young players on the roster, and while they're probably still a few years away from making the playoffs again, they should still be a lot of fun to watch.
One of those promising young players is the former No. 1 overall pick Juraj Slafkovskywhich I was skeptical about after a slow start last season. Slafkovsky continued to improve his game throughout the year, finishing with 50 points at age 20. This year Lane Hutson will be on the blue line with Kaiden Guhleand the duo of Cole Caufield And Nick Suzuki will lead the strikers. That's a lot of talent at age 25 or younger, and don't forget the 26-year-old sharpshooter the Habs added Patrick Laine also for the mixture.
