The NHL 2024-25 season is right around the corner, and when the puck does drop, there will be a handful of teams worthy of some extra attention.
Don't get me wrong. Every NHL team has intriguing plot threads, but eight of them stand out above the rest for one reason or another. Whether it's a veteran team looking to capitalize on a championship window, a young core trying to take the next step or a legend trying to cement his place in NHL history, they just have some extra juice as we approach opening night.
The Nashville Predators, for instance, made a huge splash in the offseason and significantly raised expectations in the blink of an eye. The Detroit Red Wings, on the other hand, will be relying on continued development from key pieces of their core.
Here's a look at the eight teams to keep a close eye on throughout the 2024-25 NHL season.
Edmonton Oilers
Something tells me Connor McDavid will not be satisfied with the Conn Smythe Trophy after coming within one win of his first Stanley Cup last season. McDavid is already the best player in the world, and I expect he will only take his game to another level this year. On top of that, his good friend and fellow goalie-tormenter Leon Draisaitl got the bag to stay in Edmonton long-term.
The real difference for the Oilers might be the fact that their forward depth hasn't ever looked this strong in McDavid's career. The additions of Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson give Edmonton some nice secondary scoring, and that is something Edmonton has lacked in recent years. This was already an elite offensive team, but this group is going to make scoreboard operators around the league work for their money this season.
Detroit Red Wings
Steve Yzerman is a franchise legend, and he has enough hockey knowledge to fill a few bookshelves. That said, it's probably time for "The Yzerplan" to start coming together in Detroit. The Red Wings haven't reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2016, and I'm doubtful they will end that drought this season.
Detroit nearly ended its lengthy playoff absence last season, losing a tiebreaker to the Washington Capitals for the second wild card spot. Despite that, this team seems like a negative regression candidate in 2024-25. Last year, the Wings wildly outperformed some troubling underlying metrics, and they didn't get much better in the offseason. Don't get me wrong, Detroit has some exciting young players in Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond, and Simon Edvinsson, but I'm not sure Yzerman has built a strong enough supporting cast around them. Can the Red Wings exceed expectations again, or will the rebuild plateau?
Nashville Predators
It didn't take long for GM Barry Trotz to get aggressive in his retooling of the Predators. On the first day of free agency, he opened up the bank vault and spent $108.5 million to bring in Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei. That immediately opened up a championship window in Nashville, but given the age of the team's core, 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 Josi, and Ryan O'Reilly can keep Father Time at arm's length. If they can, Nashville will be poised for its first deep playoff run since 2017. If not, that offseason spending spree will look ugly. Either way, the Preds will be one of the NHL's most intriguing teams throughout the 2024-25 season.
Washington Capitals
Let's just start with the fact that Alex Ovechkin is just 41 goals behind Wayne Gretzky for the all-time goals record. That will require a bounce-back season from 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 fascinating additions in the offseason. The most notable was the mercurial Pierre-Luc Dubois, whom the Kings shipped out just one season after he signed an eight-year, $68 million contract. Can he find his footing in a new role with the Caps? Washington also acquired Andrew Mangiapane to help with its forward depth, and its blue line looks much better thanks to the arrival of Jakob Chychrun and Matt Roy. The Capitals were a surprise playoff team last season, but they won't sneak up on anyone this year.
Utah Hockey Club
The debut of NHL hockey in Salt Lake City is certainly interesting, but the product on the ice is worthy of attention on its own. After leaving the desert, Utah made a couple of offseason moves to improve its defense, and now this team looks like it will contend for a Western Conference playoff spot.
Utah got a new No. 1 defenseman when it acquired Mikhail Sergachev from the Tampa Bay Lightning, and it landed another top-four option when it brought in John Marino from the New Jersey Devils. Putting those two behind a young forward group led by Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley, and Dylan Guenther is an exciting combination. Don't be surprised to see Utah steal a playoff spot from one of the more established teams in the conference.
Carolina Hurricanes
Over the last six seasons, the Hurricanes have been one of the NHL's best teams, but that hasn't really translated into postseason success. Now, after a summer of change, Carolina will have to adjust and overcome the loss of key pieces as it tries to get over that playoff hurdle.
Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei, two staples on this Carolina blue line for years, are now gone. Forward Teuvo Teravainen is a Chicago Blackhawk once again. Jake Guentzel, the Hurricanes' big trade deadline acquisition last year, bolted for Tampa in free agency. Carolina is still going to 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?
Vancouver Canucks
In their first full season under head coach Rick Tocchet, the Canucks put up 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 now it has to keep building upon that. If the Canucks can take another step, they'll be a very dangerous Stanley Cup contender.
With Tocchet behind the bench, stars like Quinn Hughes, J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser unlocked their ceilings. That core always had the potential to be special, and that came to fruition in 2023-24. Despite losing their two biggest trade acquisitions from last season, the Canucks are still in position to challenge the Oilers in the division. The one major concern for this team as the season approaches is the status for starting goaltender Thatcher Demko, who got injured in the postseason. If he misses extended time, that could be a real problem.
Montreal Canadiens
Montreal GM Kent Hughes just continues his methodical rebuild of this roster, and I want to see how it develops this season. The Canadiens have some really promising young players on the roster, and although they're probably a couple years away from being a playoff team again, they should still be plenty fun to watch.
One of those promising young players is former No. 1 overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky, who I was skeptical about after a slow start last season. Slafkovsky really picked up his game as the year progressed, and he finished with 50 points at the age of 20. This year, Lane Hutson wll be on the blue line with Kaiden Guhle, and the duo of Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki will lead the forwards. That's a lot of talent at or under the age of 25, and don't forget the Habs added 26-year-old sharpshooter Patrik Laine to the mix as well.
