The Countdown Begins: 30 Days Until the NHL Season Starts!
The start of the NHL season in North America is just 30 days away! While the excitement kicks off with the Global Series in Munich on October 4th, where the Buffalo Sabres will face the New Jersey Devils, I’m marking October 8th—North American opening day—as our official start. With that in mind, let’s dive into key dates and storylines that may shape the 2024-25 season.
Important Dates to Watch:
9/15/2024 - Training camps open
10/4/2024 - Global Series: Buffalo Sabres vs. New Jersey Devils in Munich
10/8/2024 - NHL Opening Night (3 games)
10/22/2024 - NHL Frozen Frenzy (all 32 teams in action)
11/1/2024 - Global Series (Dallas Stars vs. Florida Panthers)
12/31/2024 - Discover NHL Winter Classic: St. Louis Blues vs. Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field
1/18/2025 - Hockey Day in Canada
2/12/2025 - 2/20/2025 - NHL 4 Nations Face-Off
3/1/2025 - Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series: Detroit Red Wings vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
3/6/2025 - NHL Trade Deadline
These are just some of the key dates that will have every hockey fan buzzing this season. Now, let's dive into some intriguing storylines worth following as the season unfolds.
NHL 4 Nations Face-Off: A Return to International Competition
It’s been almost a decade since the last best-on-best international hockey event (2016 World Cup of Hockey). While the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off doesn’t feature as many countries as a normal best-on-best tournament, it's a step in the right direction. The first six players from each nation have been announced, and fit will be exciting to see prospective players stocks rise and fall throughout the first few months of the season.
Untitled Amazon NHL Series: Showcasing Player Personalities
For years, the NHL has struggled to market its stars to a wider audience, with many players adhering to a “team before me” mentality. That might change this season with the launch of an Amazon docuseries in October 2024. This could be a key moment for the league to embrace the personalities of its top players and expand their appeal to a broader audience. Here's hoping this series delivers!
Utah: A Fresh Start
The long-running Arizona Coyotes saga has finally ended, with the team moving to Utah. While it’s bittersweet for loyal fans in Arizona, the move to Utah promises exciting changes. The new ownership is well-funded and eager to invest in the team's success. They’ve already landed a big fish in defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, and more moves could be on the horizon. A possible rebrand to the Utah Yeti in 2025-26 adds another layer of intrigue.
Can the Panthers Keep Roaring?
The Florida Panthers, once an afterthought, have transformed into a powerhouse on and off the ice. They have not only turned into a great team (obviously) but they are also extremely fun to watch. However, they’ve logged an exhausting number of games over the past two seasons. While the Tampa Bay Lightning proved that deep playoff runs are possible in the salary cap era, they also benefited from COVID-shortened seasons. Now that the Panthers have reached the pinnacle, can they run it back?
Sidney Crosby: Still Elite at 37?
Sidney Crosby enters his age-37 season still playing at an elite level. While it’s hard to bet against him, the Penguins look like a bubble playoff team at best. Crosby is also in the final year of his contract, which could fuel trade rumors if an extension isn’t signed. It is hard to imagine Crosby in anything other than a Penguins uniform but if the team falters will we actually see Sid move on?
The Toronto Maple Leafs: Star Power, Question Marks
No NHL discussion is complete without mentioning the Maple Leafs. GM Brad Treliving remodeled the defense by acquiring Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, but Toronto remains a top heavy with forward talent and question marks everywhere else. Whatever happens, they are always fascinating to watch and I would love to see Matthews continue his goal scoring assault while wearing the C.
Connor McDavid and the Oilers: Cup or Bust
Connor McDavid is just 18 points shy of 1,000 for his career, and he could reach that milestone within the first few weeks of the season. Alongside Leon Draisaitl, who recently signed an extension, McDavid will continue to push the Oilers toward one goal: winning the Stanley Cup. For Edmonton, it's truly "Cup or bust" this season.
Blackhawks: Bedard’s Sophomore Season
The Chicago Blackhawks are still in rebuild mode, but all eyes will be on reigning Calder Trophy winner Connor Bedard. His 61 points were the most for a forward who was picked number one overall since Auston Matthews in 2016 (69 points) and Bedard most likely would have eclipsed this if he had not been injured. Will he follow in the steps of McDavid and hit 100 points in year two or will he trajectory line up more with Nathan MacKinnon and Jack Hughes who for a variety of reasons didn’t truly break out for a few more years.
Ovechkin's Chase for Gretzky
Alex Ovechkin sits at 853 goals, just 42 shy of breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal-scoring record (894). Last year was a down year and Ovechkin seemingly showed he may be slowing down with only 31 goals. His career goals/game of .6 would translate to ~49 goals which would give him the record this year. I think we’ll have to wait for the 25-26 season to see this record fall, but it will be fun to watch him in the chase.
Nashville Predators: A Bold Offseason
After making the playoffs as a wild card team and losing to the Canucks in round 1, the Predators arguably had the “loudest” off-season of any team. They inked Juuse Saros to an 8-year extension which then necessitated trading the promising Yaroslav Askarov to the Sharks. They shipped Ryan McDonagh back to the Lightning and then on July 1st opened up the checkbook by signing Steve Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei. It will be fascinating to see how these moves play out this season.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Tragedy and Resilience
I debated putting Columbus on the list but felt it was inappropriate to omit it with the Gaudreau family tragedy still so fresh. There is not much to say other than this was a terrible tragedy and I feel for the family, friends, loved ones and teammates of Johnny and Matthew.
NHL Frozen Frenzy: A Night of Nonstop Action
Mark your calendars for October 22, when all 32 NHL teams will hit the ice on the same night for the "NHL Frozen Frenzy." ESPN's special broadcast promises wall-to-wall coverage, and after hearing great things about last year's event, I'm excited to see how this year’s iteration turns out.
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That wraps up my first blog post! As training camp kicks off, I'll be back with predictions, deep dives, and more NHL-related content. Stay tuned for my Sunday Long Read series, where we'll explore everything from NHL trends to hockey-adjacent topics!