September 24, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers right wing Reilly Smith (91) skates in his home debut against the New York Islanders during the first period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wilde-Imagen Images carolina storm
Head coach: Rod Brind’Amour (seventh season)
Last season: 52-23-7, 111 points, 2nd place in Metropolitan Division
This season: A perennial top-tier club, the Hurricanes swung for the fences last season and were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs in the second round for the third time in four seasons. Carolina had some turnovers but should get going again. Still, the championship window appears to be closing.
What’s new: Forwards William Carrier and Jack Roslovic and defensemen Sean Walker and Shayne Gostisbier were brought in to fill big holes with the departures of forwards Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen and Stefan Noesen and defensemen Brett Pace and Brady Skjei.
Players to watch: Goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov has claimed the No. 1 spot and should be a rock, while the new-look Hurricanes come together with new faces and players in increased roles.
columbus blue jackets
Head coach: Dean Evason (1st season)
Last season: 27-43-12, 66 points, eighth place in Metropolitan Division
This season: The deaths of star forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew on the eve of training camp would cast a dark cloud over the club. The season was going to be challenging even with the talented Gaudreau. It pales in the grand scheme of life, but making the playoffs will be an even bigger challenge.
What’s new: It’s another fresh start in Columbus with a new coach. On the ice, the club signed free agent Sean Monahan in hopes that he could re-ignite his career alongside Gaudreau. Now Monahan will have the responsibility of guiding the young players of the team. The Blue Jackets also signed forward James van Riemsdyk and acquired defenseman Jordan Harris in the deal that sent Patrik Laine to Montreal.
Players to watch: With an eye to the future, much of this season will be about the development of young forwards Kent Johnson, Adam Fantilli, Cole Sillinger and Yegor Chinakhov, and defenseman David Jiricek.
New Jersey Devils
Head coach: Sheldon Keefe (1st season)
Last season: 38-39-5, 81 points, seventh place in the Metropolitan Division
This season: Last season was a disaster, beset by major injuries and sub-standard goaltending. The Devils should not only get back into the playoff picture, but they should be a force to be reckoned with – if all things come together.
What’s New: The big find was goaltending, and the Devils took a big step up by acquiring Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames. The major moves did not end there. Forwards Stefan Noesen, Paul Cotter and Tomas Tatar were included, as well as defensemen Brett Pace and Brendan Dillon.
Players to watch: The defense will be without Luke Hughes (shoulder) to start the season, but Dougie Hamilton will return after missing most of last season due to injury, which will be another blow for the Devils.
New York Islanders
Head coach: Patrick Roy (2nd season)
Last season: 39-27-16, 94 points, 3rd place in Metropolitan Division
This season: The Islanders are likely to be in the same position as last year in the playoff mix, but not exactly a top-tier team. New York has a lot of excellent players, including a particularly underrated defense, but they will have to work hard to make the playoffs. No one will be surprised if the islanders are able to do this.
What’s New: In an effort to add much-needed pace, the Islanders signed Anthony Duclair in the offseason and brought Maxim Tsyplyakov from Europe to the NHL.
Players to Watch: The Islanders’ biggest issue is goal scoring. Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal are capable of point-per-game seasons, and Duclair will have a golden opportunity to click with them. The issue is scoring depth, which could include players like Brock Nelson, Kyle Palmieri and Anders Lee.
New York Rangers
Head coach: Peter Laviolette (second season)
Last season: 55-23-4, 114 points, 1st place in Metropolitan Division
This Season: A team that lost to the Cup-champion Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals and won the regular season title with a franchise-record 55 wins, the Rangers should be Cup contenders again with a star-studded team at all positions.
What’s new: Not much. There was apparently very little business over the summer apart from the additions of forwards Reilly Smith and Sam Carrick. Perhaps an even bigger surprise was that neither veteran defenseman Jacob Trouba nor young forward Filip Chytil were traded. Then again, the Rangers will likely be loaded at the deadline, and they might be willing to deal Chytil or Kaapo Kakko if they want to cash in on a bigger chip.
Players to watch: Goaltender Igor Shesterkin, in the equation as the league’s best, is in the final season of his contract and is due to be an unrestricted free agent. There’s a possibility he’ll re-sign, but that’s a major story.
philadelphia flyers
Head coach: John Tortorella (3rd season)
Last season: 38-33-11, 87 points, sixth place in Metropolitan Division
This season: The Flyers missed the playoffs by just four points, but have wisely resisted the urge to go for a quick fix in their rebuild. If everything goes right, they can reach the playoffs. If everything goes wrong, it may mean taking a step back.
What’s New: It was a quiet offseason, but not without major intrigue. Matvey Michkov, a talented 2023 first-round draft pick, is making the jump to the NHL sooner than many expected (one reason he fell to seventh in the draft). The 19-year-old Russian forward is a favorite for the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie.
Players to watch: Whether the Flyers play Mitchkov with Sean Couturier or Morgan Frost will be worth watching. Philadelphia has a thin squad beyond those players, Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett, and several question marks on defense and in goal.
pittsburgh penguins
Head coach: Mike Sullivan (10th season)
Last season: 38-32-12, 88 points, fifth place in Metropolitan Division
This season: After missing the playoffs in consecutive seasons, the Penguins are hoping veteran stars Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson will get another playoff chance. Maybe they do, maybe they don’t.
What’s New: After the trade-deadline selloff, the Penguins managed to fill voids with players like forwards Kevin Hayes, Blake Lizotte, Anthony Beauvillier, Cody Glass and Rutger McGroarty and defenseman Matt Grzelcyk. McGroarty was a highly touted prospect who was acquired after refusing to sign with the Winnipeg Jets, giving the Penguins at least one new, young player for the future.
Players to watch: Karlsson was abysmal last season in his first campaign for Pittsburgh after being acquired from the San Jose Sharks. Not only did he fail to provide the dynamic offense expected, but the Penguins surprisingly had the league’s third-worst power play.
Washington Capitals
Head coach: Spencer Carberry (second season)
Last season: 40-31-11, 91 points, 4th place in Metropolitan Division
This season: After a surprise trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Capitals are trying to stay relevant as Alex Ovechkin shoots to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal scoring record of 894. Ovechkin is sitting at 853.
What’s New: Doing some offensive work to remain a playoff team, the Capitals added Andrew Mangiapane and Pierre-Luc Dubois — a pair of veteran forwards needed to reignite their careers — as well as defenseman Jacob Chykrun. And so does goaltender Logan Thompson.
Players to watch: Beyond Ovechkin’s quest for the record books? Really, there’s not much to see beyond seeing how Dubois bounces back from a terrible season with the Los Angeles Kings and whether No. 1 goaltender Charlie Lindgren can build off of the stellar campaign in which he backstopped the Capitals in the postseason .
–Field Level Media