Reasons to watch every NHL team this season: Record chases, Michkov mania, 'Showtime' in Detroit, more
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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
The NHL Frozen Frenzy on Tuesday is that rare and joyous occasion when all 32 teams are in action on the same day.
It begins with the Washington Capitals at the Philadelphia Flyers (6 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+) and closes out with the Los Angeles Kings at the Vegas Golden Knights (11 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+). Games start at 15-minute staggered start times to maximize puck consumption on NHL Power Play on ESPN+ (available to all ESPN+ subscribers), and there’s a whip-around show bringing you action from all 16 matchups.
That’s a lot of hockey.
Which teams are worth your time and attention, not only during the Frozen Frenzy but during the rest of the 2024-25 season?
It turns out, all of them, for various factors. Here are reasons to watch all 32 teams this season, from superstar players to teams with championship aspirations to controversial storylines to one historic record chase playing out in Washington.
Here we go, and enjoy the frenzy.
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Atlantic Division
The hulking defense
The Bruins swear that size didn’t matter when building their blue line, that they were just targeting the best players who fit their needs. It just so happens that the defense they’ve built could be the Boston skyline: They signed 6-foot-6 defenseman Nikita Zadorov this offseason to join Brandon Carlo (6-5), Hampus Lindholm (6-4), Mason Lohrei (6-5) and Andrew Peeke (6-3) in the depth chart. Charlie McAvoy, their No. 1 defenseman, finds himself looking up to his teammates at a mere 6-1.
Zdeno Chara is gone, but apparently his spirit lives on with the Bruins.
Can they end the playoff drought?
There’s only one team in the “big four” sports leagues that has experienced the kind of postseason drought the Sabres are in: The hapless New York Jets, who last made the playoffs in 2010. The Sabres’ last appearance in the Stanley Cup playoffs was in 2011, making this the longest postseason drought in NHL history.
Optimism was high before the season, with burgeoning stars such as Tage Thompson and the return of long-time head coach Lindy Ruff — incidentally, the last man to coach Buffalo to the playoffs. The results aren’t there yet, but there’s a lot of talent on this roster. They’ve got to be a playoff team at some point, right? Right?
It’s still ‘Showtime’
Some believed Patrick Kane‘s career might have been over after hip resurfacing surgery in 2023, a procedure that other NHL players had undergone only to return as a shell of themselves. But the former league MVP had a resurgent season for the Red Wings in 2023-24, with 27 points in 50 games.
The 35-year-old Kane, a three-time Stanley Cup champion, signed a one-year deal with Detroit to bring “Showtime” back to the Motor City again. He’s the third-highest-scoring American player in NHL history (1,286 points) behind Brett Hull (1,391) and Mike Modano (1,374).
Seeking a repeat performance
The Panthers won their first Stanley Cup last season with a team that had scoring talent, aggressive physicality and more than a little attitude courtesy of stars such as Matthew Tkachuk. Florida returns the majority of that roster this season in search of a second straight championship, and why not?
Both the Penguins and Lightning have won back-to-back championships since 2016. The Lightning also made the Stanley Cup Final in three straight seasons from 2020 to 2022, an Eastern Conference three-peat that the Panthers are trying to match this season.
They’ve come out of the gate strong so far, despite missing star center Aleksander Barkov for most of it.
The thrill of Lane Hutson
Sometimes you just have to listen to the crowd when a player touches the puck. When Hutson has it on his stick at Bell Centre, you can hear the buzz and see people straighten up in their seats as the rookie defenseman starts smoothly skating through each zone. His offensive creativity is like a personal highlights studio. His defense … well, he’s a rookie defenseman, so that can sometimes add its own form of excitement.
The bottom line: Few first-year players will make you tune in this season the way Lane Hutson will.
Linus Ullmark, franchise goalie
For years, the Bruins had the best goaltending tandem in the NHL with Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman. But nothing lasts forever … especially when both goalies wanted to play upwards of 55 games and the Bruins had roster needs under the constraints of the salary cap.
So Ullmark was traded to the Senators, clearing the way for Boston to sign Swayman to an eight-year contract extension with an $8.25 million annual cap hit. Three days later, Ullmark signed an extension of his own: four years and the same $8.25 million salary. The Senators had the league’s worst goaltending last season. Can Ullmark turn that around and turn the Senators into a playoff team?
The best line in hockey?
One of the offseason’s biggest stories was when the Lightning let longtime captain Steven Stamkos leave as a free agent in favor of signing former Penguins star Jake Guentzel, who is four years his junior. Guentzel slid into Stamkos’ old spot on Tampa Bay’s top line with Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov, an MVP finalist last season.
He might have made a great thing even better: Through Tampa’s first four games, the trio averaged 6.8 goals per 60 minutes and surrendered just 1.2 goals per 60.
Mitch Marner and the murky future
Marner, 27, has been a member of the Leafs’ core of star players since entering the league nine seasons ago. He’s a dazzling offensive player, a Selke Trophy-nominated defensive player and a play-driving winger … in the regular season. Toronto has been a disappointment in the playoffs, and much of the fans’ frustration has been focused on Marner’s lack of postseason impact.
He’s in the last year of his contract. Will the Leafs re-sign him? Will they trade him? Does he walk away as a free agent? As usual with the Maple Leafs, there’s no shortage of drama.
Metropolitan Division
The Brind’Amour aesthetic
During Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour’s 20-season NHL career, he was good at pretty much everything: tallying points, excelling defensively to the tune of two Selke Trophies and making an impact on special teams. It’s said that some teams take on the personalities of their coaches, and that’s true here: Last season, Carolina was eighth in offense, fourth in defense, first on the penalty kill and second on the power play.
Even with some downgrades in their lineup during the offseason, to watch the Canes is to watch a team that’s pretty great in all facets of the game. And like their coach when he was a player, one of those facets is how hard Carolina is to play against, a hallmark of Rob the Bod’s six seasons behind the bench.
Playing through the grief
The answer here should have been Johnny Gaudreau. It’s still hard to process that this remarkable athlete was taken from us way too soon, as the 31-year-old Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, were killed by a suspected drunken driver while riding bicycles on Aug. 29 in New Jersey. The Blue Jackets have memorialized Johnny Hockey in a dozen ways this season, from helmet stickers to keeping his locker room stall unoccupied to making their player of the game award a “donkey head hat,” as Gaudreau loved calling people “a donkey.”
Young standouts like Adam Fantilli, Yegor Chinakhov, Kirill Marchenko and Kent Johnson should all get their player of the game moments this season, reminding us that the future in Columbus is bright while honoring the legacy of Gaudreau.
Torrid expectations
Two years ago, the Devils looked poised to challenge for the Stanley Cup. Last season, that poise morphed into volatility, as New Jersey dropped 31 points in the standings and finished seventh in the Metro Division. It was a season marked by injuries, underperformance and dashed expectations.
No team was more aggressive in trying to fix its flaws than the Devils after last season: rebuilding their goaltending with Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen, adding veteran defensemen like Brett Pesce, building out their forward depth and hiring former Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe. After last season’s low, expectations are sky-high again. Will the Devils deliver?
The Bo and Barzal show
The Islanders’ two most accomplished offensive players are forwards Bo Horvat (33 goals last season) and Mathew Barzal (80 points). They played the majority of the time on the same line last season, and coach Patrick Roy has them together again this season.
New York isn’t exactly an offensive juggernaut (22nd in the NHL in goals per game last season) so Horvat and Barzal will have to shoulder a good chunk of the scoring load on a team that’s expected to be around the playoff bubble.
Time for Shesterkin to break the bank?
The Rangers have one of the best goaltenders on the planet in 28-year-old Igor Shesterkin. They know it. Igor knows it. His agents know it, too. As a slew of star goaltenders signed contract extensions recently, the Rangers and Shesterkin couldn’t come to terms on one before the season ahead of unrestricted free agency next summer.
Reports claim he rejected an eight-year, $88 million contract offer from the Rangers, which would have made him the highest-paid NHL goalie of all time. Watching Shesterkin continue to raise his price with all-star-level play — or potentially lower it if he unexpectedly struggles — is part of the intrigue on a very talented Rangers team this season.
Michkov mania
The Flyers haven’t had an offensive rookie as talented as forward Matvei Michkov since Claude Giroux arrived on the scene in 2008-09. It could be argued that the Flyers haven’t had an offensive rookie this hyped since Eric Lindros arrived in 1992-93. Michkov has already shown flashes of the dynamic offensive game that had fans buying his jersey before he even played a preseason game for the Flyers.
There will be a learning curve for the 19-year-old phenom, but curmudgeonly coach John Tortorella has said he doesn’t plan on crushing that creativity.
“I’m not interesting in turning him into a checker,” the coach said. “We are starving for the types of instinctive plays that he can make.”
The band plays on
Sidney Crosby (37), Evgeni Malkin (38), Kris Letang (37) and Erik Karlsson (34) are all still trying to pry the Penguins’ contention window open in their NHL sunset years. Although try telling that to Malkin, who started the season with 11 points in seven games; or Crosby, who remains one of the top centers in the NHL.
If Pittsburgh makes the playoffs, it would be on the backs of this fab four. Let’s enjoy them while we can.
The Gretzky chase
Heading into Tuesday, Alex Ovechkin was just 41 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s career mark and officially becoming the greatest goal-scorer in NHL history. Every goal he scores this season is one critical step closer to a moment that will transcend hockey.
The Capitals are fully embracing the chase, to the point where they’ve secured a “presenting partner of Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of all-time NHL goal scoring record,” who will sponsor an in-arena goal tracker that’ll update the margin between the Great One and the Great 8, who scored his first of the season in Saturday’s 6-5 OT win vs. the Devils.
Central Division
The Connor Bedard Show, Year 2
Bedard is the franchise savior for the Blackhawks, whose dynasty crumbled in the 10 seasons since their last Stanley Cup win. As an 18-year-old rookie, Bedard captured the Calder Trophy with 22 goals and 39 assists in 68 games, hitting the highlight reel with frequency.
In Year 2, Bedard has more offensive talent around him like Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi. Expect Bedard to put on a heck of an encore performance, en route to superstardom — if he’s not there already.
Cale Makar goes for 100 points
Makar has accomplished plenty in his six-year NHL career, with a Calder Trophy, a Norris Trophy (top defenseman), a Stanley Cup championship and a Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP). Thanks to injuries and truncated seasons, one milestone has eluded him: 100 points in the regular season. It’s a feat accomplished by just six defensemen in NHL history, most recently Erik Karlsson in 2022-23.
With 12 points in his first six games, Makar is making an early offensive statement for the Avs.
Is this the year?
The last two Western Conference finals matchups included the Dallas Stars. The last two Stanley Cup finals did not feature the Dallas Stars. Hence, this team is determined to get over the playoff hump.
Despite two subsequent trips (2000 and 2020), the Stars have won the Stanley Cup only once, in 1999. With a team stacked with established stars (Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin), players in their prime (Jason Robertson, Miro Heiskanen) and young reinforcements (Wyatt Johnston, Logan Stankoven) in front of franchise goalie Jake Oettinger, the mix might be right for the Stars to finally shine the brightest this season.
Flower’s farewell tour
Wild veteran goalie Marc-Andre Fleury signed a one-year contract extension in April and declared that his 21st NHL season would be his last.
He’s no longer the Vezina Trophy-caliber goalie he was five seasons ago, but he remains one of the NHL’s most charismatic stars — as will be evidenced by the farewell fanfare he receives in his final trip around the league.
Stamkos, Marchessault in their Nashville era
The Lightning walked away from Steven Stamkos. The Golden Knights didn’t offer Jonathan Marchessault the contract he was seeking. So both franchise icons became free agents and found the same new hockey home: Nashville, which saw an infusion of star power, scoring pop and championship pedigree as a way to level up in the Western Conference.
Will it work? The early returns haven’t been great for the Preds, who didn’t win once in their first five games, but everyone probably needs some time to get acclimated.
Thomas, Kyrou try to recapture the magic
Throughout their NHL careers with the Blues, forwards Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou have been linemates or have been dispersed through the lineup to balance the team’s offense. Coach Drew Bannister has made it clear early in the season that he’d like to see them more together than apart.
When they’re both clicking, there are only a handful of duos more dynamic than Thomas and Kyrou in the West.
New NHL city, reenergized NHL players
When the Arizona Coyotes ceased to exist, and the franchise was relocated to Salt Lake City, they left all of their history and stats back in Tempe. Ryan and Ashley Smith essentially own a new NHL team … albeit one with a roster of players who were Coyotes last season.
It has been exhilarating to watch the Utah Hockey Club (a placeholder name for this season before an official moniker arrives in Year 2) as offensive talents like Dylan Guenther, Clayton Keller and Logan Cooley are energized by big crowds, enthusiastic fans and not having to worry about where the team will play next season. They want to put on a show for fans just getting into the NHL, and the early returns have been promising.
Are the Jets for real?
The Jets have begun the 2024-25 season as the best team in the NHL. They were tied for the league lead in scoring (4.80 goals per game) and were second in team defense (1.60) thanks in part to their goaltending tandem of Connor Hellebuyck and Eric Comrie. This was a 110-point team last season, and they want to show that was no fluke. New coach Scott Arniel has built on the consistency of their defense by unlocking something in their offense.
It’s early, and their schedule has been friendly, but Winnipeg has looked impressive. It’s very refreshing to see at least one pro sports team named the Jets find their game this season.
Pacific Division
He’s 19 years old, 6-foot-3 and a total delight. The No. 2 overall pick in 2023 had his time limited through load management as a rookie, but he’s being unleashed upon an unsuspecting NHL this season. Look no further than his overtime game winner against Utah earlier this season, when Carlsson collected a loose puck, outraced his opponents and undressed Connor Ingram for the goal:
0:35
Leo Carlsson nets beautiful OT winner for Ducks
Leo Carlsson skates through Utah and fires a point-blank OT winner into the net for Anaheim.
He’s got size, skill and a high hockey IQ and has compared his game to that of Evgeni Malkin and Aleksander Barkov. Time will tell if he ever gets to that lofty status, but he’s a key to the next wave for the Ducks.
To retool rather than tank?
While some believe tanking doesn’t exist in the NHL, there have certainly been front offices that constructed their rosters in a way to maximize their draft lottery odds. The Flames would appear to be in such a position, with the exodus of talent over the past three seasons.
But GM Craig Conroy has rejected the T-word, saying that the Flames are a “retool on the fly.” That means, in theory, keeping veteran players like Nazem Kadri around rather than trading them for future assets. Again, in theory — but the early returns suggest he’s on to something: the Flames are 4-0-1 entering Tuesday, atop the Pacific.
Scaling the mountain again
Many expect the Oilers to win the Stanley Cup this season because their hunger to win one became even more insatiable after losing to the Florida Panthers in Game 7 of the Final last season. That loss came after they rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the Final, and rallied from 2-1 and 3-2 deficits to eliminate Vancouver in the second round … and after they turned their regular season around following a disastrous start.
But last season showed what a perilous, arduous climb it is to reach the championship summit — star center Connor McDavid‘s breakdown in the dressing room after Game 7 was evidence of that emotional investment. Can Edmonton scale that mountain again on an expedition led by generational talents like McDavid and Leon Draisaitl? Or will the climb prove to be too steep this season?
Kopitar’s still got it
It’s hard to own the corner of “37-year-old star center still playing at an MVP level within the context of his team” when Sidney Crosby is still in the NHL. But Anze Kopitar is once again making his case.
The two-time Selke Trophy winner crested over 70 points in each of the past two seasons and has started strong for L.A. this season — right when they needed him most, with fellow long-time Kings star Drew Doughty out of the lineup for months with a fractured ankle. The Kings have some significant offensive talent on the roster. Kopitar is still showing them how it’s done.
Macklin Celebrini, rookie sensation
Celebrini, 18, was the first overall pick in the 2024 draft out of Boston University. He arrives in the NHL as the centerpiece of a multiyear rebuild in San Jose, a franchise that’s now seven seasons removed from championship contention.
He has been out since their season opener with a hip injury and is considered week to week. But he is skating again, which is great news for the Sharks, who have already seen flashes of his offensive wizardry.
Joey Daccord, the people’s goalie
OK, so he’s not the best overtime celebration hugger. That only makes Daccord more endearing to Kraken fans, who have embraced the former Arizona State University goaltender as their guy.
Of course, it helps when Daccord rewards that affection on the ice, like when he had a .916 save percentage last season to earn a new five-year contract. Daccord has started strong in his encore campaign for Seattle, a franchise now in its fourth NHL season.
The Petey panic
“Let’s talk about Elias Pettersson.” “What’s the deal with Canucks’ Elias Pettersson?” “How concerned should the Canucks be about Elias Pettersson?”
That’s just a sampling of the headlines in the past week regarding Vancouver’s star center. A slow start (two assists in five games) coupled with a 13-point decline offensively last season and one goal in 13 playoff games have made the 25-year-old star the subject of much conjecture. He’s in the first year of a massive eight-year, $92.8 million contract extension. Will Pettersson calm fears with another dominant offensive season, or are they warranted?
Jack Eichel, All-American
Ever since he arrived in Las Vegas in 2021 — and had the surgery that the Buffalo Sabres refused to allow him to have — Eichel has been one of the best two-way centers in the NHL. He’s 11th in the league over the past three seasons in points per game (1.06) among centers. His defensive game was at the forefront when Vegas won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 2023.
Now in his 10th season, Eichel is the Golden Knights’ key offensive player — and could serve the same role for Team USA in this season’s 4 Nations Faceoff and the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
