The 2024-2025 NHL season may be one of the most anticipated things we have seen since the creation of sliced bread. With a new NHL franchise to a new jersey company to even a whole new set of drama and action, this season will be exciting, to say the least.
Fans around the league were shell-shocked when they found out the Arizona Coyotes were on the brink of yet another relocation. After consideration, the team relocated to Salt Lake City where they will play in the Utah Jazz Arena. The team will go by the name of the Utah Hockey Club for the time being.
Under the same roster, the former Coyotes franchise will continue to thrive with their young talent encountering a new feeling of pride under a new fanbase. Along with their rookies, the team saw some acquisitions in the offseason with the signing of defenseman John Marino and the reception of Mikhail Sergachev from the Tampa Bay Lightning in a trade.
In the central division, many teams saw huge additions; one in particular being the Nashville Predators. Within the first day of free agency, the Predators signed Stanley Cup champion and former Lightning captain Steven Stamkos to a four-year deal. Along with Stamkos, Nashville signed forward Jonathan Marchessault and defenseman Brady Skeji. With an already strong roster with defensemen Roman Josi and goalie Juuse Saros, expect the Predators to be a powerhouse in the western conference.
Within the central, the Chicago Blackhawks recently named forward Nick Foligno the franchise’s 35th captain on September 18th. Foligno has played a major role in the leadership and development of Chicago’s young talent, especially former first-overall pick Connor Bedard. Bedard is entering his sophomore year after winning the Calder trophy for being rookie of the year.
The Tampa Bay Lightning of the Atlantic division always named a new captain. With the departure of longtime captain Stamkos, the Lightning named defenseman Victor Hedman the franchise’s eleventh captain. Hedman was awarded the playoff MVP in 2020 along with being a Stanley Cup champion in 2020 and 2021. Hedman also won the Norris trophy (best defenseman) in 2018 with the Lightning.
The NHL recently ended their contract with Adidas who helped create the NHL jerseys for the 23-24 season and began a new contract with Fanatics for the time being. So far, the jerseys have a brighter look and resemble jerseys seen in the NHL video games.
On the same note, NHL 25 will be released on new-gen consoles on October 4th of this year. The Hughes brothers will be this year’s cover athlete(s) for their strong contribution to their individual teams. The game will see an improvement to skating and shooting control, mainly on one-timer shots.
The NHL will see a rise in rookie talent with multiple skilled youngsters taking their skills onto the ice for the first time in their career. The Philadelphia Flyers will play Matvei Michkov, a former first-round draft pick, in the top six for his beginning stint. Michkov is expected to be a generational player in the coming years, putting him up in the potential of being the Alexander Ovechkin.
Cutter Gauthier for the Anaheim Ducks will be given his first full opportunity to gain a roster spot. Gauthier only managed to play one game with the Ducks where he recorded one assist, playing on the ice for just over 15 minutes. According to the Daily Faceoff, he is expected to play with center Trevor Zegras and winger Frank Vatrano, two of the most important players on the Ducks’ forward core.
Lane Huston of the Montreal Canadiens is expected to begin his NHL career this year. He was selected in the 2022 draft with Montreal’s 62nd overall pick. Hutson was considered one of the most underrated players going into the draft and Montreal took advantage of that opportunity. Hutson will fit well with the Canadiens organization, playing with sniper Cole Caufield and captain Nick Suzuki.
When it comes to the top-end teams, the competition for who has the best roster is unclear. The Dallas Stars lost Joe Pavelski in the offseason but made up for it with the development of Logan Stankoven and Wyatt Johnson. They also resigned defensemen
The Boston Bruins improved even further with the signing of center Elias Lindholm and defenseman Nikita Zadorov. With contract talks being reportedly strong, expect goaltender Jeremy Swayman to begin the season with the Bruins.
The Vancouver Canucks saw the addition of Jake Debrusk in free agency who will bring top-six scoring. The Canucks also signed forwards Danton Heinen and Kiefer Sherwood who will help solidify the bottom-six. Unfortunately, forward Dakota Joshua may not start the season right away as he is currently remaining strong in his battle against testicular cancer and will need months of recovery.
With their cup-winning dreams being smashed in game seven in the cup finals last year by the Florida Panthers, the Edmonton Oilers are not backing down. The Oilers signed snipers Victor Arvidson and Jeff Skinner to long-term deals. Edmonton also extended center Leon Draisaitl’s contract to another eight years where he will be getting paid a total of $112 million.
The NHL season will for sure be jam-packed with action and surprise. The season begins on October 8th at 4:30pm with the St. Louis Blues playing against the Seattle Kraken in the global series in Europe. Later that night, the Panthers will match up against the Bruins at 7pm and the Blackhawks will meet Utah at 10pm.
