2024-25 NHL, Part I (East)

It feels like the 2023-24 NHL season just ended, yet here we are, ready to start the 2024-25 campaign.  There was some encouraging NHL news, too, with the announcement that they're going to get work on the new CBA right after the New Year, well before the current agreement expires.  They're also discussing going to an 84-game schedule, which would bring back those two division games everybody lost for Seattle.  The players and owners both seem to be on board with that plan, so I'd say the odds of it happening are pretty good.

There was also the tragic NHL news from the summer that a lot of us are still trying to wrap our heads around.  The passing of Johnny Gaudreau was shocking and heartbreaking on so many levels.  Although, it was also so great to see the NHL community come together and support his family during this terrible time.  The Oilers posted a picture of him playing against them while he was with the Flames...and held off on announcing Leon Draisaitl's extension.  The entire Blue Jackets team attended his daughter's birthday party.  EA Sports kept him in the NHL video game.  And those are just some examples of everyone around the NHL stepping up for one of their own.

Columbus will do right by Gaudreau's family and honor his contract.  He was also the Blue Jackets' highest-paid player, which will put them under the salary floor this season.  There's no way they'd be able to get back above it, especially this close to the start of the season, so the NHL granted them an exemption that will allow them to stay under the floor as long as they need (which will likely be at least all season).  Obviously not a situation anybody wants to be in, but the special circumstances warrant it.

That unfortunate note will leave a bit of a dark cloud over this entire season.  Every team will wear a special logo on their helmets honoring Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, who was also killed in the same accident.  I'd also love to see him receiving an honorary selection to the U.S. team for the Four Nations Face-Off that will replace the All*Star Game in February.

I have a feeling that this will be an emotional season across the board.  The loss of Johnny & Matthew Gaudreau hit hard.  But there's still a season to be played, and I wouldn't be surprised if the memory of a friend, teammate and all-around good guy serves as an inspiration throughout it.  That obviously won't do a damn thing to make up for the loss, but it's still heartening to know that Johnny Gaudreau will be remembered.

As for how this season will play out, will the Prince of Wales Trophy finally leave the State of Florida for the first time in six years?  After three straight Eastern Conference titles by the Lightning, the Panthers have won the last two, capped by lifting the Cup last season.  Can they do it again?  They've got everybody back and play a style that wears you down, so it wouldn't surprise me.  But there are so many other good teams in the East that a repeat will be a challenge.

Since I'm talking about good teams in the East, I might as well start with the defending champion Florida Panthers.  They'll be very good again.  And, as they've shown over the last two years, their style is built for the playoffs.  I just wonder if Edmonton gave teams the blueprint on how to play against it during Games 4-6 of the Stanley Cup Final.  Even Paul Maurice has admitted that it doesn't work for everyone and you need the buy-in.  Still, you've got to think that they'll, at the very least, return to the postseason.

For the last few years, the Atlantic Division has basically been split in two.  There's that top tier of Florida, Tampa Bay, Boston and Toronto, and that bottom half of Detroit, Buffalo, Ottawa and Montreal.  This season should be more of the same.

Of those other three top teams, the Boston Bruins are the biggest question mark.  They stopped the two-goalie thing, traded Linus Ullmark and made Jeremy Swayman the man...only for Swayman to hold out.  When he decides to sign could have a big bearing on the Bruins' season.  The Toronto Maple Leafs will likely do the same thing they do every year.  They'll have a great regular season, then lose Game 7 of the first round in the playoffs.  As for the Tampa Bay Lightning, they're probably the most likely team in that group to fall back towards the pack.

In that pack is the Detroit Red Wings, who may see the fruits of their rebuild.  I definitely think the Red Wings will be contenders for one of the wild cards, and they very well could get it.  The Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens will not.  The Sabres have the longest active playoff drought in the four major men's professional sports.  That streak should continue.  Ottawa is better, but still has a long way to go and isn't as good as the top teams in the division, so I don't see how the Senators can contend for a playoff spot.  The Canadiens, meanwhile, are just a mess.  This is one of the NHL's bedrock franchises, too.

The Metropolitan Division, meanwhile, is a two-horse race at the top.  And, frankly, there isn't much that separates them.  That middle group has four teams, all of which I can see either making the playoffs or finishing way out of it.  The margin really is that tight.  Which should actually make for a pretty good race for that third-place playoff spot out of the division, as well as that second Eastern Conference wild card.

Lumping the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes together makes sense because they'll likely be 1-2 in the Metropolitan Division in either order.  Last season, it came down to the wire, with the Rangers winning the division and the President's Trophy.  They then broke the President's Trophy jinx somewhat by getting to the Eastern Conference Final, where they were outplayed and worn down by the Panthers.  That easily could've been Carolina, though.  Just like last season, I expect the battle for first place in the Atlantic to be neck-and-neck.

Two teams from the middle group really stand out.  Those are the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils.  The Islanders had a great stretch run last season that got them into the playoffs, and I think they are the third-best team in the Metro.  Plus, Mathew Barzal is one of the most talented players in the league.  Then there are the Devils, who finished second in the division in 2023 before missing the playoffs last year.  They've got the Hughes brothers, so sneaking back into the playoff mix doesn't seem that far-fetched.

Last year, the Washington Capitals made the playoffs as the second wild card.  I'm still not sure how.  And they were promptly swept by the Rangers.  If they're healthy this season (which they were not last year, which makes their reaching the playoffs even more impressive), them getting back wouldn't be nearly as much of a surprise.  The Pittsburgh Penguins, meanwhile, are trying to get one last gasp out of the Crosby-Malkin Era.  It's been a good run in Pittsburgh, but they're no longer one of the most talented teams.

A team that I find really intriguing is the Philadelphia Flyers.  I legitimately have no idea how good the Flyers are.  John Tortorella is their coach and he's always got something up his sleeve.  Talent-wise, they're towards the bottom of the division.  But with Tortorella, it's not crazy to think he can pull a playoff run out of these guys.  Even before the Gaudreau tragedy, it was poised to be a long year for the Columbus Blue Jackets.  This season will be rough for them on multiple levels.

Even with the depth of quality teams in the Eastern Conference, I'm not expecting there to be much playoff turnover.  In fact, I think seven of the eight teams that made it last year.  The only exception is the Capitals, who I'm replacing with Detroit.  Although, if you wanted to give the Devils that spot instead of the Red Wings, you wouldn't get much of an argument from me.  Because, just as it's close between the top teams in each division, the fight for the wild card positions will be a good, intense one between about five different teams...likely for just one spot.