The 2024-25 NHL season is upon us, and with it comes a number of latest plot strains to comply with. The Western Convention has loads of them, together with Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers happening their revenge tour after falling simply shy of the Stanley Cup final season.
The Oilers enter the season as the category of the Western Convention, however they’ll have a tricky highway to a championship. Reigning Hart Trophy winner Nathan MacKinnon is eyeing his second Cup, and the Dallas Stars will likely be out to avenge their Western Convention Remaining loss from a yr in the past.
Elsewhere within the convention, the Nashville Predators spent large within the offseason, and now they’re going to need to get some return on these investments. The Utah Hockey Membership can also be trying to make strikes in its new locale, and the Vancouver Canucks might want to show that final yr’s surge was no fluke.
Here is a preview of what to return within the Western Convention this season.
Central Division
Nathan MacKinnon on the lookout for an encore
Going into final season, the one factor MacKinnon’s trophy case lacked was a Hart Trophy. That’s now not the case following a 140-point marketing campaign wherein he set profession highs in each objectives (51) and assists (89).
Along with these gaudy uncooked numbers, a glance beneath the hood makes MacKinnon’s season much more spectacular. With him on the ice at five-on-five, the Colorado Avalanche owned a plus-35 objective differential and an anticipated objectives share of 56.5%, per Pure Stat Trick. When MacKinnon was on the bench getting a swig of water, these numbers dropped to a minus-6 objective differential and a 48.6% anticipated objectives share.
This yr, MacKinnon might have to copy these efforts. The Avalanche have some depth considerations, in order that they’ll be leaning closely on their stars once more. Good factor MacKinnon is a top-two participant within the league, and he is able to powering the Avs on a Stanley Cup run.
Stars should recover from convention finals hump
The Dallas Stars have been one of many NHL’s finest groups for a few years now, however they maintain hitting the identical stumbling block within the postseason. In every of the final two seasons, the Stars have been eradicated within the Western Convention Remaining, and this roster is loads adequate to get again there in 2025.
Stars common supervisor Jim Nill has managed to assemble the most effective rosters within the league, and it has the proper steadiness of wily veterans, present studs and budding younger stars. Maybe the deepest ahead group within the NHL has gotten deeper because of the emergence of rookies Logan Stankoven and Mavrik Bourque. On protection, Thomas Harley confirmed potential to be a reputable high pairing defenseman, which is a luxurious contemplating Dallas already has Miro Heiskanen.
With a lot expertise returning in Dallas, will the third time lastly be the attraction? Prime to backside, the Stars are the most effective group within the Central Division, and a Western Convention Remaining rematch towards the Edmonton Oilers might be within the playing cards. They only want to seek out two extra wins this time round.
Will Nashville’s spending spree translate to wins?
On July 1, Nashville Predators common supervisor Barry Trotz spent cash like he was utilizing another person’s bank card. In equity to him, he was. Trotz doled out greater than $100 million to fully remake the roster, and whereas that cash is not popping out of his paycheck, his tenure will now be evaluated primarily based on how these strikes pan out.
The 2 largest splashes Trotz made in free company have been the signings of Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault. These two alone deliver three Stanley Cup rings, a Conn Smythe Trophy and two Rocket Richard trophies to Nashville. Stamkos and Marchessault have executed quite a lot of scoring and successful, however they’re 34 and 33, respectively. The foremost acquisition on protection was Brady Sjkei, a prototypical two-way defenseman who posted stable five-on-five impacts in Carolina. Age can also be a query for the 30-year-old Skjei, however to a lesser diploma than the forwards.
The Predators seem like a veteran-laden contender on paper, and there may be extra pleasure across the group than there’s been in years. Now we’ve got to see how properly every thing comes collectively on the ice, in addition to how a lot juice these grizzled vets have left within the tank.
Buzz within the Beehive State
There may be some buzz in Salt Lake Metropolis this preseason, and it is not simply because there is a new main sports activities franchise on the town. Positive, the debut of the Utah Hockey Membership is cause sufficient for pleasure, however it additionally simply occurs to be one of the intriguing younger squads within the NHL.
The 2023-24 Arizona Coyotes have been a lot feistier than they need to have been, given the circumstances. The novelty of enjoying in a university enviornment wore off, and the cloud of relocation loomed over them, however they remained relentlessly entertaining. With all of that drama behind it, Utah can now showcase its younger stars in addition to its shiny new offseason additions. Mikhail Sergachev, acquired from Tampa, provides the group a No. 1 defenseman. Clayton Keller has change into a star and can lead a youth motion at ahead that features gamers with sterling pedigrees like Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther.
Utah is not a lock for the playoffs, particularly in a comparatively deep Central Division, however a postseason berth is properly throughout the realm of risk for this group. If the prospects take a step ahead, Salt Lake Metropolis will likely be having fun with the Stanley Cup Playoffs up shut subsequent spring.
Pacific Division
Oilers reload after Stanley Cup Remaining run
After falling one win in need of the Stanley Cup final season, the Oilers weren’t content material to run it again with the identical roster. Edmonton has reloaded at ahead, and it is able to chase down that elusive sixteenth playoff win in 2024-25.
The Oilers have sometimes gone so far as Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl can take them, and that is fairly far, as we noticed final season. They’re two of the highest 5 gamers within the NHL, however even they want some assist to hoist the Stanley Cup. The Oilers did get scoring from elsewhere in 2023-24 (e.g. Zach Hyman’s 54 objectives), however they might have used slightly extra help. They’ve that now following the acquisitions of wingers Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson. Neither participant had a banner season final yr, however they mixed for 61 objectives and 141 factors in 2022-23.
Arvidsson and Skinner take an already imposing top-six and make it much more intimidating. When you thought the Oilers may burn out scoreboard pixels final season, they’re going to do much more harm this yr.
Was it only a flash within the Van?
The Vancouver Canucks have been probably the most nice shock of the 2023-24 NHL season. They went from being a preseason playoff bubble group to a Western Convention juggernaut within the blink of an eye fixed. Was {that a} flash within the pan or was it an indication of what is to return for the Canucks?
By means of a lot of the primary half final season, the Canucks have been outperforming some discouraging underlying numbers at five-on-five. Because the season progressed, these numbers steadily improved as Vancouver proved it was worthy of being a Western Convention contender. Regardless of these enhancements, there are nonetheless some indications that damaging regression is on the best way. The group’s 10.6% capturing share at five-on-five was first within the NHL by a large margin, and no group had a PDO at 1.028, per Pure Stat Trick.
These numbers would recommend that there will likely be some leveling out in 2024-25, however simply how a lot stays the query. The Canucks gained 50 video games and put up 109 factors final yr. Even when they lose a couple of extra video games, they’re nonetheless a stable playoff group. They only cannot have a whole tumble again to Earth.
Can anybody problem the highest three?
In the interim, let’s assume that the highest three groups within the Pacific Division are the Oilers, Canucks and Vegas Golden Knights. I do know what they are saying about assuming, however these look like comparatively protected playoff bets. So, can anybody else stand up and seize one of many division’s assured postseason spots?
The Los Angeles Kings, final season’s third-place finisher, look like the most definitely candidate. No less than, they did till star defenseman Drew Doughty suffered a fractured ankle. Los Angeles already appeared to be a step beneath the Pacific’s elite, and that harm solely widened the hole. Past the Kings, the clearest candidate could be the Seattle Kraken. They made some relatively costly additions in the summertime, however they’ll want bounce-back seasons from a couple of completely different gamers in an effort to make the leap.
The remainder of the division appears prefer it might be within the draft lottery subsequent yr, so barring a surprising surge, the Pacific Division playoff race is likely to be a little bit of a snoozer in 2024-25.
California hurtin’
The fantastic hockey followers of California is likely to be in for a protracted 2024-25 season. The San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Geese will as soon as once more be two of the worst groups the NHL has to supply, and now the Kings is likely to be backsliding.
The Sharks are contemporary off a season wherein they have been useless final within the NHL, and so they will not be far off from that mark in 2024-25. No less than they now have a franchise cornerstone in Macklin Celebrini to point out for it, and former No. 4 general choose Will Smith may get his first full-time NHL motion too. The Geese have been higher than the Sharks final season, however not by a lot. Their younger core has but to take that subsequent step, and it is a little bit of a prove-it season for them. Till it exhibits in any other case, Anaheim will proceed to be a younger however irritating bunch.
Lastly, the Kings appear to be getting additional and additional away from the highest of the division. I touched on the Doughty harm above, however additionally they did not do a lot to enhance a roster that received cooked by the Oilers within the first spherical of the playoffs final yr. I do not assume swapping one dangerous contract (Pierre-Luc Dubois) for one more (Darcy Kuemper) was the answer both. The hockey vibes in California are lower than stellar as of late.
