CAROLINA HURRICANES
Head coach: Rod Brind’Amour (seventh season)
Last season: 52-23-7, 111 points, second place in the Metropolitan Division
This season: A perennial top 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 advantage but must make a push again. However, that championship window appears to be closing.
What’s new: Forwards William Carrier and Jack Roslovic and defensemen Sean Walker and Shayne Gostisbehere were brought in to fill big holes with the departures of forwards Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen and Stefan Noesen and defensemen Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei.
Players to watch: Goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov has claimed the No. 1 spot and should be a rock while the fresh-faced Hurricanes mix with new faces and role players.
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
Head coach: Dean Evason (first season)
Last season: 27-43-12, 66 points, eighth place in the Metropolitan Division
This season: The deaths of star player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew on the eve of training camp will be a dark cloud over the club. The season would be a challenge even for the talented Gaudreau. It pales in the grand scheme of life, but the playground 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 he can revive his career alongside Gaudreau. Monahan will now be counted on to guide the team’s younger players. The Blue Jackets re-signed James van Riemsdyk and acquired defenseman Jordan Harris in the deal that sent Patrik Laine to Montreal.
Players to watch: Looking ahead, a large part of this season will be about the development of young forwards such as Kent Johnson, Adam Fantilli, Cole Sillinger and Yegor Chinakhov and defenseman David Jiricek.
NEW JERSEY DEVIS
Head coach: Sheldon Keefe (first season)
Last season: 38-39-5, 81 points, seventh place in the Metropolitan Division
This season: Last season was a disaster, plagued by injuries and poor goalscoring. The Devils should not only get back into the playoff picture, but should be a force — if all things come together.
What’s new: The big need was scoring, and the Devils made a big move by acquiring Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames. The important steps did not end there. Forwards Stefan Noesen, Paul Cotter and Tomas Tatar were added, along with defensemen Brett Pesce and Brenden 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 with injury, which will provide another jolt to the Devils.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
Head coach: Patrick Roy (second season)
Last season: 39-27-16, 94 points, third place in the Metropolitan Division
This season: The Islanders will probably be in the same place as last year, in the playoff race but they won’t be a top-tier squad. New York has a lot of quality players, including a mediocre defense, but they will need to scratch and claw to make the playoffs. It won’t surprise anyone if the Islanders win.
What’s new: In an effort to add some much-needed speed, the Islanders signed Anthony Duclair in the offseason and drafted Maxim Tsyplakov to the NHL from Europe.
Players to watch: The Islanders’ biggest problem is scoring. Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal are capable of scoring points each game, and Duclair will have a good chance to click with them. The problem is scoring depth, with the likes of Brock Nelson, Kyle Palmieri and Anders Lee expected.
NEW YORK RANGERS
Head coach: Peter Laviolette (second season)
Last season: 55-23-4, 114 points, first place in the Metropolitan Division
This season: A team that lost to the eventual Cup champion Panthers in the Eastern Conference finals and won the regular season title with a franchise-record 55 wins, the Rangers should also be a Cup contender with a star-studded team at every position. .
New: Not so much. Understandably there has been very little turnover in the summer apart from the addition of strikers Reilly Smith and Sam Carrick. Perhaps the biggest surprise was that neither veteran defenseman Jacob Trouba nor young forward Filip Chytil were traded. Then again, the Rangers will probably load up at the deadline, and may be willing to move Chytil or Kaapo Kakko if they want to shell out a big chip.
Players to watch: Goaltender Igor Shesterkin, in the league’s best equation, is in the final season of his contract and due to become an unrestricted free agent. Chances are he’ll re-sign, but that’s a moot point.
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
Head coach: John Tortorella (third season)
Last season: 38-33-11, 87 points, sixth place in the Metropolitan Division
This season: The Flyers missed the playoffs by just four points, but have wisely resisted the urge to seek a quick fix in their rebuild. If all goes well, they could make the playoffs. If all goes wrong, it may mean going back.
What’s new: It’s been a quiet season, but not without some major intrigue. Matvei Michkov, a talented 2023 first round pick, is making the jump to the NHL sooner than many expected (one reason he fell to seventh overall in the draft). The 19-year-old Russian forward is in the running for the Calder Trophy as the league’s best player.
Players to watch: Whether the Flyers play Michkov on a line with Sean Couturier or Morgan Frost will be worth watching. Philadelphia has a small roster beyond those players, Travis Konecny ​​and Owen Tippett, and there are plenty of 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 back-to-back seasons, the Penguins are hoping veteran stars Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson will push together again. Maybe they do, maybe they don’t.
What’s new: After the trade deadline, the Penguins were able to fill holes with forwards Kevin Hayes, Blake Lizotte, Anthony Beauvillier, Cody Glass and Rutger McGroarty and defenseman Matt Grzelcyk. McGroarty was a highly regarded acquisition after declining to sign with the Winnipeg Jets, giving the Penguins at least one new, young player of the future.
Player to watch: Karlsson was terrible last season in his first campaign in Pittsburgh after being acquired from the San Jose Sharks. Not only did he fail to provide the dynamic offense expected, but surprisingly the Penguins had the third strongest performance in the league.
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
Head coach: Spencer Carbery (second season)
Last season: 40-31-11, 91 points, fourth place in the 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 record of 894 goals. Ovechkin sits at 853.
What’s new: Working aggressively to remain a playoff team, the Capitals added Andrew Mangiapane and Pierre-Luc Dubois — two forwards in need of a resurgence — along with defenseman Jakob Chychrun and goaltender Logan Thompson.
Players to watch: Beyond Ovechkin’s quest for the record books? Indeed, there aren’t many beyond seeing how Dubois bounces back from a bad season with the Los Angeles Kings and the No. 1 goalie. 1 Charlie Lindgren can build on a great campaign in which he pushed the Capitals into the postseason.
–Field Level Media
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