Burning preseason questions for all 32 NHL teams

On the back end, the Red Wings could be minus one significant skater in Moritz Seider. He doesn’t have a contract yet (fellow RFA Lucas Raymond signed his new deal on Monday night), and that’s a potential distraction the Red Wings can’t afford to let derail their progress. Coach Derek Lalonde has enough to sort through as it is identifying how to get Detroit back into the postseason picture.

Florida Panthers
Will two short summers catch up to Panthers?

Florida lost in the Stanley Cup Final two years ago — only to make up for it with a thrilling Game 7 victory over Edmonton in June to secure the franchise’s first championship. That elation bled into a busy — and decidedly brief — summer of Cup parties and events that have no doubt kept players from their usual offseason routines. Does that come back to bite Florida as it gets set to defend its title?

While the Panthers used losing to Vegas in 2023 as motivation for redemption the following year, Florida was able to bask in Cup-winning glory the past two months. Certainly no player will be resting on his laurels come training camp, but that is where the first indications of fatigue — mental or physical — might be.

Florida wouldn’t be the first team to experience it. Many skaters lucky enough to go deep into the playoffs multiple times have said the grind eventually takes its toll. Will that be the Panthers’ reality after two long runs?

The Canadiens are still in the middle of a long-term rebuild. However, there’s potential for the team to take significant steps forward — once they settle on a strong blue line.

Fortunately, the Canadiens have options. The recently extended Kaiden Guhle is a lock for a top-pairing role, while David Savard and Mike Matheson should provide solid veteran presence. It’s a full-blown competition for spots from there. Justin Barron, Jordan Harris, Jayden Struble and Arber Xhekaj will all make their case for ice time, and prospect Lane Hutson will show in camp whether he’s ready for an NHL gig.

Montreal was tied for No. 27 overall in goals against last season (3.43 per game) and No. 30 in shots against, so finding the right formula on the back end is vital to improving.

Ottawa Senators
Can Travis Green get the Senators to the next level?

Ottawa has — to put it mildly — gone through some changes. There has been a new owner, new management and a new coach implemented all in the past 12 months, and a number of fresh faces looking to take roster spots on the ice. That’s all been done in the name of helping Ottawa become an actual contender in the Atlantic again.

New bench boss Travis Green is at the center of that mission. Speaking of centers, Green has superb depth there — from Josh Norris to Tim Stutzle to Shane Pinto — ready to go, and a healthy Thomas Chabot on the back end.

From there, it’s on Green to sift through a landslide of depth options — Noah Gregor, Nick Cousins, even Nikolay Kulemin — on offense, and the likes of Jacob Bernard-Docker and Maxence Guenette on defense. Green said his players can expect a tough training camp.

The Lightning have entered a new era, and it doesn’t include former captain Steven Stamkos. Tampa Bay let the longtime face of the franchise walk in free agency, essentially replacing him with Jake Guentzel.

There’s no telling how Stamkos’ absence will affect Tampa Bay on the ice and in the locker room, where he’d been a stable presence for more than a decade (and through two Stanley Cup victories). The Lightning have been aggressive in their dealings before, and moving away from Stamkos, trading Mikhail Sergachev to Utah, reeling in Guentzel and even bringing back former defenseman Ryan McDonagh showed GM Julien BriseBoise isn’t afraid of making waves.

Training camp will be the first take on a new-look Lightning group and could signal whether Tampa Bay is back on a potential championship track, or proof that too much change isn’t a good thing.

The Leafs prioritized adding to several areas in the offseason, but center wasn’t one of them. Is that going to be a problem for new coach Craig Berube?

Toronto’s current lineup has Auston Matthews and John Tavares locked into their top-six pivot spots. After that, it’s anyone’s guess how Berube is going to fill in those gaps.

Naturally, the idea of William Nylander sliding back to center has surfaced. It’s an experiment the Leafs have gone back to — with varied results — at least once a season for years. Max Domi had success at center last season as an injury replacement but he wouldn’t be a long-term solution for a job. And David Kampf is stronger in a fourth-line position.

So what will Toronto do? Turn to Pontus Holmberg or Fraser Minten? The team has to think Berube’s fresh eyes on the roster will help in finding a quick solution.

Metropolitan Division

Carolina Hurricanes
After offseason losses, is there enough defensive depth?

The Hurricanes enter training camp without Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce, two previous stalwarts on their blue line who played heavy minutes. Those are mighty big skates to fill.

Carolina made some free agent acquisitions for the back end, bringing back Shayne Gostisbehere and inking veteran Sean Walker. Jaccob Slavin will be an expected star on the defense, too, and Dmitry Orlov will play big minutes. But what about the aging Brent Burns? Can he still play an effective role to keep Slavin from burning out? Will Jalen Chatfield carry a larger load?

Carolina has prospects waiting in the wings, but rushing them with too much responsibility could backfire. The Hurricanes’ history as a heavy, defensive group could be shifting this season — and might unveil a whole new identity for a team that’s perennially knocking on the door of a Cup Final bid.

The Blue Jackets will have an open competition for roster spots when training camp opens, but the offensive possibilities are intriguing. The Blue Jackets signed veteran Sean Monahan, while Patrik Laine and Alexandre Texier have exited. Monahan had 26 goals and 59 points last season, proving he can still have an impact in the right role. That’s good news for Columbus. Adding veteran James van Riemsdyk on a one-year deal gives Columbus depth.

The Blue Jackets are obviously grieving the loss of Johnny Gaudreau, whose tragic death leaves an irreplaceable void in their organization. Columbus has to figure out who can help it light the lamp and improve on an offense that ranked 25th in the NHL in 2023-24, averaging fewer than three goals per game.

Can Kent Johnson come back strong from a poor 2023-24 campaign and offseason surgery? That would help. The Blue Jackets dealt with consecutive years of poor injury luck that limited the availability of top skaters, including Boone Jenner and Adam Fantilli. Both of them will need to thrive in significant roles for Columbus to make progress this season.

New Jersey Devils
How will Sheldon Keefe get the team back on track?

The Devils missed out on a playoff berth last season. It’s partially why GM Tom Fitzgerald needed to find a new coach, tapping Sheldon Keefe for the job. Keefe’s resume includes four consecutive trips to the playoffs in his first NHL head-coaching stint with the Maple Leafs. He has experience managing young talent, something with which New Jersey is stocked.

On paper, it appears Keefe and the Devils are an ideal fit. Training camp will start to reveal whether that’s truly the case.

This is Keefe’s first professional opportunity outside Toronto — he was the organization’s AHL coach for five years before taking over behind the Leafs’ bench — and there will be a learning curve in New Jersey. Keefe might even have more rising stars to juggle now than ever. Will the Devils embrace Keefe’s style and thrive? That answer will define New Jersey’s success.

The Islanders’ most pressing problem now or at any point in the season would be an injury to goalie Ilya Sorokin. New York’s coach Patrick Roy revealed Sorokin had offseason back surgery that was not “the perfect thing” but Roy said he “thinks [Sorokin] will be fine….when he’s ready, he’ll help us.” GM Lou Lamoriello said previously that the injury is not something the team is “concerned” about, and Sorokin should be available at some point during camp.

Let’s assume that’s the case and move onto familiar territory for the Islanders: scoring … or a lack of it.

New York’s 22nd-ranked offense last season barely got it into the playoffs (Sorokin was a primary catalyst in that feat). Lamoriello signed Anthony Duclair and Maxim Tsyplakov (a 30-goal scorer in the KHL last season) after New York’s first-round postseason exit. But it raises the same questions; do the Islanders expect that’s enough to enliven their offense? We’ll see.

The Rangers have an established roster at this stage. Other than settling on their top-line right winger — a position that was constantly in flux last season — there’s a pretty clear picture for the rest of the lineup.

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What’s less obvious is how captain Jacob Trouba will bounce back from last season’s slide into a third-pairing slot, a lackluster playoff performance, and a long offseason of trade rumors. Trouba suffered an injury late last season that impacted his play down the stretch, so health is a primary factor in any sort of comeback attempt.

And that’s what New York needs from him. It doesn’t mean Trouba has to carry 24 minutes per game. He just has to make positive impact plays at even strength and on special teams, to be the difference-making defenseman the Rangers obviously still believe he can be.

There’s a lot going on in Philadelphia. The Flyers have an exciting talent in Matvei Michkov who’s already impressed his new coaches during rookie camp. Where might Michkov fit into Philadelphia’s offense out of the gate, and how big a role will coach John Tortorella allow for him?

On that note, the Flyers are figuring out their center situation as well, with moving parts to slot into potentially new roles — does Morgan Frost finally get a larger opportunity?

Granted, that’s more than just one question, but these are some of the more imperative ones in assessing whether the Wild have enough to make the playoffs.

Last season the Wild finished 21st in goals per game, and rookies Brock Faber and Marco Rossi were the only players on their roster to play in all 82 games. With their cap limitations, their major signing this summer was Yakov Trenin, who has hit double figures in goals in each of the past three seasons.

But can Trenin, along with incoming rookie Marat Khusnutdinov, provide another layer of scoring and stability needed for a team that saw 59% of its goals come from five players last season? And would that be enough to reach the playoffs?

Nashville Predators
After massive additions, what’s a realistic expectation?

Even with their first-round exit, the Predators had a clear identity. They were a two-way team that just needed more goals and players who had significant playoff experience. So what are they now? That’s where it gets interesting.

At minimum, the Predators remain a playoff-caliber team, and should be aiming for a top-three spot in the Central instead of the wild card. Beyond that is where the intrigue lies.

Adding Jonathan Marchessault, Brady Skjei and Steven Stamkos signals that the Predators are in win-now mode. What separates the Predators from a crowded field in the Western Conference appears to be cohesion. Both the Avalanche and Golden Knights had years to find the right combination needed to win a title. The same applies to the Oilers and the Stars, as they seek to find the configurations that could see them win it all.

So are the Preds in that class of teams that’s capable of winning a Stanley Cup in 2024-25? Or are they in that next tier below, where there might be one or two details they need to address before cementing their status as a legit championship challenger?

St. Louis Blues
Have the defensive issues finally been solved?

This is a question that has plagued the Blues for the past two seasons, with the acknowledgment that there is rarely a quick solution. Shuffling their defensive corps wasn’t a real option considering they have four defensemen each making more than $4 million annually who all have no-trade clauses.

Instead, the tactical adjustments started in the 2023 offseason, when they hired assistant coach Mike Weber to oversee their defensive overhaul. Even when Drew Bannister took over during the 2023-24 season, the Blues allowed the fourth-most high-danger chances per 60 minutes, the fifth-most shots per 60, and the sixth-most scoring chances per 60. The reason they remained in the wild-card hunt was that their goalies finished with the fifth-best team save percentage under Bannister’s watch.

This summer, GM Doug Armstrong added two-way forwards such as Radek Faksa, Mathieu Joseph and Alexandre Texier, while also acquiring defensemen such as Philip Broberg, Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Ryan Suter, with Torey Krug lost for the year because of ankle surgery. Will the results be different?

Utah Hockey Club
Can they make the playoffs in their first season?

New franchises can get into the playoffs early in their existence. The Golden Knights made the Cup Final in their first season, while the Kraken made it to the second round in their sophomore campaign. Could Utah could make the playoffs in its first season?

Utah coach Andre Tourigny has a strong familiarity with several players on the roster given he coached more than a dozen of them when he was in charge of the Arizona Coyotes last season. Tourigny had the Coyotes challenging for a playoff spot through late January, until a 14-game losing streak derailed those aspirations. Coupled with offseason defensive additions such as Ian Cole, John Marino and Mikhail Sergachev, there’s belief Utah could challenge for a wild-card spot.

If that’s not enough, Utah GM Bill Armstrong has more than $9 million in cap space to strengthen the roster with impact additions.

Winnipeg Jets
How will Scott Arniel put his stamp on the team?

There are teams that are judged by what they do in the playoffs. There are teams that are judged on whether or not they reach the playoffs. It appears the Jets might be somewhere in the middle when it comes to what they can accomplish now that Arniel has gone from an assistant under Rick Bowness to head coach.

Part of the challenge facing Arniel is how to get the Jets beyond the first round. The past two postseasons have shown a similar pattern: The Jets scored at least five goals to win the opening game, only to then lose the next four en route to an early exit.

But before that, there’s a question of whether the Jets will claim one of the three divisional playoff spots or be among the teams going for a wild card. The Avs and Stars look like top Cup contenders, while an aggressive offseason could see the Predators force the issue. Arniel can’t simply put the team in cruise control and expect to make the postseason again.

Pacific Division

Anaheim Ducks
Can they eclipse 30 wins in Greg Cronin’s second season?

Every rebuild has its nuances, but all seek some signs of progress. For the Ducks, one of those benchmarks is winning 30 games or more. They were one of four teams last season that won fewer than 30, and have surpassed the 30-win mark just once in the past five years.

A big thing that prevented the Ducks from hitting the mark in Cronin’s first season were the lengthy losing streaks — the Ducks had five stretches in which they lost more than five in a row. Then there’s how they lost those games. The Ducks had 23 games in which they allowed more than three goals, and nearly half of those games saw them lose by more than three. Getting the details down better in Year 2 for Cronin should lead to better results and some steps in the right direction.

Calgary Flames
What is the Flames’ identity?

A year ago, the Flames were in a state of flux. They didn’t know what players were staying or going, despite having several players who were under contract for more than two years.

After maneuvering the roster challenges, the Flames appeared to find an identity: They were seven points out of the wild-card spot by early March, only to lose eight of their next 10 games, which effectively took them out of the playoff conversation. But they were able to get a stronger feel for in-season acquisitions Andrei Kuzmenko and Daniil Miromanov, and see how homegrown talents such as Matt Coronato and Dustin Wolf performed.

Those players — along with the Flames’ offseason additions — will play a key part in assessing their short- and long-term identity, and whether a playoff berth is in the cards.

Everything the front office did this offseason was focused on winning that 16th playoff game and capturing an elusive sixth championship. That includes signing UFA forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner, while returning a number of veterans and inking Draisaitl to a $112 million contract that kicks in for 2025-26.

All of it came with a cost: The Oilers couldn’t afford to keep homegrown talents such as Vincent Desharnais, who left in free agency, while Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway signed offer sheets with the Blues that the Oilers didn’t match. While those decisions led to questions in the short term, the concerns won’t matter as much if this season ends with the Oilers winning the Cup.

As the Kings continue to struggle to get out of the first round, one of the issues is their goaltending. They’ve gone through Cal Petersen, Jonathan Quick, Pheonix Copley, Joonas Korpisalo, David Rittich and Cam Talbot, with the belief that one of them could be the answer only to end up still asking the same question.

That’s what made getting a Cup winner in Kuemper in exchange for Pierre-Luc Dubois rather intriguing. Kuemper was arguably the biggest reason the Coyotes made it out of the opening round in the 2020 bubble playoffs. He also played a key role in the Avs’ Cup victory back in 2022. The Kings are banking on the fact that Kuemper could help them get into (and beyond) the second round, knowing another early exit would mark their fourth straight.

San Jose Sharks
How much better will the Sharks be?

Here’s how bad last season was for the Sharks:

• They had the NHL’s worst record.

• They were the only team that didn’t win 20 games.

• They had a minus-150 goal differential. They had the fewest home wins in the NHL.

While those factors made it one of the worst seasons in franchise history, it has paved the way for their current situation.

It starts with hiring a new head coach in Ryan Warsofsky. They won the draft lottery and used the No. 1 pick to draft Macklin Celebrini, pairing him with 2023 No. 4 pick Will Smith to serve as the faces of their franchise. They also added veterans such as Cody Ceci, Barclay Goodrow, Tyler Toffoli and Jake Walman, and traded for a long-term franchise goalie in Yaroslav Askarov.

With these moves, there’s belief that the rebuilding Sharks will be much better than the basement-dwelling version of a season ago.

Seattle Kraken
Can a new coaching staff solve old problems?

The Kraken were a win away from the Western Conference finals in their second season. But last season, they had the fourth-lowest shooting percentage in the league coupled with general inconsistency, which is why they missed the playoffs and subsequently made an offseason coaching change.

They hired former Penguins and Sabres coach Dan Bylsma to take over after he and his staff took the Kraken’s AHL affiliate to consecutive Calder Cup finals on the strength of one of the league’s most prolific offenses.

Promoting Bylsma along with assistant coach Jessica Campbell, the first woman to be behind a bench in NHL history, was done with the belief that their AHL success can help the Kraken rediscover their scoring touch and challenge for a playoff spot.

Vancouver Canucks
In which direction are the Canucks heading?

Progress has been at the forefront ever since the Canucks hired coach Rick Tocchet. He won 20 of the first 36 games after replacing Bruce Boudreau in 2022. He led them to a 109-point season, winning the Pacific Division and coming within a victory of advancing to the Western Conference finals. And they did it all while missing star goalie Thatcher Demko for a substantial portion of the season.

So what’s next? Building on that momentum — or regression?

While the Canucks lost Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov in free agency, they have the rest of their core intact. They used the offseason to add more scoring, while supplementing their defensive group as well. It all sets the Canucks up to be one of the teams to watch in the West; this season could be defined by more progress — or a lack thereof.

Vegas Golden Knights
How will the new-look Golden Knights fare?

Change is nothing new for the Golden Knights. If anything, managing everything that comes with change has been the constant for a franchise that has been defined by its win-at-all-costs mentality.

The Golden Knights lost seven players in the offseason, and six of them were on the Stanley Cup-winning roster. They now have 13 players remaining from that championship team. Much of the core is intact, but Conn Smythe winner — and original Golden Misfit Jonathan Marchessault — was among those who are now playing elsewhere.

All of that talent and experience heading out the door raises questions: How will Victor Olofsson fit within their forward rotation? What sort of impact will Alexander Holtz have? Which version of Ilya Samsonov will they have in a goaltending tandem with Adin Hill?