NHL | What can we expect this season?

Our experts get wet and give you their predictions for the new NHL season.

The trainer on an ejection seat

Mathias Brunet : Derek Lalonde of the Detroit Red Wings. Derek Lalonde missed the playoffs the last two years in Detroit and Steve Yzerman is eager to go into detail. The Wings do not, however, have a dominant club…

Katherine Harvey-Pinard : André Tourigny, of Utah HC. New city, new identity… The Utah team organization will want to win games quickly to start this new stage on the right foot. Otherwise, it risks being André Tourigny who will pay the price.

Richard Labbé: Mike Sullivan of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins have missed the playoffs the last two seasons, time is running out for one last hurray, and if things go south in Pittsburgh, Sullivan will be the first to go.

Guillaume Lefrançois: Derek Lalonde of the Detroit Red Wings. Detroit hasn’t made the playoffs since 2016 and its core is entering its prime. In his third season, Lalonde must win, otherwise he will only have been a one-night star.

Simon-Olivier Lorange: Jim Montgomery of the Boston Bruins. He is entering the final year of his contract, and the Bruins’ inability to advance past the second round in recent seasons has raised eyebrows among fans. The start of his team’s campaign will be crucial.

Alexandre Pratt : Mike Sullivan of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins have just missed the playoffs twice in a row, and their winning percentage has declined every season since 2021. The good years are behind them.

The player under pressure

Mathias Brunet : Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals. All eyes will be on Alex Ovechkin as he attempts to break Wayne Gretzky’s goalscoring record. Will it resist the wear and tear of time?

Katherine Harvey-Pinard : Pierre-Luc Dubois, of the Washington Capitals. At 26, Dubois will be on his fourth career team. He is entering the second season of his eight-year deal at 8.5 million per year. Needless to say, the Capitals have high expectations of him…

Richard Labbé: Joseph Woll of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He’s the one who’s supposed to be the Leafs’ savior in net, and we wish him good luck.

Guillaume Lefrançois: Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs have a new head coach. If it doesn’t work again this year, where do you think all eyes will turn?

Simon-Olivier Lorange: Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Despite being among the best forwards in the NHL, Marner carries a reputation as a player who disappears when the stakes are high. A few months before the end of his contract, he will want to silence his detractors.

Alexandre Pratt : Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He will be under double pressure: that of leading the Leafs to the Cup and that of producing as much as possible before obtaining his complete autonomy next summer.

The best contract of the off-season

Mathias Brunet : Jeff Skinner, Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers took advantage of Jeff Skinner’s contract buyout in Buffalo for one year at 3 million. With Leon Draisaitl as center, Skinner will be able to score over 30 goals again.

Katherine Harvey-Pinard : Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Crosby, one of the best players of all time, has just signed a new two-year contract at 8.7 million annually (2025 to 2027). A very reasonable salary, for everything he still brings at 37 years old. He could have easily asked for 4 million more.

Richard Labbé: Jeff Skinner, Edmonton Oilers. One year and only $3 million for a guy who had an 82-point season two years ago in Buffalo? Yes.

Guillaume Lefrançois: Steven Stamkos of the Nashville Predators. The duration (four years) is a victory for the Predators. Stamkos is 34 years old and is coming off his third straight 80-point season.

Simon-Olivier Lorange: Juraj Slafkovsky, of the Montreal Canadiens. Let us be clear: $60.8 million for eight years is a lot of money. However, with the salary cap increasing rapidly, the Slovakian will represent a bargain before long if he becomes the announced power forward.

Alexandre Pratt : Quinton Byfield of the Los Angeles Kings. A five-year contract, 31.25 million, for a young 21-year-old center who presented stats comparable to those of Juraj Slafkovsky last season is a solid bargain.

Worst contract of the off-season

Mathias Brunet : Chandler Stephenson of the Seattle Kraken. Giving 43.25 million for seven years (6.1 million annually on the mass) to a 30-year-old center who has just had a 51-point season seems generous. Let’s see what Chandler Stephenson does with the Seattle Kraken over the next few years.

Katherine Harvey-Pinard : Joel Edmundson of the Los Angeles Kings. The Los Angeles Kings gave Edmundson more money than the Canadian did in 2020, except that the defender is four years older and has a serious medical history. Tsé, mean.

Richard Labbé: Joel Edmundson of the Los Angeles Kings. Is there a member of management at the Kings who has ever enjoyed overpaying veterans at the end of their career? That’s what happened here, and this four-year, $15.4 million contract is pure madness.

Guillaume Lefrançois: Joel Edmundson of the Los Angeles Kings. Four years? For a player who misses half of his team’s matches every year? In this economy?

Simon-Olivier Lorange: Chandler Stephenson of the Seattle Kraken. His average salary of 6.25 million is not catastrophic. But for seven years, when he is already 30? And in Seattle, where he will be less well surrounded than in Vegas? Ouch.

Alexandre Pratt : Joel Edmundson, of the Los Angeles Kings. A four-year contract was already insane. For 15.4 million, in addition? This is madness.

The most overrated team

Mathias Brunet : The Los Angeles Kings are still too slow, and what’s more, they just gave Joel Edmundson a golden bridge on defense, and have given away too many interesting assets to their rivals in recent years.

Katherine Harvey-Pinard : The Florida Panthers. After two consecutive finals, including a Stanley Cup, the Panthers will slow down the pace this season. I expect elimination in the first round of the playoffs.

Richard Labbé: The Toronto Maple Leafs. I put the Toronto Maple Leafs in this box every year and that’s not going to change now.

Guillaume Lefrançois: The Florida Panthers. Two finals in a row, it’s tiring, it’s tiring.

Simon-Olivier Lorange: The Montreal Canadiens. Even before Patrik Laine’s injury, I struggled to believe that a club of 28^e rank can, almost by magic, aspire to a place in the playoffs. Ambient optimism is linked to too many hypotheses that must come to fruition simultaneously.

Alexandre Pratt : Carolina Hurricanes. They have lost Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen, Stefan Noesen, Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce. Regression in sight.

The Cinderella team

Mathias Brunet : The New Jersey Devils will move from second to last to first in the Metropolitan Division with their young guns Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier and their new goalie Jacob Markstrom.

Katherine Harvey-Pinard : Ottawa Senators. Led by Linus Ullmark, the Senators will make the playoffs for the first time since 2017. I’m telling you.

Richard Labbé: The New Jersey Devils. A few judicious acquisitions and a healthy Dougie Hamilton will allow them to sneak into the playoffs.

Guillaume Lefrançois: Utah HC. André Tourigny’s team will be transported by a new energy in its slightly shaky amphitheater.

Simon-Olivier Lorange: Utah HC. With finally real owners, finally a real arena and finally a real defense: the former Arizona Coyotes finally look like a real organization. The euphoria will be total, especially since the race in the West is anything but a foregone conclusion.

Alexandre Pratt : The Buffalo Sabres. They improved their goal differential to 60 in three years. After 13 years of drought, they now have what they need to return to the playoffs.