Year 2025 | Five stories to follow… in the NHL

At the start of the new year, while some are thinking about their resolutions and others are still stubborn about the quality of the last Bye Bye, The Press offers you a series of articles highlighting five stories to follow in 2025 in different disciplines. Today, the National Hockey League.

Ovechkin against Gretzky

Will Ovechkin overtake Gretzky? It’s a record that we thought was unbeatable. For all eternity, no one was expected to join and surpass Wayne Gretzky in goals scored, with 894. However, a Russian player with a tinted visor and formerly yellowish laces is chasing the record. And in all likelihood, he should beat it in 2025. Alexander Ovechkin is around twenty goals from the record. Considering that he scores on average 0.6 goals per game since the start of his career, the captain of the Washington Capitals would need around forty games to get ahead of the big 99. So statistically, Ovechkin could make history by spring. Despite missing five weeks to heal a leg injury, the 39-year-old is still on track to experience a 10^e season of at least 50 goals.

Another Stanley Cup for Marc-André Fleury?

The Minnesota Wild are rolling in gold. Although there are still plenty of games left, the Wild are comfortably holding off threats from their Central Division rivals. The young people have taken the reins of this team, but in the playoffs, only experience often succeeds. And with the addition of one of the best goalies in history, the Wild can dream. Marc-André Fleury must be content with a supporting role. Filip Gustavsson assures. But the Quebecer won the majority of his starts. Should he win a fourth Stanley Cup ring, hockey’s second-winningest goalie would join a prestigious group that includes Patrick Roy, Grant Fuhr and Billy Smith. The record of six conquests is shared by Ken Dryden, Jacques Plante and Charlie Hodge.

The Jets as Canada’s only hope?

The Winnipeg Jets finished 2024 atop the overall NHL standings. Usually this is a good sign. Connor Hellebuyck plays like the best goalie in the NHL. Josh Morrissey is establishing himself as a true quarterback. And Kyle Connor is not fading, maintaining his place among the top scorers on the Bettman circuit. Is this the year of the Jets? The team has a history of crashing in the spring. However, it seems to have more bite this year. It will have been 32 years since a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup. And the Jets represent the best option to put an end to this drought. The Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks can also believe it.

Canada or United States?

When the formations for the 4 Nations Showdown were revealed, we were able to discern two mentalities in the way of building a team. Canada, for example, preferred to select role players, as one would to build a winning team in the NHL. Obviously, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar will host the show. But depth players, like Sam Bennett, Travis Konecny ​​and Colton Parayko, have been called upon to play a specific defensive and physical role. In the United States, leaders prioritized pure talent and the best players available, regardless of their role. This is why Jack Hughes or Brady Tkachuk could find themselves on a third line and Brock Faber would play on a third pair on defense. It remains to be seen who was right.

Who will be first?

Every year, in June, the attraction around the draft increases. Especially since an entire industry has been formed around the next generation and the hopefuls. In 2025, two reasons can explain why we will hear about it even more. On the one hand, because the Canadian should have a ball in the famous abacus. On the other hand, because there is no obvious first choice this year. Four candidates can still hope to hear their name first. James Hagens has been the favorite for two years. The Boston College center has all the qualities to become a first-line center. Matthew Schaefer moves like few 6’2″ defenders. Skillful with the puck and physical along the boards, he has a bright future ahead of him. Porter Martone is a big right-handed winger, 6’3″, 207 lbs. A born scorer also capable of distributing the puck well. Then there’s Michael Misa, a versatile forward ignored by Junior Team Canada despite a two-point-per-game pace with Saginaw.