Welcome to the 2024-25 NHL season!
It was a long summer away, but hockey is officially back for another round. It wasn’t that long ago that we watched the Florida Panthers lift their first Stanley Cup in franchise history after a thrilling final series versus the Edmonton Oilers. The months since have seen the NHL Draft come and go and general managers utilize an active free agency period to retool their teams for the upcoming season of hockey.
And now, its return is just around the corner. While many of us are elated to start a new season, there are those who are overwhelmed with the prospect of a full 82-game slate spanning October to April. There will be a lot of hockey played over the next half year, and not all of it will be good! So, to get ready for the upcoming season, let’s take a look at which teams deserve your attention and which ones you can watch highlights of on social media.
Here are all 32 NHL teams ranked from least to most watchable for the 2024-25 season.
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Macklin Celebrini should be fun to watch in a hopefully competitive Calder Trophy race this season, but the Sharks aren’t going to be a good hockey team this year. Full stop.
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On paper, the Ducks should have an exciting team of young talent. But the core of Troy Terry, Trevor Zegras and Mason McTavish haven’t come together in any meaningful way so far in their young careers. And with wishy-washy goaltender John Gibson out for possibly the first month of the season, it’s not looking too good for Anaheim.
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The tragic death of Johnny Gaudreau will no doubt shape the Blue Jackets’ upcoming season on and off the ice. Columbus was hardly going to be a contender in a tough East, but this loss really leaves a hole in a team already thin of stars. Yet who knows, maybe the Blue Jackets rally around a common cause and become a bright spot in the 2024-25 season.
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Long-term injuries to Patrik Laine and David Reinbacher have put the kibosh on any preseason hype Canadiens fans may have had. Much like the Ducks, the Canadiens have a young core of fun talent, but the team has been unable to manifest any sustained success with them and that doesn’t look like it’ll change in 2024.
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The Flames gutted their roster in the offseason, moving on from Jacob Markstrom and Andrew Mangiapane after a below expectations 2023-24 season. There are still some fun pieces in Calgary like Nazem Kadri and MacKenzie Weegar — plus Jonathan Huberdeau, if he can return to form — but a rebuilding team like this isn’t worth watching unless you’re a diehard.
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Brady Tkachuk always makes for a good highlight with his creative chirps, but this Senators team doesn’t have a whole lot of juice to it otherwise. It’s hard to see the Senators making much noise in a stacked Atlantic Division, who have a whole host of more fun, watchable teams night in and night out.
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Unless Connor Bedard goes through a sophomore slump, you should tune into the occasional Blackhawks game to get your dose of highlight reel hockey. However, don’t expect too much of a leap from last year’s 23-win season because this Blackhawks team is very much still rebuilding.
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Something has to change with the Jets, because Winnipeg drew the second-worst attendance rate in the NHL last season. Connor Hellebuyck is phenominal and keeps the Jets competitive as a playoff contender, but there’s just not much else there that’s exciting fans. Playoff success could do it, but with the heavy hitters ahead of them in the Central, the Jets have a long road to get there.
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The years may change, but the Islanders format has stayed pretty much the same in recent times. Either you love the defensive style of hockey and stellar goaltending from Ilya Sorokin enough to watch it for 82 games or you hate it. No in between.
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You’re likely going to be hearing Matvei Michkov’s name a lot this season. The hype behind the 19-year-old former seventh overall pick has been building all offseason, leading into a stellar preseason for the rookie. The Flyers as a team will likely regress this year after playing above expectations last season, but keep Michkov’s name in mind as a Calder Trophy candidate.
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There just isn’t a lot of star power on the Kraken right now. Even more concerning, former No. 4 overall pick Shane Wright has played 16 games at the NHL level over the last two seasons. This Kraken roster will need to take a serious step up if it wants to get back into the playoff conversation this year.
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Jordan Binnington is always good for at least one on-ice shenanigans moment a season. Whether or not he’ll be able to keep pace with his outstanding numbers from last year is another question entirely. The Blues have some other interesting pieces — Jake Neighbours, anyone? — but otherwise are another NHL team in the “too good to be bad, but too bad to be good” category.
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Another team in the NHL’s murky middle, the Wild are hoping to get more out of their offense than just Kirill Kaprizov. The Wild project to be a bubble playoff team but in terms of watchability, unless Minnesota finds a higher offensive gear, you’re probably better off watching another team further down this list in terms of entertainment factor.
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Just admit it: You’re only going to tune into Capitals games if Alex Ovechkin makes a legitimate run at Wayne Gretzky’s goals record. Ovechkin started out ice cold last season, but eventually ended with 31 goals, putting him 42 goals away from breaking Gretzky’s record. The number is certainly doable, but another cold start could very well curtail that dream for another season.
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Are the Sabres the team from 2022-23 that finished mere points out of a playoff spot? Or are they the 2023-24 version of themselves that won 39 games and had a bottom-10 offense? Buffalo fans hunger for the team to return to the playoffs — a drought that’s lasted since 2011 — but this Sabres team feels like a coin flip in the NHL’s most competitive division.
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The Red Wings rebuild has been going slow and steady for some time now, as the team has reached eight seasons without a playoff berth. Just how long is Detroit going to wait for Steve Yzerman’s plan to come to fruition? Head coach Derek Lalonde feels like a prime candidate to be the first head coach fired this season if the Red Wings start slow out of the gate too. Lots to think about as the season begins in Detroit.
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The Oilers steal a lot of the spotlight in the Pacific for very obvious and understandable reasons. And the Kings are probably tired of it, considering they’ve been bounced in the first round of the playoffs by them three seasons running. If that doesn’t have the makings of a fun story to follow this season as they butt heads in the Pacific, I don’t know what to tell you.
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Utah will be an interesting team to follow this season because, well, they’re new! Sure, the bones of the Arizona Coyotes are still there — and those bones weren’t the greatest — but there’s a certain novelty about a new franchise in a new location. Will Utah be able to cast off the ghosts of Arizona and field a respectable hockey team? We’ll have to tune in to find out!
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Things could be very spicy in Pittsburgh this season. Sidney Crosby is now signed through the 2026-27 season, putting a finite timeline on the Penguins’ quest to win their core one last Stanley Cup. However, the team behind Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang just isn’t very good. Mike Sullivan’s seat is already warm as the season begins as Pittsburgh faces a third straight year of missing the playoffs. Oh, the drama!
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It’s safe to say these Golden Knights are a weaker team than previous incarnations. Jonathan Marchessault and Chandler Stephenson departed in free agency, leaving Jack Eichel as the tip of the spear for Vegas’ offense. Don’t be surprised if the Golden Knights take a step back from their previous league-wide dominance, but the team should still be an enjoyable watch regardless.
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The Hurricanes continue to shuffle their mix as they look for the winning playoff formula that will finally get them to a Stanley Cup Final. Carolina has consistently been a top-tier NHL team, but offensive production has been their Achilles’ heel for some time now. Have all the changes made to the team’s composition been enough to take the Hurricanes from regular season darling to playoff juggernaut?
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A Lightning team without Steven Stamkos is going to take some time to get used to. There are still a surplus of stars on Tampa Bay’s roster — which now includes Jake Guentzel — plus, Andrei Vasilevskiy likely won’t repeat his sub-par performance from last season. The Atlantic Division is a tough one, but this new-look Lightning team should be a fun watch as they navigate this new dynamic.
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Injuries really did a number on the Devils’ playoff hopes last season and, as such, the team underperformed and missed the postseason. New additions beginning with Jacob Markstrom in net alongside a super fun core of young players should get the Devils back on their feet and playing exciting hockey once more.
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There’s a lot to love about this Stars squad. Their roster is made up of electric talent up and down the lineup, punctuated by stud goaltender Jake Oettinger, who should absolutely bounce back from a middling 2023-24 season. I expect this Stars team to be a top-five offensive powerhouse once the NHL season gets rolling. They really are that good.
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The Avalanche are always a good time. We all know what Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and company bring to the table each season. However, keep your eyes out for the potential return of Gabriel Landeskog to the Avalanche lineup for the first time since 2022. While his homecoming from knee injury should have tempered expectations, the return of Colorado’s captain would certainly give the team a boost in morale.
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The Predators are without a doubt the biggest wild card this season. Nashville acquired Stamkos, Marchessault, and Brady Skjei in a truly bonkers offseason, completely revamping their roster with those major additions. Either the Predators take the NHL by storm as one of the top teams in the league or they implode in the most spectacular $108.5 million mistake ever made. We can’t wait to find out which!
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No one saw the Canucks coming last season. And for good reason! But after their impressive 2023-24 campaign that saw them win a playoff round, we’re more prepared this time for what the Canucks have to offer. Thatcher Demko’s status for the start of the season is uncertain, which isn’t the best sign, but we’re not going to underestimate the Canucks right off the bat like we did last season.
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The contract drama between the Bruins and Jeremy Swayman consumed the last few weeks of Boston’s offseason in a real bad way, but a deal was made just days before the start of the season. While it’s great the two sides finally came to an agreement, Swayman missed all of training camp and will no doubt be rusty coming into the first few weeks of regular season play. The Bruins have a talented squad of players, but this is clearly not the way they wanted things to go to begin their 2024-25 campaign.
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The Rangers are fielding a very similar lineup to last season’s squad, which helped them win two playoff rounds before ultimately bowing out in the Eastern Conference Final to the eventual champs. One player to keep an eye on as the Rangers fight it out with the top dogs in the NHL is Alexis Lafreniere. Lafreniere broke out onto the scene last year with a 28 goal, 57 point performance in a full season of work. Will the former first overall pick build upon a successful season or was last year’s production just a mirage?
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It seems like all the goodwill the Maple Leafs earned with their first round victory two seasons ago has dried up now. Last year’s playoff exit — in Game 7 overtime to the Boston Bruins — was just the same old, same old for the Maple Leafs, prompting a coaching change and some shuffling of deck chairs in the offseason. Will this mix — which still includes the Core Four — be enough to finally make some headway in the playoffs? Toronto fans might be apathetic towards their team’s regular season performance, but to an outsider, this is peak cinema.
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Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl nearly bolstered the Oilers to an improbable Stanley Cup Final comeback, but it was just not to be last season. McDavid and company had a taste of defeat at the final precipice and I expect them to come roaring back for the 2024-25 season. The Oilers have two of the best players in the world and just barely missed out on completing an absurd comeback in the Stanley Cup Final. Who wouldn’t want to watch the next chapter of their story?
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The defending Stanley Cup champions always get top billing in our watchability rankings and the Panthers are no different here. Sure, Florida’s taken some free agent losses, but what Stanley Cup winner hasn’t? There are reasonable concerns that the Panthers have played so much hockey over the last few years that a slide is inevitable, but we’ll just have to wait and see how things shake out. At the end of the day, however, the Panthers remain the most exciting hockey team to watch night in and night out thanks to their bruising style of play and stunning talent up and down their lineup.
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