NHL players, teams and coaches are ready to take a big step forward this season

The Detroit Red Wings have missed the playoffs six years in a row and are now entering the fourth year of the Steve Yzerman era as the team’s general manager. It’s time for real progress. They have an excellent young core led by Defenseman Moritz Seider and striker Lucas Raymond, Tyler BertuzziDylan Larkin, and Jakub Vrana, and they’ve supplemented them this season with some significant free agent additions. Andrew Copp, Dominik Kubalikand David Perron will really help round out what is now a very formidable and deep group, but the play of new goalkeeper Ville Husso could make or break their progress. The knockout stages may be a reach for this season, but they need to get closer and show that they are making real progress.

Rangers enjoyed last season thanks to their ability to score goals and strong play. While the signing of Vincent Trocheck in free agency is a solid addition, they also lose some pretty much needed players in the upcoming season that will reduce their depth. The best way to make up for that? Their young players went a long way and became influential players. That started with Alexis Lafreniere, the #1 overall pick in the 2020 NHL draft. It’s time for him and Kaapo Kakko (2nd choice overall last year) to play like the franchise platform. If they do, Rangers will be very good. What if they don’t show progress? That could be a disappointing setback for Rangers.

This is a team very similar to Detroit right now. A rebuilding team that’s been around for a few years, has a brilliant young talent team in place (led by Brady TkachukDrake Batherson, and Josh Norris) and has had a very busy season adding some potentially influential players. Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux are significant additions, but much will depend on Cam Talbot in goal. They will have to make the leap to make it to the knockout stages, and the defense is still a bit shaky, but like the Red Wings, they need to at least close in and show the fans that they’re on the right track. .

Kings are building something extraordinary right now. Their in-season addition a year ago (Phillip Danault and Viktor Arvidsson) made a playoff spot, they had one of the NHL’s best collections of young talent, and then added this season with a blockbuster deal for Kevin Fiala are from Minnesota Wild. The big X factor for kings will be Byfield’s growth. He’s the top prospect in the system and has superstar potential. He’s entering his second year in the NHL and if he can take another step into the Kings’ central depth with him, Danault and Anze Kopitar will be among the best teams in the entire NHL.

Caufield shone in his first cup of coffee in the NHL of the 2020-21 season, but got off to a bad start to his sophomore campaign. But like the rest of Canada’s young players, his season began to change dramatically after hiring a new coach. Martin St. Louis. Caufield had the opportunity to become league and full-season top scorer under St. Louis would be a great fit for him. A lot of the Canadaiens’ success (both short-term and long-term) goes to him, Nick Suzuki, and overall No. 1 pick in 2022, Juraj Slafkovsky.

Though he and the Dallas Stars only played a series in the knockout stages a year ago, Oettinger is one of the undoubted stars of the post-season period. He almost single-handedly pulled the Stars out of the First Round to fight The Calgary Flame, stood on his head for seven games and gave a rather baffling offense a chance to compete against a clearly superior team. He hasn’t played much hockey in the NHL at this point, but when he did, he was in awe. He looks like the kind of goalkeeper who can put a big spin on a team’s success. This will be his first full season as a Stars starter and it will be a big test for him.

This could be the last year we see Jack Hughes completely rocking the NHL. He’s shown steady improvement in his first three years in the league, but we’ve yet to really see him play all season (two shortened NHL seasons, injury prevented that). ). He has come a long way in 2021-22 and if he continues on that upward trajectory, he could become the top scorer in the entire league in the 2022-23 season. Like maybe even a top scorer out of 10. The Devils are still bogged down as a mediocre team, but Hughes becoming a superstar will greatly help growth. their.

The Blue Jackets have been overactive throughout the 2021-22 season and added a superstar (Johnny Gaudreau) in free agency. Combined with re-signing Patrick Laine for a long term contract they have some elite potential scorers at the top of the squad and a pretty good collection of young talent due to Cole SillingerZach Werenski, and Adam Boqvist. With better scoring, this could be an underdog playoff team. If nothing else, Gaudreau and Laine will bring back the excitement the team has lacked in recent years. Deliver credit when it’s due: In a league where general managers are afraid to go bold and make big payouts on deal deadlines and free agents, Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen is never shy about it. that work.

Kotkaniemi is attractive because the Hurricanes have made two pretty substantial investments in him. The first was when they used the rarely used restricted free agent coupon and contracted him out of Hurricane Carolina, leaving them with first- and third-round draft picks. They then re-signed him to an 8-year, $38.56 million contract extension. This is the type of trade that may look like an overpayment and risky right now but could turn out to be a steal in the future. Kotkaniemi has great base stats and is a strong striker in both fronts but has yet to develop into a top defender in terms of attack. At least not yet. He absolutely has that potential and could be a breakout candidate for the 2022-23 season.

Wild’s salary cap situation will be bleak for the next few years because of the outright purchases of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Kevin Fiala and Cam Talbot have cost them this season and prevented them from going out and making significant additions from outside the organization. That will put first place for talent development from within. They have some excellent young prospects coming through, and Boldy is one of the most interesting right now. He made an excellent debut last season (15 goals, 24 points, 39 points in 47 games) as a 20-year-old rookie. Players who are good, agile and at that age tend to go on to have very successful careers. Wild needed that from him immediately.

The islanders’ season is still a big question because Lou Lamoriello never felt the need to tell anyone he signed or acquired. The list itself is now largely unchanged, meaning any improvement will have to come from within. The defense is looking really good with Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock up front. But Dobson is the real player to look at here as a potential game changer. He had a breakout season for the Islanders in 2021-22 and it looks like he’s well on his way to becoming a top NHL defender.

While the knockouts were a disappointing performance for the Florida Panthers, the 2021-22 season is a huge step forward for the team. They finished with the best of the league to win the franchise’s first Presidents Cup, while also becoming the first team in over 25 years to average more than 4 goals per game all season. prize. The offense is legal and will continue this season with the addition (and re-signing) of Matthew Tkachuk. Lundell is also an intriguing development for the Panthers as the rookie showcases top attack ability and an advanced defensive game for his age. The 2020 first-round pick (no 12 overall) has great timing potential and will be a core foundation for the team for many years to come.

The 2021-22 season sees a number of Ducks strikers make significant strides such as Troy Terry had a boom year and Trevor Zegras became a superstar and one of the league’s unmissable talents. This year, they need the same thing to happen to Drysdale on the blue line. He’s shown a lot of promise this past season and if the Ducks progress in rebuilding (it’s not really a rebuild), they’ll need a young defender to move forward and leading the charge. Drysdale is a player with that potential and that ability. If he does, Duck’s core suddenly looks a lot stronger.

This will be essential for the Golden Knights to recover from a bitterly disappointing 2021-22 season that had to miss out on the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in franchise history. With Marc-Andre Fleury currently playing for the Minnesota Wild and Robin Lehner during the season, the goalkeeper position now belongs to Thompson in his second year. There’s always a chance the Golden Knights can add someone from outside the organization, but the options are very limited as is the space that limits the team’s salary. As it is now, Thompson would have to be a guy. He showed promise a year ago in his limited action, but this is now a team with many question marks and the goalkeeper is at the top of the list.

Sabers remains in a difficult position as an organization. Their playoff drought is approaching 12 years, they continue to need to rebuild from their previous failed rebuilds, and they have done nothing this season to improve the actual NHL roster. They need Tage ThompsonKyle Okposo, and Jeff Skinner to repeat their great performances from a year ago, and they really need their young defenders to go a long way. That includes their #1 overall picks, Dahlin and Owen Power. Dahlin is entering his fifth season in the NHL, and while he has clearly demonstrated the potential and ability to make him a top pick and highly rated in the draft, he still remains. has not been shown to be consistently high. It’s time for him to show at that level if Saber has a chance to show real progress as a team.