From the NHL’s best teams to the San Jose Sharks, everyone faces plenty of burning questions heading into the 2023-24 season.
Let’s ponder one big, looming factor for all 32 squads with the campaign set to begin on Tuesday.
How big a factor was coaching in their disastrous defense?
The historically bad 2022-23 Ducks allowed the most goals (4.09) of any team of the salary cap era. Look at their roster and you won’t mistake it for the Niedermayer-Pronger days, but you figure Greg Cronin can tighten things up.
What qualifies as success for this team?
Can the Coyotes strike a balance between developing young players like Logan Cooley and pumping up their trade deadline rentals? They can start building something even if their arena situation remains unresolved.
How well will they handle the losses of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci?
No doubt, the center position sticks out like a sore thumb for a team that set regular-season records in 2022-23. Can the Bruins lean on strengths at the wing, on defense and possibly in net to remain among the cream of the crop?
Will defense and goaltending negate their explosive offense?
As revelatory as the Sabres were last season, they nonetheless allowed four more goals than they scored. Totally hitting the brakes would be shameful, but Buffalo needs to find a better balance between going full speed and getting some stops.
Buy or sell?
The Flames are overflowing with crucial contract-year decisions. If they keep players like Elias Lindholm around, they could lurk in the playoff picture — whether that’s a wise big-picture choice or not.
Can they finally score enough to break through?
Carolina somehow made its defense even better by adding Dmitry Orlov. At some point, you have to score goals, though, so we’ll see if Carolina can add that extra “oomph.”
How rapidly does Connor Bedard change their trajectory?
Generational talents can turn their teams around with blinding speed. Considering how much the rebuild process burned this team to the ground, Bedard and Chicago’s other interesting products have a lot of work to do.
Is the supporting cast up to snuff?
The Avalanche are banking on a series of additions (including Ryan Johansen as their likely 2C) to supplement their world-class star talent. The jury’s out on those gambles actually paying off.
Can Pascal Vincent hold this together?
Talk about getting thrown right into the deep end as an NHL head coach. With upper management almost drowning in flop sweat, Vincent needs to get the most out of an expensive, flawed roster — all while trying to avoid the franchise’s PR disasters on and off the ice.
Is there enough on defense beyond Miro Heiskanen?
Once top-heavy on offense, Matt Duchene could make the Stars balanced — and thus, scary. Assuming Jake Oettinger’s playoff struggles were a mere hiccup, the main issue for Dallas is a defense that looks thin beyond Heiskanen. Trusting Thomas Harley more and Ryan Suter less would be a nice start.
Is their top-end talent actually elite?
Aside from nabbing Alex DeBrincat, the Red Wings have largely focused on (rather expensive) fringe improvements instead of aggressive bids at upgrading their core. So, then: will their young pillars create a sound foundation for genuine contention?
Can they get adequate goaltending?
The Oilers aren’t perfect, but this is about as complete a group as we’ve seen around Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. A team with improved defense and bolstered depth will still need some saves from Stuart Skinner and/or Jack Campbell, though.
Will they weather injuries to Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour?
Last season, the Panthers made things work with a defense that didn’t seem so hot on paper. Considering injuries and the loss of Radko Gudas, they face an even bigger uphill battle in their own end for at least part of the 2023-24 season.
Will they miscast Pierre-Luc Dubois?
As a nasty and skilled player with prototypical size, Dubois is the type of player NHL teams sometimes expect too much from. Ideally, the Kings play to his strengths (scoring, net-front nastiness) while letting their quality two-way players handle heavier defensive burdens.
Who is the “real” Filip Gustavsson?
With a sparkling .931 save percentage, Gustavsson could have made Vezina noise if he didn’t more or less come out of nowhere. As impressive as he was, that accounted for only 39 of his 66 career NHL starts. If Gustavsson’s even 85% of that goalie (at least behind Minnesota’s defense), then watch out. That’s a big if, though.
How long will the Martin St. Louis honeymoon phase last?
It’s charming but confusing to see the Canadiens awash in positive vibes. Isn’t this a really bad team spending money really poorly? The mood might change if Nick Suzuki and other key (quite expensive) players truly stall.
What exactly are they doing?
The Predators paid players (Matt Duchene, Ryan Johansen) a bunch of money not to play for them, then spent more than they should have on aging veterans Ryan O’Reilly and Luke Schenn. These are strange activities for a should-be rebuilding team. My fear is that they pull a Ducks-John Gibson situation and don’t realize that they should trade Juuse Saros before they ruin him with terrible team support.
Should we expect growing pains?
Even the Devils’ boosters likely didn’t expect the team to nearly win the Metro last season. When a team enjoys a meteoric rise, it sometimes stumbles a bit during the encore. With shaky goaltending and a younger defense that may take time to get its bearings, maybe the Devils will absorb some body blows in 2023-24.
Will a push for more offense pay off?
It’s been noted that these Islanders aren’t Barry Trotz’s team; that they opened things up, with Ilya Sorokin cleaning up enough messes for many not to notice. Allow a question: is that actually wise? Yes, Bo Horvat adds more scoring, but not enough to change what’s most likely to work for this team (defense and Sorokin). Maybe the Isles just need to embrace the yawn.
Was Gerard Gallant holding them back?
In times good and bad, people have criticized Gallant’s systems and his fixation on tough guys who aren’t particularly useful hockey players. Peter Laviolette may not exactly be on the cutting edge, but if Gallant really was dragging the Rangers down, we may see big jumps. Perhaps some of their high draft picks might even look more like high draft picks?
Are all of those $8M players actually worth it?
Frighteningly, the Senators might have put the cart before the horse. They might be spending money before they make it (in terms of, you know, winning). With a new owner, there may not be a ton of patience for the status quo.
Is John Tortorella the right coach for a rebuild?
Torts seems like the sort of coach who can derail a tank job by squeezing out loser points. He also doesn’t profile as someone with the nuanced touch to support young talent. Maybe Tortorella will be a pleasant surprise, but his types haven’t exactly thrived lately.
Can this old team stay healthy?
It’s not a great sign when 33-year-old Erik Karlsson is an injection of youth compared to 36-and-over icons Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. Three of those players were curiously healthy last season. That injury luck could run out in 2023-24.
San Jose Sharks
Will they win some trades for once?
Simply put, nothing should be sacred for the Sharks, at least when it comes to players currently on their roster. They didn’t get maximum value in other trades because they weren’t proactive.
What does this team look like when the bounces balance out?
Long story short, the Kraken scored on more shots than they should have last season, but so did their opponents. Will they get more saves as their shooting luck fizzles?
St. Louis Blues
Did last year exaggerate their problems?
The Blues aren’t exactly operating like a team that knows it should probably rebuild. So, if Craig Berube cannot turn around a $30M defense that’s pretty awful on paper, but the Blues think someone else can, they might want to act. (It’s probably not Berube’s fault.)
Can they stay afloat while Andrei Vasilevskiy heals?
For some time, the Lightning got away with leaning on Vasilevskiy like few teams lean on modern NHL goalies. That fell apart this summer, so now they face the challenge of surviving for months without their workhorse netminder.
Toronto Maple Leafs
They got nastier, but did they get more reckless?
An old-timer might label Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi and Ryan Reaves as “playoff players” for their roughness. That grit sometimes comes at a price, though, as each could easily take brutal penalties at key moments.
Which Thatcher Demko will show up?
Entering last season, Demko made the short list of reliable elite young goalies. The wheels fell off during that 2022-23 season, yet if he can regain his previous form, the Canucks’ playoff chances would surge.
Pondering the threat of Father Time
Aside from Jack Eichel, the Golden Knights revolve around players hoping to fight off the “aging curve.” With a shorter break thanks to a Stanley Cup run, veteran players are more susceptible to fatigue and injuries.
Are aging icons still stars (or even healthy)?
The Capitals’ hopes hinge on the health and viability of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson, T.J. Oshie and other older players. Even Darcy Kuemper is 33.
Winnipeg Jets
Buy or sell (part 2)?
With both Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck already 30 years old, the Jets face a question of not just could but should they re-sign those big names? Like the Flames, the Jets could be competitive if they keep them, but that’s not necessarily a wise long-term view.
