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The NHL season began in North America, but the predictions continue.
In the last two weeks, The Hockey News polled 56 editors and digital correspondents on more than 30 topics regarding the 2024-25 NHL season. We unveiled the first batch of predictions on Tuesday, which included the Stanley Cup champion, Hart Trophy winner and more major award winners.
This next batch of predictions includes who will reach another level, who may take a step back, who could get fired and more. Adam Proteau has the analysis.
Who Will Be The First Coach Fired?
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Analysis: The Pittsburgh Penguins’ Mike Sullivan is the second-longest-tenured NHL coach at the moment. He will celebrate nine years – a lifetime-and-a-half, in NHL coaching terms – as of this December. But with the Penguins likely being a fringe playoff team at best, Sullivan is under massive pressure to produce a solid season, and he could very well be the NHL’s first bench boss dismissed this season.
Narrowly behind Sullivan in this category is the Detroit Red Wings’ Derek Lalonde. He also needs to avoid a major losing streak at all costs, or Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman could look for his replacement sooner than later.
Which GM Is Feeling The Heat The Most?
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Analysis: This category had a tie for first between two Atlantic Division rivals – the Buffalo Sabres and GM Kevyn Adams and the Boston Bruins and GM Don Sweeney. The Sabres must end their 13-year streak of no Stanley Cup playoff hockey to save Adams’ job. And Sweeney needs his team to go at least as far as it did last year – when it made it to the second round of the playoffs – to calm the waters in Beantown. (Full transparency: most of the reasoning for the Sweeney votes included the contract saga between the Bruins and Jeremy Swayman, which ended last Sunday.)
Here are some other comments from voters in this category:
“The East is a gauntlet, and that’s especially true for the Atlantic. The Sabres have some core pieces, but Adams hasn’t built a team to compete around them, and that’s going to be a tall task within his division.”
“Sweeney: Team could be in decline after years of domination, and his handling of the crease situation has an early spotlight on him.”
“Steve Yzerman: Long time as GM with no playoffs. Need some sort of result.”
“Despite being one of the NHL’s stronger franchises over the past few seasons, the Carolina Hurricanes have yet to get past the third round of the playoffs. After taking the reins from Waddell and as a bit of an outsider as an analytics-driven GM, Eric Tulsky has a lot of pressure on him to succeed this season.”
Related: NHL Writers Poll: Predicting The Stanley Cup Champion And Major Award Winners In 2024-25
Which Player Is Due For A Breakout Season?
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Analysis: Some might argue Kings center Quinton Byfield already had a breakout year last season, as the 22-year-old posted career highs in goals (20), assists (35) and points (55). But more voters picked Byfield to do even better this year than anyone else in this category. Close behind Byfield is Blue Jackets sophomore center Adam Fantilli, who generated 12 goals and 27 points in only 49 games last season.
Canadiens youngster Juraj Slafkovsky and Stars up-and-comer Logan Stankoven also got a decent amount of votes to break out this year. To be sure, they’re both very important to their teams’ chances of success. Slafkovsky had a terrific sophomore season last year, with 20 goals and 50 points in 82 games, while Stankoven amassed eight assists and 14 points in his first 24 NHL games with Dallas last year. The only question is how much better they’re going to be.
Which Team Is Due For A Breakout Season?
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Analysis: The Ottawa Senators have strived for a breakout year for a while now, but they’ve regularly been a disappointment and forced a change in management and coaching. But voters liked what new GM Steve Staios and coach Travis Green have to work with roster-wise, as the Sens got eight more votes than the second-place Utah Hockey Club.
Utah made a slew of moves this summer, including adding defensemen Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino – and many pundits believe the franchise is positioned for a strong year and possibly their first playoff berth in the past five seasons.
Related: Ottawa Senators’ Linus Ullmark Hopes Re-Signing Helps ‘Change Things For The Better’
Which Player Will Have A Setback?
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Analysis: Panthers star winger Sam Reinhart posted his best NHL season yet in 2023-24, generating 57 goals and 94 points – 24 goals and 12 points better than his previous career highs. But voters believe the 28-year-old could take a step back this season, and that’s not a stretch of a guess. Reinhart could indeed regress, as his new annual salary of $8.625 million increases expectations of him exponentially.
In second place is Oilers winger Zach Hyman – who had a career-best 54 goals last season – and tied for third is Edmonton teammate Leon Draisaitl, whose numbers already dipped from the 2022-23 campaign (52 goals, 128 points) to last year (41 goals, 106 points). Draisaitl agreed to an eight-year contract extension that increases his salary from $8.5 million this year to $14 million in 2025-26, so he’s under pressure to return to peak form as soon as possible – but there could be a world where Draisaitl’s numbers drop for a second consecutive year.
Related: Three Key Oilers Likely to Face Offensive Regression in 2024-25
Which Team Will Have A Setback?
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Analysis: The Carolina Hurricanes lost quite a few veterans this summer – including defensemen Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei and forwards Teuvo Teravainen, Stefan Noesen and Evgeny Kuznetsov – so it’s understandable why more voters picked them as the team most likely to have a setback than any other. Close behind are the new-look Lightning, which lost former captain Steven Stamkos and star defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, as well as the Kings and Bruins, who’ve made notable changes this off-season.
Which Canadian Team Will Go The Furthest?
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Analysis: The Edmonton Oilers were far and away the most popular pick in this category, with nearly three times as many votes as the Maple Leafs, the next top choice to go furthest in the playoffs. In a significant surprise, the Canucks finished a distant third, followed by just one vote apiece for the Senators and Jets.
Edmonton nearly won the Cup last season, so it makes perfect sense for writers to see them as the biggest threat to go all the way this year. But Toronto is notably improved in the eyes of many, and although Vancouver is still a threat to win the Pacific Division, the Canucks have a tremendous hurdle to try to clear in the form of the Oilers once the post-season begins.
The Canucks fell in seven games to Edmonton in the second round last post-season, but one more win this year could propel them to the Western Conference final and beyond. And Edmonton could take a step backward, opening the door to the Canucks and Leafs to be the most successful Canadian squad.
Related: No Demko? No Problem. The Canucks Look Ready For The Regular Season
Which Team Will Have The Best Odds Of Winning The Draft Lottery?
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Analysis: This question basically asks which teams will finish the lowest in the NHL this season. The Blue Jackets and Sharks were the picks to finish at the bottom of the standings and secure the best chances of winning the 2025 draft lottery.
Below them in the voting are four teams – the Flames, Ducks, Canadiens and Blackhawks – which are all undergoing rebuilds in some form. And somewhat surprisingly, Utah and Detroit rounded out the voting with one vote each. If either Utah HC and the Red Wings do get the best pick in the draft, it will mean they underachieved tremendously in the regular season this year. Far more likely is a basement finish from San Jose or Columbus, and that’s probably what both teams need at this stage in their development.
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