The NHL off-season featured a plethora of storylines and drama, which raised the pressure on a few players to prove their worth.

One team virtually tabbed someone as the solution to their problems, while another team just paid a lot of money to get one of their most important players under contract. Then there are players who featured heavily in speculation about their futures. All of them will look to have one of their best seasons yet to show why they live up to the hype.

Here are those players, with more video analysis from Katie Gaus, Michael Traikos and Ryan Kennedy.

Markstrom wasn’t to blame for the chaos surrounding him last season. The Calgary Flames began a rebuild, and despite Markstrom being involved in trade rumors and nearly getting moved, the deal fell through. The Flames ultimately put him in a difficult spot.

The Flames eventually did deal Markstrom a couple of months later to the New Jersey Devils, a team that needs to rebound from last season's playoff miss. The Devils lacked consistently good goaltending, and the pressure is now on Marksrtom to help this club get back into contention. 

He's got two seasons remaining on his deal, and should the 34-year-old not perform, he could have trouble seeking a good deal with anyone in the summer of 2026 as goaltenders try to reset the market.

It's not a good feeling when you know a team doesn't want you. That's kind of been the narrative with the New York Rangers, where there was speculation the team tried to move on from Trouba, and he used his no-trade list as leverage to prevent a move.

Despite the trade speculation, Trouba told The Athletic he's happy to still be with the team and knows business is just business. Still, the pressure is on to show that he's worth the money the Rangers are paying him. Several fans have already turned on the player, thinking he's stopping the club from making other moves. It will be up to him to show he still has value.

Trouba is aware this could be his last run with the team. If the Rangers falter this season, he'll be the first player that management looks to as a scapegoat. 

Marner is in the final season of his six-year contract worth about $10.9 million per year. His next deal will be a massive contract, likely making him one of the highest-paid players in the NHL. This isn't to say that Marner isn't worth it, but seeing as the Leafs have huge money tied up into the same core that has repeatedly failed to make it far in the playoffs, Marner may take most of the heat.

The new Amazon docuseries may not have helped Marner's cause either. In the first episode, the audio from William Nylander snapping at Marner and Matthews clearly shows Marner throwing his gloves in frustration. Matthews is the team's new captain who almost scored 70 goals last season, so the heat shifts to Marner. Considering he had 85 points in 69 games last season and three 90-point campaigns in his career, Marner likely has what it takes to show everybody why he's worth a raise in his cap hit, no matter where he ends up.

No storyline had more drama this pre-season than the one involving Jeremy Swayman and the Boston Bruins. The Bruins called out their goaltender, insinuating he declined a $64-million extension offer. Swayman's agent said they didn't get that offer, and it looked like things were going in a bad direction. Ultimately, Swayman signed for $66 million with an eight-year deal worth $8.25 million per season. 

Having played only 132 regular-season games in his career, it will be up to Swayman to prove he's worth the kind of money the Bruins just gave him. This was a big investment, and the team had to trade Linus Ullmark because he and Swayman wanted to play 55 games. The Bruins felt Swayman was their guy, so after holding out and getting a massive payday, the focus turns to the on-ice play.

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