Fans of every NHL squad hope their new additions give them a boost after an off-season that featured a ton of player movement. Which ones will have the biggest impact?
Although we often hear how NHL players like to stay with a team once they've put down roots, there was a massive amount of player movement during the 2024 off-season.
Part of the reason was that extra $4.5 million in cap space every team had to play with. That gave GMs more flexibility in roster planning than they've had since the pre-pandemic days.
During a media call on Monday, NHL on TNT analyst Paul Bissonnette suggested that differing philosophies can also lead teams to assign differing values to players. That means one fit could end up better than another, and it might not be on the team the player has called home.
Bissonnette's NHL on TNT colleagues Eddie Olczyk and Anson Carter also shared their thoughts on the new faces in new places that have piqued their interest as we head into the new NHL regular season.
New Jersey Devils
Tom Fitzgerald significantly re-made his roster after watching the New Jersey Devils drop by 41 points in the standings following their playoff run in 2023.
“I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a GM who had a better off-season than ‘Fitzy,’ ” said Bissonnette.
Last Friday, Jacob Markstrom made a dazzling debut in Prague. He stopped 30 shots and saved 2.5 goals above expected, per moneypuck.com, as the Devils downed the Buffalo Sabres 4-1.
“I think he has the ability to make the Devils a final four team in the Eastern Conference,” said Olczyk of the Swedish stopper.
Markstrom will be backed up by fellow 34-year-old Jake Allen, who was picked up from the Montreal Canadiens at the trade deadline last March. He also won his first start of the season in Prague and also allowed just one goal.
Offensively, three new faces led the Devils during their Global Series games — rugged forward Paul Cotter and defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic, who were both picked up in summer trades, and free-agent signing Stefan Noesen, who’s back in Jersey for Round 2 after a five-season run that took him to Pittsburgh, San Jose, Toronto and Carolina.
Tomas Tatar has also returned to the Garden State after a one-year absence. New blueline faces include veteran Brenden Dillon, rookie Seamus Casey and, once he’s healthy, Brett Pesce.
With new coach Sheldon Keefe behind the bench, the Devils will host Keefe’s old team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, as they settle in back home on Thursday.
Nashville Predators
No team made more noise on July 1 than the Nashville Predators, who overshadowed their own eight-year contract extension with Juuse Saros by diving into the deep end of the free agent pool and signing Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei.
The Preds finished strong last season, leading the Western Conference with a record of 20-5-3 over the last two months of the regular season, and gave the Vancouver Canucks a run for their money in the playoffs.
“Barry Trotz has really tried to re-tool the culture there in Nashville,” said Carter.
“Because it’s turned into such a young league, I feel like teams are just moving on from these older players despite their experience and what they’ve accomplished,” added Bissonnette. “I think between Marchessault and Stamkos and Ryan O’Reilly being there, still with a lot to prove in a young man’s game.”
Scott Wedgewood also landed in Smashville as a free agent and will back up Saros.
The Predators will also open their season on Thursday, hosting Wedgewood’s old team, the Dallas Stars.
Seattle Kraken
Hockey pundits were quick to raise their eyebrows over the juicy long-term free-agent deals that the Kraken handed out to Chandler Stephenson and Brandon Montour on July 1.
But Olczyk expects to see a career year from Montour, who’s fresh off his Stanley Cup win with the Florida Panthers.
“I think the responsibility and his ice time is going to go way up,” said Olczyk. “He’s going to play in every situation and I think with the kind of team assembled there by general manager Ron Francis, he will surpass his NHL stats, individually, in Seattle.”
That’s a bold prediction. Last season, Montour posted 33 points in 66 games while averaging 23:27. But in 2022-23, he tied for fifth in scoring by defensemen with 73 points, including 16 goals, and averaged 24:08.
At 30 years old, on a seven-year deal worth a total of $50 million, there’s no time like the present for Montour to reach his career peak. If he does, that’ll go a long way toward pushing Seattle back into playoff contention.
The Kraken will kick off the North American portion of the new season when they host the St. Louis Blues for the first game of ESPN’s triple-header at 4:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Chicago Blackhawks
Pointing at Kyle Davidson's efforts to create a better on-ice environment for Calder Trophy winner Connor Bedard, Bissonnette called the Blackhawks his “off the board” choice for a team with new faces to watch. Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen add offensive punch, while Taylor Hall returns after getting into just 10 games last season. Ilya Mikheyev brings two-way chops up front, and Pat Maroon adds a physical presence and strong dressing-room vibes.
On the back end, Alec Martinez and TJ Brodie should help cut down on the goals against, and 2021 first-rounder Nolan Allan is set to make his NHL debut. New goaltender Laurent Brossoit is starting on the injured list after an excellent 2023-24 campaign with the Winnipeg Jets but could see his first action within a week.
“All the little pickups that Chicago made to surround Bedard with a more competent team, it’s not going to be the doldrums like they went through and San Jose went through last year,” said Bissonnette. “He needs a little bit of protection, in a sense, of other people to take the focus off him in order to flourish to that next level.”
The Blackhawks start their season with a four-game road trip. They’ll begin on Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET at the Delta Center against the Utah Hockey Club, then visit Winnipeg, Edmonton and Calgary.
Chicago’s home-opener is set for Thursday, Oct. 17, when Bedard and company will entertain fellow North Vancouverite and first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks.
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