Whether it was playing well in an injury- or suspension-shortened season or getting a change of scenery, look out for these NHL players to stand out again over a full season.

In professional sports, players need immense self-confidence to reach elite levels.

When they hit a rough patch, they can tap into that inner motivation when they’re looking to improve their personal narrative.

Last summer, I picked out six players who were due for bounce-back years in 2023-24. It took longer than expected for Connor Brown to find his footing in Edmonton, but he got there by playoff time. For the other five, things went pretty well.

This summer, I’ve refined my criteria to feature three forwards, two defensemen and a goalie who should stand out in 2024-25. And this year, I’ve stayed away from players who were bought out and vaulted into promising new situations, like Jeff Skinner in Edmonton.

Here are the six bounce-back candidates to watch:

Patrick Kane, Detroit Red Wings

Last season, most NHL teams balked at trusting Kane to come back at his old level after undergoing a serious hip-resurfacing procedure. But 'Showtime' was in full effect once Kane got his feet under him in Detroit. 

He put up 47 points in 50 games and came within a hair’s breadth of pushing the Red Wings back into the post-season while serving up some of the most exciting on-ice moments that Hockeytown has seen since Little Caesars Arena opened in 2017.

After a full summer of training rather than rehab, and on a 35-plus one-year ‘prove it’ deal with a base salary of $4 million plus another $2.5 million in achievable performance bonuses, look for Kane to take his game up another notch this fall. 

As a longtime stalwart of USA Hockey, he'll also be aiming to prove that he shouldn’t be overlooked when it's time to assemble the final rosters for the 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Olympics.

Shane Pinto, Ottawa Senators

After losing the first half of last season to a suspension when he ran afoul of the NHL’s gambling regulations, 23-year-old Pinto finished out the year with nine goals and 27 points in the Senators’ final 41 games. 

That was an uptick in his production rate, and he also showed two-way improvement by flipping a minus-21 rating in 2022-23 into a solid plus-9.

Pinto recently opened up about his suspension, candidly saying he had friends place bets on his U.S. sports-betting account while he was in Canada. That type of proxy-betting arrangement is forbidden in the terms and conditions of every online gambling operator.

But Pinto finished out his season well when he was allowed to get back onto the ice. He should get an even bigger role next season as the Senators look to chase a playoff spot under new coach Travis Green. His career highs are 20 goals and 35 points, so he has a shot at breaking those with a full season.

Barrett Hayton, Utah Hockey Club

Hayton may never grow into the elite No. 1 center that a team hopes to draft with a fifth-overall pick. But the 24-year-old had a solid 19 goals and 43 points while playing all 82 games in 2022-23. Then, injuries limited him to just 10 points in 33 games last season.

Now, the dysfunction of Arizona has been swapped for the optimism of the Utah Hockey Club, which has already made moves to try to deliver a stronger on-ice product that will captivate Salt Lake City’s new NHL fans. 

Young and skilled, Hayton will get first crack at claiming Utah's No. 1 center job, with sniper Clayton Keller riding shotgun.

Hayton will likely be front and center for Utah’s marketing this season. If he can take his game up another notch, he may also become the team’s first true star.

Dougie Hamilton, New Jersey Devils

During the many months that Dougie Hamilton has been rehabbing the pectoral injury he suffered in November, the New Jersey Devils have remade themselves. They could be the most-improved team in the NHL this fall.

At long last, the Devils will have a true No. 1 goalie in Jacob Markstrom. And under the watchful eye of new coach Sheldon Keefe, Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon should help stabilize the defense corps that suddenly got very young when Hamilton was injured last season.

If the Devils shoot back up the Metropolitan Division standings and last season’s 3.43 goals against per game shrink to a more respectable number, Hamilton’s Norris Trophy bona fides might be back in the conversation once again. He finished fourth in the voting in 2020-21, his last year in Carolina.

Hamilton also earned bonus points for his chef’s-kiss delivery of the Devils’ 2024-25 schedule.

Shea Theodore, Vegas Golden Knights

The Vegas Golden Knights made it through their Stanley Cup run in surprisingly good health. But the short, celebratory Summer of '23 may have taken a toll on the health of some players.

Big-minute defenseman Alex Pietrangelo was limited to 64 games in 2023-24, and Shea Theodore played just 47 games — although he still managed to put up a solid 42 points.

Both Pietrangelo and Theodore have maxxed out at just over 50 points in their careers. But at 34, Pietrangelo may have a tougher time returning to peak form than Theodore, who turns 29 in August. 

New addition Noah Hanifin will be a helping hand. He can log plenty of minutes and shouldn’t steal too much power-play time away from Theodore, who has long been Vegas's main blueline weapon with the man advantage.

Darcy Kuemper, Los Angeles Kings

On July 1, 2017, the Los Angeles Kings signed 27-year-old Darcy Kuemper to a one-year contract at a cap hit of $650,000. 

Playing behind Jonathan Quick as the Kings slid into the abyss after their Stanley Cup wins, Kuemper put up an impressive 10-1-3 record and .932 save percentage in 19 games before being flipped to Arizona for Scott Wedgewood and Tobias Rieder ahead of the 2018 trade deadline.

Fast forward seven years. Kuemper is back for an encore in the City of Angels — this time carrying three more years at a cap hit of $5.25 million on the deal he signed with Washington after winning the 2022 Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche.

The fit wasn’t good with the Capitals. It was Kuemper’s first time playing in the Eastern Conference, playing on an aging team in transition. And as last season went on, he lost his starting job as Charlie Lindgren stepped up to get Washington into the post-season.

By trading for Kuemper, the Kings addressed a need, after salary-cap limitations forced them to go through last year with bargain-priced Cam Talbot, David Rittich and Pheonix Copley. They also ridded themselves of the long-term $8.5-million cap hit attached to Pierre-Luc Dubois. The bottom line is a net saving of $3.25 million for the next three years and even more cap flexibility after that.

The Kings made some transitions of their own last season, including the move to new head coach Jim Hiller. But their strong defensive structure remains an organizational foundation. That’s great for goalies, and it should bring out the best in Kuemper.

A Saskatchewan kid who came up through the WHL, Kuemper is well-suited to Western Conference living. Once the Kings make him comfortable, expect to see him revert to the strong form that we saw in Colorado, Arizona and, in 2017, in Los Angeles.

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