Predicting the NHL’s most improved teams in 2024-25

The NHL offseason is not over yet, but with RFAs signing extensions by the dozen and only a few veteran stragglers left on the open market, it might as well be. By and large, rosters have taken shape. Which teams improved the most in the immediate future? 

With the major news of the summer in the rearview, all that’s left for hockey writers who can’t afford to go on vacation is to ponder such questions, sometimes in neatly arranged tiers. 

Tier 1: The New Jersey Devils

The loaded Devils’ historic mix of bad luck and bad goaltending in 2023-24 is unlikely to repeat itself. 

The New Jersey Devils were a popular pick to take a run at the Stanley Cup last offseason. Big money extensions for Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier ensured a young, dynamic top-six also featuring franchise golden boy Jack Hughes and captain Nico Hischier would remain in place after their 112-point 2022-23 campaign.

The only thing that could sink such a talent-laden roster was the injury bug or the relatively unproven tandem of Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid in net. Those factors combined to create a perfect storm and a terrible season in Newark. Rookies Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec did what they could to keep an injury-ravaged blue line afloat, but by the time GM Tom Fitzgerald brought in veteran goaltender Jake Allen to stop the bleeding (Schmid’s .895 SV% had led the team) behind them, it was too late. The Devils limped to a losing record (38-39-5) and seventh-placed finish as coach Lindy Ruff lost his job.

Fitzgerald has ensured his goalies won’t spoil another season by bringing in towering shot-stopper Jacob Markstrom (.909 career SV%) from the Flames to start ahead of Allen most nights. The team also got bigger and meaner with the additions of lefty defenseman Brenden Dillon (6’4) and net-front grinders Stefan Noesen (6’1) and Paul Cotter (6’2). 

All that’s left is to stay healthy: top blueliner Dougie Hamilton tore his pec early last season, his partner Jonas Siegenthaler was limited to 57 games through various ailments, and Hughes, Hischier, and Meier combined to miss over 40 contests. Their luck can’t be that bad this time around. Right?

Tier 2: High Rollers

After sneaking into the playoffs as wild card teams last season, these clubs are hoping big offseason gambles get them closer to the Cup. 

In his first season as GM of the Nashville Predators, Barry Trotz, who coached the team for over 1,100 games from 1998-2014, patiently built for the future while providing bench boss Andrew Brunette with just enough talent to keep the team relevant in the present. 

The formula was a roaring success; led by superstars Roman Josi (85 P, 24:38 ATOI), Filip Forsberg (48 G, 94 P), and Juuse Saros (league-leading 64 starts), the Preds went on a white-hot run from late February on to wrest the first Wild Card berth from the defending champion Vegas Golden Knights.

Emboldened by what Brunette and the elite trio achieved surrounded by a hodgepodge of veterans, journeymen, and kids, Trotz got them some heavy ordinance this summer. Snagging former Conn Smythe-winner Jonathan Marchessault (42 G) and top UFA puck mover Brady Skjei (47 P, +15) in free agency would have been a dream even if iconic 555-goal sniper Steven Stamkos didn’t fall into their lap. 

Those moves and a surprise 8-year extension for Saros announced that Nashville is going for it while captain Josi is still among the world’s best players. Trotz didn’t spend any prospects or picks on the gambit, so it’s not quite a “Cup or bust” play. With Marchessault and Stamkos’s collective playoff pedigree on board, it’d be tough to spin another first-round exit as a success nonetheless.

Like Brunette in Nashville, Spencer Carbery coached the heck out of a Washington Capitals team that was high on character but low on talent. Alex Ovechkin churned out his 18th 30-goal season as John Carlson led the league in ice time from the blue line, but their supporting cast consisted mostly of C+ young players and serviceable old warhorses like Trevor van Riemsdyk and Nic Dowd.

Capitals’ president of hockey operations Brian MacLellan saw enough to reinvest in his roster, which limped into the playoffs with a -37 goal difference. While the Predators avoided mortgaging their future by doing their business in free agency, the Capitals kept their offseason facelift under budget by targeting talented players whose value had taken a hit in recent seasons.

Pierre-Luc Dubois has all the tools at center but represents a major risk thanks to his ugly contract, reputation as a malcontent, and a career-worst 2023-24 season (40 P, -9). Defenseman Jakob Chykrun (41 P), winger Andrew Mangiapane (.55 points per game since 2019), and goaltender Logan Thompson (.912 career SV%) all come with question marks of their own. For a team with so few reliable contributors in their prime outside of No.1 center Dylan Strome (team-high 67 P), each player will get a chance to prove he’s the real deal. The influx in talent should be enough to land Carbery and the Caps back in the playoffs without all the late-season intrigue.

Tier 3: Playoffs?! PLAYOFFS?!

You kiddin’ me?! A mix of circumstance and opportunism could get these teams back to the dance in 2025.

The Seattle Kraken could not replicate the surprise success of their 2022-23 campaign last season as they failed to return to the playoffs. A precipitous drop in shooting percentage from 11.6% (2nd) in 2022-23 to 9.1% (29th) last year scratched a whopping 72 goals off Seattle’s year-end total and didn’t leave enough offense for Joey Daccord’s heroics in goal (2.46 GAA, .916 SV%) to matter.

GM Ron Francis addressed the issue by luring center Chandler Stephenson and defenseman Brandon Montour, key pieces of the last two Stanley Cup champions, to the Pacific Northwest in free agency. The moves were uncharacteristically reckless by Francis, expensive 7-year pacts that seem destined to age badly: both players are already 30. 

Stephenson and Montour are nonetheless proven in high-leverage roles and will take some pressure off de facto stars Jared McCann (team-high 29 G, 62 P) and Vince Dunn (11 G, 46 P in 59 GP). 

Stephenson’s scoring will take a hit without Mark Stone on his wing, but he still provides new coach Dan Bylsma a 50-point, two-way special teamer down the middle, where 2023 Calder winner Matty Beniers slumped last season. 

Montour won’t ever score 70 points again away from the Panthers’ electric power play, but his physicality and creativity make the Kraken’s blue line more dynamic than ever, especially if he and Dunn are kept separate. 

The new guys don’t change Seattle’s championship timeline (not in a good way at least), but they’ll make the Kraken a factor in a weak Pacific division next season.

Speaking of new guys, Utah Hockey Club has a clear runway to a successful first season in a crowded Central Division. The Central yielded four playoff teams in 2023-24, and while the Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, and Nashville Predators expect to be back in 2025, the rest of the field is wide open.

The Winnipeg Jets lost a handful of primed NHL contributors to free agency. The St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild are still too tight against the cap to improve their flawed rosters. Perhaps Salt Lake City’s shiny new toy can climb to the top of the pile.

The erstwhile ‘Yotes weren’t bad in 2023-24, managing a 19-14-2 record before the New Year before an inexperienced blue line and eventual fire sale caught up to them. Clayton Keller, who has the 10th most points (162) of any winger over the past two seasons, led a burgeoning forward group also featuring 23-year-old playmaker Mattias Macelli (17 G, 57 P) and rookie center Logan Cooley (20 G, 44 P). In goal, Connor Ingram was a revelation with 6 shutouts and a second consecutive .907 SV%.

Free from the worst and stingiest owner in the league, GM Bill Armstong could finally afford to fix his defensive corps this offseason. He extended Juuso Valimaki (team-high +12), and down-lineup puck mover Michael Kesselring before acquiring solid veterans John Marino, 27, and Ian Cole, 35, to round out the bottom four. With Sean Durzi (41 P, team-high 22:43 ATOI) in it for the long haul alongside prized trade acquisition Mikhail Sergachev, the new-look Utah backend is nothing to sneeze at. It might be good enough to power UHC past its stagnant opposition.

Tier 4: Movin’ On Up

Don’t plan the parade yet- these teams would settle for cracking the 80-point mark.

During Connor Bedard’s first season with the Chicago Blackhawks, GM Kyle Davidson signed goaltender Peter Mrazek (.907 SV%), matchup center Jason Dickinson (22 G, +4), and veteran power forward Nick Foligno (37 P, most since 2016-17) to surprise extensions. 

Bedard (22 G, 61 P in 69 GP) and shutdown lefty Alex Vlasic (21:29 ATOPI) were already playing major roles in the show. Teenaged D-man Kevin Korchinski had flashed some of the ability that made him the seventh pick in 2022. Artem Levshunov (No.2 overall) would soon join forwards Frank Nazar (No.12 overall in 2022) and Oliver Moore (No.19 overall in 2023) in a loaded prospect pool.

For the club to make the most of its vaunted pipeline, it had to shed a losing image. That work started with keeping culture guys like Dickinson and Foligno around. It continued this summer when Davidson overhauled the rest of the roster.

2015 Cup winner Teuvo Teravainen, who averaged over 60 points a season for the Carolina Hurricanes, is back in Chicago. He’ll be joined by Tyler Bertuzzi’s motor and scoring production (21 G, 43 P for TOR) in the top six. Alec Martinez, 37, and T.J. Brodie, 34, are past their best but bring professionalism and experience to the Hawks blue line. Laurent Brossoit was among the league’s top backups last season (.927 SV% in 23 GP) and will push hard for Mrazek’s crease.

The upgrades probably won’t end in an immediate return to the playoffs, but the days of AHL-caliber rosters at the United Center are mercifully over.

If the Blackhawks intend to jog the development of their young stars by pairing them with seasoned pros, they’ll hope that formula yields better results than it did for the Columbus Blue Jackets of 2023-24

Mixing seasoned pros like Johnny Gaudreau (whose paltry 60 points led the team) and Ivan Provorov with talented prospects including Adam Fantilli (No. 3 overall in 2023) and Yegor Chinakhov (16 G, 29 P in 53 GP) should have been an exciting on-ice experiment. When the Columbus brass turned it over to Mike Babcock, everything went up in smoke.

No, Babcock didn’t coach the seemingly intriguing roster into the ground. He didn’t coach it at all; the team compelled him to resign when news broke he’d been asking players to show him through their private photos. Just like Toe Blake used to. 

Last-minute replacement Pascal Vincent was reluctant to let the kids play as the Blue Jackets scuffled to another <70-point season. Only two players, Gaudreau and Provorov, churned out 80 healthy games.

The roster won’t be all that different next season, but the culture should be. Babcock is gone. Vincent is gone. Jarmo Kekalainen, GM during the fiasco, is gone. President of hockey operations Don Waddell and head coach Dean Evason are running the show now after successful tenures with successful organizations.

With Gaudreau’s old buddy Sean Monahan (26 G, 59 P in 83 GP) on board, maybe the initial mixture of veteran presence and youthful vigor can yield results after all. It could hardly turn out worse.