NHL: Five Teams Making Waves in the 2024-25 Season

Five teams to watch in the 2024-25 NHL season

With teams hovering around the 20 games played mark, we have already seen plenty of dramatic hockey across the league. The defending champion Florida Panthers have started strongly in the Eastern Conference, as have the Washington Capitals. 

Out west, the Winnipeg Jets have already built a lead in the Central Division, while the Vegas Golden Knights are top of their section as they look to bounce back from a disappointing first-round exit in the 2024 playoffs. 

New Jersey Devils

Injuries were to blame for the New Jersey Devils missing the playoffs last season. The team was flawed too, though, and the front office was proactive in addressing those weaknesses during the offseason.

General manager Tom Fitzgerald improved the goaltending with Jacob Markström and Jake Allen. Several moves were made to fix the defense and depth. Head coach Sheldon Keefe was appointed to help turn over a new leaf, and he looks to have done just that with the defense climbing out of the bottom 10 in expected goals conceded.

It’s too early to say the Devils are definitely a contender. This roster has the talent to go on a deep run in the playoffs, however, and there’s still so much to learn about this team to cover the remainder of the regular season.

Edmonton Oilers

The top choice for the 2025 Stanley Cup according to our NHL predictions, the 9-8 Edmonton Oilers have the second-best expected goal difference in the NHL. This is a team ready to surge up the Western Conference standings after leading the league in expected goals generated last season.

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are a tandem capable of making any team watchable. The Oilers are playing most of the regular season without Evander Kane after surgeries late in the offseason, but that only makes them a more intriguing proposition. 

A heartbreaking end to the 2023-24 season serves as extra motivation for a group that hardly needs it. Led by the best player in the sport, Edmonton has the underlying numbers to fly up the standings in the next few weeks.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Eighth in expected goal difference at the time of writing, the Pittsburgh Penguins have massively underachieved their expected numbers so far. In fact, the 23.87 gap between their goal difference and expected goal difference is the largest in the league.

That suggests Pittsburgh is going to start stringing wins together sooner rather than later. Goaltender Tristan Jarry has not been at his best to start this season, but we can expect his save percentage to improve in the coming weeks.

These Penguins aren’t going to go all the way, but don’t write them off as a playoff team just yet.

Toronto Maple Leafs

The core of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares looks to have one last chance at Stanley Cup glory. Toronto, which has made it out the first round once in eight seasons, had some locker-room tension in the playoffs and nearly dealt Marner in the summer.

An 11-6 start has the Leafs pointing in the right direction. Matthews, Marner, Nylander, and Tavares are capable of carrying this team to a title if they can right their lengthy history of playoff woes. 

New head coach Craig Berube has a reputation for physical play, which is reflected in Toronto averaging the second-most penalty minutes per game. Neutrals are bound to see some big-time fights when the Leafs are involved.

Carolina Hurricanes

This was meant to be a down year for the Carolina Hurricanes after failing to retain Jake Guentzel, Brett Pesce, Brady Skjei, and Teuvo Teravainen in the offseason. 

Instead, Carolina has by far the best expected goal difference in the league and boasts a 13-4 record. Only two teams have amassed more points as of 19th November.

Almost 60% of scoring chances are in the Hurricanes’ favor, and Dmitry Orlov is tied for the second-best plus/minus in the NHL. This Carolina team is much better than anyone reasonably projected, even with their track record of regular season success.