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Good morning, hockey friends. We are mere days away from real NHL happenings on the ice, so we’re here to get you set for what’s next.
Key dates as the NHL gets set to return
First up on the calendar: prospect events. A lot of teams have taken to connecting with a handful of other clubs to have their young players compete in mini-tournaments, most of which begin at the end of next week.
It’s worth checking your team’s website for exact dates, but the majority are in this upcoming five-day window.
• Sept. 11 – 15: NHL prospect camps and tournaments
• Sept. 17: Most NHL main training camps open
• Sept. 20: First preseason game (Blues at Stars)
• Oct. 4: Final preseason games (22 teams in action)
• Oct. 6: Final roster and cap compliance deadline (cut to 23 players by 5 p.m. ET)
• Oct. 7: Regular season begins
That’s a whole lot happening all in the next four and a half weeks.
The 10 most intriguing teams to watch
Here are my picks for the 10 teams whose training camps will be worth keeping an eye on.
10. New York Islanders
After an injury-plagued 82-point season and dealing away Brock Nelson and Noah Dobson, the Isles aren’t getting a lot of attention coming into the year. With No. 1 pick Matthew Schaefer — who turns 18 tomorrow — trying to make the team and KHL star Maxim Shabanov another camp wild-card, plus new GM Mathieu Darche’s positive early returns, there are reasons for intrigue here.
9. San Jose Sharks
Sure, the Sharks were awful last season, with a league-worst 52 points, but every game I tuned into was still worth a watch. Macklin Celebrini is an incredible talent who could supernova as a sophomore, and the two Wills — Smith and Eklund — are likely to take another step, too. If Michael Misa cracks the roster out of camp, that’s a whole lot of the future contributing in the present. Plus, Yaroslav Askarov is going to get a lot of runway in net.
8. Dallas Stars
It clearly took Mikko Rantanen a little time to adjust after two huge trades from the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes, but in the playoffs he showed how much of a difference-maker he can be. The Stars will need him to be after shedding a bunch of their forward depth, with Mason Marchment, Mikael Granlund and Evgeni Dadonov moved to fit in another big salary. Is a next step from Mavrik Bourque the answer?
7. Carolina Hurricanes
Speaking of the Canes, they have certainly been busy. Add Nikolaj Ehlers and K’Andre Miller to other recent newcomers Logan Stankoven, Taylor Hall and Alexander Nikishin, and that’s a pretty substantial core makeover over the last six months. Apparently more could be coming, too. How will it all fit together? And will it be enough for them to take the next step?
6. Utah Mammoth
Grafting JJ Peterka onto a lineup that’s already filled with talented young scorers should help Utah improve on their somewhat anemic offensive showing last year. Could one or two of their younger prospects like Tij Iginla surprise and make an immediate impact, as well? If so, this might be a fun season in Wasatch country.
5. Toronto Maple Leafs
There’s always a lot of eyes on the Leafs, but this training camp it’ll be more about who they lost than who they added. GM Brad Treliving is attempting to replace one of the top offensive talents in the league (Mitch Marner) with a depth approach, and it’s anyone’s guess right now who’ll get that plum assignment alongside Auston Matthews on the top line. Plus, there’s an outside shot top prospect Easton Cowan can win a role with a strong showing. Plenty is up in the air up front for Toronto.
4. Anaheim Ducks
One of an incredible nine teams with a new head coach this season, the Ducks went big (and controversial) behind the bench by signing Joel Quenneville. He takes over a group that mixes a pile of compelling young talent (led by Leo Carlsson) with a couple new greybeards (Chris Kreider and Granlund). If Lukas Dostal stands on his head again, there’s an outside shot this is a playoff team in the weak Pacific.
3. Montreal Canadiens
I thought about putting the Habs first, though it’s also possible the leaguewide hype train is getting a little out of control. While this remains a roster with some key holes (i.e. 2C), they’re also just a ton of fun, and adding Noah Dobson, Zack Bolduc and a full season of Ivan Demidov only makes them even better must-see TV. I think they’re the real deal.
2. Vegas Golden Knights
Replacing Alex Pietrangelo with Marner is about as seismic a change as you can get for a contender. How this blue line holds up without their veteran stalwart and how Marner plays away from Matthews will be just two things to watch early in the year. There’s not really a youth movement coming and some around the league are forecasting a step back, but there’s still a lot of talent here.
1. Edmonton Oilers
Like it or not, the Connor McDavid contract talk is going to be a massive storyline until there’s a resolution. Combine that with Edmonton coming off two consecutive losses in the Stanley Cup Final, a couple interesting rookies penciled into the top six entering camp and massive questions in goal, and the Oilers are going to be leading the news cycle regularly this fall. McDavid isn’t the only one wondering if this team is any better…
(David Kirouac / Imagn Images)Calder Talk with Corey, Scott and Max
To drill down further on what’s a very compelling class of youngsters this fall, I turned to our three prospect experts — Corey Pronman, Scott Wheeler and Max Bultman — for some analysis.
The betting markets seem to love Demidov as the favorite, which would mean back-to-back Calder Trophies for rookie of the year for the Habs. Our trio agree — but with one caveat: Wild defenseman Zeev Buium could mount a real challenge as he joins Minnesota’s blue line after lighting up the NCAA with the University of Denver.
As for some other potential candidates?
Pronman: “Berkly Catton would be my dark horse if he makes Seattle.”
Bultman: “Nikishin a possible sleeper? Although I feel like the voters don’t like the older rookies.”
Wheeler: “Zayne Parekh in Calgary is a wild-card if he sticks. And there’s a chance Isaac Howard or Matt Savoie get blessed with a certain linemate in Edmonton.”
For more prospect coverage, check out Corey’s Under 23 rankings and our latest NHL prospect podcast.
MirTrivia, offseason edition💡: Sergei Makarov was famously the oldest winner of the Calder Trophy when the long-time CSKA Moscow star was named the NHL’s rookie of the year shortly before his 32nd birthday back in 1990. But who was the youngest player to ever win it, accepting the Calder while still only 18 years old? The answer is below and here’s a hint: He’s still active.
Coast to Coast
Not dialed into the hockey news cycle yet? Red Light 🚨 can help. Here are some of our top items from the past seven days you may have missed.
💸 One big piece of news: the NHL’s playoff salary cap is being implemented right away. Pierre LeBrun has reactions from a host of GMs, all of whom are gathered for meetings in Detroit in advance of the season. (My take? Making in-season trades just got a lot trickier.)
🤔 McDavid’s contract extension isn’t the only one top of mind right now in the NHL. The Wild also have a massive one to get signed with Kirill Kaprizov, something they’re optimistic will happen relatively painlessly.
🏒 Which of the NHL’s rebuilds are on track to contend the fastest? (Hint: There’s some bad news for some of the league’s biggest markets.)
🥇 Good stuff from CJ on how Sidney Crosby remains such a huge weapon for Team Canada as they prepare to return to the Olympics in Italy next February.
We’ll be your fantasy
Early September means it’s time to dust off your hockey pool account, pick your keepers and start doing your research. (I think I’m sticking with Auston Matthews and Connor Hellebuyck, plus maybe a late-rounder in Kirill Marchenko, in The Athletic company pool.)
Thankfully Dom and Shayna have their fantasy hockey cheat sheet ready to go right on schedule. I highly recommend using this as at least a starting guide to your draft, as it incorporates whatever scoring settings your pool has to customize the list, unlike many other fantasy tools.
The only issue? If Dom and Shayna are actually in your pool — and everyone else you’re up against also uses it — it kind of nullifies the advantage. But that might just be a me problem.
Your MirTrivia answer…
Nathan MacKinnon was still more than a couple months from turning 19 when he won the Calder back in 2014, beating out Jeff Skinner (2011) as the youngest winner by a few months. MacKinnon’s Sept. 1 birthday meant he was only two weeks from being bumped to the 2014 draft rather than going first overall to the Avs in 2013.
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(Top photo: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)