The NHL’s hierarchy might not change much in 2024-25.
Despite a busy offseason around the league, the established tiers of contenders, bubble teams and bottom-feeders hardly were disrupted.
That means the playoff field next spring might look very similar to the playoff field last spring, aside from an upstart team or two, such as the Devils. And the four 2024 conference finalists — the Panthers, Rangers, Oilers and Stars — again are the favorites to claim the top seeds in each division.
The Blackhawks, meanwhile, probably won’t make much noise in the leaguewide race, despite their summer upgrades. There are plenty of teams further along in the rebuilding process (albeit with lower long-term ceilings) who also remain stuck on the perimeter.
Every NHL season packs some surprises. But until things get underway — starting with opening night Tuesday — and those surprises reveal themselves, the Sun-Times’ projected standings for 2024-25 are rather predictable:
CENTRAL DIVISION
1. Stars: They remain one of the toughest teams in the Western Conference, thanks to a balanced, deep lineup at every position and a nice mix of old and young talent.
Up-and-coming star Wyatt Johnston will replace retired Joe Pavelski on the top forward line — next to Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz — and Miro Heiskanen continues to anchor the defense. A bounce-back season from goalie Jake Oettinger would make the Stars a complete team.
2. Avalanche: Their four-man core of Nathan MacKinnon (the Hart Trophy winner), Mikko Rantanen, Cale Makar and Devon Toews isn’t going anywhere.
Whether Valeri Nichushkin (suspended after two years of off-ice chaos) and Gabriel Landeskog (attempting a comeback after two years of knee surgeries) play this season — and how soon they play if they do — might determine the Avalanche’s fate.
3. Predators: They surprisingly qualified for the playoffs last season and then made the biggest splashes in free agency this summer, demonstrating general manager Barry Trotz’s lofty ambitions for this historically middle-of-the-pack organization.
Adding Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei to a core of Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi and Juuse Saros makes the Predators a formidable team.
4. Wild: They missed the playoffs for only the second time in 12 years last season, but they should be in the mix again this season.
They have a borderline superstar in Kirill Kaprizov, a shutdown defensive forward in Joel Eriksson Ek and two young talents in Matt Boldy and Brock Faber. The rest of the lineup is uninspiring, however.
5. Jets: Reigning Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck singlehandedly carried an otherwise-mediocre Jets team to 110 points last season, but the volatility of goaltending makes their dependence on him worrisome.
If his save percentage slips from .921 to .910 or so this season (as it did in 2021-22), the Jets might be in trouble.
6. Utah: Utah inherited a promising forward group — headlined by Clayton Keller and featuring young talents Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther and Josh Doan — and acquired stud defensemen Mikhail Sergachev to round things out.
On the other hand, they’re inexperienced, lack a game-breaking star and will have to shed the ghosts of Arizona.
7. Blackhawks: Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, Alec Martinez and the other new additions make the Hawks more competent, but they’re still very reliant on Connor Bedard to provide all of their star power. It’ll be another couple of years until every facet of this roster stacks up favorably against the upper-echelon teams in the league.
Unless 19-year-old Bedard turns into Connor McDavid overnight, the Hawks reaching 80 points would be a successful season.
8. Blues: They have appeared rudderless for a while now, and although they exceeded expectations to reach 92 points last season, it feels as though the bottom could fall out at any moment. The defensive corps is one of the worst in the league, and enigmatic goalie Jordan Binnington is due to regress.
PACIFIC DIVISION (playoff teams in bold)
Might the Oilers follow the Panthers’ blueprint and evolve from Stanley Cup losers one season to winners the next? With McDavid, newly extended Leon Draisaitl and a retooled supporting cast around them, that outcome seems plausible.
The Canucks cemented themselves as an upper-tier team last season, whereas the Kings’ ascent seems to have stalled at a lower level. The Flames have launched themselves into a full rebuild and might be one of the worst teams in the league, but it will be difficult for them to be worse than the Sharks.
1. Oilers
2. Canucks
3. Golden Knights
4. Kings
5. Kraken
6. Ducks
7. Flames
8. Sharks
METROPOLITAN DIVISION
The Rangers’ defeat in the Eastern Conference Final last year continued the postseason curse on Presidents’ Trophy winners. The last team to post the best record in the league and go on to win the Cup remains the 2013 Hawks.
With the Hurricanes likely to take a small step back this season after losing some talent this summer, the Metropolitan looks like the Rangers’ to lose again, although the Devils might be resurgent contenders and the Hurricanes’ heavy-forecheck system tends to defy talent.
1. Rangers
2. Devils
3. Hurricanes
4. Islanders
5. Penguins
6. Flyers
7. Capitals
8. Blue Jackets
ATLANTIC DIVISION
The defending champion Panthers and stacked Maple Leafs are the obvious top two teams in the Atlantic. There’s less certainty about the Lightning and Bruins because of some gradual erosion to the edges of their formerly elite rosters, but it’s still hard to imagine them falling out of the upper half of the division.
The Sabres, Red Wings and Senators all have designs on ending their playoff droughts, and it’s possible one or two could do so if both Eastern wild cards come out of this division.
1. Panthers
2. Maple Leafs
3. Lightning
4. Bruins
5. Sabres
6. Red Wings
7. Senators
8. Canadiens
CONFERENCE FINALS
West: Oilers defeat Stars.
East: Rangers defeat Panthers.
STANLEY CUP FINAL
Oilers defeat Rangers.