Every NHL Fanbase's Worst Nightmare for the 2024-25 Season
Training camps have opened for the NHL's 32 clubs.
The start of the regular season is now on the horizon, with the 2024 Global Series between the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils kicking things off on Oct.
4 in Czechia.
This is the period of promise for NHL fans.
For those who are followers of Stanley Cup contenders, it's the anticipation that this season could end by winning hockey's holy grail.
Fans of rebuilding teams hope they'll become playoff contenders, while those with clubs in between will have varying expectations.
Some teams will delight their followers by meeting or exceeding their greatest hopes.
Others, however, could see their dreams for this season dashed by disappointment.
No club is immune from the unexpected, be it injuries, a decline in performance by once-reliable stars, or promising youngsters failing to play up to anticipated standards.
Here's a look at the worst nightmare scenarios for the fanbases of all 32 NHL clubs for 2024-25.
Did we miss something? Can you foresee something more catastrophic than what we've dreamed up? Feel free to let us know in the app comments below.
Several players are under the microscope for the rebuilding Anaheim Ducks.
Winger Cutter Gauthier is starting his first full season, veteran defenseman Cam Fowler is the subject of trade speculation , and promising youngsters Mason McTavish, Leo Carlsson, Pavel Mintyukov, and Olen Zellweger will be expected to take positive steps in their development.
However, most of the focus will be on Trevor Zegras.
Once considered a foundation player, the forward struggled through an injury-shortened 2023-24 with just 15 points in 31 games.
He's frequently surfaced in trade rumors since January.
Entering the second season of his three-year contract , the 23-year-old must get his career back on track.
Another difficult season on his part will hurt the Ducks' offense, leave them spinning their wheels at this stage in their rebuild and raise more distracting questions about his future in Anaheim.
The goaltending tandem of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman ensured the Boston Bruins remained among the league's top teams over the past two seasons.
With Swayman due for a new contract, the team couldn't afford both and opted to trade Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators in June.
As of this writing, contract negotiations between the Bruins and Swayman are ongoing.
He won't report to training camp until a deal is done.
Once that's sorted out, the 25-year-old will handle the starter's job in Boston with veteran Joonas Korpisalo (acquired in the Ullmark trade) serving as his backup.
Swayman, though, could struggle without his friend and mentor, Ullmark, to fall back on.
If he has difficulty meeting the expectations of his new role and contract, the Bruins will be forced to put their fate in the hands of Korpisalo, who's with his fourth team in three seasons, putting their Cup hopes in jeopardy.
The Buffalo Sabres last qualified for the playoffs in 2011 .
An entire generation of players have since come and gone with little to show for it.
There was cause for optimism when they had their best finish in years in 2022-23, narrowly missing the postseason, but a lack of scoring punch sent them tumbling out of contention last season.
Desperate Sabres fans are hoping for an end to this 13-year drought in 2024-25.
This roster is loaded with good young talent led by Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson.
Some, like Dylan Cozens, Jack Quinn and Owen Power, could be ready for breakout performances, while promising youngsters such as Jiri Kulich and Zach Benson could blossom this season.
Long-suffering Sabres fans have heard this tune about their club's rising talent for years.
If they fall flat again, it could be a significant blow to the fanbase's morale, sending them sliding further into apathy and hurting the club's season-ticket base.
On July 22, 2022, the Calgary Flames stunned the hockey world by shipping Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers for winger Jonathan Huberdeau and defenseman MacKenzie Weegar.
It soon became apparent the Panthers got the better of the deal as Tkachuk helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2024.
Weegar has played well for the Flames, but the same cannot be said for Huberdeau.
After scoring a career-high 115 points in his final season with the Panthers, the playmaking left winger has been a disappointment thus far in Calgary, with seasons of 55 and 52 points.
The rebuilding Flames hope for a bounce-back effort from the 31-year-old, who's in the second season of an eight-year contract with an annual cap hit of $10.5 million.
Another 50-point effort will signal they have an aging, fading asset whose expensive contract will take up valuable cap space best used for younger assets.
A deep defense corps was the hallmark of the Carolina Hurricanes' rise among the league's top teams since 2019.
That included two trips to the Eastern Conference Final and three division titles .
Their blue-line depth will be tested this season following the departures of Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce, who formed a solid second pairing for the Hurricanes.
Free-agent additions Shayne Gostisbehere and Sean Walker will be expected to fill the gap , while Jalen Chatfield will get a heavier workload this season.
However, those three aren't on the same skill level as Skjei and Pesce.
If they have difficulty adjusting, it'll put a heavier burden on Jaccob Slavin, Dmitry Orlov and the 39-year-old Brent Burns, leading to an increase in defensive breakdowns and turnovers that could drop the Hurricanes into playoff-bubble status.
Connor Bedard's debut last season went very well for Chicago.
The 19-year-old led his club and all rookies in scoring with 61 points in 68 games despite missing 14 games with a fractured jaw, winning the Calder Memorial Trophy .
After the painful rebuilding process under general manager Kyle Davidson since 2022, the center's performance provided a boost of optimism for Chicago and its fans.
He is expected to build on his rookie performance this season, improving the team's placement in the standings.
That hope could crumble if Bedard suffers the dreaded sophomore slump that often hits promising youngsters in their second NHL season as opponents are more aware of their abilities.
The young Chicago star will be under increasing scrutiny this season, creating pressure that he could find difficult to adjust to compared to his rookie campaign.
Entering training camp, the Colorado Avalanche have three key forwards out of action .
There's no timetable for Gabriel Landeskog's comeback from knee surgeries.
Valeri Nichushkin remains suspended until mid-November as part of Stage 3 of the NHL-NHLPA Player Assistance Program, and Artturi Lehkonen is still recovering from shoulder surgery.
The Avalanche remain a strong club led by superstars Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and playmaking winger Mikko Rantanen.
They also possess a solid supporting cast including defensemen Devon Toews, Samuel Girard, Josh Manson and forwards Casey Mittelstadt and Jonathan Drouin.
Nevertheless, things could go off the rails quickly if injuries mount this season, especially to their remaining core and supporting players.
Instead of battling for the top spot in the Western Conference, they could find themselves struggling to cling to a wild-card berth.
The Columbus Blue Jackets and their fans are still coping with the death of star forward Johnny Gaudreau.
They're already enduring the worst nightmare any sports team can face.
On Sept.
17, the Dallas Stars signed Esa Lindell to a five-year contract extension.
They also got restricted free agent Thomas Harley inked to a two-year deal.
Lindell, Harley and Miro Heiskanen are the Stars' top three defensemen.
After them, however, the blue-line depth drops significantly.
Offseason acquisitions Matt Dumba, Ilya Lyubushkin and Brendan Smith have veteran experience but aren't comparable to the top three.
The Stars hope to win the Stanley Cup this season after coming up short in the 2023 and 2024 Western Conference Finals.
Defensive depth is key for any club with Cup aspirations, but the Stars could have concerns among their bottom-three blueliners that could prevent them from reaching the Final.
The Detroit Red Wings narrowly missed qualifying for the 2024 playoffs, extending their postseason drought to a franchise-record eighth straight season .
One reason was the inconsistent goaltending of Alex Lyon, Ville Husso and James Reimer, combining for a 3.33 goals-against per game that was among the league's worst .
Veteran netminder Cam Talbot was signed to replace the departed Reimer, but at 37, he's well past his best-before date.
Lyon and Husso are back, but it's questionable if they can provide the Red Wings with the goaltending necessary to end their playoff drought.
The Wings' defensive game is also an issue, but they've been lacking reliable goaltending capable of stealing games for years.
Until they finally find some, the possibility of a ninth straight season outside the playoff picture remains very real, which could raise questions about general manager Steve Yzerman's stewardship of this team.
After coming within two goals of winning the Stanley Cup last spring, the Edmonton Oilers hope to have better luck this season.
They're loaded with plenty of offensive firepower led by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, while Stuart Skinner proved his worth as a reliable starting goalie during that playoff run.
Last season's defensive depth carried over into the offseason with the departures of Philip Broberg and Vincent Desharnais.
Veteran Darnell Nurse struggled through injury last season and could be wearing down while bottom-third blueliners Ty Emberson, Brett Kulak and Josh Brown could struggle to hold the line.
The Oilers could attempt to boost their blue line before the March 7 trade deadline, but salary-cap limitations could hamper those efforts.
The lack of reliable defensive depth remains a real concern that could jeopardize their championship hopes.
After falling to the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, the Florida Panthers defied the odds by returning to the Final and winning the trophy in seven games over the Edmonton Oilers.
They're about to discover how difficult it is to return for a third straight year and to repeat as champions.
The Panthers went through two shortened offseasons, giving them little time to rest and recover from those long postseason runs.
The offseason departures of defenseman Brandon Montour, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and forward Vladimir Tarasenko depleted their depth .
They also possess limited cap space to restock their lineup.
Those factors could catch up with them this season, especially if injuries should strike the roster.
Come the postseason, they might not have enough left in the tank to stage another run to the Cup.
The Los Angeles Kings stumbled through an inconsistent performance in 2023-24.
They started strong (especially on the road ) but faltered by midseason before a coaching change righted the ship, only to get bounced again from the first round of the playoffs by the Oilers.
Kings GM Rob Blake shook things up during the offseason, trading struggling center Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Washington Capitals for goaltender Darcy Kuemper.
Blake will be hoping the 34-year-old can regain the form that backstopped the Colorado Avalanche to the 2022 Stanley Cup after two disappointing seasons in Washington.
Kuemper is the latest to take up the starter's job with the Kings in recent years.
They've gone through Jonathan Quick, Cal Petersen, Pheonix Copley, Joonas Korpisalo, David Rittich and Cam Talbot.
If he plays like he did with the Capitals last season, though, the Kings could be in real trouble between the pipes.
Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin's decision to buy out the remainder of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter's contracts in 2021 was short-term pain for long-term gain.
The pain came in the form of $14.7 million in dead-cap space that has hampered Guerin's efforts to build up his roster.
The Wild have seen improvement from within with promising youngsters Brock Faber, Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi.
But they also have some aging talent on their books like 37-year-old Mats Zuccarello and 33-year-old Marcus Foligno, both of whom were re-signed by Guerin.
Cap constraints played a role in the Wild's inability to bolster their roster, causing them to miss the playoffs last season.
It could again ensure they remain outside the postseason picture by next spring.
Since 2021-22, the Montreal Canadiens have engaged in a full roster rebuild.
They have put their faith in promising players such as 2022 first-overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky, defensemen Kaiden Guhle and Lane Hutson, and trade acquisitions Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook.
Those youngsters have shown varying degrees of promise as the Canadiens have made slow-but-steady improvements.
However, there is the possibility that some of these kids might not be as good as projected.
Some could find their progress stalled by injuries or struggle to meet heightened expectations.
If most of these kids fail to improve this season, the Canadiens will remain near the bottom of the standings.
Their fanbase has bought into the rebuild thus far but could start raising questions about how management selects and develops young talent if there's no real sign of improvement.
The usually frugal Nashville Predators went on a spending spree this summer, signing free-agent forwards Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and defenseman Brady Skjei to lucrative long-term contracts on the opening day of the free-agent market .
Analysts anointed the Predators as the "winners" of free agency with those veteran additions.
However, Stamkos and Marchessault are in their mid-30s with their best seasons now behind them while 30-year-old Skjei may have only a handful of good years left.
The Predators will quickly look like free-agency losers if Stamkos and Marchessault fail to play to their usual standards.
That could leave this club struggling to stay in the Western Conference playoff race and general manager Barry Trotz on the hot seat over his expensive acquisitions.
Poor goaltending played a big part in the New Jersey Devils' failure to make the playoffs last season.
General manager Tom Fitzgerald wasted little time addressing that issue, bringing in veteran backup Jake Allen at the March trade deadline and starter Jacob Markstrom in a June trade with the Calgary Flames.
Markstrom, 34, was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy in 2022 and arguably the main reason the retooling Flames remained in playoff contention for as long as they did last year.
He's a proven starter who should provide a significant boost between the pipes for the Devils.
However, Markstrom turns 35 on Jan.
31 and is approaching the stage of his career when his performance could decline.
If he fails to meet expectations, the Devils could be outside the playoff picture again.
Since becoming back-to-back conference finalists in 2020 and 2021 , the New York Islanders have struggled to remain a legitimate playoff contender.
A popgun offense has been a significant impediment, ranking 24th over the past three seasons with a goals-per-game average of 2.91.
During the offseason, Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello added free-agent forwards Anthony Duclair and Maxim Tsyplakov.
It remains to be seen how much of a boost they can provide to their scoring punch, especially with Brock Nelson, Anders Lee, Kyle Palmieri and Jean-Gabriel Pageau in their early-to-mid 30s.
The Isles also have concerns over the status of starting goaltender Ilya Sorokin after he underwent offseason back surgery , but he's expected to be ready for this season.
Barring any decline in his performance, another season of sputtering offense could doom their campaign.
This season could be a crucial one for the New York Rangers.
Core forwards Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad are aging while captain Jacob Trouba could end up traded at the end of this season.
Trouba suggested this season could be this group's last crack at the Stanley Cup.
The play of Igor Shesterkin will be the biggest factor determining the Rangers' Cup hopes.
He won the Vezina Trophy in 2022 and backstopped the Blueshirts to the Eastern Conference Final in 2022 and 2024 .
He's also in the final season of his contract and could become the league's highest-paid goalie on his next deal.
Shesterkin will be motivated to prove he deserves a rich new contract this season, but those plans could come undone if he suffers an injury that sidelines him for a significant period or adversely affects his performance.
The Rangers can adjust to just about anything, but losing Shesterkin would bring an end to their championship dreams.
Goaltending has been the Achilles' heel for the rebuilding Ottawa Senators' playoff hopes in recent years.
Last year's free-agent signing , Joonas Korpisalo, lasted only one season as their starter before getting shipped to the Boston Bruins in June for Linus Ullmark.
Winner of the 2023 Vezina Trophy , the 30-year-old Ullmark lost the Bruins' starting goalie role to Jeremy Swayman last season.
He's in the final year of his contract and will be keen to prove his worth with a strong performance.
The Senators will be counting on that to end their seven-year playoff drought.
Ullmark will have a weaker defense corps in front of him in Ottawa than he had with the Bruins.
If he can't adjust and steal some games for his new club, the Senators could again find themselves outside the playoff picture, and that will further frustrate a fanbase whose patience with the rebuild could be wearing thin.
The rebuilding Philadelphia Flyers exceeded expectations last season by staying in the Eastern Conference playoff races until the final games of the schedule.
However, the task will become more daunting with a full season of the largely inexperienced goaltending tandem of Samuel Ersson and Ivan Fedotov.
Ersson, 24, saw more playing time last season than expected after starter Carter Hart's midseason departure .
He performed admirably but appeared to be worn out down the stretch.
The 27-year-old Fedotov debuted after coming over from the KHL but saw action in just three contests.
The Flyers will be in real trouble if Ersson and Fedotov don't improve this season.
If the losses mount, it'll dampen the enthusiasm over the debut of promising winger Matvei Michkov and crush the fans' optimism in the team's rebuilding plan.
Sidney Crosby put to rest any conjecture over his future in Pittsburgh by signing a two-year contract extension on Sept.
16.
Coming off a team-leading 94-point performance in 2023-24 , the 37-year-old Penguins captain shows no sign of slowing down.
Father Time is undefeated, though, and even Crosby could feel the effects of age entering his 20th NHL season.
It would adversely affect his ability to lead by example and on the scoresheet.
The Penguins are attempting to retool around aging stars like Crosby in the hope of a quick transition into a playoff contender.
If their captain slows, though, it will crush their postseason chances this season, extending that transition much longer than anticipated.
The San Jose Sharks are entering this season with optimism after several years among the NHL's bottom-feeding clubs.
Part of that upbeat mood is the presence of promising young centers Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith.
Celebrini, 18, was the first overall pick in the 2024 draft, while the 19-year-old Smith was chosen fourth overall in 2023.
Celebrini and Smith are expected to make their much-anticipated NHL debuts this season.
Both have the potential to become stars on hockey's biggest stage, but there's no guarantee they'll play up to expectations in their rookie years.
Both youngsters will carry the hopes of the Sharks fans heading into this season.
It will be another season of disappointment if they fail to secure full-time roster spots or struggle to adjust to the NHL pace.
The Seattle Kraken reached the Stanley Cup playoffs in their sophomore season thanks largely to a 3.52 goals per game average ranking fifth overall .
However, the departure of several key forwards in the summer of 2023 saw their goals per game tumble to 2.61 and 29th overall last season.
Kraken general manager Ron Francis added puck-moving defenseman Brandon Montour and two-way center Chandler Stephenson this summer via free agency.
It's expected center Matty Beniers will put behind last season's sophomore slump and regain his scoring form, while promising Shane Wright could finally be fully NHL-ready.
However, Montour and Stephenson may struggle with their new teammates, Beniers could still have difficulty finding his scoring touch, and Wright could end up in a full-time checking role.
That would ensure the Kraken's offense remains a serious weakness that leaves the club near the bottom of the standings by season's end.
Five years after winning their first-ever Stanley Cup, the St.
Louis Blues missed the playoffs for the second straight season .
Management has spent that time retooling the roster, shipping out older veterans for younger talent.
A depleted defense corps is one reason behind the Blues' recent decline.
They suffered another blow with puck-moving veteran Torey Krug undergoing season-ending ankle surgery .
That leaves Colton Parayko, Justin Faulk, Nick Leddy and Ryan Suter to shoulder the load while younger blueliners Philip Broberg and Scott Perunovich jockey for playing time.
The Blues gave up the eighth-most shots against per game (32.1) last season, putting a heavy load on goaltenders Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer.
If the blue line doesn't improve, the Blues will miss the postseason for the third straight season, marking the first time they've gone that long outside the playoff picture since 2007-08.
From 2014-15 to 2021-22, the Tampa Bay Lightning were the NHL's dominant team , winning two Stanley Cups, reaching the Final four times, the Conference Finals six times and taking home the Presidents' Trophy in 2018-19.
However, the Lightning have declined over the past two years as salary-cap constraints depleted their depth.
Long-time captain Steven Stamkos departed to Nashville in July via free agency, with Victor Hedman taking over the "C." The 33-year-old has been a steady presence on the Lightning blue line for the past decade.
Hedman has also logged more heavy minutes than most NHL defensemen over the last decade.
Turning 34 in December, the new Lightning captain could finally begin to feel the effects this season.
If he does, it could be devastating to a defense corps drained of skillful talent.
The Toronto Maple Leafs hold the NHL's longest Stanley Cup drought with their last championship coming in 1967.
Despite the presence of superstar forwards Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and well-established scoring center John Tavares, they've won just one playoff round since 2016-17 .
A lack of reliable goaltending, a thin blue line and a shortage of skilled check-line forwards have turned the Leafs into a club that can ride the firepower of their "Core Four" into regular-season dominance.
However, they come up short when roster depth becomes crucial in the postseason's more physically demanding defensive style.
Long-suffering Leafs fans keep pinning their hopes on each offseason's new additions, but they've grown impatient over their club's inability to stage a deep playoff run.
Another early exit will only deepen their dismay, leading to calls for change that may include Marner and Tavares, who are in the final season of their contracts .
The former Arizona Coyotes relocated this spring to Salt Lake City.
They'll have to establish a new fanbase while their former one will be watching to see how they do in their new home.
Since 2021, the Coyotes rebuilt their roster with young talent under general manager Bill Armstrong, showing gradual but steady improvement .
But their relocation has robbed Arizona fans of the opportunity to enjoy their potential breakthrough as a playoff contender.
That opportunity could come this season.
A combination of young stars like Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley and Dylan Gauthier and the offseason addition of defenseman Mikhail Sergachev could turn this rebuilding team into their first postseason appearance in a full NHL season since 2011-12.
That will be bittersweet for its former fanbase.
Thatcher Demko's solid goaltending was among the reasons the Vancouver Canucks reached the postseason for the first time since 2020 .
However, a rare lower-body injury suffered during the opening round of the 2024 playoffs will prevent him from participating in training camp with his teammates.
The Canucks hope the 28-year-old will be good to go for the start of this season.
Their chances of building on last season's impressive performance rely on their starter regaining the form that made him a finalist for the Vezina Trophy last season.
Not taking any chances, the Canucks signed veteran backup Kevin Lankinen to hold the fort until Demko returns to form.
Without him, they might not reach the heights they did last season even with Lankinen as insurance.
Since their debut season in 2017-18, the Vegas Golden Knights have a playoff record that would make some of the more established clubs envious.
They won the Stanley Cup in 2023, reached the Final in 2018 and made the Conference Finals in 2020 and 2021.
Only once, in 2022, have they missed the postseason.
The Golden Knights are ruthless when it comes to winning, sacrificing their future by trading away draft picks and prospects for immediate roster help.
They're even willing to part ways with popular stars such as Marc-Andre Fleury, Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith if it'll free up cap room to address other needs.
This season could be more of a struggle for the Golden Knights.
They're thin on the wings and in their backup goaltending with limited cap room to address those issues throughout the season.
Management could find it more challenging to swing the big deals as they have in the past, putting them at risk of missing the playoffs.
Alex Ovechkin is the greatest player in Washington Capitals history and among the greatest goal scorers in NHL history.
With 853 career regular-season goals, he needs 42 more to break Wayne Gretzky's record of 894 .
The Capitals are no longer the dominant club they once were, but the possibility of Ovechkin breaking a record once thought unbreakable continues to make them a draw.
The 39-year-old left winger has reached or exceeded 42 goals 13 times in his 20-season NHL career and can eclipse Gretzky if he scores at that pace this season.
However, Ovechkin struggled during the first half of last season before rallying in the second half to finish with 31 goals.
Pushing 40, the Capitals superstar could find that he no longer has enough left in the tank to catch Gretzky.
In 2017-18, the Winnipeg Jets enjoyed their best NHL season in franchise history , including the previous version before they relocated to Arizona in 1996.
They finished the regular season with 114 points and advanced to the Western Conference Final for the first time.
Since then, the Jets have struggled to regain that form.
They seemed poised to do so last season, finishing with 110 points led by core players like goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, defenseman Josh Morrissey and forwards Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor.
However, they were bounced from the first round for the third time in six seasons.
A lack of on-ice progress was among the factors behind a decline in Jets attendance over the last two seasons .
Another early postseason exit could lead to an increase in further fan indifference.
Stats via NHL.com .
Salary info via PuckPedia .
Line combinations via Daily Faceoff ..
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