EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsLast season was one of the most dramatic in recent NHL history. Between blockbuster trades, superstars asking out, offer sheets and coaching upheaval, the league had enough off-ice drama to keep buzzing all summer.So what can the NHL do for an encore?As a new season begins tonight, I spoke to executives around the league and conducted in-depth conversations with some of the game's biggest stars at the NHL Player Media Tour in Las Vegas. Here are the situations I'm watching most closely -- and what I'm hearing as the season begins.Opening night on Tuesday includes a tripleheader of games on ESPN: Florida Panthers-Carolina Hurricanes at 5 p.m. ET, New York Rangers-Boston Bruins at 8 p.m. ET, and Chicago Blackhawks-Vegas Golden Knights at 10:30 p.m. ET.The Tkachuk brothers finally get their chance togetherFor years, Matthew and Brady Tkachuk have talked about what it would be like to play on the same NHL team. Now they, and the rest of the league, get to find out.The circumstances that brought Brady to Florida have left raw feelings. This summer, Brady told the Senators he wasn't going to re-sign when his contract expired. The Senators acted quickly, trading him to Florida for a chance to play with his older brother -- but not without significant criticism in the Ottawa market."A lot of it is a shot at my character, which I've worked so hard for," Brady Tkachuk told me. "I try to show every shift, every year, that I'll give you 110% and give you everything I have, blood, sweat and tears. I was able to look myself in the mirror and know that I gave it absolutely everything I had. It was a really hard decision. It wasn't taken lightly. And it was really emotional."Circle Oct. 21 on the calendar. Brady's return to Ottawa is going to be cinematic. So is tonight's opener against the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.Brady joins Matthew on a Florida team that already knows exactly what its identity is. They missed the playoffs last season and are starving for a rebound. Carolina returns nearly the same roster and is as prime as any recent champion to repeat.The brothers have played together for Team USA, and we all know how that can turn out."I don't want to give everybody what they want with the two Tkachuk brothers together with Sam Bennett," coach Paul Maurice joked in preseason. "They'll be in jail before the puck drops."Bill Guerin landed Quinn Hughes ... now comes the hard partThere might not be a more aggressive power player in the NHL than Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin.He transformed Minnesota into a legitimate contender, earned significant trust from his star players and completed the biggest trade in the NHL last season, landing Quinn Hughes.Now comes one of the most consequential negotiations of his tenure: keeping Hughes in Minnesota through the prime of his career.Hughes, 26, is entering the final year of a contract that is now significantly under market value. Hughes' AAV is $8.25 million; Cale Makar just signed a new deal carrying a $20.4 million AAV. Most around the league believed Hughes would sign a three-year extension to align him with his brother Jack in unrestricted free agency, but a deal didn't materialize over the summer.People around Quinn Hughes believe he's as confident as he's ever been -- both in his game and in handling the spotlight that comes with being one of the biggest names in the sport. After all, Hughes spent years in Vancouver navigating questions about his future.While we can all speculate about how deep his desire is to play with his two younger brothers (Jack and Luke), Hughes made it clear his top priority is to compete for a Stanley Cup."It's just a big decision," Hughes told me at the preseason Player Media Tour in Las Vegas. "I love Minnesota. I love my teammates and everything that's going on there ... It's hard not to look back on last year and see if we can continue to build and try to win there."The biggest thing for Hughes is keeping his options open. Take the most time he can before he has to commit.Guerin told me he's not setting a deadline on when he needs a decision. The noise will grow louder, especially if there's no clarity by February's trade deadline. Most executives I talked to still believe it's likeliest Hughes stays in Minnesota, though one rival executive remarked: "You never know what Billy G has up his sleeve."Patrick Kane is the headline in Chicago, but the kids are the storyKane's return to Chicago is sentimental and likely a boon for business. It gives Blackhawks fans another reason to watch a team that has spent years rebuilding.But Kane didn't sign for nostalgia alone. The 37-year-old winger said he chose to sign a two-year deal with the Blackhawks because he thinks they're not far off from taking the next step.Chicago already knows what Connor Bedard can be. The newly named captain is recovering from summer shoulder surgery and is expected back around November. I keep hearing optimism it will be before that.Chicago's trajectory depends on not just Bedard, but the development of the core around him. Bowen Byram, Frank Nazar and Oliver Moore are also signed through 2031.Internally, there's real optimism about Roman Kantserov and Anton Frondell. Kantserov has already played more than 200 games against professionals in Russia, won a championship, and led the KHL in goals last year. I was at his first preseason game at the United Center, his first competitive game on North American ice, and he was noticeable and physical. Frondell, 19, already has strength beyond his years and they're committed to playing the young Swede at center.If those players pop, suddenly the Blackhawks start looking much more formidable.Can Jack Hughes create more Olympic magic?If you're still thinking about Hughes' golden goal in Milan, rest assured: So is he."I've watched it hundreds of times," Hughes told me in Vegas. "But it's more of how many times I've thought about it. How many times I've replayed it in my head of how it could have gone differently. That would be in the thousands."The goal catapulted Hughes into another stratosphere of stardom -- and with that comes another level of expectations. The Devils have spent years looking like a team on the verge of taking the next step. Now they have a new GM in Sunny Mehta slowly putting his stamp on the team.Hughes has long been regarded as one of the most skilled forwards in the league. His first seven seasons have been defined by brilliant performances, but also tough injury luck. The 25-year-old has played more than 62 games only once (78 in 2022-23).Now he's hoping it will all align, with the Olympic moment launching something even bigger."[My life has] definitely changed," Hughes said. "For myself personally, it's just given me something that you want more of. You win at the highest level, you're chasing that for the rest of your career, because you know how fun it is."Don't assume the Kings are finished star-huntingThe Los Angeles Kings are one of the NHL's biggest organizational wild cards. They've made the playoffs five consecutive seasons without advancing past the first round. They've changed coaches again, bringing in Peter Laviolette. Anze Kopitar retired and Drew Doughty, the only holdover from the Stanley Cup teams, has replaced him as captain. And yet, the Kings won't treat this like a rebuild.The Kings have been willing to act aggressively rather than simply waiting for their prospects to develop. They swung for Artemi Panarin last season, then doubled down by signing Erik Gustafsson (34), Erik Haula (35), Corey Perry (41) and Mats Zuccarello (38) in free agency. The L.A. market is desirable to veteran players, which is worth remembering beyond this season.The summer of 2028 has the potential to include some enormous names, including Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews and Zach Werenski. If any of those players actually hit the market, I'd expect the Kings to make a pitch.A lot has to happen before then. But remember what the move for Panarin signaled: This is an organization that's still thinking big.The 2027 draft conversation has already startedThe USHL Fall Classic in Chicago last week effectively opened the scouting season, bringing NHL scouts and executives for their first in-season look at the 2027 draft class.Last year, debate lingered throughout the year on whether Gavin McKenna or Ivar Stenberg would go No. 1. The early feedback this year is unanimous: Landon DuPont is No. 1.DuPont received exceptional status to enter the WHL early and immediately established himself as one of hockey's best young defensemen. He will continue to develop at Michigan this season.This 2027 draft class is regarded as deep, and deeper among forwards rather than defensemen. Of the draft-eligible players scouts were watching in Chicago, U.S. National Team Development Program's Diego Gutierrez and Nolan Fitzhenry were described "as advertised," and both should land in the first round.Connor McDavid doesn't want Edmonton waiting for the springMcDavid wasn't interested in sugarcoating what happened last year. After fizzling out of the playoffs, the captain called his team "average.""I meant what I meant," McDavid said in Vegas. "We were an average team with high expectations, and we weren't a very good team. Granted, if we're healthier, who knows how it could go? Ultimately, we struggled all year. We struggled to win three games in a row all year. It was kind of just a vanilla year."McDavid is still committed to the Oilers through 2027. Edmonton needs to act urgently to keep the best player in the world happy during his prime years, and that's one of the reasons they hired Mike Babcock as head coach. But Babcock comes with documented baggage. Count ESPN's Mark Messier, an Oilers legend, among those questioning whether Babcock deserves another opportunity. Babcock will be under scrutiny.One thing McDavid has been stressing to his team ahead of the season: They can't wait for the switch to flip."The start of the season matters. Everything matters," McDavid said. "I think last year we got a little bit away from that and just thought that our game was a light switch, and we'd turn it on and we'd be good to go. But it doesn't work like that."There are unusually accomplished coaches sitting on the sidelineIn March, Vegas fired Bruce Cassidy and hired John Tortorella with eight games remaining -- a late-season gamble that ultimately landed the Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final.This summer, Vegas went in another direction, promoting Ryan Craig despite Tortorella wanting to stay.It's a copycat league. After watching Tortorella inject energy into a veteran team that had gone stale late in the season, don't be surprised if teams with playoff expectations are considering a coaching change at any point in the season. That's especially true with unusually accomplished coaches available for hire. Tortorella, 68, wants to coach again. So does Craig Berube, who has a Stanley Cup on his rsum, and Kris Knoblauch, who took Edmonton to consecutive Stanley Cup Finals before being fired last spring.Cassidy's situation will remain the most complicated as his contract with the Golden Knights runs through this season. Last spring, Vegas denied requests from divisional rivals Edmonton and Los Angeles to speak with Cassidy while the Golden Knights were still in the playoffs. The organization later granted Toronto permission to interview him and said future requests would be handled on a case-by-case basis.Nobody in the league, including Cassidy, knows how it will play out if another team comes calling during this season.Connor Hellebuyck and Dylan Larkin situations remain unresolvedThe two Team USA stars who requested trades this offseason remain with their teams, but their situations are completely different.While Detroit stripped the "C" from Larkin, there's still a path forward for the homegrown center to remain with the Red Wings. Larkin was nicked up entering camp but is expected to start the season with Detroit and see where it goes. As far as I understand, the trade request still stands, though there are no guarantees it gets done this season.Teams that have inquired about Larkin over the past several weeks say they aren't sure the Red Wings know what they want to do. They also believe that, to complete a trade, Detroit will have to come down from its asking price and potentially become more willing to accept futures.The GM search this summer yielded no long-term hire, with Shawn Horcoff getting the interim title in September. Detroit says Horcoff has full authority, but how aggressive can an interim GM be in making a franchise-altering trade?As for Hellebuyck, while the Jets have held out hope for a reconciliation, most people I talk to believe the situation is beyond repair. Hellebuyck made his trade request public in August, then did not report to training camp and was suspended by the team.The goalie market is incredibly fickle. Winnipeg is trying to extract appropriate value for one of the best goaltenders in the world, but the number of teams that both need a significant upgrade in net and can construct a deal the Jets would accept is small.That leaves Winnipeg with a difficult choice: lower its price or wait for the market to change around Hellebuyck. The one thing that would create urgency: an injury or a contender unexpectedly getting off to a slow start.
