In the 2024-2025 NHL season, Alex Ovechkin scored goal #895 of his career to pass Wayne Gretzky for most NHL goals of all time. The Four Nations Faceoff brought the first best-on-best international play in 9 years. Gabriel Landeskog returned to the NHL for the first time since the 2022 Stanley Cup and scored, reclaiming his spot as captain of the Colorado Avalanche. Star forward Mikko Rantanen was traded twice and scored a hat-trick against his old team to eliminate them from the playoffs.
In those playoffs, we featured some of the best matchups we have seen in recent memory, with no first-round sweeps, plenty of overtime action, and last-second goals. The rookies were fantastic, with Lane Hutson (Canadiens), Macklin Celebrini (Sharks), Matvei Michkov (Flyers), and Dustin Wolf (Flames) all being standout players for their teams. The Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup, in no small part due to their trade acquisitions of Brad Marchand and Seth Jones, in a packed and dramatic trade deadline.
This offseason has had plenty of action too. Mitch Marner, who was a standout player for the Toronto Maple Leafs for the past nine years, was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights. The Ducks will look different as Trevor Zegras is headed to Philadelphia, and long-time New York Ranger Chris Kreider will be joining the guys in Anaheim. The Panthers managed to re-sign their key players, Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand, and Aaron Ekblad. Phenom Kiril Kaprizov recently signed a contract for 8 years, $16 million/year with his current team, the Minnesota Wild, which makes him the highest paid player in total contract (and per year) in the salary cap era. Connor McDavid is in the final year of his contract, and fans across the league are speculating about his intentions as he has not committed to returning to Edmonton.
Two-time Stanley Cup winner and future Hall of Famer, Anze Kopitar, will play his final season with the Los Angeles Kings. The most prolific scorer of all time, Alex Ovechkin, will captain the Washington Capitals in what many suspect will be his final season. Three-time Stanley Cup Champion Jonathan Toews will make his NHL comeback playing his first games with the Winnipeg Jets since his 14-year career with the Blackhawks ended in 2023.
If this wasn’t enough excitement for you, there will be a break from the NHL for a few weeks in February when we will see the sport’s biggest stars facing off for their countries in the Olympics in Milan. After the fireworks we saw last year in the Four Nations Faceoff, it promises to be an electric tournament. With preseason action starting on September 20th, the 2025-2026 season is already underway. Regular season action begins October 7th. Happy hockey season to all!