The immense challenge of three-peating as Stanley Cup champion got even more difficult for the Florida Panthers when they lost their captain and arguably most important player for the next 7-9 months to a knee injury.
Even without Aleksander Barkov, the Panthers have a chance to do something no NHL team has done in more than 40 years. And in between the rest of the league trying to stop their dynasty, the world’s best hockey players will return to the Olympics for the first time in over a decade, fresh off the wildly successful 4 Nations Face-Off that reminded fans just how good the game is on the international stage.
“If you’re a hockey fan, it doesn’t get any better,” New York Rangers and U.S. Olympic team coach Mike Sullivan said. “It puts the sport that we love on display to the world.”
The puck drops Oct. 7 on one of the most anticipated seasons in recent history, with Connor McDavid going into his final year under contract in Edmonton still chasing his first championship while also teaming with Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and others who will try to bring another gold medal home to Canada.
Before Olympic play opens in Milan, Italy, 909 NHL games will be played, then 403 more down the stretch after the two-week break before another chase for the Cup begins in April.
“It’s a lot to look forward to,” Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman said. “You’ve got to hit the ground running and be as good as you can from the start.”
Panthers launch three-peat bid
Hedman and the Lightning won the Cup back-to-back in 2020 and ‘21. Crosby’s Pittsburgh Penguins did it in ‘16 and ’17. No team has gone back-to-back-to-back since the New York Islanders won four consecutive championships from 1980-83.
During an offseason availability, Hedman joked, “They’re not going to win three in a row” as he walked past Florida star Sam Reinhart, but who’s betting against a team that has won 11 of 12 playoff series since trading for Matthew Tkachuk and hiring Paul Maurice as coach?
Barkov’s long-term injury, and Tkachuk likely missing the first two months after his own surgery, gives the Panthers longer odds. They’re now 11-1 to win it all, behind co-favorites Edmonton and Vegas as well as Carolina, Colorado and Dallas, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
“Be the best you can be at the start of the season: That’s all you can focus on,” Reinhart said. “What we learned last year is throughout it, you kind of have that — not necessarily doubt, but you kind of wonder if you’re going to have it again, that juice, that energy. You just kind of trust that you’ll find it when the time comes.”
Champions usually suffer a bit of attrition, but with the salary cap increasing a record amount, Florida kept all three of its big three free agents: playoff MVP Sam Bennett, defenseman Aaron Ekblad and winger Brad Marchand, whose acquisition at the trade deadline paved the way for another parade in Fort Lauderdale.
“They’re the top dog right now,” Carolina’s Seth Jarvis said.
McDavid’s Oilers and other contenders
Florida has won consecutive finals against McDavid and the Oilers with one of the best teams constructed since the NHL’s cap era began in 2005.
Edmonton, with McDavid and longtime running mate Leon Draisaitl, is an 8-1 Cup co-favorite with Vegas. After Minnesota signed Kirill Kaprizov to a record-setting $136 million contract just before the season started, all eyes are on McDavid, who could break the bank if he stays or goes.
“I have every intention to win in Edmonton — that’s my only focus maybe next to winning a gold medal with Canada,” McDavid told reporters in Calgary in August. “I want the group to be as focused and dialed in and ready to roll come Day 1 as possible. We don’t need any distractions.”
The other rivals with shorter title odds than the Panthers are Jarvis’ Hurricanes, MacKinnon’s Colorado Avalanche and the Stars. Dallas reached the Western Conference final each of the past three years.
“It’s just what do we have to do to get over that hump?” Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger said. “We have pretty much same group of guy, and a lot of guys are entering their prime or in their prime right now and we feel like now’s our time to do it.”
Ovechkin and other storylines
The league is full of other intriguing things to watch:
— Alex Ovechkin breaking Wayne Gretzky’s career goals record in April was a highlight of last season. The 40-year-old Washington Capitals captain goes into the final year of his contract — and maybe his final NHL season — with needing ony three goals to reach 900.
“Knowing Ovi, it probably won’t take that long,” teammate Pierre-Luc Dubois said.
— While Crosby and the Penguins are languishing through a rebuild that sparks plenty of trade rumors, Sullivan taking over the Rangers is one of nine coaching changes leaguewide. Fellow multiple-time Stanley Cup champion Joel Quenneville is also back behind a bench with Anaheim, his first job since the investigation into the Chicago Blackhawks’ 2010 sexual assault allegations.
— Auston Matthews said he is healthy going into the season, and that makes Toronto’s captain a legitimate candidate to score 60 goals. Former Maple Leafs teammate Mitch Marner could also put up 100 points with the Vegas Golden Knights.
— New York Islanders No. 1 pick Matthew Schaefer headlines an intriguing rookie class that includes skilled Montreal winger Ivan Demidov and Washington’s Ryan Leonard.
— The Penguins and Nashville Predators are set to play two games in Sweden in November. Four teams are taking it outside in the Sunshine State this winter: The Panthers host the Rangers on Jan. 2 in the Winter Classic, and the Lightning and Boston Bruins face off in the Stadium Series in Tampa on Feb. 1.