The 2024 NHL season kicks off on Tuesday evening or during the night in Germany.
What can we expect from the upcoming season? Will the Florida Panthers manage to defend the title or will Germany’s superstar Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers win the Stanley Cup?
5 questions and answers about the new NHL season with the biggest Stanley Cup contenders, a new team, all German players and the most important dates.
1. When does the NHL season start in 2024?
The 2024 NHL season starts on Tuesday, October 8, with a triple header.
The first game on opening day is the Seattle Kraken vs. St. Louis Blues (Tuesday, October 8, 10:30 p.m. German time).
On Tuesday night (October 9, 1:00 a.m. CEST), the reigning champions, the Florida Panthers, will start the “mission to defend the title” against the Boston Bruins. Game 3 of the 2024 NHL season is Utah Hockey vs.
It continues the very next day. On the night from Wednesday to Thursday (October 10), five games are scheduled – including Edmonton Oilers vs.
2. What’s new in the 2024-25 NHL season?
The National Hockey League has a new team to offer at the start of the 2024 season – Utah Hockey Club is the somewhat simple name.
The Utah Hockey Club is a US ice hockey franchise from Salt Lake City in the state of Utah. The team plays in the Central Division of the Western Conference.
The reason for the existence of the Utah Hockey Club as a new team: the team was founded to replace the Arizona Coyotes, who ceased operations at the end of the 2023-24 season. The Coyotes’ players and other personnel were transferred to Utah.
Another new development for this NHL season: the salary cap has been raised to $88 million for this season.
3. Who are the favorites to win the Stanley Cup?
If the predictions and championship betting odds of the betting providers in Germany are anything to go by before the start of the 2024 NHL season, then the two teams that played for the Stanley Cup last year – the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers – can again expect to be in with the best chance of winning the title.
The Panthers clinched the Stanley Cup for the first time with a 4-3 victory in the final series. Can they defend the title or will the biggest winner’s trophy in the world of sports go to another team?
The Edmonton Oilers, with Germany’s superstar Leon Draisaitl, are even considered the biggest title contender by bookmakers’ betting odds ahead of the 2024 NHL season opener.
The team from Florida has shown that after a final defeat, the title can follow: in 2023, the Panthers lost the final series against the Las Vegas Golden Knights, but the following year, they lifted the trophy.
In addition to last season’s top duo, the Nashville Predators are also considered Stanley Cup contenders. With Steve Stamkos (40 goals last season) and Jonathan Marchessault (42 goals), they have made a significant upgrade, especially in offense.
In the Western Conference, the Colorado Avalanche and the Dallas Stars will also be contenders, along with the Oilers and the Predators. At least according to the predictions of experts and bookmakers. According to these, the Las Vegas Knights also have the best chances of making the playoffs and thus winning the title before the start of the NHL 2024 season.
From the Eastern Conference, the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers are among the favorites to win the title before the start of the NHL in 2024. Both still play in the Metropolitan Division and will probably fight for first place there.
The Rangers reached the Conference Finals in the previous season, but were beaten by the Panthers.
4. Which German players will be in the NHL for the 2024-25 season?
At the start of the 2024 NHL season, there will be 7 German players in the best ice hockey league in the world.
The German NHL delegation is led by superstar Leon Draisaitl, who is one of the key players for the Edmonton Oilers.
German NHL players 2024/25
- Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers)
- Tim Stützle (Ottawa Senators)
- JJ Peterka (Buffalo Sabres)
- Lukas Reichel (Chicago Blackhawks)
- Nico Sturm (San Jose Sharks)
- Moritz Seider (Detroit Red Wings)
- Philipp Grubauer (Seattle Kraken)
In addition to Draisaitl, there are also Nico Sturm (San Jose Sharks), Tim Stützle (Ottawa Senators), JJ Peterka (Buffalo Sabres) and Lukas Reichel with the Chicago Blackhawks. The quartet also plays offense.
With Moritz Seider of the Detroit Red Wings, there is only one defenseman among the German NHL pros this season, but with Philipp Grubauer (Seattle Kraken) there is also a goaltender.
However, the teams of the German NHL players have almost no chance of making the playoffs. Only Draisaitl is expected to make the playoffs, while the Kraken are given a small chance.
5. Before the start of the 2024 NHL season: The most important dates of the season
The Regular Season, in which each team will play a total of 82 games, runs until April 17, 2024. After that, the playoffs start, in which the Stanley Cup winner, i.e. the 2024/25 NHL champion, will be determined in the final.
On Tuesday, December 31, the St. Louis Blues and the Chicago Blackhawks will play outdoors at Wrigley Field in Chicago in the NHL Winter Classic. The game continues the tradition that was introduced in 2008 – namely, to play an outdoor regular season game at the beginning of the new year.
January 18 is Hockey Day in Canada and all seven Canadian teams will be in action.
Another outdoor game is scheduled for March 1, 2025, when the Columbus Blue Jackets will play the Detroit Red Wings at Ohio Stadium as part of the NHL Stadium Series 2025.
Instead of the “NHL All-Star Game”, the “NHL 4 Nations Face-Off” is planned for this season between February 12 and 20, 2025 in Montreal and Boston, in which national teams made up entirely of NHL players from Canada, Sweden, Finland and the USA will compete against each other in a tournament format.
