Top Five Storylines To Watch This 2022-23 NHL Season

The start of the 2022-23 NHL Season is right around the corner. There are a lot of familiar faces in new places after a busy and wild off-season. Heading into a new season, there are always things to watch for. And this season is no different. From what will happen with a start in Europe to the excitement surrounding non-playoff teams that improved in the offseason. Along with the normal storylines following the top teams in the league.

So with the off-season behind us and the puck ready to drop on the 2022-23 NHL season, here are the top five storylines to watch.

Top Five Storylines 2022-23 NHL Season

Patrick Kane Trade Watch

With all the changes that happened in Chicago with the Blackhawks in the offseason, all eyes will be on Patrick Kane. Will he or won’t waive his no-movement as the Blackhawks under GM Kyle Davidson are in a rebuild? In addition to Kane, Jonathan Toews is also a player teams could be interested in. But more teams will be interested in Kane than Toews. Kane at his age of 33 going to be 34 can still average 92 points in a season. He will immediately make any team he gets traded to better.

Since the trades of Kirby Dach and Alex DeBrincat, there has been a ton of speculation surrounding Kane. There were reports that Kane requested a trade, which is not the case. Kane and Toews have both come out and stated they are going to start the season with the Blackhawks and see where things go. Even Davidson stated at the beginning of training camp that the team is nowhere near dealing either of these two players just yet. But it is a situation worth keeping an eye on considering the position of the Blackhawks.

Can the Vegas Golden Knights Rebound?

Another storyline will be the Vegas Golden Knights. After going to the playoffs in the first four years of their existence, the team missed the playoffs last year for the first time. That kind of success for an expansion franchise is unheard of. Now the Golden Knights are paying the price for all those high-priced contracts. The Golden Misfits are no more and the Empire that is Vegas has risen. However, that empire is dealing with the woes of being an expansion franchise. Their depth in their system is not there and the team is over the salary cap, so it is hard to make moves.

Vegas is interesting because of its goaltending. Robin Lehner is lost for the season with double hip surgery. Laurent Brossoit is probably going to miss half the season with hip surgery. That leaves Logan Thompson and Adin Hill between the pipes. Vegas went from Marc-Andre Fleury and Lehner, the best duo to a so-so duo with Thompson and Hill. Now, Thompson has shown he can get it done in a small sample size with the Golden Knights, however, the rest of the league now has tape on him. So it will be interesting to see. The two x-factors in all of this are Mark Stone and Jack Eichel. If both players are healthy and play at the level we know they can, the Golden Knights have a shot to make the playoffs this year.

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Can Colorado Avalanche Repeat?

Entering the season, the Colorado Avalanche have become the hunted. After dethroning the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning, the Avalanche are in an unfamiliar position. They are trying to win back-to-back Stanley Cups for the first time in franchise history. There have been a lot of changes in Colorado this off-season. Most notably the departure of Nazem Kadri to Calgary. Along with Darcy Kuemper signing in Washington. However, the Avalanche remain mostly intact. All their depth players have been re-signed including Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin. And some guy named Nathan MacKinnon signed an eight-year extension making him the highest-paid player in the NHL. With no Gabriel Landeskog to start the season and a new-look goalie duo in Alexandar Georgiev and Pavel Francouz, it will be a challenge for the Avalanche to repeat. All that being said, they are still favourites to lift the Stanley Cup.

Johnny Gaudreau Fit in Columbus

Speaking of familiar faces in new places, Johnny Gaudreau and the Columbus Blue Jackets. Gaudreau signed with Columbus in the off-season. Nobody expected that move. However, the signing shows that Columbus can attract the big free agent to place despite the past of players leaving. The addition of Gaudreau makes this team better offensively. And this signing allowed Columbus to sign Patrik Laine to an extension of four years. This duo is a threat in a tough Metro Division. We all know Columbus can play defence, but now Columbus can score too with these two playing together. Everyone is excited to see what this Blue Jackets team can do with Gaudreau in the lineup.

Is This the Year One of Washington, Pittsburgh, and Boston Fall Off?

Entering the season, there are several question marks surrounding the Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Boston Bruins. Especially the Capitals and Bruins as they are both dealing with injuries to begin the season to significant players. For the Bruins, they will be without Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, and Matt Grzelcyk for the majority of the season. All three players are on injured reserve. Now Taylor Hall is week to week with an injury. If the Bruins are able to survive this, then when healthy they have a good shot at the playoffs. But now, the fourth spot is open in the Atlantic Division.

For the Capitals, they are an aging team like Boston that will have significant players missing time to start the season. Nicklas Backstrom will miss most of the season, if not all, after having hip surgery. Tom Wilson is dealing with an injury that will have him on injured reserve to start the season. Not to mention Carl Hagelin is on injured reserve. It is unrelated to his eye issue, but those are three big missing pieces. And their defence is getting older. Even with Darcy Kuemper there, like the Bruins, the Capitals could finally miss the playoffs.

Then there is Pittsburgh. The Penguins brought everyone back to keep the band together for one more run at the Stanley Cup. Even with Kris Letang, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin being lifers in Pittsburgh, there are questions surrounding this defence. Is it better with Jeff Petry there? Was trading John Marino for Ty Smith the right decision? The Penguins fell victim to being a salary cap casualty where they had to move pieces around to make new contracts fit in. Tristan Jarry is back with Casey DeSmith. This goalie tandem does not scream elite. The Penguins have not won a playoff series since 2018 and are they just content making the playoffs and losing? This may not be the year for the Penguins to miss the playoffs, but it is coming soon.

Of course, there are other storylines to watch during the 2022-23 NHL Season. Including Alex Ovechkin‘s chase to break Wayne Gretzky‘s record, Toronto Maple Leafs playoff woes, and can an upcoming team crash the playoffs in the East? Plus so much more.