The first puck drops on the 2017-18 NHL season in just a few short weeks. The Pittsburgh Penguins came out victorious in June and won the Stanley Cup for the second year in a row. Every team is certainly going to make sure they don’t do it for a third time.
It should be an exciting season ahead. Here’s what to look out for before the first game.
What in the world will happen to Jaromir Jagr?
Jagr has played for eight teams in his 27 years in the NHL. When his contract ended last season with the Florida Panthers, Jagr became a free agent. He is still searching for a team to begin his 28th season.
Jagr says he is waiting for the right offer, but it seems like he’s simply waiting for any offer to come to the table. That being said, it is a little surprising that he hasn’t been picked up yet, even for a one-year contract. He may be 45, but Jagr has a passion and skill for the game that does not fade.
It seems likely that Jagr would find a place for the 2017-18 season, especially because he’s been very adamant in saying that he’s not yet ready to retire. Perhaps a very young team could use his knowledge to help develop their players until Jagr is ready to retire.
He may be old, but he’s given so much to the league and the NHL has certainly gained a lot from his years on the ice.
Can the Penguins continue their dynasty?
The Pittsburgh Penguins will look quite a bit different once the first puck drop of the season comes around following another Stanley Cup victory this past June. Winning two cups in a row is certainly an impressive feat, but if they want to be considered a dynasty, they’ll have to win at least another cup in the next three years.
Pittsburgh no longer has former Terrier Nick Bonino, Marc-André Fleury, Chris Kunitz and Trevor Daley.
Rumors have been swirling around the Penguins picking up Danis Zaripov, a 36-year-old Russian winger who has never played in the NHL. While his highlight reel is pretty impressive, there will certainly be a difficult transition if Zaripov ends up in the NHL.
While Zaripov could fit on a line with centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins need to do a little more regrouping if they want to be considered a dynasty. Also, they could face another problem in the regular season, unrelated to who is on their team.
When you’ve won two Stanley Cups in a row, teams are going to want to beat you. They’re going to play harder against you. Pittsburgh is in for a tough regular season, which could slow them down come playoff time.
What will happen to the once great Blackhawks?
Speaking of dynasty, the Blackhawks are unlikely to put any chance of a dynasty to fruition. When they won three Stanley Cups in six years, many were quick to say the group of young talent was the next NHL dynasty. But Chicago failed to escape the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs, when they were swept by the Nashville Predators.
A remarkable thing about those six years for Chicago was how many guys they were able to keep on the team. Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Marian Hossa, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Patrick Sharp and Brent Seabrook all have three Stanley Cup wins with the Blackhawks. Although Bryan Bickell was on the 2010 team, he did not qualify to get his name on the cup.
The core group is no longer together, which has shaken the team a little more than anticipated. Chicago will be lucky to win another cup in the next five years if they keep their once young players on the ice.
Hjalmarsson was traded to the Arizona Coyotes this offseason. Sharp had a stint with Dallas before returning to Chicago this offseason. Hossa is out for the 2017-18 season due to a bizarre skin reaction to his equipment, and Bickell was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes and later retired.
After a team wins the cup, there are always big trades made because teams simply can’t afford to keep everyone with the salary cap.
But now, the once young leaders Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are 29 and 28, respectively. In 2014, both Toews and Kane signed eight-year contract extensions, totaling $168 million. They are arguably the team’s top two forwards, and many believe these contracts are worth it. But with these two superstars on the same team, Chicago is going to be affected when it comes to finding quality players to take smaller contracts to be part of the team.
Alex Ovechkin may be on the decline
Another year has come and gone and the Washington Capitals still have not hoisted the Stanley Cup. Every year there is the promise that Washington will triumph, but every year they fall short.
Since he joined the team in 2004, Alex Ovechkin was supposed to not only be the answer, but also the star of the NHL.
That’s not to say Ovechkin has been a complete bust for the team. With Ovechkin as captain, Washington has won the Presidents’ Trophy, awarded to the team with the most points at the end of the regular season, three times.
Ovechkin himself has won countless awards through the years, but the team still hasn’t gotten to the Stanley Cup Finals since 1998.
Ovechkin is now 31, and there’s no evidence that he can actually bring the team to victory with just his scoring. The true stars of the NHL are the players that can do more than just one job. Forwards need to be able to assist and play good defense, not just score. Defensemen need to be able to ping in a slapshot here and there.
Washington has Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Braden Holtby, but it’s not enough. It’s clear that the Capitals form the team around Ovechkin, but they need to start thinking of a new plan before their other stars begin to age or move on to another team.
No matter which team is hoisting the cup next June, it’s certain to be an exciting NHL season.
