Storylines for Every NHL Team in the Final Month of the 2023-24 Regular Season
We are into the home stretch of the 2023-24 NHL regular season, and the Stanley Cup playoffs are just around the corner.
Playoff spots and division titles are being fought for, individual awards are on the line, and every team—whether they are playoff- or draft lottery-bound—has at least something to play for over the next few weeks.
So, let's take a team-by-team look around the league at one talking point for each of the 32 NHL teams.
Anaheim Ducks: Trevor Zegras
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Trevor Zegras has been one of the big reasons for optimism for the Anaheim Ducks the past couple of years, and that seemed to be the case again coming into the 2023-24 season. But it has been a completely lost campaign from the start.
His restricted free-agent negotiation spilled into training camp, injury robbed him of most of the season, and he hasn't been effective or productive at all when he has played.
Even worse, the 23-year-old has been benched on two different occasions by head coach Greg Cronin and his name even surfaced in trade rumors leading up to the deadline.
Is Zegras' future with the team in doubt? Can he do anything to salvage this season over the final month? He is still signed long-term for two more years at a pretty reasonable salary-cap number ($7 million per season), and trading him this offseason would probably be moving him at his lowest possible value. That would be an enormous risk.
Getting any sort of sign that he can salvage this season and build some momentum toward next year would be a big development.
Arizona Coyotes: Logan Cooley Finishing Strong
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The Arizona Coyotes are going to miss the playoffs again, but there is at least a light at the end of the tunnel for them as their seemingly endless rebuild trudges on.
Logan Cooley is a big part of that light.
The promising rookie has had an up-and-down year, but he has really started to put things together over the past month with eight goals and 11 total points in 15 games in March.
The Coyotes have assembled a promising core of players and a lot of future draft picks, but the most important part of their rebuild is going to be finding a true star and franchise player. Of all the prospects in their system, Cooley is the one who has the upside to be that.
If he can finish strong and top the 20-goal mark as a 19-year-old in his first full season of pro hockey, it would be a huge step in the right direction for both him and the Coyotes.
Boston Bruins: Deciding on a Goalie
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The Bruins are one of the best teams in the NHL for the second year in a row, which is a surprising development given the talent they lost over the summer: Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno and Dmitry Orlov.
The center depth seemed to be a concern at the start, their defensive play and defense depth was a question mark as the season went on, but none of that has mattered as they are again in the running for the Presidents' Trophy.
The biggest reason for that continued success has been the play of their goalie duo: Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman. They have been splitting the starts 50/50 during the regular season, and that is again going to be a big question mark going into the playoffs.
Will head coach Jim Montgomery go against the conventional playoff wisdom and keep rotating goalies? Will he pick a starter and ride them until they give him a reason to make a change? And how will the Bruins themselves handle that situation?
The good news for the regular season is the split keeps both goalies fresh and they always know they have a No. 1-caliber goalie to start every game. At some point, though, they might need to decide on one over the other.
The two goalies have one of the tightest relationships of any set of teammates in the league, so it's unlikely to be an issue with them. But playoff teams usually pick one goalie and run with it.
It will be fascinating to see what the Bruins decide here.
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Buffalo Sabres: Another Disappointing Season
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After missing the playoffs by just a point a year ago and having one of the league's most exciting young teams, this was supposed to be the year all of the losing and down years and rebuilds paid off for the Sabres.
This was supposed to be the year when the playoff drought ended. Instead, it looks like it's going to reach a 13th consecutive season and leave more questions than answers going into the summer.
The good news for the Sabres is they were able to add to their young core, especially on defense, with the arrival of Bowen Byram from the Colorado Avalanche in the Casey Mittelstadt trade.
On paper, the defense has a chance to be a championship-caliber unit with Byram, Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson. But they still have to put it all together on the ice and actually start playing playoff-level hockey.
That has not happened yet.
Despite having all of that talent (on paper) the Sabres are only 24th in the NHL over the past 25 games in expected goals against during 5-on-5 play and 31st over the past 10 games.
Combine that with an offense that regressed this season, and you have one of the most disappointing teams in the league that still seems pretty far from serious contention.
Will next year be any different?
Calgary Flames: Jonathan Huberdeau's Play
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When the Flames were pretty much forced into a situation where they had to trade star forward Matthew Tkachuk, they seemed to at least do well for themselves in the deal by getting Jonathan Huberdeau.
And they wasted no time in getting the 30-year-old signed to a long-term contract that pays him over $10 million per year.
Given how productive Huberdeau was in Florida, where he was one of the best playmaking wingers in the league, the Flames seemed to have a top-line forward to rebuild around.
Instead, Huberdeau's first two years in Calgary have made his new contract look like it has the potential to be one of the worst in the NHL. There is not much that he has done this season to help change that concern.
At least not until recently.
Huberdeau has at least produced at closer to a point-per-game level over the past three months, tallying 30 points in his past 36 games since the start of January.
In the first half of the season, he had just 16 points in 37 games. So he has basically doubled his production.
The goal-scoring is still at a shockingly low level, but the points are at least somewhat back.
The Flames need Huberdeau to return to being a top-line performer, both for their own competitiveness and because of the money they still have invested in him.
Carolina Hurricanes: Jake Guentzel Proving Doubters Wrong
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The Hurricanes' biggest problem in the playoffs in recent years has been not having enough difference-makers at forward who can produce in crunch time.
Jake Guentzel is here to change that.
The 29-year-old not only has a proven track record of playoff success with the Pittsburgh Penguins (where his playoff production has been better than his regular-season production), but he is also one of the best all-around wingers in hockey and a perfect fit with the 'Canes.
Getting a chance to shine in Carolina is also a great opportunity for him to show he is a great player away from Sidney Crosby. The one big knock on Guentzel throughout his career has been that the veteran has helped boost his production.
So far, he is shattering that narrative with 16 points in his first 11 games in Carolina. If he helps the team get over the hump in the playoffs, there should be no more debate as to how good he is on his own.
Chicago Blackhawks: All Connor Bedard
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The Blackhawks were expected to stink this season, and they have...for the most part.
The one big bright spot here has been that No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard has matched all of the pre-draft hype. He not only looks like the Blackhawks' next franchise player, but he also looks like he's on his way to becoming one of the best in the league.
The only thing that has slowed him down this season was an injury that knocked him out for a few weeks in the middle of the season. But when he has been on the ice, he has been a must-see player every night. He has a chance to finish as a point-per-game player as an 18-year-old.
As of Monday, Bedard has 57 points in 60 games and should be one of the two front-runners for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year.
Colorado Avalanche: Gabriel Landeskog's Possible Playoff Return
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The Avalanche made a couple of huge scores at the trade deadline to add Casey MIttelstadt to fix their second-line center hole while also getting Sean Walker from the Philadelphia Flyers.
There is a chance—still just a chance at this point—that they could get even more help come playoff time.
It is then that they could see the return of captain Gabriel Landeskog after he missed the past two seasons due to injury.
Given that absence, there are some serious questions as to how impactful the 31-year-old could be, and there would almost certainly be some rust that he would have to knock off. But if they can get him back at some point, it would be a massive addition to a team that is already the top-scoring club in the NHL.
The Avalanche remain adamant Landeskog will not return until he is fully healthy, and it may not even happen this year, but the chance of it happening is enough to pay attention to over the next month.
Columbus Blue Jackets: the Future
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The Blue Jackets finally made some much-needed organizational change this season by firing long-time general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen. It was overdue.
The 57-year-old had spent the past couple of years spending big money on veterans and acting like his team was just one or two players away from contention while also managing to avoid fixing some of its biggest flaws and question marks (specifically goal-scoring and goaltending).
The harsh reality is that Columbus is a team that still needs almost everything before it can even think about the playoffs, and all of the assets and money it burned to acquire Johnny Gaudreau, Ivan Provorov, Erik Gudbranson and Damon Severson just seem badly misplaced.
It has been one of the worst teams in the league the past two seasons and didn't really make any progress this season despite all of the money spent.
The Blue Jackets do have one of the league's best farm systems, with No. 3 overall pick Adam Fantilli leading the way. But they need the right GM and the right vision to bring that talent along and build around it.
If they can get the next hire right, they could turn this around pretty quickly. But not many things the Blue Jackets have done in their existence have been handled correctly.
Dallas Stars: The Young Stars
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The Stars have one of the most loaded rosters in the NHL, especially at forward. It is a combination of strong drafting and player development, some shrewd free-agent signings and a continuing pipeline of young talent that keeps finding ways to make a big impact.
The emergence of second-year forward Wyatt Johnston and rookie Logan Stankoven is playing out this season as it relates to the latter point.
Johnston has had a breakout season of sorts offensively with 29 goals (and counting) in his second full season in the league, while Stankoven has come up from the minors and already recorded 12 points in his first 17 games.
When a Stanley Cup contender can get contributions like that from young players on entry-level deals it changes the whole outlook of the team.
Production like that on cheap contracts gives you top-line players for pretty much the league minimum. That creates salary-cap flexibility, which allows a team to add players such as Matt Duchene in the offseason and Chris Tanev at the trade deadline.
Detroit Red Wings: Will They Make the Playoffs?
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As recently as a month ago, the Red Wings seemed to be in the driver's seat for a playoff spot, especially in an Eastern Conference race where nobody seems to want to jump up and secure the final wild-card spot.
However, Detroit has let that grip on a playoff spot slip away, and it finds itself on the outside of the playoff picture.
That has to be frustrating because the Red Wings have the offense to compete with almost any team in the league.
The defense and goaltending, on the other hand, is another story. The Red Wings have been one of the worst defensive teams in the NHL this season and are close to wasting one of the league's best offensive teams. Even worse, they did nothing at the trade deadline to help address that with the playoffs within reach.
If they end up blowing that and missing the playoffs again, does that start to bring Steve Yzerman's plan into question?
Or does the fact that they made progress and got closer to a playoff spot build some encouragement going into the offseason? They are getting closer. They just need a little more to get over the hump.
Edmonton Oilers: The Supporting Cast
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It always comes down to the supporting cast here.
The top of Edmonton's lineup with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Evan Bouchard is sensational.
They are a big reason why the Oilers have been nearly unbeatable since their slow start under former head coach Jay Woodcroft.
But is there enough talent around them to carry that over to the playoffs when the competition gets tougher?
The Oilers have been outscored this season (50-55) when neither McDavid or Draisaitl is on the ice during 5-on-5 play, while the goalie situation is still a mystery with Stuart Skinner trying to secure the position.
The depth production has improved following the trade deadline (when they acquired Adam Henrique) so they might be onto something.
This is going to be one of Edmonton's best chances to win with McDavid and Draisaitl, and it cannot afford to let many more seasons like this slip away.
Florida Panthers: Can They Win the Presidents' Trophy Again?
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The past three years have been quite a roller coaster for the Panthers.
Two years ago, they won the Presidents' Trophy and then lost in the second round of the playoffs.
A year ago, they were one of the most disappointing teams in the league for most of the regular season before getting hot over the final couple of weeks, grabbing the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference and then went on a stunning run to the Stanley Cup Final. They did that by overcoming a 3-1 series deficit in the first round against a record-setting Boston Bruins team.
This year, they are again back on top of the league and in contention for a second Presidents' Trophy.
They have to make up five points on the Rangers, but they do have quite a few games remaining against teams out of the playoff field. Most fans will tell you to avoid the Presidents' Trophy because of how rarely those teams win it all, but there is still something to be said for being the best team in hockey after 82 games.
At times this season, the Panthers have looked like the best team and deserve to at least have something to show for that whether they win the Stanley Cup or not.
Los Angeles Kings: Can They Get Pierre-Luc Dubois Going?
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Pierre-Luc Dubois was the Kings' big offseason addition with the expectation he could be an impact player in their top-nine forward group.
They are certainly paying him like he is that type of player.
However, the 25-year-old just hasn't produced anywhere close to that level, especially in the second half of the season where he has just two goals over the past month.
The Kings can defend as well as any team in the league, the goaltending has exceeded expectations, and their top line has been excellent. But if they are going to make a run in a tough Western Conference, they are going to need way more than what they have been getting from Dubois.
Minnesota Wild: Brock Faber's Calder Trophy Push
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The Calder Trophy debate is going to be maddening over the next few weeks as voters and fans make their arguments for Connor Bedard and Brock Faber.
While Bedard has the offensive flash, pre-draft hype and point production, Faber has been a shockingly good defensive player who has already played like a bona fide top-pairing NHL defender as a rookie.
The 21-year-old plays 25 minutes per night, has 41 points and plays some of the team's toughest assignments while also doing a great job in helping to drive possession.
The season might have been a disappointment for the Wild in the short term, but the emergence of Faber as a long-term building block has been a huge positive.
Will that be enough to win the award over Bedard? Probably not. But he is almost certainly going to be a worthy finalist and (most likely) runner-up.
Montreal Canadiens: Juraj Slafkovsky Finishing Strong
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Not all No. 1 picks develop at the same pace, and not all of them are immediate stars in the NHL.
After a disappointing and trying rookie season, Juraj Slafkovsky has started to put everything together this season and become a cornerstone player for the Canadiens' rebuild.
The 20-year-old might not end up being a true superstar who competes for scoring titles or change the franchise the way a Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid did, but he looks to have a long future ahead of him as a rock-solid NHL player.
Slafkovsky is up to 15 goals and 41 points for this season, and if he can get hot over the next few weeks and maybe reach the 20-goal or 50-point mark, that would be a hugely successful season for him and his development.
Nashville Predators: Staying Hot Into the Playoffs
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The Predators are one of the most fascinating teams in the league.
They missed the playoffs a year ago and spent the trade deadline and offseason dumping salary and collecting future assets. They looked to be ready for a full-scale rebuild, especially with a new general manager taking over.
Then they went out and signed Ryan O'Reilly and Gustav Nyquist to multi-year deals and still seemed intent on competing.
For 60 percent of the season, it seemed like a failure and a miscalculation.
Then, they got on a roll in mid-February and became the hottest team in the league to pretty much lock in a playoff spot.
It still seems like a team with a limited ceiling in terms of the roster on paper. But they have a top-tier goalie and a No. 1 defenseman, and sometimes the playoffs are simply about being the hottest team and not always the best team.
Few teams are hotter than Nashville right now. The question will be if it can maintain that for another couple of weeks.
New Jersey Devils: Do They Have Goaltending Options for Next Season?
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The most baffling roster decision in the NHL this season might have been the New Jersey Devils entering the season with such a questionable goaltending situation.
They were one of the best teams in the league a year ago, boasted a young, stacked roster that seemed destined to compete for years and should have had legitimate Stanley Cup expectations.
But that goaltending. Yikes.
It was always going to be a question mark, and it ended up being worse than expected. Even more baffling was that management did almost nothing to try to resolve it until it was probably too late in the season.
They did end up acquiring Jake Allen and Kaapo Kahkonen, and both have played extremely well since being added on trade-deadline day. But can they be legitimate options for next season? Can they show enough over the next month? And how seriously should that be taken if they do show something?
The Devils also had major injury issues to contend with this season, but the goalie situation helped sink them. They cannot make that mistake again.
New York Islanders: What Is This Team?
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At some point, the Islanders have to look in the mirror and have a very real discussion with themselves and find out what sort of team they are, what sort of team they want to be and how they can best go about achieving that.
Are they trying to contend? Should they rebuild?
They are one of the oldest teams in the league, don't do anything particularly well outside of having great goaltending, and even that has been an issue at times this season.
GM Lou Lamoriello never likes to throw in the towel on a season, but the current roster just isn't good enough to compete.
If he does not want to change it, maybe the Islanders need to make a change to somebody who will.
New York Rangers: Alexis Lafrenière's Breakout
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The biggest X-factor for this Rangers team was always going to be the development of their top draft picks, specifically 2020 No. 1 overall pick Alexis Lafrenière.
Unless they become stars, or at the very least impact players, there was always going to be a ceiling on what their potential was as a team.
While Kaapo Kakko has not really blossomed as hoped, Lafrenière has taken a huge step forward this season and been one of the most productive 5-on-5 scorers in the league.
The 22-year-old has already shattered all of his previous career highs offensively (he is over 25 goals and 50 points for the season) and has done almost all of that scoring during 5-on-5 play.
Lafrenière is starting to become the player the Rangers need him to be.
Ottawa Senators: Too Little, Too Late
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The Senators have a nasty way of frustrating their fans.
They dig themselves into a huge hole in the first half of the season and then, when the playoffs are pretty much out of reach, they begin putting everything together and playing really competitive hockey.
They did it a year ago, and it's happening again this season.
They just need to figure out a way to put together a full season performance. They can do that by better addressing their depth and goaltending.
Ottawa's core at the top of the lineup is extremely talented and all of them are signed to long-term, team-friendly contracts. With Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk and Thomas Chabot, they have the most important pieces in place.
Now comes the hard part of figuring out a way to build something competitive around them.
Philadelphia Flyers: Who Is Going to Stop the Puck?
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The Flyers have exceeded all expectations this season and put themselves in a great position to make an unexpected run to the playoffs.
But what once looked to be a lock is now in some doubt as they have run into a familiar foe on their own roster: the lack of a goalie.
With Carter Hart out of the team as he faces a sexual assault charge in Canada, the Flyers have been unable to find any sort of consistent goaltending.
Since January 1, the Flyers have the worst all-situations save percentage in hockey with an .868 save percentage.
Prospect Ivan Fedotov has arrived from Russia, and it might be worth finding out what he can do down the stretch. It isn't like they are getting what they need from Samuel Ersson right now.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Sidney Crosby's Continued Brilliance
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The Pittsburgh Penguins are on their way to a second straight non-playoff season in what has been a bitterly disappointing and frustrating year.
Their power play stinks, they cannot protect leads, the defense has underwhelmed, and the goaltending has slumped in the second half. They also traded a core player and long-time star in Jake Guentzel.
The one positive has been the continued brilliance of Sidney Crosby. He never seems to slow down.
If he can maintain a point-per-game average (which he is currently on track to do) he will tie Wayne Gretzky for the most consecutive point-per-game seasons to start a career with 19 of them. He also has a chance to hit the 40-goal mark as a 36-year-old.
It is just stunning that the Penguins have not been able to build a better team around him the past two years, especially as they have been the two healthiest seasons of his career.
San Jose Sharks: Draft Lottery Watch
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The Sharks' rebuild is in full swing with the trades of Brent Burns, Timo Meier, Erik Karlsson and Tomas Hertl over the past two years, and it has left the roster a shell of what it once was.
They need everything, and they can start with some draft lottery luck.
The easiest and fastest way to jump-start your rebuild is to get a No. 1 pick and a potential star player. That requires a bad team in the right year and the lottery balls to go your way.
Well, the Sharks are on track to have the best draft lottery odds, and there is the potential for a star in Boston University's Macklin Celebrini sitting out there for some lucky team.
San Jose could certainly use that luck because as things stand it might be further away from contention than any other team in the league.
The Sharks also have a pretty significant cushion over the other teams in the league for those top draft lottery odds.
Seattle Kraken: Matthew Beniers Finishing Strong
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The Kraken always seemed like a strong candidate for a regression this season because a lot of their offensive success from a year ago was driven by shooting percentage.
You can never trust a shooting percentage driven team to repeat that over multiple seasons.
It did not repeat for Seattle, and now it finds itself near the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
The one thing the Kraken did seem to have going for them was a promising young star in reigning Calder Trophy winner Matthew Beniers. But he has not been immune to the regression in Seattle this season, and it has resulted in his production being nearly cut in half.
The Kraken need him and Shane Wright to become top-line players.
If the Kraken are not going to make the playoffs, they at least need to see something from Beniers down the stretch.
St. Louis Blues: the Playoff Push
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Realistically speaking, there is probably only one team in the Western Conference on the outside of the playoff picture that still has even a remote chance.
That team is the Blues.
They enter play on Monday five points back of a spot but are 9-5-1 over their past 15 games.
The downside here is that point gap is a lot to make up in a short period of time, and they really need the Los Angeles Kings to cool off.
They could really use another head-to-head game with the Kings to make up some ground. But they do not have that.
The Blues are not really in a position to put themselves in a realistic spot for the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, and they are also not really in a spot where the playoffs seem in play.
Nobody likes to be in the messy middle of the standings, but that is where the Blues sit.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Andrei Vasilevskiy
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The most impressive part of the Lightning being in a playoff spot is they have done it while getting some shockingly bad goaltending.
Long-time starter Andrei Vasilevskiy missed the first month of the season, and he hadn't played up to his normal level since returning.
That last point is really starting to change, though.
Vasilevskiy had a .915 save percentage in March and has helped the Lightning play some of their best hockey of the season.
If he can maintain that level he will make the Lightning a terrifying playoff opponent. A goalie like him can completely steal a game or series, and with Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point playing like they are offensively, the Lightning could be getting ready to reemerge as a Stanley Cup contender this season.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Auston Matthews Goals
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The easy storyline to talk about here is whether they can do anything in the playoffs.
But we have plenty of time to worry about that when the playoffs actually start.
For now, the intrigue here is whether Auston Matthews can become the first player in over 30 years to hit the 70-goal mark. He is already a two-time 60-goal scorer, something no other active player in the NHL has done (including Alex Ovechkin), and he has become the best current goal-scorer in the league.
Seventy might be a stretch, but if anybody score 10 goals in 10 games the rest of the way, it's Matthews.
Vancouver Canucks: What is Their Ceiling in the Playoffs?
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The Canucks came out of nowhere this season to emerge as a surprising contender in the Western Conference.
But what exactly is their ceiling here? And do they have the depth to compete with the other top contenders in the Western Conference such as Vegas, Colorado, Dallas and Edmonton?
The Canucks top-tier players are as good as anybody. Elias Pettersson is a star, Quinn Hughes is a legitimate Norris Trophy contender and when healthy Thatcher Demko can be a No. 1 goalie. That does not even get into the offense where J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser can provide.
The question is going to be whether they can defend enough or have enough secondary scoring come playoff time to match up with the other top teams.
On paper, it seems the Canucks might still be a few players away, but even if they do not end up making a run at the Stanley Cup, this has still been a huge season for them and a great step back toward relevance.
Vegas Golden Knights: Getting Healthy for the Playoffs
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The Golden Knights continued to dominate the trade deadline by adding Tomas Hertl, Anthony Mantha and Noah Hanifin to a Stanley Cup-winning roster.
They were able to do that because Hertl and captain Mark Stone were injured and on LTIR, helping to create enough salary-cap flexibility to be major buyers.
When healthy, they should be one of the best teams in the league, if not the best team in the league.
But they have been mostly a .500 team since starting the year 11-0-1. Injuries have been a huge part of that. The key is going to be getting Stone and Hertl back for the playoffs and keeping Jack Eichel on the ice. If that happens, a repeat run at the Cup is very much in play.
If it doesn't happen, all of those trade additions might end up being for nothing.
Washington Capitals: Making the Playoffs While Being Significantly Outscored
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Entering play on Monday, the Washington Capitals are occupying the third playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division.
They are in that position despite being outscored by 31 goals on the season.
Since the start of the 2005-06 season, only 24 teams have made the playoffs with a negative goal differential.
Only four of those teams have had a goal differential of minus-10 or worse.
Only one team (the 2011-12 Florida Panthers) had a goal differential worse than minus-20.
None of those teams were worse than minus-24.
The Capitals are truly in uncharted territory here and nothing about their success makes any sense, other than to realize this might be one of the saddest playoff races in league history where nobody seems to want it.
Winnipeg Jets: How Far Connor Hellebuyck Can Take Them in Playoffs
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The Winnipeg Jets have been one of the league's most consistently mediocre teams over the past decade and seemed destined for that same result this season.
Instead, they are one of the top teams in the Western Conference and have one of the most important ingredients for a surprising playoff run: An elite goalie playing at an elite level.
Connor Hellebuyck enters play on Monday with a league-leading .919 save percentage and looking like a player who might have another Vezina Trophy in his near future.
If Winnipeg is going to do anything in the playoffs, it might need him to put the team on his back and carry it. The Jets are not a particularly strong defensive team in front of him and are dependent on goaltending to keep the puck out of their net.
Hellebuyck is also looking to bounce back from a disappointing playoff performance from a year ago when he managed only an .886 save percentage in five games. He is better than that, and the Jets will need him to be better than that this year to have a chance.
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