Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I’ll be out for the rest of the week, but SI:AM will continue apace in my absence thanks to Tyler Lauletta.
In today’s SI:AM:
🐆 Trevor Lawrence shines
💯 Top 100 NBA players
🤫 Phillies’ bats silenced
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Hours away from puck drop
The beginning of the NHL season really sneaks up on you every year, huh? Football season is heating up and we’re right in the middle of the MLB playoffs, but the NHL will begin its new season with three games tonight on ESPN. The defending champion Panthers will get the honor of opening the season at home against the Blackhawks at 5 p.m. ET, followed by Penguins-Rangers at 8 p.m. and Avalanche-Kings at 10:30 p.m.
Here’s a quick refresher on what’s new this year in the league and what’s stayed the same.
New: Kirill Kaprizov’s contract
The biggest news from the preseason was the record-breaking contract signed by Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov. The eight-year deal has an average annual value of $17 million, the highest AAV in NHL history. (The record was previously held by Oilers star Leon Draisaitl at $14 million per year.)
Kaprizov has been one of the best goalscorers in the NHL since he made his debut in the 2020–21 season. His 185 goals are tied for eighth in the league over that period and are already the fourth-highest total in Minnesota franchise history.
If you want proof of how important Kaprizov is to the Wild’s success, look no further than last season. A lower-body injury that required surgery limited Kaprizov to just 41 games. Minnesota went 25–13–3 when he played and 20–17–6 when he didn’t. The Wild will be hoping that he can stay healthy this season and lead the franchise to its first playoff series victory in 11 years.
Old: Alexander Ovechkin
Is this the last season opener of Ovechkin’s career?
Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record was one of the biggest narratives of last season, and Ovi was able to pass the Great One thanks to an unexpected season-long scoring outburst. After last year’s stunning 44 goals in 65 games, it’ll be fascinating to see what the 40-year-old Ovechkin does for an encore. If he’s able to be that productive again, the Capitals will be begging him to come back for a 22nd NHL season in 2026–27. If he falters, there’s an opportunity for a relatively painless exit. Ovechkin’s contract is up after this season, clearing the way for him to drift seamlessly into retirement.
New (again): NHL players in the Olympics
If you liked last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off, you’ll love it when NHL players meet in international competition with even bigger stakes this season. The 4 Nations Face-Off was a kind of appetizer for the return of NHL players to the Olympics, which will happen in February in Milan. (The NHL did not send players to the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang or the ’22 Games in Beijing, although the league had planned to participate in Beijing before the COVID-19 pandemic complicated things.)
The NHL will pause its season from Feb. 6-24 to allow for Olympic participation, with the interruption taking the place of the All-Star break. The extended break won’t require the regular season to start or finish later than usual.
We’ll get our first look at the potential Olympic rosters next week when the 12 participating nations submit their initial player pools on Oct. 15. The final rosters aren’t expected to be announced until January.
Old (but louder): Sidney Crosby trade rumors
Last season was a nightmare for the Penguins. Not only did they miss the playoffs for the third straight season, but their 34–36–12 record was also their worst since 2005–06, Crosby’s rookie year.
Pittsburgh was a major seller at the trade deadline last season, and Crosby’s name repeatedly surfaced in trade rumors. The passing of the deadline only brought a temporary end to speculation that Crosby might be moved. Crosby’s agent, Pat Brisson, added fuel to the fire in an interview with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic in early September when he said “it’s always a possibility” Crosby could finish his career elsewhere. Crosby’s contract runs for two more seasons and includes a full no-move clause, meaning he’d have to approve any potential trade.
New: Rangers coach Mike Sullivan
After reaching the conference finals in two of the previous three years, the Rangers missed the playoffs last season. That led to the firing of coach Peter Laviolette. He’s been replaced by Mike Sullivan.
Sullivan is one of the most well-known coaches in the NHL today, having been in charge of the Penguins for the past 10 seasons. He won back-to-back Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh in 2016 and ’17, but he was fired after last season when the Pens failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third-straight year. His first game behind the bench for the Rangers will come tonight against the Penguins.
“I’m sure there will be a lot of mixed emotions,” Sullivan said of making his debut against his former team.
The new Rangers leadership group also includes a couple of other familiar faces. Sullivan has hired former Rangers head coach Dave Quinn (his college teammate at Boston University) to be one of his assistants, and the team’s new captain is J.T. Miller, a veteran who began his career in New York and was reacquired in a trade with the Canucks in the middle of last season.
Old: Most of the Panthers’ roster
Will the Panthers win a third straight Stanley Cup? The chances looked a lot better in July than they do now.
Florida’s biggest question mark this summer was whether the team would be able to keep several high-profile players who were set to hit free agency. Defenseman Aaron Ekblad, center Sam Bennett and trade deadline acquisition Brad Marchand were all set to become unrestricted free agents. All three ended up staying with the Panthers. Ekblad and Bennett got eight-year deals, while the 37-year-old Marchand got a six-year deal.
So everything is all sunshine and rainbows, right? Not so fast. The first bit of bad news came in late August, when ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reported that star winger Matthew Tkachuk would miss at least the first two months of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn adductor muscle. General manager Bill Zito confirmed in mid-September that the team is targeting a December return for Tkachuk.
Things got worse on Sept. 25, when captain Aleksander Barkov went down with a non-contact injury in practice. The team later confirmed that Barkov had torn his right ACL and MCL and could miss the entire season.
The best of Sports Illustrated
- Trevor Lawrence may never be the flawless superstar many envisioned, but he’s exactly what this surprising Jaguars team needs right now, writes Gilberto Manzano.
- The Chiefs couldn’t get out of their own way on Monday night, dropping another one-score game and sinking further into trouble. Matt Verderame breaks down what went wrong for Mahomes and company.
- The Phillies’ bats—and fans—have gone quiet in two home losses to open the NLDS, and their stars can’t agree on what’s wrong, writes Stephanie Apstein.
- Kansas City’s latest loss sent them tumbling below .500, while the Colts and Commanders continued their climb. Conor Orr breaks down the league's hierarchy in the Week 5 Power Rankings.
- SI’s Top 100 NBA Players countdown begins with Nos. 100–51, where rising stars make their debuts and veterans demonstrate their staying power.
- Free-agent QBs and a couple of veteran receivers are thriving, but offensive linemen have flopped early. Gilberto Manzano analyzes the best and worst signings of 2025.
- The SI men’s college basketball preseason Top 25 countdown rolls on at No. 19, where a late coaching change adds intrigue to a talented but volatile roster.
- From Bill Belichick’s disaster at UNC to Dan Mullen’s success at UNLV, Pat Forde grades the class of first-year coaches.
The top five…
… things I saw last night:
5. Devin Lloyd’s 99-yard pick-six for the Jaguars, the longest in franchise history.
4. Fireballing Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski’s first career postseason pitch: a 103 mph fastball right on the inside corner.
3. Freddie Freeman’s pick at first base for the final out of the Dodgers’ win over the Phillies.
2. A great leaping catch by Travis Hunter. (Here’s another angle.) 1. Trevor Lawrence’s chaotic scramble for the game-winning touchdown against the Chiefs. (It was his second rushing touchdown this season. The first came earlier in the game.)
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | What’s New (and Old) in the NHL This Year.
