NHL Stories to Watch in 2022-23: Repeat Avalanche Attempt, and Will the Blackhawks Trade Patrick Kane?

The preseason is officially in the books and it’s about time for the 2022-23 NHL regular season to begin. The 2022-23 campaign officially begins on October 11 when the New York Rangers host the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Vegas Golden Knights take on the Los Angeles Kings.

With the off-season in the rear-view mirror, there is so much to consider when the regular season kicks off. Here’s a look at the most intriguing storylines of the 2022-23 NHL season.

Avalanche is aiming to repeat itself as a Stanley Cup champion

The Colorado Avalanche broke through and won their first Stanley Cup since 2001 last season when they dethroned the Tampa Bay Lightning. Now the question arises: Is this the beginning of a dynasty? Well, the framework is certainly there.

The Avalanche retained most of their roster. The likes of Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehknonen have been signed, while the front office has also been massively expanded with star center Nathan MacKinnon. The team had to make a few concessions, however, and one of them was letting goalkeeper Darcy Kuemper run free. Now Pavel Francouz and former New York Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev will sit between the whistle. That’ll be something to watch throughout the year, but when you’ve got MacKinnon and Cale Makar at the helm it’s hard not to like your chances.

Will Chicago Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews Trade?

The Chicago Blackhawks’ rebuild began ahead of the 2022 NHL draft when the team traded star winger Alex DeBrincat to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for draft picks. While it doesn’t seem like there’s any rush, it looks like the Blackhawks will eventually trade franchise icons Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.

Kane is in the last year of his contract so it’s a given that he will be negotiated sometime before the trade deadline. Considering Kane is coming off a 92-point season, the Blackhawks should see a pretty favorable return for Kane.

Can Jack Eichel lead the Golden Knights back into the postseason?

Very few expansion teams have had the start to their franchise that the Vegas Golden Knights have. This was a team that advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals in its inaugural 2017–18 season, qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of its first four seasons. This is why missing out on the 2021-22 postseason was considered such a bad year, especially following the acquisition of Jack Eichel from the Buffalo Sabers.

Now, Eichel is almost a full year away from neck surgery and should be back at 100 percent for the first time in a long time. The biggest factor that could affect Vegas’ post-season ambitions is their goalkeeping situation. Robin Lehner is expected to miss the entire 2022/23 season while recovering from hip surgery. Current internal options are Logan Thompson and Laurent Brossoit, who aren’t exactly moving the needle. It will certainly be interesting to see if the Golden Knights get a netminder as the season progresses.

How does Johnny Gaudreau fit into the Blue Jackets?

The biggest free agent to hit the open market was Johnny Gaudreau. It certainly came as a surprise to many when Gaudreau decided to leave the Calgary Flames to sign with the Columbus Blue Jackets, but it might not be a bad decision for the six-time All-Star. Gaudreau will likely run on the Blue Jackets top line opposite wingmate Patrik Laine. Gaudreau plays along the same lines as Laine and has a chance to continue playing at the elite level, making good use of his playing skills. It will also benefit Laine, who could return to the 30-40 goal spread fans were used to early in his NHL career.

The Flames in a new look

There’s no team in the NHL that has had a busier offseason than the Calgary Flames. Just hours before Free Agency was due to open, Johnny Gaudreau informed the front office that he would not be re-signing with the franchise. Then Matthew Tkachuk asked to be traded. It seemed like a worst-case scenario for Calgary, but Flames general manager Brad Treliving didn’t panic.

The Flames were able to send Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers in a deal that brought in the franchise to Jonathan Huberdeau, who signed an eight-year contract extension shortly after the deal fell through. Calgary also signed star center Nazem Kadri to a seven-year deal to complete the roster makeover. Losing Gaudreau certainly wasn’t an ideal situation for the Flames, but this is still a team fit for the playoffs. It also doesn’t hurt to have a Vezina Trophy finalist in Jacob Markstrom between the whistle.

Is the Lightning starting to fall off?

This might seem like a crazy question at first, but it’s really something to consider. As the 2022-23 season begins, the Tampa Bay Lightning are the third-oldest team in the NHL. This is a group that has relied on veterans like Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov to lead the way during their three consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Finals. However, the Lightning had to make concessions this offseason as they battled the salary cap. Ondrej Palat and Ryan McDonagh are gone and that talent really hasn’t been replaced.

It’s entirely possible that there will be a changing of the guard in the Eastern Conference and the Lightning won’t be the dominant team we’ve seen in recent years.

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