The NHL season kicked off Tuesday night with three nationally televised games: Blues-Kraken, Bruins-Panthers and Blackhawks-Utah Hockey Club. The Blues were victorious over the Kraken 3-2, the Panthers over the Bruins 6-4 and Utah over the Blackhawks 5-2.
The Panthers lifted their Stanley Cup banner prior to their game, which will be a memorable event for the players and fans. A pregame ceremony was held, which, in addition to the banner raising, included captain Aleksander Barkov skating the Stanley Cup onto the ice. Following these ceremonies, the Panthers looked like the same team they were last spring, with very good performances on both ends of the ice. A Stanley Cup ‘hangover’ does not seem to have reached the Panthers.
Moving out west, the scenes in Utah were fascinating for the club’s first-ever game. It was nothing short of a playoff atmosphere, with the fans being treated to a dominant first period and, ultimately, a victory. Dylan Guenther scored the first goal in Utah Hockey Club History, which blew the roof off of the Delta Center. After only being established as a franchise approximately six months ago, it is extremely impressive how owner Ryan Smith was able to put this all together in such a short amount of time. Of course, there is still a way to go, but they are off to a great start in Utah.
In other news from around the league, after months-long negotiations that even went public in the last few days, the Boston Bruins and goaltender Jeremy Swayman have finally agreed to an eight-year, $66 million contract extension. This topic was the biggest storyline going into the season, but, fortunately for the Bruins, it has now been resolved and the sides have come to an agreement. It will likely take a few days for Swayman to ramp up and get ready for gameplay, but, either way, the Bruins have their franchise goalie locked up for the long-term.
In other goaltender news, Linus Ullmark — traded from Boston to Ottawa over the summer — has signed a four-year, $33 million extension with the Senators. Ottawa has been in search of an elite starting goalie for many years, and they finally have one now and for the foreseeable future. Seattle Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord also signed an extension for five years and $25 million. There has been a lot of activity in the goalie market in the lead-up to the season.
One more major contract extension involves Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe, who signed an eight-year contract extension with the team. Verhaeghe, a key piece of the team and one of the best players in last season’s playoff run, is a player Florida couldn't afford to lose.
With the NHL season now officially underway, there are a lot of exciting games and news to come. Welcome to the 2024-25 NHL season!
