Guide: Can the Superstar Break the Drought?

A new team makes its entrance in the NHL during a season that can survive both herring and Midsummer pole. Can Connor McDavid and his Edmonton break Canada's cup drought or will it be a new low-tax team that wins? Here is a guide ahead of the season.

» Published: October 03 2024

Guide: Can the Superstar Break the Drought?
Photo: JASON FRANSON/AP/TT

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+ Finals after Midsummer?

The NHL premieres in Europe with double matches between Buffalo and New Jersey in Prague on Friday and Saturday.

The first matches in North America are played late on Tuesday evening and night to Wednesday, Swedish time.

The regular season continues until April 17, and two days later, the playoffs begin. The last possible game day for the playoffs is June 23, three days after Midsummer Eve.

+ Break for Star Tournament

The NHL takes a break in February for the four-nation tournament, a kind of mini-World Championship, where Sweden, Finland, Canada, and the USA participate.

The reason it didn't become a full-scale World Cup is that the European nations refuse to meet Russia.

The four-nation tournament, with pure NHL national teams, is played on February 12-20 in Montreal and Boston.

+ Can the Superstar Reach All the Way?

Edmonton's superstar Connor McDavid has won the NHL's scoring league five times, but never lifted the Stanley Cup.

Is the 2024-25 season when it will happen?

Last season, the 27-year-old and his team were just one win away, but fell in the seventh and decisive final against Florida after previously coming back from 0-3 in matches to 3-3.

McDavid was named playoff MVP, but it was a small consolation for him.

No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup in 31 years (Montreal 1993).

+ Low Tax = Stanley Cup Win

Four of the last five Stanley Cup winners have come from American states that do not tax their residents – Florida (Florida 2024 and Tampa Bay 2021 and 22) and Nevada (Vegas 2023).

There, residents only pay federal tax, no state tax.

Critics point out that these teams have an advantage as they can write player contracts below market value.

Since the NHL has a salary cap, only a fixed amount can be spent on player salaries each season.

The NHL says there are no simple solutions, but they are keeping an eye on the situation.

+ Can Utah Reach Jazz Level?

A new NHL team, the third in eight years, sees the light of day this season. The owners of the NBA team Utah Jazz, the city's pride, bought Arizona Coyotes and moved the team to Salt Lake City.

Utah Jazz has mostly been a title contender without reaching the top, with two final losses to Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls in 1997 and 1998.

Can Utah jazz also on the hockey rink and reach the NHL top?

The team's historic first NHL match will be at home on the night of October 9, when Chicago awaits.

+ Swedish Stars in New Clubs

Several Swedes have been involved in some of the summer's most spectacular club changes:

Elias Lindholm, the center profile, is found in Boston after a shorter intermediate play in Vancouver after moving from Calgary.

Goalkeeper stars Jakob Markström, to New Jersey from Calgary, and Linus Ullmark, from Boston to Ottawa, have also got new club addresses.

Defender veteran Oliver Ekman-Larsson left Florida after the Stanley Cup win and is now in classic Toronto.

But the most notable move of the summer was made by Canadian forward star Steven Stamkos.

After 16 seasons, 11 as team captain, and two Stanley Cup titles in Tampa Bay, the Florida club chose to break with its scoring machine, who instead signed with Nashville.

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By TTEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for local and international readers

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