AP Advisory: NHL 2024-25 season coverage
Editors:
To help you prepare for the upcoming NHL season, here are some of AP’s plans before games begin Oct. 4. An up-to-the minute listing of all stories planned, including games and events, is available in Coverage Plan on AP Newsroom, http://newsroom.ap.org/coverageplan. You can also find a link to Coverage Plan on the left navigation of the Newsroom home page, http://newsroom.ap.org. Please contact Dave Zelio (dzelio@ap.org) with questions. All times Eastern.
AP will provide recaps, photos and boxes (sums) through the Stanley Cup Final after the regular season begins Oct. 4. No recaps and only select photo coverage are planned during the preseason Sept. 21-Oct. 3 (sums will be available for preseason games played at NHL venues).
HKN—SEASON PREVIEW — With so many eyes on the West, where high-powered teams like Edmonton and Colorado are loaded again, the Stanley Cup has found a home in South Florida, where the Panthers are the defending champions and among the favorites to win it again this season. The teams have a hard act to follow after a seven-game Cup Final classic, two players reaching 100 assists and another scoring 69 goals, but Alex Ovechkin's pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's goals record is a good place to start. By Stephen Whyno. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by noon Oct. 2.
— Team preview capsules (450 words, photos) are planned for U.S. based teams. Capsules for Eastern Conference teams will be sent Sept. 30, along with Atlantic and Metropolitan divisional previews. Capsules for Western Conference teams will be sent Oct. 1, along with Central and Pacific divisional previews.
HKN--NEXT GENERATION STARS — Before Macklin Celebrini plays a single NHL game, there’s plenty of anticipation about what he can do for the San Jose Sharks, along with fellow rookie Will Smith. The previous two No. 1 picks, Chicago’s Connor Bedard and Montreal’s Juraj Slafkovsky, have already shown what they can do in the league and are at the forefront of the next generation of hockey’s stars following the lead of Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid. By Stephen Whyno. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos by noon Sept. 26.
HKN--INTERNATIONAL SEASON — While a vast majority of the 1,312 NHL games through June will take place in North America, the spotlight this season is on international play, beginning with the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils opening the season in Prague and the Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers playing in Finland in November. The 4 Nations Face-off in February is front and center, with the sport eyeing the NHL’s return to the Olympics in Milan in 2026. By Stephen Whyno. UPCOMING: 700 words photos by noon Oct. 1.
HKN—WHITEHORSE CONNECTIONS — Canada’s last frontier, the Yukon, is suddenly gaining a reputation for developing NHL players. In 2019, Buffalo Sabres center Dylan Cozens was the first Yukoner to be selected in the first round of draft. Gavin McKenna, also from the territorial capital of Whitehorse, could surpass him in already being projected to go No. 1 in 2026. By John Wawrow. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 2 p.m. Oct. 7.
HKN--RUSSIAN INFUSION — This season is bringing more exciting talent to the NHL from Russia, headlined by Philadelphia Flyers prospect Matvei Michkov. Washington’s Ivan Miroshnichenko looks ready to take the next step and so are others despite fears from teams about not being able to get players out of the KHL in light of the war in Ukraine and a lack of a transfer agreement. By Stephen Whyno. UPCOMING: 550 words, photos 8 a.m. Oct. 7.
HKN--PANTHERS-MAURICE — Paul Maurice started most days this summer on a screened-in porch in Canada, having coffee with his wife. Some days, they sat there for 30 minutes. Other days, they sat there for four hours. He rested, he relaxed, he reflected on what it took to win the Stanley Cup. And after a few weeks, the Florida Panthers’ coach realized he’s ready to go chase the Cup once again. By Tim Reynolds. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 4 p.m. Sept. 16.
With: HKN--Panthers-Maurice-Excerpts. Selected passages of AP interview with Paul Maurice. UPCOMING: 500 words, photos.
HKN—SABRES-THE DROUGHT — New Buffalo Sabres president Pete Guelli repeats the confidence many of his predecessors – and team owner Terry Pegula – have expressed in the past in believing the franchise is ready to turn the corner. What he also acknowledges as the team opens its 14th season since making a playoff appearance is that talk, the return of Lindy Ruff as coach, and the hype of a new scoreboard being installed doesn’t guarantee anything. By John Wawrow. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 2 p.m. Oct. 3. With HKN—SABRES-DAHLINS CAMP, moving Sept. 24.
HKN—GOALIES FACING OVECHKIN — Alex Ovechkin has scored on 175 different goaltenders on his way to second on the NHL career goals list. He’s 42 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record. Some of the masked men he has tormented are hoping he does pass Gretzky, in awe of what the Washington Capitals star can do and proud of the saves they have made against Ovechkin. By Stephen Whyno. UPCOMING: 550 words, photos by 3 p.m. Sept. 27.
HKN—OILERS-ALL IN --After clawing back from a 3-0 deficit in the Stanley Cup Final and losing by a goal in Game 7, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers are more motivated than ever to avenge the most gut-wrenching defeat of their NHL careers. Draisaitl signed a new contract for nine more seasons and McDavid expected to get extended a year from now, but they expect to win it all now and are favored to do so. By Stephen Whyno. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos by 2 p.m. Oct. 8.
HKN--PUCK DROP-COACHING CAROUSEL — Among the half-dozen coaching changes around the NHL, one team with a young roster hired a first-timer at age 36 and another went with a grizzled veteran three decades older. San Jose’s David Warsofsky and Buffalo’s Lindy Ruff are at the opposite ends of the experience spectrum. New Jersey is hoping Sheldon Keefe helps on a return to the playoffs and Toronto is counting on Craig Berube. By Stephen Whyno. UPCOMING: 550 words, photos by 5 a.m. Sept. 30.
HKN--PUCK DROP-TRAINING CAMP — A rundown of the biggest questions facing NHL teams as training camps open around the league, from unsigned Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman to another difficult readjustment to hockey in Columbus and a fresh start in Utah. By Stephen Whyno. UPCOMING: 550 words, photos by 1 p.m. Sept. 17.
HKN—PUCK DROP-WHAT TO KNOW -- A quick rundown of things to know for the season, including AP predictions on which teams will go to the conference finals (and beyond) and which players are the most likely to have award-winning seasons. By Stephen Whyno and John Wawrow. UPCOMING: 500 words, photos by 5 a.m. Oct. 3.
