Three NHL futures to consider following the draft and beginning of free agency

The NHL Draft was last week, and free agency began on Monday with a flurry of moves. As the dust starts to settle on the initial transactions, it seems like a great time to dig into which teams we may want to back already for the 2024-25 season on the ice.

Edmonton Oilers to win Stanley Cup (+900 FanDuel )

Edmonton's approach moving forward could simply be to pour on so many goals that no team can keep up. With Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins all back, there's every reason they keep that up.

The start of free agency only makes that mission more scary for the rest of the league, as Edmonton added both Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson. Both forwards have plenty of scoring experience, and they offer the Oilers some all-important depth and wing contributors to surround McDavid and Draisaitl with.

Florida made a run to the Stanley Cup Final last season and then used that experience to get over the hump this year. Edmonton will hope to follow that mold, and these additions are a great start toward that goal.

Nashville Predators to win Western Conference (+950 FanDuel )

The Predators easily stole the day at the beginning of free agency, bringing in star forwards Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, who have both won a Stanley Cup, and defenseman Brady Skjei.

Nashville adding Stamkos and Marchessault now makes their forward group look simply dominant, with Filip Forsberg, Gustav Nyquist, Ryan O'Reilly and Luke Evangelista among just some of the offensive contributors on the roster.

Skjei pairing with Roman Josi is an elite defensive group, and this Nashville team has already been on the precipice the past few seasons.

They ended last year on a tear thanks in no small part to goalie Juuse Saros, clinching a playoff spot. The year prior, while they missed the playoffs, they ended the season piling up wins with a young core, experience that paid off in 2023 and should continue moving forward.

With the Stanley Cup experience on this team, and the pieces in place already of a playoff contender, look out for Nashville next season.

Utah Hockey Club to make the playoffs (+162 FanDuel )

I for one really like what Utah has been doing here as they gear up for their first year as their newly-minted franchise.

First, they grabbed Tij Iginla in the draft, son of NHL legend Jarome Iginla, who could potentially slot in as a contributor on one of their top lines immediately.

What really catches my eye is Utah's focus on improving their defensive ranks. They traded for 26-year old Mikhail Sergachev from Tampa. Sergachev, a two-time Stanley Cup winner, figures to become Utah's top defenseman immediately, and potentially even vie for the captainship to lead this group through to its next phase.

Utah also added defensemen John Marino and Ian Cole, joining Sean Durzi to form a very solid top our on the blue line.

The Sergachev and Iginla additions round out a young, promising group, and we like taking a chance on them fighting through to a playoff spot in their first season in Utah.