LOS ANGELES — After two seasons cut short by COVID-19 and another that began and ended late, the NHL will be back to normal this season. As normal as it gets in the NHL, that is. Remember, this league gave its blessing for the Arizona Coyotes to play in a 5,000-seat arena on the campus of Arizona State for at least two seasons while awaiting construction of a new home, their third since the franchise moved south from Winnipeg.
The league's international focus returned after a three-year pause, with Nashville sweeping a pair of games from San Jose in the Czech Republic. Defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado will face Columbus — the surprise winner of the Johnny Gaudreau free-agent sweepstakes — next month in Tampere, Finland. But the NHL hasn't committed to allowing players to compete in the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, which would provide greater exposure over a longer time frame.
Ten teams made coaching changes for this season, but seven "new" coaches are retreads. Bringing new blood are Lane Lambert of the New York Islanders, Derek Lalonde of Detroit, and Luke Richardson of Chicago. He coached Montreal for six playoff games in 2021. Rick Bowness is back in Winnipeg, which in 1988-89 was the first of his six NHL coaching stops. John Tortorella (Philadelphia) and Peter DeBoer (Dallas) are each on their fifth NHL head coaching job. Tortorella's hard-driving tactics will either turn around the Flyers or inspire a mutiny.
