The NHL season begins in North America with a nationally televised tripleheader

The North American portion of the 2024-25 season begins Tuesday, the first steps of a nine-month thrill ride that ends with the crowning of the 2025 Stanley Cup champions.

There will be thrills and highlights along the way that are almost unimaginable.

It all has to start somewhere, and that's with a tripleheader on national television across North America on ESPN and Sportsnet.

The action begins in the Pacific Northwest when the Seattle Kraken host the St. Louis Blues at Climate Pledge Arena (4:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, SN360, TVAS), which is great for Seattle assistant coach Jessica Campbell. What will be a historic evening will be the first woman in NHL history to serve as a coach behind the bench.

Dan Bylsma, who won a Stanley Cup as a rookie head coach with Pittsburgh in 2009, is also new as Kraken head coach.

Next up, the Florida Panthers celebrate their 2024 Stanley Cup victory for the final time and raise their championship banner before a game against the Boston Bruins at Amerant Bank Arena (7:00 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS).

The Panthers defeated the Bruins in six games in the second round of the Eastern Conference en route to their first championship, and the Bruins will be looking for some measure of revenge.

Jeremy Swayman, the Bruins' goaltender in this series, could play on Tuesday after signing an eight-year, $66 million contract ($8.25 million average annual value) on Sunday. If not, Joonas Korpisalo, who played with the Ottawa Senators last season, could be the starter.

The tripleheader concludes with even more history as the Utah Hockey Club makes its debut with a home game against the Chicago Blackhawks at the Delta Center (10 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS).

There's a lot of excitement in Utah about the new hockey team, and Delta Center is expected to provide a real home-field advantage.

The Blackhawks are led by Connor Bedard, last season's Calder Trophy winner as NHL rookie of the year.

So much could happen on Tuesday, so we asked a group of NHL.com writers and editors to find out what they're most looking forward to during the three games. Here are their answers:

It's Utah time

There was a hurricane in Utah. From the moment Ryan and Ashley Smith purchased the Arizona Coyotes in April to Tuesday when the Utah Hockey Club officially joined the NHL, so many things had to happen. The players have found a new home in a new city. The general manager has made some blockbuster transactions, most notably the acquisitions of defensemen Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino. The ice rink is prepared. The tickets have been purchased. Now all the players have to do is step on the ice for their Delta Center debut. It's a team full of young talent that has the potential to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs – or at least compete for it – and a team that should bring a lot of excitement to its new city. I can't wait to see what Utah has to offer this season, starting Tuesday against the Blackhawks. –– Amalie Benjamin, staff writer

“Disco Dan” grooves in Seattle

Dan Bylsma brings his optimistic attitude, offensive attack and Stanley Cup Playoff experience to the Kraken this season, seven seasons removed from his last job as an NHL head coach. While coaching Seattle's Coachella Valley American Hockey League team to the Calder Cup Finals over the last two seasons, Bylsma proved he knows how to win hockey and how to get his team to score goals , something the Kraken found difficult last season. Coachella Valley led the AHL with 252 goals in the 2023-24 season and they were third with 257 the season before. Some of those players will move to Seattle along with Bylsma, including 20-year-old striker Shane Wright, who has shown how much he can play the game by scoring three goals in four preseason games. The Kraken have two seasons left to finish fifth in the NHL with 3.52 goals per game and reach the playoffs. Can Bylsma bring them back after last season's team finished 29th with 2.61 goals per game? With much of the core group returning from last season, it will be interesting to watch. – Adam Kimelman, deputy editor

Florida raises its first Stanley Cup banner

The Panthers spent the offseason celebrating their first Stanley Cup championship after defeating the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals on June 24. The Stanley Cup banner was in the Amerant rafters Bench Arena. The pregame ceremony will give them one final opportunity to reflect on their long journey to this point, which included losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. They'll also have bragging rights about the Stanley Cup again, this time with each individual's name engraved on it. Then they'll try to channel all the emotion that comes with raising the banner into trying to defeat the Bruins, a team they've beaten in the Stanley Cup Playoffs each of the last two seasons. – Tom Gulitti, staff writer

American-born captains compete against each other

When the Blackhawks play Utah, history will be made as two American players will play their first game as captains of their respective franchises. According to NHL Stats and Information, there have been nine instances so far in which at least one U.S.-born player made his debut as captain, but it came against another U.S.-born player making his debut as captain for the other team NHL Stats and Information not available. Clayton Keller, a native of Chesterfield, Missouri, was named Utah's first captain on October 4. The 26-year-old forward was an assistant captain for the Arizona Coyotes the past two seasons. He will be competed against by Buffalo-born Nick Foligno, who was named captain of the Blackhawks on September 18th. The 36-year-old forward was captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2015 to 2021 and was an alternate captain for Chicago last season. – Mike G. Moreale, senior draft author

Campbell's shining moment

It will be the start of something special, not just for the Kraken, but for the NHL and women in sports when Seattle plays St. Louis. Campbell, an assistant on Kraken coach Dan Bylsma's staff, will be the first woman to be a full-time assistant coach in the league. I'll be at the game on Tuesday and look forward to seeing what the Kraken power play looks like under Campbell's direction. Sure, it will only be a small part, one game in what will hopefully be a long career for Campbell. But it will still be an exciting moment. Personally, I have been in this business for almost 30 years and am encouraged by the women who are making great strides in the sport. Campbell is the latest. – Tracey Myers, staff writer

Goalkeeper begins four-nation test training

Jordan Binnington was solid for the Blues last season, posting a 28-21-5 record with a 2.84 goals-against average (12th best in the NHL, at least 50 games) and a .913 save percentage (tied for fifth place), but the Blues missed the playoffs for the second straight season. Although the ultimate goal is to get them back to the postseason, Binnington will also be playing for something else: a spot on Team Canada for the 2025 four-nation face-off. As NHL.com writer Mike Zeisberger said Monday in As his Zizing 'Em Up column pointed out, the race for Canada's No. 1 goalie spot is wide open, so all eyes will be on Binnington on Tuesday against the Kraken through the end of November, when rosters are announced. – Bill Price, Editor-in-Chief

Bedard starts its 2nd season

The focus will rightly be on Utah on Tuesday. A new franchise plays its first game and deserves the spotlight. But after all the pomp and circumstance that was in Utah, and there will be a big show in Salt Lake City, my eyes will be on Connor Bedard. The Chicago Blackhawks center begins his second season in the shadow of Utah's first, but one of my biggest questions heading into the season is what Bedard will do next. As an 18-year-old rookie last season, he scored 61 points (22 goals, 39 assists) in 68 games. At 19 years old, can he be a point-per-game player this season? Can he be better? Can he reach 100 points in his second season like Connor McDavid? He knows what is happening. He knows the NHL now. Bedard could take off this season. He's an NHL star. But he still has so much to prove. I'll watch him on Tuesday. Does he take the spotlight away from Utah? Good chance he will. – Dan Rosen, senior writer

Broberg and Holloway make blues debut

Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway are starting a new chapter with the St. Louis Blues after playing in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals with the Edmonton Oilers last season. The two restricted free agents each signed an offer sheet from St. Louis on August 13, which Edmonton did not match. Broberg, a 23-year-old defenseman, signed a two-year, $9.16 million contract ($4.58 million average annual value) and Holloway, a 23-year-old forward, signed a two-year, $4.58 million contract ($2.29 million AAV). . Once considered an important part of Edmonton's future, the pair will now try to get St. Louis back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2022. There will be a lot of interest among Oilers fans in how well they play with the Blues this season. The question remains whether Edmonton should have matched the offer documents instead of giving up a second-round and third-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft as compensation choose. – Derek Van Diest, staff writer

Lindholm and Zadorov are in the spotlight for the new-look Bruins

One of the keys to an organization's success is identifying the gaps in your roster and addressing them immediately. Exhibit A: the Bruins. Last season, Boston's Achilles heel was in the middle after veteran centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retired. Therefore, at the top of the offseason shopping list was a No. 1 center, a need that was filled with the signing of the 29-year-old Elias to a seven-year, $54.25 million contract (average annual value of $7.75 million). Lindholm was met on July 1st. That same day, they signed defenseman Nikita Zadorov to a six-year, $30 million ($5 million AAV) deal, injecting momentum into a lineup always open to improving its physicality. Each will make their Bruins regular-season debut in the season opener against the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers. How long will it take for Lindholm, who has 557 points (218 goals, 339 assists) in 818 regular-season games for the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and Carolina Hurricanes, to develop chemistry with star forward and likely linemate David Pastrnak? How long will it take Zadorov to impose his rugged style against a Panthers team that isn't lacking in grit themselves? We'll find out when the puck drops in South Florida. – Mike Zeisberger, staff writer