Friday Four: Capitals repeat quest, new-look Hurricanes among storylines

Each Friday throughout the season Kevin Weekes will be bringing you his Friday Four. He will be blogging about four players, teams, plays, or trends that have caught his eye. This week, he will discuss four topics he is looking forward to this season.

Washington Capitals

It will be interesting to see how they fare this season, especially in the early going, after expending all that energy in winning the Stanley Cup last season. They've had a short offseason, and lost their coach, Barry Trotz, which I think is a major loss for them. But Todd Reirden has put in his time and it's a great opportunity for him and for the team to respond to him.

There are some new pieces, but by and large they're the same team. Forward Jay Beagle signed with the Vancouver Canucks, forward Alex Chiasson signed with the Edmonton Oilers and defenseman Jakub Jerabek signed with the Oilers and was traded to the St. Louis Blues.
The Capitals still have Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson and Braden Holtby, so they're in good shape. Let's see how they're able to deal with the short offseason and a new coach in defending their title.

Carolina Hurricanes

I think there are going to be a few teams that will be disrupters this season, including the Carolina Hurricanes. They have a new coach, improved defense, a new goalie and some good young forwards.
Rod Brind'Amour has been with the organization for a while, but now he'll get to put his mark on the team. They haven't made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2008-09 and this is an opportunity to wipe the slate clean. Scott Darling did not perform well last year after signing a four-year contract with the Hurricanes and will miss a few weeks with a lower-body injury. While he's out, it'll be up to newcomer Petr Mrazek, who split time with the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers last season, to be the backbone of the team.

They also have a reshaped the defense with the additions of Dougie Hamilton and Calvin de Haan. Up front, Sebastian Aho, I think he's going to be a superstar in this League. He and Teuvo Teravainen along with No. 2 pick Andrei Svechnikov should be a boon to the offense and make this an exciting team to watch.

Pacific Division

The Metropolitan Division and Central Division have been stacked in recent years, with pretty much all the teams in them competing for playoff spots. But this season, I think the Pacific Division will be the toughest in the NHL.
The Vegas Golden Knights came in last year, weren't predicted to do well and ended up winning the division. Between them and the three California teams (Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks), which each made the playoffs last year, this is a tough division.

I have to think the Calgary Flames will be better if Mike Smith stays healthy, plus the addition of forward James Neal helps. And the Edmonton Oilers should also be better after a disappointing season following ending a long playoff drought in 2016-17. The Arizona Coyotes could be improved with Antti Raanta for a full season and the Vancouver Canucks have some exciting players with Brock Boeser healthy and Elias Pettersson making the roster. I'd expect it to be a mad scramble for the top three spots as well as the wild cards, which could each come from this division.

Rookies to watch

Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, highlights a crop of young prospects who could make an impact in the NHL right away. His teammate, forward Casey Mittelstadt who played six NHL games last season will also be one to watch.

The top five picks in the 2018 Draft (Dahlin, forward Andrei Svechnikov, Hurricanes; forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Montreal Canadiens; forward Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators; forward Barrett Hayton, Coyotes) made opening night rosters and will be given a chance to make an impact in the NHL.
And let's not forget about Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen, the No. 3 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, who spent last season in Liiga, Finland's top league and had 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists). He could be in the running for the Calder Trophy.

HONORABLE MENTION

With many teams improving, there is bound to be a team or two that will regress. We saw it last season with the Chicago Blackhawks and Oilers underachieving after more successful seasons in 2016-17. Will there be a team that has high expectations that takes one or two steps back based on how much other teams improved?
If teams like the Oilers, Blackhawks, Stars, Sabres and Panthers qualify for the playoffs after not doing so last season, some teams will be on the outside looking in.