A regular season that began in Prague and featured games in four countries – along with an in-season break for the 4 Nations Face-Off that drew spirited international competition and record ratings – produced a first-of-its-kind finish as three clubs locked in a playoff spot in their final game of the 2024-25 regular season to set the 16-team bracket for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs which begin Saturday in Winnipeg – home of the Presidents’ Trophy winners.
* The 2024-25 regular season became the first under the 16-team format in which three teams clinched a playoff spot in their final game – Minnesota, Montreal and St. Louis all did so to secure a return to the postseason after missing last year.
* Overall, five teams that missed the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs secured a spot this year: Ottawa, Minnesota, Montreal, New Jersey and St. Louis. There has been playoff turnover of at least five teams in all but one season under the Wild Card format (implemented in 2013-14).
* A record-setting attendance figure of 23,014,458 watched live across 36 different venues, including 41 straight sellouts at Delta Center in Utah and 17,255 in the building on Long Island when Alex Ovechkin became the NHL all-time goals leader – one of two players to break a major Wayne Gretzky record in 2024-25, along with fellow 20-season NHL veteran Sidney Crosby.
* As nine-time Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy winner Alex Ovechkin broke a record that stood for 31 years, Leon Draisaitl claimed the award for the first time while Nikita Kucherov and Connor Hellebuyck repeated as Art Ross Trophy and William M. Jennings Trophy winners, respectively.
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A 39-year-old Alex Ovechkin overcame a broken leg, which yielded the longest single-season absence of his career, to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record – a benchmark that was once thought to be untouchable. The Capitals captain netted 895 against the Islanders, the same franchise Gretzky netted No. 894 against approximately 26 years ago. In the process, Ovechkin finished among the top-five in goals and became the fifth player to lead his team in goals at age 39-plus.
* Ovechkin’s path to #Gr8ness included an NHL-best 13th season with an average of at least 0.60 goals per game (ahead of Mario Lemieux: 12) and propelled the Capitals captain to become the first player in NHL history with three 40-goal campaigns at age 35-plus. The Great 8 needed exactly half the games The Great One needed to jump from No. 800 to No. 894 and coincidentally, netted the record-breaking goal on the 45th anniversary of when Howe tallied his 801st and final NHL goal (April 6, 1980). Read the #NHLStats Pack: Alex Ovechkin Sets NHL Goals Record for everything you need to know about his momentous accomplishment.
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The No. 1 seed in the Western and Eastern Conference – and the top two teams in the NHL standings – combined for one playoff win last year but rebounded in 2024-25, a campaign in which they combined to lead the overall League standings for 80% of the season (through 143 of 178 gamedays).
* The Jets secured the first No. 1-rank in team history (division, conference or NHL) by setting franchise records for wins (56) and points (116) en route to becoming the first Canadian team since 2011-12 to secure the Presidents’ Trophy as the No. 1 seed in the entire NHL. Before relocating to Winnipeg in 2011-12, the franchise had secured one first-place finish in its history – the Thrashers claimed top spot in the Southeast Division in 2006-07 (pacing a cohort that included the fifth-place Capitals, whose 21-year-old star Alex Ovechkin had 98 career goals to his credit).
* Winnipeg’s success in 2024-25 was rooted in the play of Connor Hellebuyck, who paced the NHL in wins (47), shutouts (8) and goals-against average (2.00; min. 25 GP) while taking the time to backstop USA to the championship game at the 4 Nations Face-Off. He became the first goaltender to be the lone William M. Jennings Trophy winner in consecutive seasons (Martin Brodeur, Roman Turek, Patrick Roy and Brian Hayward all won in consecutive campaigns while sharing it with a teammate or with a netminder from another team).
* Other highlights included Mark Scheifele setting the franchise record for career goals, the highest-scoring season by a player in Jets team history as Kyle Connor tallied 97 points to challenge the franchise record, club-record winning streaks overall (11 GP), on the road (7 GP) and from the start of a season (8 GP) – all during a campaign that began with 15-1-0 start that made Winnipeg the fastest team in NHL history to reach 15 wins in a season (16 GP).
* The Capitals secured the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference after finishing as the lowest-ranked playoff team in 2023-24 – in the process, becoming the first team on record (since 1979-80) to go from being the last team to clinch a playoff spot in one season to the first team to do so the next season.
* The Gr8 Chase was at the forefront of the Capitals’ season, but other standout performances led to the club’s best finish in five years. Ovechkin’s set-up man Dylan Strome established career highs across the board (29-53—82); Tom Wilson became the third player in League history to tally his first 30-goal season more than 800 games into his NHL career (following Alex Delvecchio: 951 GP & Mike Sillinger: 829 GP); Aliaksei Protas hit 30 goals in his second season as a full-time NHLer; and newcomers Pierre-Luc Dubois (assists and points) and Jakob Chychrun (goals and points) also had career years.
* Goaltending also was a story for Washington as Logan Thompson (42 GS) and Charlie Lindgren (38 GS) shared the starter role, with Thompson tying a career high in that category as well as setting a career high in wins (31; most by WSH goaltender since Braden Holtby: 32 in 2018-19). Thompson’s season included a 16-game point streak, the second longest by a goaltender in club history and tied for the fourth longest by a netminder in his first season with any franchise and lengthiest since Pete Peeters (19-0-2 in 1982-83 w/ BOS).
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Nikita Kucherov (37-84—121 in 78 GP) bested Nathan MacKinnon (32-84—116 in 79 GP) to claim the Art Ross Trophy in consecutive seasons and third time in his career (also 2018-19). Kucherov, one of only two players since 2000-01 to win back-to-back Art Ross Trophies, claimed the award after not even having a share of the NHL points lead this season entering March 29 and overcame a gap as big as 11 points (Jan. 4 & Jan. 6).
* Kucherov, who became the first player in Lightning history to capture the Art Ross Trophy three times (Martin St. Louis, 2x), joined Jaromir Jagr (5x) and Stan Mikita (4x) as the third player born outside North America to also accomplish the feat on three separate occasions. Overall, Tampa Bay is the third non-Original Six franchise to account for at least five Art Ross Trophy victories (also PIT: 15x & EDM: 13x).
* MacKinnon, the second player in Avalanche/Nordiques history with three consecutive 100-point seasons, benefited from a 26-game home point streak to close out 2024-25 (16-27—43 from Dec. 12, 2024 – April 8) – one season after he posted a 35-game home point streak in 2023-24. MacKinnon became the fourth player in NHL history to post multiple home streaks of at least 25-plus games.
* Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl had a hat trick of awards in 2019-20 (Art Ross Trophy, Hart Memorial Trophy & Ted Lindsay Award) but scored his way to a career-first by topping the League in goals to tally his first Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy – joining teammate Connor McDavid as the only Oilers to win the award (introduced in 1998-99). A two-time runner-up for the award (2021-22 and 2018-19), Draisaitl held at least a share of the League lead in goals every day from Dec. 5 onward – including the outright lead from Dec. 16 through the balance of the season, despite missing 11 of the club’s final 51 games as players like Tage Thompson, William Nylander and previous winners David Pastrnak and Alex Ovechkin made a charge for the trophy.
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The 4 Nations Face-Off drew spirited competition on the ice and culminated in dramatic fashion with an overtime goal by reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner Connor McDavid to lift Canada to a championship against the USA on American soil. The tournament captured the attention of the hockey community and beyond, and served as a preview of the type of hockey that lies ahead over the two-month grind that is the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
* Two-thirds of the players who were part of rosters at the 4 Nations Face-Off are set to participate in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs (62 of 93), with a handful of Canadian and American players either working alongside their international teammates again with their NHL clubs or going head-to-head in the First Round of the postseason.
* Brad Marchand (CAN) joined the Panthers on NHL Trade Deadline Day and will once again collaborate with Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett in another head-to-head meeting against Lightning forward Jake Guentzel (USA), but will also have Matthew Tkachuk (USA) at their disposal in the latest rendition of “The Battle of Florida”. Mitch Marner (CAN) will have Auston Matthews (USA) on his side when he again clashes with Brady Tkachuk (USA) – making his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut – in “The Battle of Ontario”, while Jordan Binnington (CAN) – who also set a franchise record for career wins in 2024-25 – and Connor Hellebuyck (USA) will square off in a series between the Blues and Jets after the goaltenders battled in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game.
* The latest NHL International Tournament – which was accompanied by the launch of an international section at Records.NHL.com – served as a key marker in the season for many playoff-bound clubs and players. The Blues (.792 P%; 1st) and Canadiens (.727 P%; t-3rd) surged up the standings after the break, turning eight and six-point deficits, respectively, into postseason berths – thanks in large part to the efforts of Robert Thomas (8-29—37 in 24 GP) and Nick Suzuki (13-21—34 in 22 GP), two of the highest-scoring players in that timeframe.
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St. Louis (8 points) and Montreal (6 points) both entered the 4 Nations break facing at least a six-point deficit outside the playoff bracket, each with 26 games remaining. They were among a group of nine teams that posted a winning streak of five-plus games beginning in the final quarter of the NHL season (also DAL, CBJ, MTL, TOR OTT, VGK, BUF, STL & LAK), creating a gap at the “playoff line” that had been razor thin entering the final quarter of the season.
* Montreal, St. Louis and Minnesota all clinched a playoff spot in game No. 82, making 2024-25 the first season under the 16-team playoff bracket (since 1979-80) in which three teams clinched a playoff spot in their last game. Overall, it was the third straight season that at least one team clinched a playoff spot in its final game and boosted the total to 10 teams that have done so since the Wild Card format was introduced in 2013-14.
* The largest deficits faced at any point in the season for Montreal (Dec. 19) and St. Louis (4 Nations break) were nine and eight points, respectively – the only playoff clubs to sit at least eight points outside the bracket at any point in 2024-25. Including the Canadiens and Blues, 13 teams have overcome a standings deficit of eight or more points (at any stage) to secure a playoff spot across 10 seasons under the Wild Card format.
* The Canadiens sat in last place in the overall NHL standings for three days in November (Nov. 10, Nov. 14 & Nov. 15), and placed 16th of 16 in the Eastern Conference for a total of 39 days (including as late as Dec. 16). Montreal became the 10th Canadian team in the expansion era to jump from last in the NHL standings (min. 10 GP) into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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The Canadiens were the fifth and final Canadian team to qualify for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs and also represent the League’s last franchise above the 49th parallel to win the Stanley Cup (1993). The NHL’s five Canadian teams in the Stanley Cup Playoffs are tied for the highest total in the past 30 years alongside 2016-17, 2014-15, 2003-04 and 1995-96.
* The Jets (Central) and Maple Leafs (Atlantic) both claimed a division title, matching the most Canadian teams to do so since 1974-75 when four divisions first were used – with this being just the fifth instance since the start of the 1990s (also 2012-13, 2005-06, 1994-95 & 1991-92).
* Vancouver (59:00 on April 8) posted the latest three-goal comeback win in NHL history this season. In fact, three of the top-four latest three-goal comeback victories occurred in 2024-25 (also SJS, 55:28 on Oct. 28, 2024 & SEA, 55:15 on Dec. 28, 2024).
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Columbus concluded the 2024-25 campaign on a six-game winning streak, which saw them land just two points shy of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Blue Jackets rallied together following the death of their teammate, Johnny Gaudreau, and his brother, Matthew, to craft a story of resilience throughout the season – the team posted a 23-point improvement over 2023-24 and their highest point total since 2018-19, a season after finishing last in the Eastern Conference and 29th in the overall standings.
* Zach Werenski set single season record-setting totals for goals, assists and points by a Blue Jackets defenseman (23-59—82 in 81 GP). His journey to success in 2024-25 benefited from a stretch of 22 consecutive home games with a point from Nov. 1 to Feb. 22, 2025 (14-27—41), tied for the third-longest streak by a defenseman in NHL history.
* The Blue Jackets honored the Gaudreau family and the lives of Johnny and Matthew at the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series before earning an emotional win at Ohio Stadium in front of 94,751 fans – the second-highest attendance in NHL history.
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* Cale Makar’s career season pole vaulted the Avalanche defenseman into rare company in NHL history after he concluded 2024-25 with 30-62—92. In addition to recording the League’s 18th 30-goal season by a defenseman, and first since Mike Green in 2008-09, Makar became the fifth blueliner in NHL history to post consecutive 90-point campaigns.
* In a campaign that watched Sidney Crosby reach the 600-goal and 1,600-point milestones, the Penguins captain finished with a 20th career point-per-game season and passed Wayne Gretzky (19) for the most in NHL history. Crosby then participated in one of the NHL’s two contests to feature dueling hat tricks this season (PIT vs. DAL on April 5 & SJS vs. MIN on April 9) – tied for the most in one campaign in the past 30 years (also 2023-24, 2006-07, 2000-01 & 1995-96).
* Sergei Bobrovsky of the Panthers and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Lightning became the fastest goaltenders in NHL history to reach 400 and 300 wins, respectively. Bobrovsky then moved into the top 10 on the NHL’s all-time wins list and will soon become the active leader as Marc-Andre Fleury – who overtook Patrick Roy for second place on Jan. 15, 2024 – contested his final season.
* Connor McDavid made history during the first quarter of the season when he became the fourth-fastest player in NHL history to reach the 1,000-point milestone and concluded the season with 26-74—100 – a total that boosted his career totals to 361-721—1,082 and propelled the Oilers captain past Mark Messier (4th; 1,034) and Jari Kurri (3rd; 1,043) on the franchise’s all-time scoring list. In the process, McDavid became the seventh player in NHL history with at least five consecutive 65-assist seasons and the fourth with at least eight career 100-point seasons following Wayne Gretzky (15), Mario Lemieux (10) and Marcel Dionne (8).
* Mikko Rantanen, one of two former 100-point scorers traded multiple times in the same season (also Paul Coffey in 1996-97), was acquired by Dallas from Carolina after the latter began the season with Colorado. Rantanen reached the 700-point milestone with his newest club April 3, requiring the third-fewest games among Finnish-born players in NHL history to reach the mark, and will now compete on the other side of the Stars-Avalanche rivalry after the two clubs met in the 2024 Second Round – two years after he captured the Stanley Cup alongside longtime teammate Nathan MacKinnon.
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The NHL’s three newest franchises all left their mark on 2024-25 by achieving franchise feats and paving the way for a new generation of women in hockey.
* The Golden Knights built upon their staple of consistency by qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the seventh time in their eight-season history. Vegas also claimed its fourth division title since entering the League in 2017-18, tied with Washington for the most in the span. Jack Eichel led the charge for the Golden Knights offensively, doing so from Nov. 8 through season’s end, and concluded 2024-25 with a single-season franchise record for assists and points in a season (28-66—94).
* Opening night of the regular season in North America included the first-ever NHL regular-season game in Utah as the state welcomed the League’s newest franchise, Utah Hockey Club. The club’s first captain Clayton Keller (30-60—90 in 81 GP) became the fifth player to reach the 90-point mark in a franchise’s inaugural season and Mikhail Sergachev (15-38—53 in 77 GP) became the third defenseman to score 15 goals in that scenario – doing so in front of 41 consecutive sell-out crowds at Delta Center. Off the ice, club ownership (Smith Entertainment Group) announced that it will donate up to $500,000 per rink for up to 20 new rinks built in communities across the state by interested entrepreneurs. The franchise also engaged approximately 10,000 youth in Utah Hockey Club programming and hosted community events including programs around the Hockey Fights Cancer initiative – click here for more on the community impact the club has had in the state, exactly one year since the League announced it would receive a team.
* Jessica Campbell made history on July 3, 2024, after being named to Seattle’s coaching staff and later became the first woman to work behind the bench as an assistant coach in NHL history when Seattle dropped the puck for their season on Oct. 8. Campbell’s impact on the game has stretched beyond the Kraken bench, as many young girls have made signs in support of Campbell’s historic moment and have asked her to sign jerseys with her name on the back, which she’s inscribed with the encouraging message “you can + you will”.
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* Lane Hutson (MTL), Macklin Celebrini (SJS), Dustin Wolf (CGY)and Matvei Michkov (PHI) headlined the 2024-25 Calder Trophy race as the foursome of rookies each impacted their respective franchises during their first-ever NHL campaigns. Huston, who became the ninth rookie in NHL history (and second defenseman) with 60 assists in a single season, joined Quinn Hughes (2019-20), Brian Leetch (1988-89) and Bobby Orr (1966-67) as the fourth defenseman in the modern era (since 1943-44) to lead rookies in scoring at season’s end.
* Celebrini and Michkov were two of three rookies to hit the 20-goal mark in 2024-25 (also Cutter Gauthier) – the NHL’s fourth straight season three or more rookies each scored 20 goals. Celebrini’s total was boosted by the League’s sixth ever five-point game by an 18-year-old, including the first hat trick by an 18-year-old in Sharks history. The San Jose forward accumulated other franchise firsts in 2024-25, which included single-season rookie benchmarks for assists, points and multi-goal games (tied).
* Wolf put himself into contention for the Calder Trophy after nearly backstopping the Flames to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The 24-year-old goaltender, who can become the first netminder to win the award since Steve Mason (2008-09 w/ CBJ), produced a 29-16-8 record (.910 SV%, 2.64 GAA, 3 SO). His 29 wins in 2024-25 were the fourth most by a U.S.-born rookie goaltender in a single season.
