As the calendar flips to 2024 on this NHL season, some interesting storylines have already been developed as the schedule has rolled along.

We've seen 2023 No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard already making a name for himself as a foundational player in Chicago. The Boston Bruins have adjusted well to the offseason retirements of center Patrick Bergeron and David Krejci. Meanwhile, Patrick Kane made his much-anticipated return by signing with the Detroit Red Wings.

As we head further along into 2023-24, other noteworthy stories will be worth following. Those include what could be plenty of player movement at the March 8 trade deadline, Alex Ovechkin's ongoing quest to catch Wayne Gretzky as the all-time leading goal scorer and the Vegas Golden Knights' attempt to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, among others.

Follow along as we look at what we believe will be the eight biggest NHL storylines worth watching heading into 2024. You can express your thoughts on this topic in our app comments section.

Will the Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators Reach the Playoffs?

After several seasons of rebuilding, the Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators seemed poised to finally break through as playoff contenders.

Finishing with 42 wins and 91 points in 2022-23, the Buffalo Sabres had their best performance in years, narrowly missing a wild-card spot. With 39 wins and 86 points, the Senators finished five back of the Sabres with their best record since 2016-17. The Wings had 35 wins and 80 points for their best finish since 2015-16.

To say things haven't gone as projected for those three thus far this season is an understatement. Following a promising start, the Red Wings have tumbled out of a playoff spot with 36 points in 35 games. The Sabres have 32 points in 36 contests, while the Senators are last in the Eastern Conference with 13 wins and 26 points in 30 games.

All three clubs are struggling defensively and between the pipes. The Sabres' high-powered offense from last season now ranks among the league's bottom third, the Senators have already shaken up their management and their coaching staff while the Red Wings appear to have no answers for their ongoing decline.

Sitting three points out of a wild-card spot, the Red Wings are in the best position to climb back into the playoff race. The Sabres have a little further to go but could still have a shot if they can start stringing some wins together. The Senators still have some games in hand over their Eastern rivals, but it won't mean much if they don't start winning more of them.

Are The Arizona Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers and Vancouver Canucks For Real?

Expectations were low for the Arizona Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers and Vancouver Canucks entering this season. The last time those three clubs qualified for the playoffs was during the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season. With the Coyotes and Flyers actively rebuilding and the Canucks on their third coach since 2022, their prospects for postseason contention seemed slim.

Approaching 2024, however, the Coyotes are jockeying for one of the Western Conference wild-card berths. Meanwhile, the Flyers are sitting second in the Metropolitan Division. As for the Canucks, they're battling with the New York Rangers and Vegas Golden Knights for first place in the overall standings.

After three seasons of rebuilding, the Coyotes are blossoming into a potential playoff team under head coach André Tourigny. Winger Clayton Keller is growing into a superstar, Matias Maccelli and Lawson Crouse have become reliable offensive forwards, while Connor Ingram is giving them clutch goaltending.

The Flyers, meanwhile, are gelling in their second season under coach John Tortorella. Veterans Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson are healthy this season, goalie Carter Hart has regained consistency behind a steadier defense while Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim, Joel Farabee and Owen Tippett are on pace for potential career-best performances.

As for the Canucks, they've bought into coach Rick Tocchet's forechecking system. They're also getting healthy performances from goaltender Thatcher Demko and Brock Boeser, a bounce-back effort from J.T. Miller, and center Elias Pettersson and defenseman Quinn Hughes are establishing themselves among the league's elite superstars.

There's still a lot of hockey left for these three clubs between now and the end of the regular season in April. Nevertheless, if they can at least maintain their current performances they could be preparing for their first postseason appearances in four years.

Who Buys or Sells At the 2023 Trade Deadline

The NHL's annual trade deadline is scheduled for Friday, March 8, 2023, at 3 p.m. ET. By that point, we'll know which teams will be the most likely buyers or sellers as they attempt to address their most significant roster needs for the remainder of this season.

Buyers tend to be teams certain to qualify for the playoffs or those battling to do so, as they hope to bolster their rosters for the coming postseason. Sellers are the clubs that have written off their playoff chances and are shopping pending free agents they can't or won't re-sign for future assets.

Looking at the current standings, clubs in the best position to buy include the Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islanders in the Eastern Conference. In the Western Conference, the Vancouver Canucks, Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche and defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights are the most likely buyers.

Sellers in the West include the San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks. In the East, the most likely sellers are the Columbus Blue Jackets and Ottawa Senators. Bubble teams include the Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, Seattle Kraken and Calgary Flames.

On Dec. 20, The Athletic's Chris Johnston published his list of potential trade candidates. Among them are such notables as the Flames' Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin, Penguins winger Jake Guentzel, and Kraken winger Jordan Eberle. They're all slated to become unrestricted free agents in July.

Can The Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers Bounce Back?

Entering this season, the Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers were considered among the favorites to win the Stanley Cup in 2024. The Hurricanes were coming off their second-best regular season in franchise history and reached the Eastern Conference Final, while the Oilers finished with their fifth-best regular season in their history.

The Hurricanes added defensemen Dmitry Orlov and Tony DeAngelo during the offseason to an already deep blue-line corps. They possessed solid goaltending, scoring stars such as Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov and promising young forwards Seth Jarvis and Martin Necas.

Led by superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers were the highest-scoring team in the league in 2022-23. They were coming into this season motivated to elevate their play after falling to the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round of the 2023 playoffs.

Instead, the Hurricanes approach 2024 barely above a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the Oilers are trying to get into playoff contention in the Western Conference following a horrible start that cost head coach Jay Woodcroft his job.

The Hurricanes' vaunted defense has struggled at times this season. Their goaltending has suffered with starter Frederik Andersen sidelined by a blood-clotting issue. Backup Antti Raanta spent some time in the minors while Pyotr Kochetkov has proven inconsistent thus far as a starter.

Goaltending has been a big issue for the Oilers as well, with Jack Campbell banished to the minors while Stuart Skinner attempts to regain his promising form with Calvin Pickard as his backup. Their offense has improved following a slow start, but defensively they remain among the league's bottom third.

The Hurricanes and Oilers still have sufficient time left in this season to improve in the standings and clinch a playoff spot. How well they do will depend on whether they can suitably address the issues that plagued them through the final three months of 2023.

Alex Ovechkin's Scoring Slump

Entering his 19th NHL season, Alex Ovechkin had 822 career regular-season goals, putting him 73 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's record of 894. Coming off a 42-goal performance in 2022-23, it appeared that the 38-year-old Washington Capitals captain would take another significant step this season toward catching The Great One.

After 32 games, however, Ovechkin is well off last season's pace, sitting with just six goals along with 14 assists for 20 points. He endured a 14-game goalless drought from Nov. 22 until Dec. 21 that left "The Great 8" frustrated and unable to explain his lack of production, though he remained confident the goals would come.

Ovechkin's inability to score hasn't gone unnoticed. On Dec. 15, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek believed the Capitals star looked slower and no longer as visible as he once was. Appearing on Daily Faceoff on Dec. 22, The Associated Press' Stephen Whyno felt age and bad luck were factors in Ovechkin's lack of scoring.

With 50 games remaining in the season, Ovechkin has time to get back on track. A solid second half could put him in the range of 25 to 30 goals on the season, though still well off the pace that saw him exceed 40 goals 13 times and win the Maurice Richard Trophy a record nine times.

Signed with the Capitals through 2025-26, Ovechkin still has time to catch Gretzky if he can average 23 goals per season. However, it's no longer the certainty it once seemed to be, especially if his current decline is a sign of things to come.

NHL Award Contenders

The NHL's awards are handed out in June usually within two weeks of the completion of the Stanley Cup Final. Here's a look at the players who are early contenders for some of the major awards based on their performances from the start of the season on Oct. 10 through to the end of December.

Hart Memorial Trophy (MVP): Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon is jockeying for the scoring lead with Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov. New York Rangers winger Artemi Panarin, Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes and Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby are also emerging as potential candidates.

Art Ross Trophy (scoring title): MacKinnon and Kucherov have turned this into a two-man race. Keep an eye on Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, as he's roared up the standings in recent weeks into the top 10 following an unusually slow start for him.

Maurice Richard Trophy (leading goal scorer): Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews is once again in the lead as of this date with 28 goals. However, he's facing a stiff challenge from Kucherov and Vancouver Canucks winger Brock Boeser.

Vezina Trophy (top goaltender): Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko has 17 wins and three shutouts. The Boston Bruins' Jeremy Swayman is third in goals-against average (2.17) and second in save percentage (.929) while Los Angeles Kings greybeard Cam Talbot has the second-best GAA (2.11) while his .924 SP is third-best.

James Norris Memorial Trophy (top defenseman): The Canucks' Quinn Hughes leads all blueliners with 45 points while the Avalanche's Cale Makar is nipping at his heels with 41 points. Other notables to watch include the Rangers' Adam Fox and the Dallas Stars' Miro Heiskanen.

Calder Memorial Trophy (top rookie): Chicago's Connor Bedard remains the favorite, leading all rookies (and his Blackhawks teammates) with 32 points in 34 games. Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber and Columbus Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli are among those who could also garner serious consideration for the Calder.

2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas

The NHL intends to stage its annual prospect draft at Sphere in Las Vegas on June 28 and 29, 2024. League commissioner Gary Bettman believes it will be "pretty dramatic," pointing out it will be the first sporting event held at the 18,600-seat globe-like venue.

It will also be the end of an era, as it is expected to be the last NHL draft held with representatives from all 32 teams on the draft floor. As per the league's press release, starting in 2025, the draft will be decentralized with most team brass making their selections from their home markets.

Meanwhile, the focus will be on which players are chosen, especially during the opening round. Boston University center Macklin Celebrini is projected to be the first overall selection. He could receive competition from USNTDP center Cole Eiserman, Michigan State University defenseman Artyom Levshunov and London Knights' blueliner Sam Dickinson.

Established NHL stars could also be traded as teams have more cap space and willingness to move players carrying expensive contracts. Among the most notable moves in recent years include Chicago trading winger Alex DeBrincat to the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadiens making a three-team deal to acquire Kirby Dach during the 2022 draft.

The excitement of staging this event at the state-of-the-art Sphere, the possibility for surprise first-round selections, and wheeling-and-dealing among 32 general managers on the draft floor for the last time could make this a draft to remember.

Vegas Golden Knights Attempt To Defend The Stanley Cup

The Stanley Cup is perhaps the most difficult trophy in professional sports to win. It's also just as difficult to win in consecutive seasons. Since 1997, only three teams have repeated as champions. The Detroit Red Wings did in 1997 and 1998, the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017, and the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021.

As the defending champions, the Vegas Golden Knights have avoided the dreaded "Stanley Cup hangover" that has hampered previous winners. As of Dec. 28, they're jockeying with the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks for first place in the overall standings.

The Golden Knights roster this season hasn't changed much from 2022-23. Playoff hero Adin Hill remains among their goaltender tandem, defensemen Alex Pietrangelo, Shea Theodore and Alec Martinez still patrol the blue line while Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and playoff MVP Jonathan Marchessault are once again their best forwards.

Injuries, however, have become an issue at times during this season. Hill and Theodore are currently sidelined while Martinez, Logan Thompson, Chandler Stephenson, Nicolas Roy, Zach Whitecloud and Nicolas Hague have also missed time. Meanwhile, they're still adjusting from the offseason departure of winger Reilly Smith.

The Golden Knights have a good chance to repeat. Nevertheless, that will depend on the overall health of their roster and if the effects of a short offseason and a long regular season don't catch up with them come playoff time. They'll also face stiff challenges within their conference from the Canucks, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets.

Stats and standings (as of Dec. 28, 2023) via NHL.com.