The 2024-25 season is around the corner as the offseason, and the action that came with it, is starting to wind down. It’s that time when fans and experts alike start to make some predictions. One of the things to look at is the top five offenses in the NHL. Offense doesn’t change much from one season to the next but there will be some changes and this project allows us to take a look at which offenses to pay attention to in the upcoming season.
Related: NHL Rebuild Rankings: 2024-25 Preseason Edition
For reference, these were the top five offenses from last season.
5. Tampa Bay Lightning (3.51 goals per game)
4. Edmonton Oilers (3.56 goals per game)
3. Dallas Stars (3.59 goals per game)
2. Toronto Maple Leafs (3.63 goals per game)
1. Colorado Avalanche (3.68 goals per game)
Of the five teams from last season, three of them made the list this season while two missed the cut. So, let’s take a dive at what the best offenses in the league, give or take, will look like.
5. Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks finished last season just out of the top five, averaging 3.40 goals per game. There’s a good argument to be made that they overachieved and everything went right so this season, they will regress, especially after losing Elias Lindholm in free agency. However, the roster for the most part remains intact and the Lindholm loss isn’t such a big deal considering he only scored six goals and six assists in 26 regular season games after he was acquired from the Calgary Flames.
They have a great group that can take this offense a step further. The top six has J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, and Brock Boeser leading the way, a trio that scored 111 goals and added 154 assists. Then there’s the Jake DeBrusk addition which will help the top six on the wing as well.
Then there is the defensive unit which has the reigning Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Quinn Hughes putting the offense over the top with his playmaking from the point. Hughes has rounded out his game as he’s more than a passer and can impact the game in multiple ways and it showed with a season where he scored 17 goals and 75 assists. A bonus is Filip Hronek who also opens up the offense from the point; it’s a duo that takes this offense up a notch.
The lack of depth can hold the Canucks back (acquiring Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov at the 2024 Trade Deadline and moving out depth skaters and future assets in the process won’t help the cause going forward.) Similarly, Boeser falling off after a 40-goal season will hurt the offense. Otherwise, this is a group that is sure to run up the score on a lot of teams this season.
4. New Jersey Devils
Everything went wrong for the New Jersey Devils last season. The injuries piled up, the team was behind in the standings early, and by the end of the season, they were forced to fire head coach Lindy Ruff. The offseason that followed was filled with a lot of turnover both behind the bench and on the roster. With the Sheldon Keefe hiring, it’s easy to believe the offense will be held back and won’t reach its ceiling as he’s a coach who specializes in defense and structure.
The outlook heading into the season isn’t great but the Devils should return to their 2022-23 form, one where they had one of the best offenses in the league. It all starts with Jack Hughes. He’s the star who can torch teams on the rush and make everything work. With Hughes back in the lineup for a full season, the Devils have plenty of firepower in their forward unit with Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, and Nico Hischier taking the offense up a notch.
The same question about whether Hughes can stay healthy applies to the defense, specifically, the team’s top defenseman. The Devils need Dougie Hamilton in the lineup for a full season as he elevates them in the offensive zone and with his puck-handling ability all over the ice. Throw him in with a mature Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec, two of the younger defensemen who are great skaters, and the defensive unit will be a force in the offensive zone as well.
Last season was a rough one for the Devils and a bounce back should be anticipated. Sure, Keefe will focus strongly on fixing the defense, a unit that allowed 3.43 goals per game last season, but the speed and skill on the offensive end will be overwhelming. 2024-25 should be a season where Hughes and Bratt are continuously exploiting teams on the rush and with space to operate, they will make opponents pay.
3. Toronto Maple Leafs
Even with the coaching change and all the speculation that the Maple Leafs will look different after their playoff exit (a captaincy change ought to do it), this team looks the same. Every season, there are some things to anticipate from the Maple Leafs. One of them is to have a potent offense.
Auston Matthews is one of the NHL’s best scorers and is sure to end up scoring 60 or 70 this season. William Nylander will continue impacting games in multiple ways as he’ll set up his linemates for scoring chances and find the back of the net himself. Mitch Marner remains on the team despite all the offseason speculation of a trade and he’ll create scoring chances with his passing ability. Then there’s John Tavares, who is no longer the captain but rounds out the core as he’s still playing at a high level.
Sure, the depth is a question mark and the Maple Leafs didn’t make many big additions to change that. That said, with Matthew Knies and Nick Robertson developing into starters, they can bolster the depth by the end of the season. On top of that, the offense will get a boost from the defense with Morgan Rielly being the primary playmaker from the point and with Jake McCabe also helping out.
The Maple Leafs look more or less the same as they did in previous seasons. With that in mind, they once again should have one of the best offenses in the NHL in the regular season. The playoffs might be a different story but they look to steamroll some of the weaker teams in the Eastern Conference throughout the season.
2. Dallas Stars
The Stars are a super team: they have talent all over the roster and even with the loss of some veteran skaters, they are destined to have one of the NHL’s best offenses. They had eight skaters score 20 goals or more last season, speaking volumes to both the elite talent and the depth they had, and they only look to build off of that.
The first thing that comes to mind is the elite forwards, specifically two of the top skaters in the NHL who often go unnoticed because they play in a southern market. Jason Robertson is a remarkable player in all facets of the game and he recorded a team-high 80 points last season. Wyatt Johnston emerged as one of the best young scorers in the NHL, scoring 32 goals in the regular season and 10 in the playoffs. Then there’s the rest of the forward unit.
Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Matt Duchene are veteran forwards who are still playing at a high level. Then there are skaters like Mason Marchment, Roope Hintz, and prospect Logan Stankoven who play throughout the forward unit. On top of that, the Stars have defensemen who help out the offense, notably Miro Heiskanen and Thomas Harley, both of whom are in their early 20s.
The Stars lost Joe Pavelski and Ryan Suter in the offseason, two veterans who were integral to the roster. Other than that, this team looks similar to the juggernaut from recent seasons and they are expected to compete for the Stanley Cup with the offense being one of the best, if not the best, in the league.
1. Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers had the best offense in the NHL in 2022-23 (albeit, a historically-strong power play helped the cause) and it was in the top five last season. It’s only going to get better with the group they have coming back this season looking to get this team over the hump. A lot of pieces are the same and the few changes that were made are upgrades.
Connor McDavid is the best player in the world and that goes without saying. In this offense, it’s more than just McDavid as there are star players all over the ice. Leon Draisaitl is one of the best skaters in the game and when he has space to operate in the offensive zone, he’s sure to take advantage one way or another. Zach Hyman is a remarkable scorer who burst on the scene last season with 54 goals during the season and 16 in the playoffs. Evan Bouchard is one of the best young two-way defensemen in the game and will continue to open up the offense from the blue line.
So how is this offense getting better and taking a step forward? They added Jeff Skinner in the offseason, another veteran who still has the scoring touch in him. While they traded Ryan McLeod to the Buffalo Sabres, they got Matthew Savoie in return, a younger skater with more upside. Pair that with an Oilers team that already has plenty of depth (Ryan Nugent Hopkins has 55 goals and 116 assists over the past two seasons and he’s their fourth-best forward) and there’s no slowing down.
The Oilers came up just short of winning the Stanley Cup, losing to the Florida Panthers in a hard-fought seven-game series. They enter this season looking to finish the job and will do so with a balanced team, something they finally have with Kris Knoblauch behind the bench. The offense particularly looks to take a step forward and overwhelm teams throughout the season and it will be the reason the Oilers are back in the Cup conversation.
Teams That Just Missed The Cut
The Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning had top-five offenses last season yet they look to decline next season. The two teams who played in the 2022 Stanley Cup Final have rosters noticeably different from the ones they had a few seasons back. While the star players are still there, both teams lack depth and it’s going to hurt them throughout the season both on the offensive end of the ice and in general.
The Sabres had an explosive offense two seasons ago with Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, and Dylan Cozens leading the way. With the core still intact, it’s easy to see this offense bouncing back and being a top-of-the-league unit once again. Likewise, the Carolina Hurricanes could slide into the top five this season with Sebastian Aho and emerging star Seth Jarvis leading the way. However, the Hurricanes are led by their defense and have to find replacements on the unit, notably Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei.
The Nashville Predators had a top-10offense last season and they were the biggest spenders in the offseason. They notably added Steven Stamkos to their top six and the expectation is that they will have an offense that is tough to stop. However, the big unknown is seeing how all the new skaters mesh with the core players already on the roster and if they will form chemistry or not.
Which offenses do you think will end up in the top five? Let us know in the comments section below!
