Three future NHL players to consider after the draft and the start of the free agent market

The NHL Draft took place last week and the free-agent market kicked off Monday with a flurry of moves. As the dust begins to settle on the early trades, it seems like a great time to take a look at which teams we’d like to back right now for the 2024-25 season on the ice.

Edmonton Oilers to win Stanley Cup (+900 FanDuel)

Edmonton’s approach may be to score so many goals that no team can compete. With Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins back, there’s every reason to keep that momentum going.

The start of free agency only makes this mission more daunting for the rest of the league, as Edmonton added Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson. Both forwards have plenty of scoring experience and they give the Oilers some very important depth and wing contributors to surround McDavid and Draisaitl.

Florida reached the Stanley Cup Final last season and then used that experience to push the envelope this year. Edmonton is hoping to follow that model, and these additions are a great start toward that goal.

Nashville Predators win Western Conference (+950 FanDuel)

The Predators easily stole the show early in free agency, bringing in star forwards Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, both of whom won Stanley Cups, and defenseman Brady Skjei.

The addition of Stamkos and Marchessault to Nashville now gives its forward corps a downright dominant look, with Filip Forsberg, Gustav Nyquist, Ryan O’Reilly and Luke Evangelista among some of the offensive contributors on the roster.