Connor McDavid was in tears.
The Edmonton Oilers had given everything they could in a hard-fought Stanley Cup final against the Florida Panthers.
The team from Alberta's capital went on a magical run led by their record-setting captain before falling just short in Game 7 after falling behind 3-0.
It was one of many big moments across men's hockey in 2024.
Earlier in the year, the NHL unveiled its aim to return to the Olympics in 2026 and 2030. The league went to five straight Games from 1998 through 2014, but skipped the 2018 event for financial reasons before plans for 2022 were squashed by COVID-19 concerns.
The NHL also announced at the 2024 all-star game it would be hosting its own international tournament in 2025 — the 4 Nations Face-Off involving Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland — with an eye toward a World Cup being held every four years beginning in 2028 to establish a set international calendar.
Czechia, which was left out of the 4 Nations, went onto win the world championships in the spring, while Russia remains frozen out because of its ongoing war in Ukraine.
The other big news from 2024 was the Arizona Coyotes abruptly moving to Utah after all avenues were exhausted in the Phoenix area.
With that look-back complete, The Canadian Press turns its attention to men's hockey storylines to watch for in 2025.
4 NATIONS FACE-OFF
McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar are set to suit up for Canada together for the first time at the event set to run Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston.
Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Quinn and Jack Hughes, and Brady and Matthew Tkachuk are poised to represent the U.S.
The event is the closest thing hockey will have seen to best-on-best since the 2016 World Cup after the NHL's last Olympic endeavour in 2014. A round-robin format will be followed by the title game Feb. 20 at TD Garden.
OLYMPIC PUSH
The summer and fall of 2025 will no doubt see plenty of Olympic talk.
The NHL's return after a 12-year hiatus to the Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy, will represent the game's definitive return to best-on-best action.
And just like the lead-in to the 4 Nations, who's in and who's out should be a massive talking point until rosters are finally revealed.
FREE-AGENT FRENZY
The opening of free agency July 1 is always a busy day, but there could be plenty of movement ahead of that date.
Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner is having another banner regular season as he churns through the final year of his deal with unrestricted free agency looming.
The same goes for Colorado Avalanche star Mikko Rantanen and Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser.
McDavid, meanwhile, will be eligible to sign a long-term extension with the Oilers on Canada Day when the league calendar flips and the final season of his current pact officially begins.
CHL/NCAA CHANGES
The NCAA approved a new rule in November that will allow players from the Canadian Hockey League — which includes the WHL, OHL and QMJHL — to compete at U.S. colleges and universities beginning next season.
The decision, which goes into effect Aug. 1, will lift the NCAA's long-standing ban on CHLers. Those players were previously deemed to be professionals because they received a monthly stipend for living expenses.
The decision could have earth-moving implications in the CHL. Players in the past had to choose between two paths, but will now be able to compete in junior and then potentially move into the NCAA when they become eligible.
PLAYOFF DROUGHTS
The Ottawa Senators, who haven't made the post-season since getting all the way to Game 7 of the 2017 Eastern Conference final, are in the playoff conversation in 2024-25, sitting in the second wild-card.
The Buffalo Sabres, meanwhile, are staring at a 14th straight season without playoff hockey at the bottom of the East standings.
The Detroit Red Wings have the second-longest drought going at eight years, but sit just two points up on Buffalo.
And if the Montreal Canadiens don't go on a run — the Original Six franchise is a solitary point better than Detroit — it will mark the first time the club has missed the post-season dance in four straight campaigns.
CANADIAN CUP?
The Oilers got agonizingly close to becoming the first Canadian team to hoist hockey's holy grail since Montreal in 1993.
The country's title drought instead reached 31 years. As always, there's hope the streak will be broken in June.
The impressive Winnipeg Jets top the NHL's overall standings with 51 points. Edmonton and Toronto (44 points) are next, followed Vancouver (41 points), Calgary (39 points), Ottawa (38 points) and Montreal (31 points).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 25, 2024.
Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
