PITTSBURGH - We’re slowly inching closer to August, folks. The brunt of the NHL offseason has passed. There are still a good amount of quality free agents left on the market and some big names that are rumored to be traded. But, for most teams, the impactful parts of their lineups are set. Following an exciting draft weekend and free agent frenzy, we have some teams who made some big improvements to their rosters.

With moves that were made, and the natural progression of younger players, here are the four teams I believe will make the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, that missed the 2022-23 season.

Calgary Flames

The only change I see in the Western Conference is Calgary sneaking in. Last year, everything that could go wrong for the Flames did. G Jacob Markstrom followed up a season where he was a Vezina Trophy finalist with his worst season as a starter in his career. Something was obviously wrong with Markstrom last season, and I highly doubt he’ll be as bad as he was. I’m not saying he’ll return to Vezina Trophy contention, but if he can post around a .907 save percentage, this Flames team can return to the playoffs.

They also underwent a ton of change during the last offseason. Their two best forwards left and got replaced with new guys who weren’t familiar with the style of play last season’s Flames played with. F Jonathan Huberdeau, like Markstrom, had a dreadful season last year following a Hart Trophy nomination the season prior in Florida. A change in the head coach position, going from defensively-minded Darryl Sutter to a more offensively-minded Ryan Huska is bound to help players like Huberdeau produce at increased rates.

I expect younger players like F Jakob Pelletier and F Matthew Coronato to get more playing time in roles that will help them develop into productive, top-six forwards. That was not happening under Sutter, but expect Huska to keep a more open mind than his predecessor.

They have one of my favorite defensive cores in the league, headlined by D MacKenzie Weegar, acquired in the F Matthew Tkachuk trade last offseason, along with Huberdeau. Weegar time and time again, is analytically one of the best defensive defensemen in the NHL. Pair him with the likes of D Chris Tanev, D Rasmus Andersson, and D Noah Hanifin, and that’s an elite top-four on the back end.

A lot of players are believed to want out of Calgary, including Hanifin, F Elias Lindholm, F Mikael Backlund, and possibly more. All are on expiring deals, and if the Flames can keep the team together through the season and have some success, maybe they can convince them to stick around and continue to build a competitive team.

Buffalo Sabres

It’s been twelve seasons since Western New York has seen playoff hockey, and I, like many others, am convinced that the drought will end this season. Top to bottom, at every position, this team is oozing with elite, young talent.

Up front, the team is led by C Tage Thompson, who is as unique a specimen as they come. Thompson became the tallest player in NHL history to score 40 goals in a season last year. With size like Chara, hands like Kane, and scoring touch like Matthews, the Sabres have a unicorn leading their offensive charge.

F Dylan Cozens, F Peyton Krebs, and F JJ Peterka are 22 years old or younger and seem to be studs in their own right.

On defense, two young, former first-overall picks lead the way in D Owen Power and D Rasmus Dahlin. D Mattias Samuelsson is also a good young defender. I would like to see the Sabres add one more young, right-handed defender to their group to really round out that roster.

In net, the Sabres have a potential Vezina Trophy-winning goalie in the making, in G Devon Levi. Levi got a taste of NHL action at the end of last season, but expect him to lead the way this year. G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen also has the makings of a great starter in the NHL, so it’ll be interesting to see what they do with him.

The ingredients are there for this to be a fantastic team down the road. I think they’ll make the jump this season and make the playoffs. There’s no way the roster they have now, barring major injuries, isn’t a top-eight roster in the Eastern Conference.

Ottawa Senators

The Sens haven’t made the playoffs since their heartbreaking defeat to the Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime of Game Seven of the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals. Following that double-overtime game-winner by F Chris Kunitz, the Senators franchise fell off hard. They traded the best defenseman in franchise history and fully went into a rebuild that they haven’t been able to escape since.

There have been signs of life added to the team during this stretch, though. Some good drafting at the top of the draft has brought the Sens their franchise cornerstones over the past few seasons. F Tim Stutzle and F Brady Tkachuk are leading the way on offense for the young group. They were able to sign a great, veteran forward last offseason to compliment the youth up front in F Claude Giroux, plus adding F Vladimir Tarasenko this offseason.

Their defense has been a major point of weakness over the years, but I really like what it projects to look like. During last season, Ottawa acquired D Jakob Chychrun from the Arizona Coyotes. A full season with him, as well as D Thomas Chabot, leading the way, and young defenders D Jake Sanderson and D Jacob Bernard-Docker round out a solid group. Not to mention, they were able to re-sign D Artem Zub, who’s always been a stable, right-handed defensive presence for them. Hopefully, D Erik Brannstrom is able to develop into the elite defender he was expected to be when they acquired him from the Vegas Golden Knights in a deal for F Mark Stone years ago.

Goaltending has also been a revolving door for the Senators ever since G Craig Anderson left. G Matt Murray, G Cam Talbot, G Anton Forsberg, and G Filip Gustavsson all seemed to be “the guy” at one point. On July 1, GM Pierre Dorion decided to go all-in on G Joonas Korpisalo, signing him for five seasons. Korpisalo has shown flashes of greatness during his tenure with the Columbus Blue Jackets and was good for the Los Angeles Kings after he was dealt there prior to this past season’s trade deadline.

If Korpisalo can be “the guy” that those previous goalies weren’t, we could see playoff hockey in the Canadian capital city this season. They certainly have the talent to make it happen.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Hear me out, the Penguins aren’t finished yet. It’s never smart to bet against a team with C Sidney Crosby on it. Last season, the Penguins missed the playoffs by one point. That one point allowed the Florida Panthers to make the playoffs, and subsequently the Finals. This group has tasted victory before, and they will be more motivated than ever to get back there. After seeing what the Panthers could do as an eighth-seed, the Penguins, along with many other teams, have to feel good about their chances if they can just make it in at all.

The team has made many improvements under Kyle Dubas. The bottom six upfront look a lot better, and the team has depth everywhere.

The team lost F Jason Zucker, F Ryan Poehling, F Josh Archibald, F Nick Bonino, and D Brian Dumoulin. They brought in F Reilly Smith, F Lars Eller, F Matt Nieto, F Noel Acciari, and D Ryan Graves. I think the Zucker-for-Smith swap is a wash, but the others are undoubtedly improvements.

Not to mention, the Penguins seem like the only team left in the D Erik Karlsson sweepstakes at the moment. Scoring outside of the top-six forwards was an issue for them last season. Adding a 100-point defender, and reigning Norris Trophy winner will definitely help them in that category.

I would’ve liked to see more scoring options in the bottom six, as well as a more creative option in goal, instead of bringing back G Tristan Jarry, but the team has improved, no question. Dubas promised to deepen the organization's cupboards and he kept that promise. After years of being beaten by their own goalie injuries, the team has four goalies now with at least 20 plus game experience at the NHL level. This team is more prepared for injuries than ever before, which is a great thing.

Even without Karlsson, I can easily see the Penguins returning to the playoffs. The organization is as desperate as ever to be competitive, as they know their time with the big three is expiring. If moves need to be made to improve their chances mid-season, expect Dubas to be active and fill in the gaps. He won’t sit around and wait for the team to sink like the past administration did.

In order for new teams to make the playoffs, teams who made it last season will have to miss. Based on my predictions here, three Eastern Conference teams and one Western Conference team will need to miss the postseason that made it this past year. Which teams will those be? Well, that’s a great idea for my next article! Stay tuned.