Top thing to know: Balance is supreme

1. Who’s out

Commissioner Gary Bettman takes pride in the turnover of playoff teams from year to year as a sign of the NHL’s competitive balance. Three of the eight playoff teams in the East last year missed in 201617. Will there be more churn this time around.

It would be stunning if Washington, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Boston, Toronto, Philadelphia, Columbus and New Jersey all made it back. The Devils look like a strong candidate, but then again, they weren’t picked by anyone to be this good this quickly.

“A year ago if you told me that we were going to win a bunch of games and make the playoffs and we were going to look as good as we did, I would’ve thought you were lying,” Hall said. “I thought it was going to be a gradual climb. So you just really never know.”

2. Who’s in

After losing 28 of their first 47 games last season, the Panthers went 2582 and missed the playoffs by one point. With newly minted captain Aleksander Barkov a year more experienced and in the second season under coach Bob Boughner, Florida is a good bet to return to the postseason and push someone else out.

3. New guys

Whether it’s St. Louis loading up on centers, San Jose trading for Erik Karlsson or Los Angeles signing Ilya Kovalchuk, a lot of talent moved to the Western Conference during the offseason. But plenty of movement happened in the East, too, most notably with Tavares leaving the Islanders for his hometown Leafs.

“He’s a top10 player in the world, he’s obviously accomplished a lot in his career,” Matthews said. “And he’s looking to accomplish the big one. He feels like there’s a good opportunity with us.”

4. Musical coaches

Four of the league’s six new coaches are in the East as Barry Trotz moved on to the Islanders and was replaced in Washington by longtime assistant Todd Reirden, Carolina hired Rod Brind’Amour to succeed Bill Peters and the Rangers plucked David Quinn out of Boston University. Trotz is the only one with previous NHL head coaching experience.