On Wednesday, Oct. 4, the National Hockey League kicked off their 101st season of operations, and as always, there’s plenty of exciting storylines. Here’s a look at some of the narratives to follow this year:

VIVA LAS VEGAS

This season, the NHL added a team in Las Vegas, Nev. Known as the Vegas Golden Knights, they are the first professional sports team based in Nevada, and the first new team in the NHL since the 2000-2001 season. They netted several solid players in the expansion draft over the summer, including goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, left winger James Neal, and defenseman Nate Schmidt.

Of course, the Golden Knights are hardly playoff contenders right off the bat. Historically, expansion teams have fared poorly in their first year. The most recent one, the Columbus Blue Jackets, suffered through a 28-39-9 record in their debut, and there’s not much reason to believe Vegas will do any better. However, they gave their fans reason to believe on Friday, Oct. 6, when they defeated the Dallas Stars 2-1 in the franchise’s first game. It will be interesting to watch their progress throughout the rest of the season and in the coming years.

THE RISE OF THE OILERS

Two years ago, the Edmonton Oilers were a dying franchise without a playoff appearance since 2006. Last year, however, they took a big leap forward, improving to a 47-26-9 record and making to the second round of the playoffs. This year, many expect the team to make a serious run at the Stanley Cup.

The centerpiece of the Oilers’ turnaround is center Connor McDavid. As the first overall pick of the 2015 draft, he has drawn comparisons to the legendary Oiler center Wayne Gretzky. Unfortunately, McDavid missed most of the 2015-16 season with injury, so he played for the first time last season. He certainly lived up to the hype, scoring 30 goals and 70 assists over the 82-game season. For that, he was given the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player. At the age of 20, it’s safe to say the best is yet to come for McDavid, who started this year with a hat trick on Wednesday night.

The quality of the team is much deeper than just McDavid, thoughh. Defenders Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson have established themselves as one of the top defensive pairs in the NHL. Goaltender Cam Talbot led the league in wins and saves, while making a remarkable 73 starts. In the off-season, the team acquired two major offensive pieces: center Ryan Strome and right winger Jussi Jokinen. Both figure to bolster what is already a powerful offense.

Edmonton has not won the Stanley Cup since 1990, and has only been to the finals once since then. With this young, powerful team, it may not be long before they return to the promised land.

CAPS ON THE DECLINE

The Washington Capitals have acquired a reputation over their history as being postseason chokers. For the past two years, they have had the best record in the NHL, only to lose in the second round of the playoffs each time. Now, after several key off-season losses, some are questioning if the Capitals will even make it to the postseason.

Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk departed Washington for New York this off-season, and signed with the Rangers. The Caps also lost veteran right winger Justin Williams, defenseman Karl Alzner, two-way forward Marcus Johanssen, and defenseman Nate Schmidt. The core of the team, including star forward Alex Ovechkin, remains, but the depth of the team has been severely diminished.

With the rise of young teams in the division such as Columbus Blue Jackets and two-time defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins, the Capitals could have a much tougher time than usual making it back to a high seed in the playoffs.

SEASON PREDICTIONS:

METROPOLITAN DIVISION
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
WASHINGTON CAPITALS (wild card #1)
NEW YORK ISLANDERS (wild card #2)
CAROLINA HURRICANES
NEW YORK RANGERS
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
NEW JERSEY DEVILS

ATLANTIC DIVISION
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
OTTAWA SENATORS
BOSTON BRUINS
MONTREAL CANADIENS
BUFFALO SABRES
FLORIDA PANTHERS
DETROIT RED WINGS

CENTRAL DIVISION
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
MINNESOTA WILD
DALLAS STARS (wild card #1)
WINNIPEG JETS
ST. LOUIS BLUES
COLORADO AVALANCHE

PACIFIC DIVISION
EDMONTON OILERS
SAN JOSE SHARKS
ANAHEIM DUCKS
CALGARY FLAMES (wild card #2)
LOS ANGELES KINGS
ARIZONA COYOTES
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
VANCOUVER CANUCKS

*Photo by Suko’s License Plates via flickr.com*