The 2024-25 NHL season continues to be full of storylines as we approach the 20-game mark this week. GMs around the league are starting to be more involved in trade conversations, as American Thanksgiving in a couple of weeks is normally when the action picks up and talks become more advanced.

Besides trade talks heating up, there’s been a couple of players reaching major milestones, there’s been some interesting names on the waiver wire, and unfortunately for some, several players who are struggling out of the gates this season.

Here’s the very latest from around the NHL:

Lightning’s Vasilevskiy fastest to 300 wins

It was a milestone week for Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy as he became the fastest goaltender in NHL history to hit the 300-win mark.

Vasilevskiy hit the milestone mark with a 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets last Thursday, and breaks Jacques Plante’s 61-year-old NHL record, reaching the mark in 490 games, compared to Plante’s 521. Vasilevskiy became the 40th goaltender in NHL history to reach the 300-win mark and certainly has an outside chance of one day going down as the greatest goaltender in NHL history. At 30 years old, he’s not showing any signs of slowing down this season, starting the year with an 8-5-1 record, along with a 2.15 goals against average (GAA) and .920 save percentage (Sv.%).

The Lightning are off to a 9-6-1 record, good for third in the Atlantic Division heading into this week, five points behind the Maple Leafs in second. The Leafs and Lightning face off against each other on Nov.30 in Tampa Bay.

Former Leaf Jack Campbell waived by Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings placed goaltender Jack Campbell on waivers Sunday. The former Maple Leafs’ netminder has yet to play a game this season and had entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program at the start of this season, however, he has now been cleared and is eligible to play.

Campbell is coming off a 2023-24 season spent mostly in the American Hockey League, where he posted an 18-13-1 record, with a 2.63 GAA and .918 Sv.%, with the Bakersfield Condors. With the Red Wings sitting comfortably with Alex Lyon and Cam Talbot in net, it’s likely Campbell will clear waivers and get some AHL starts with the Grand Rapid Griffins.

Campbell signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with the Red Wings on the opening day of free agency. Detroit already waived veteran goaltender Ville Husso, so their AHL crease will now be littered with NHL experience. Husso has gone 3-0-0, with a 1.46 GAA and .952 Sv.% in his four AHL appearances.

As for Campbell, remember when there was an uproar in Toronto over then-GM Kyle Dubas letting Campbell walk in free agency to sign a five-year, $25-million contract with the Oilers?

5 teams to watch on NHL’s trade market

On Saturday’s Headlines on Hockey Night in Canada, hockey insider Elliotte Friedman mentioned the Boston Bruins, Columbus Blue Jackets and Nashville Predators are three teams to watch on the NHL’s trade market.

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Add in the Pittsburgh Penguins, who moved Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals and are reportedly open for business. Meanwhile, the Predators are rumoured to be looking for an upgrade at center, as they look to try and turn things around after a very slow start.

The Bruins could be the team that pulls off the biggest move early, as with an 8-8-3 record, they could use a big shakeup within their top-six forwards. The Blue Jackets are open to taking on bad contracts, as GM Don Waddell continues to rebuild and re-tool on the fly, and would like to land as many sweeteners as possible in any deal.

The Islanders are an interesting team to watch as well, and especially with the Maple Leafs, as there’s been some speculation about Isle’s forward Brock Nelson being a trade candidate for GM Brad Treliving. There doesn’t appear to be any legs to the trade speculation at this point, however, it’s certainly something to monitor throughout the season.

Quick hits from around the league

Friedman also reported over the weekend that the NHL’s salary cap could be going up by $9 million in 2025-26. It doesn’t seem like too long before it hovers around the $100 million mark.
Canucks’ J.T Miller was benched in the third period of Sunday’s loss to the Predators. Canucks’ head coach Rick Tocchet played Miller just two shifts in the third period and admitted after the game he was only interested in giving ice time to players who gave the team a chance to come back.
Former Leaf James Reimer was claimed off waivers by the Buffalo Sabres. Reimer has a .864 Sv.% in his two appearances with the Anaheim Ducks.
Capitals’ great Alex Ovechkin scored a hat-trick on Sunday in Vegas and is just 29 goals behind Wayne Gretzky for the all-time scoring crown.
Ovechkin is now tied with Leon Draisaitl and Sam Reinhart for first in the league, one goal ahead of William Nylander.
One of the NHL’s biggest surprises is Dylan Strome of the Capitals, who sits in the top-1o in league scoring with 26 points through his first 17 games.
And of course, we finish this week off with mentioning how Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid hit the 1000-point mark last week. McDavid hit 1000 in the fourth-fewest games in NHL history. Congrats to McDavid and we’re sorry about Mitch Marner ruining everyone’s Saturday night.