After a difficult season in Ottawa, Dominik Hasek is back minding the Detroit Red Wings' net. (Jerry S. Mendoza/Associated Press)

1) New faces in new places

It was a busy off-season with several important trades and free-agent signings by clubs looking to strengthen their rosters. Some of the biggest stars in the NHL will be plying their skills in new cities this season, the most noteworthy among them being Chris Pronger.

After helping the Edmonton Oilers reach the Stanley Cup finals last season, the all-star defenceman requested a trade and was shipped to Anaheim where he'll anchor the Ducks' blue-line alongside Scott Niedermayer in what should be considered the best defensive pairing in the NHL.

Pronger wasn't the only stud defenceman to switch teams. Rob Blake returned to the Los Angeles Kings from the Colorado Avalanche, while Ed Jovanovski moved from the Vancouver Canucks to the rebuilding Phoenix Coyotes.

Like Blake and Jovanovski, Zdeno Chara decided to test the free-agency waters, and signed with the Boston Bruins, in serious need of defensive help, after four seasons in Ottawa.

After playing behind a mediocre Florida Panthers team, Roberto Luongo was traded to the Canucks in June, and hopes a change of scenery can help him finally reach his potential as a franchise goalie.

Power forward Todd Bertuzzi, dealt to the Panthers in the Luongo trade, will get a fresh start in Florida after a tumultuous two seasons in Vancouver.

The Detroit Red Wings are banking that Dominik Hasek, back for his third stint with the club, can help them solve their goaltending woes, while Calgary believes forward Alex Tanguay, acquired from Colorado, can create plenty of sparks on a line with Jarome Iginla and earn the Flames a return trip to the Stanley Cup finals.

And how weird will it be to see veteran winger Brendan Shanahan in a New York Rangers uniform after playing the last nine seasons in Detroit?

2) The Evgeni Malkin watch

He hasn't even played a regular-season game yet, but Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin is already being touted as one of the top contenders to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year.

The 20-year-old Russian sniper was selected second overall (behind Alexander Ovechkin) by Pittsburgh in the 2004 draft. The talented prospect didn't immediately jump to the NHL, though, choosing to remain with hometown club Metallurg Magnitogorsk in order to hone his skills.

After recently reworking his contract with the Russian Super League club, Malkin mysteriously bolted from Metallurg after the team arrived in Helsinki for a training camp, and headed to North America where he signed a three-year deal with the Penguins.

Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby will be a formidable 1-2 punch for years to come. (Canadian Press)

So what's all the fuss about this kid, anyway? Ask any pro scout and they will tell you the young Russian was the best player not playing in the NHL last season and he has the potential to become a franchise centre.

Malkin has been compared to Mats Sundin and Vincent Lecavalier for his long reach and playmaking ability. He has also been likened to Mario Lemieux and Jean Béliveau for his smooth skating and visionary passing skills.

But hockey fans may have to wait a couple weeks to get their first look at the buddding superstar. A shoulder injury during pre-season is expected to force Malkin to miss the Penguin's first few games.

3) Coaching merry-go-round

Eight of the 30 teams in the league – close to one third – begin the regular season with a new bench boss, underscoring how little job security there is amongst coaches in the NHL.

Marc Crawford was axed in April after he failed to guide the Canucks into the post-season. Nicknamed the "Crow" during his playing days, Crawford landed in Los Angeles where he'll try to turn the Kings into a contender. The Canucks, meanwhile, called on former Montreal coach Alain Vigneault to lead them back into the playoffs.

Controversial coach Ted Nolan has re-surfaced with the Islanders. (Ed Betz/Associated Press)

Ted Nolan's long exile from the NHL comes to an end as he tries to captain the sinking ship known as the New York Islanders. Division rivals New Jersey turned to Claude Julien to help them add another Stanley Cup to their trophy cabinet.

After serving as an assistant under GM Bob Gainey last season, Guy Carbonneau takes over the coaching hot seat in Montreal, while the Maple Leafs are hoping Paul Maurice, who worked miracles with the Carolina Hurricanes, can end Toronto's 40-year Stanley Cup drought.

Other new coaching appointees are Dave Lewis in Boston and Jim Playfair in Calgary, taking over for Darryl Sutter who stepped down to focus on his GM duties.

The pressure to win games in the NHL is huge, putting even more stress on the shoulders on these coaches as they start their new jobs. Will all eight be able to hold onto their jobs by the time the season ends? Stay tuned.

4) Thornton and Cheechoo try to recapture the magic

What will Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo do for an encore?

The two San Jose Sharks linemates were brought together last December following Thornton's trade from Boston and sparks immediately flew as they became the most dangerous offensive duo in the NHL.

Cheechoo had a modest 15 points (seven goals and eight assists) in the first 24 games of the 2005-06 campaign. After Thornton was traded to San Jose, Cheechoo's numbers skyrocketed: he scored a league-leading 56 goals, winning the Rocket Richard Trophy in the process, and tallied 93 points (both career highs).

Thornton also benefited from playing with Cheechoo: he scored 20 goals and picked up 72 assists in 58 games en route to finishing with a career-best 125 points for the season as he claimed the Art Ross Trophy (NHL's scoring champion) and Hart Trophy as the league MVP.

The next step for Thornton and Cheechoo is to guide San Jose to a lengthy playoff run this season. Despite being one of the top teams in the Western Conference, the Sharks have only reached the conference finals once (2003-04) in franchise history.

5) New rules, year two

In the aftermath of the lockout that wiped out the entire 2004-05 season, the NHL not only committed itself to getting the economics of the game right, but also improving the on-ice product.

New rules were implemented when hockey returned last season and it has to be said players had a tough time adjusting, especially to the way referees were calling tighter games and cracking down on obstruction.

There's no denying the new rules helped produce more goals (7,443 goals were scored in 2005-06 compared to 6,318 in 2003-04) but that was due in large part to an increase in opportunities with the man advantage – power play chances shot up from 10,427 in 2004-04 to 14,390 last season.

While there was a slight increase in even-strength goals (4,203 up to 4,453), there was a dramatic rise in power-play goals (6,318 up to 7,443).

The referees became more and more influential as the season progressed and it wasn't uncommon for teams to play more than half of an entire period short-handed.

The surge in power play chances drew the ire of many critics, including Don Cherry and Ron MacLean, who said this wasn't 'real hockey' and that the face of the game had been radically changed.

What will be interesting to see this season is if teams, having had a year to adapt, will be able to stay out of the penalty box.