What to know for the NHL off-season

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After Vegas (over?)celebrated its Stanley Cup championship Saturday night on the Strip, we're about to enter the busiest stretch of the NHL off-season. It starts tomorrow with the unveiling of the 2023 Hockey Hall of Fame class and continues next week with the NHL awards show on Monday night, the draft on Wednesday and Thursday and the start of free agency on Saturday, July 1.

Here's a look at what to expect:

Hall of Fame

The only top-shelf candidate among the first-year eligibles is goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. He played all 15 of his NHL seasons with the New York Rangers, finishing sixth all-time in wins. Lundqvist won the Vezina Trophy for the league's best goalie in 2012 and Olympic gold with Sweden in 2006, but never captured the Stanley Cup.

Considering the dearth of strong new candidates, the committee might turn to players it has rejected in the past. Those include star forwards Alexander Mogilny, Theo Fleury, Rod Brind'Amour, Pierre Turgeon, Henrik Zetterberg, Keith Tkachuk and Jeremy Roenick; defenceman Sergei Gonchar; and goalie Curtis Joseph. A maximum of four men can be elected in the players' category.

Up to two women's players can also be inducted. The candidates include multi-time Olympic and world champions Jennifer Botterill and Caroline Ouellette of Canada and former U.S. captain Meghan Duggan. Read more about the Hockey Hall of Fame candidates here.

Awards

There's no intrigue when it comes to the biggest prize. Connor McDavid will almost certainly win the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player after piling up 153 points — the most in the