One aspect I'm really interested in seeing is how comfortable and consistent is the team starting out the season.
I think it's important to remember that going into last season there was 8 (DeBrincat, Compher, Sprong, Fischer, Kostin, Petry, Gostibehere, Holl) new skaters in the lineup, not including goalies. That means every line and every D-pairing was brand new and I think that played a big role in the inconsistencies last season. Then, Kane was added two months into the season, which was another huge adjustment.
There isn't nearly as much turnover going into this season. The Larkin/Debrincat/Raymond line, Copp/Rassmussen/Fischer line, Seider/Chairot paring. and even Petry/Edvinsson, are carryovers from last season. Compher and Kane seem to be a carryover too. So, hopefully the team is a lot more settled and on the same page to start the year.