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The calendar still says August but the roaring game returns with the Baden Masters kicking off the World Curling Tour 2014-15 season starting Friday.

It may feel like we just closed the door on last year but a lot has changed in the previous four months since the Players’ Championship.

For one, Kevin Martin capped his legendary career winning his record 18th Grand Slam of Curling title. Martin hasn’t walked away entirely; he’s traded in his broom for a microphone and will join Sportsnet’s broadcast team for the Grand Slam events.

We also saw a free-agent frenzy over the summer the likes of which could rival the NHL’s off-season period. The conclusion of a quadrennial Olympic cycle saw players switching rinks — and provinces — as they gear up for the four-year run towards the 2018 Games in South Korea.

The biggest off-season buzz came when reigning Canadian champion Kevin Koe formed a new team with Marc Kennedy and Ben Hebert (formerly with Alberta rival Martin’s rink) along with Brent Laing from Team Glenn Howard.

Koe’s ex-teammates Pat Simmons, Carter Rycroft and Nolan Thiessen decided to stick together, retaining the Team Canada berth for the 2015 Brier, and added John Morris as skip (perhaps we should nickname him Johnny Canuck or Captain Canada?)

Team Howard dominated the Grand Slam circuit over the past three seasons winning six of 12 events, but they too have revamped their roster. Not only has Laing headed west, Wayne Middaugh decided to step away from competitive curling. Richard Hart returned to third after initially retiring in 2011 and Jon Mead joined the team at second leaving behind Jeff Stoughton’s rink in Winnipeg.

Speaking of Stoughton, he’s formed a new team entirely after Reid Carruthers also departed to skip his own rink and Mark Nichols rejoined 2006 Olympic gold teammate Brad Gushue in St. John’s.

For those who fear change, don’t worry about Brad Jacobs, Mike McEwen, Steve Laycock, David Murdoch or Thomas Ulsrud. All five skips retained the same lineups for this season.

The women’s division also experienced roster changes with Ottawa’s Rachel Homan adding Joanne Courtney to replace Alison Kreviazuk and Chelsea Carey moving to Alberta to form a new rink with Laura Crocker, Taylor McDonald and Jen Gates.

The biggest news on the women’s side though was Olympic champions Team Jennifer Jones announcing they were sticking together for a run at defending their gold medal.

We probably will not see another hectic off-season like this one for another four years but that doesn’t mean we won’t see any changes between now and the 2018 Olympics. You never know, some teams might hit the panic button next summer and make moves before their window of opportunity closes.

The Grand Slams grew over the off-season with the creation of a new event, the Elite 10, which will feature the top 10 men’s teams. In addition, the Canadian Open tournament will expand to feature a women’s division alongside the men’s.

The Masters opens the Grand Slam series in October in Selkirk, Man., and teams are already preparing for the first major of the season with Koe, Howard, McEwen, Gushue and Ulsrud confirmed for the tournament on the men’s side. Team Jones highlights the lineup for the women’s division with reigning world champion Binia Feltscher and Sochi silver medallist Margaretha Sigfridsson also planning to have their teams in Selkirk.

This season promises to be a thriller with new teams looking to make an impact and bigger events set to raise the stakes of curling.