Can the Panthers run it back for a third straight year? Can Buffalo finally end their playoff drought? Did Toronto lose too much in the offseason to really contend again? Will the youth movement take hold fast on Long Island? Will the new coaches around the league have a positive impact on their teams?
We got some big debuts set up as well for the start of this season, as well as one final swan song out in LA. All that being said, here's how we see the 2025-26 NHL season going down.
Western Conference:
Central Division:
1. Dallas Stars 115 Points*
2. Colorado Avalanche 111 Points*
3. Winnipeg Jets 109 Points*
4. Utah Mammoth 100 Points*
5. Minnesota Wild 97 Points
6. St Louis Blues 90 Points
7. Nashville Predators 90 Points
8. Chicago Blackhawks 79 points
This will once again prove to be a very tough division to play in this season, but the top spot is going to go to the Stars by the time all is said and done. Dallas had the 2nd best record in the division last year, and this year expect it to go higher. Sure, there a few pieces from last season missing. Guys like Mason Marchment, Evgenii Dadonov, and most notably, Mikael Granlund are all elsewhere. But you still got Matt Duchene and Jason Robertson leading a solid offensive charge. It also still helps that you have a stud like Jake Oettinger between the pipes. When called upon, Jake can still deliver in net and will be a big reason the Stars are going to be good this year. Right behind them are going to be the Avalanche, who retooled a little this summer. When you have a top six that looks like Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, Brock Nelson, and Valeri Nichushkin, and a fully returning Gabriel Landeskog, its going to be really tough to play against this year. They even bolstered a solid blueline by adding Brent Burns and Victor Olofsson. But what might be the only thing that even remotely hold Colorado from a division title is between the pipes. Is Mackenzie Blackwood really going to be the guy to get them over the hump? We know one thing for sure, the Jets do in fact have the goaltending to be good, or at least a playoff team this year. A year ago they were the best in the league, and Connor Hellybuck proved that by winning MVP. This year will be a step back year for Winnipeg, even with new faces on the team such as Cole Koepke, Gustav Nyquist, Luke Schenn and some guy named Jonathan Toews. But all that coming at the cost of losing Nikolaj Ehlers, who's now in the East. There's still plenty of talent here, it just won't be enough to get them anywhere near the spot it was last year. A surprise team that's going to get into the playoffs this season is going to be the Mammoth. The core in Utah is hungry to make the playoffs, something they haven't done since well back in their Arizona days. Adding in a guy like JJ Peterka to the back end will be a solid help, as will bringing in Brandon Tanev and Nate Schmit. They have a good mix of scoring talent and tough, gritty players to build on something there in Utah, and it might just be enough to make a big jump and get into the post season.
Now for a team that's going to be on the outside looking are the Wild. There wasn't much, if anything at all, during the offseason to improve this team. They did bring in Vladimir Tarasenko from Detroit so that adds a little more depth to this club. That's only if he looks anything close to what he did when he was in his prime. Look they may have enough of a punch to score to possibly hang on to a playoff race. But what really might keep them in it would be Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt in net. That tandom might keep them close to challenging for a playoff spot. Then you have a team like the Blues, who are going to be a very interesting case this season. They are a solid team that just so happens to be stuck in a very tough division this season. For one thing, the play of Jordan Binnengton could go a long way. He has to carry this team to stand a chance, at least in net. They have top end talent in the scoring department, in the form of guys like Robert Thomas, Pavel Buchnevich, and Jordan Kyrou. Defense seems to be a bit of a question mark which might be keeping them out. Now, we got a Predators team who had a season last year that was way below expectation. They brought in Stamkos, Marchessault, and Skjei. And it all went south. Now it looks like older stars who don't have it anymore. They do have two budding stars still on this team in Jusse Saros and Filip Forsberg. But if they don't have a youth movement around them to truly build around, then what good is it going to do anybody around Nashville. Finally, bringing up the rear is a rebuilding team in the Blackhawks. Sure, you got a super stud in Conor Bedard to build around. You may have something to center around in net as well in the form of Spencer Knight. Otherwise it going to have to be a waiting game in Chicago for the rest of the youth movement to come along and join in for the Hawks to really be contenders again.
Pacific Division:
1. Vegas Golden Knights 112 Points*
2. Los Angeles Kings 109 Points*
3. Edmonton Oilers 107 Points*
4. Vancouver Canucks 103 Points*
5. Calgary Flames 97 Points
6. Seattle Kraken 96 Points
7. Anaheim Ducks 87 Points
8. San Jose Sharks 79 Points
This could seem like a recurring theme for the Golden Knights. Twice in the last three years, and four times in their eight year history they have won the division. And this year will be no different. Vegas has only missed the playoffs once in their history, and have even been to the Finals twice. And they got even better. How? They added Mitch Marner in the offseason and signed him to a big deal. That's yet another high power weapon to an already solid hockey club. That's adding to the talent with Eichel, Stone, Hertl. Its the strongest group of forwards in the entire division. Adin Hill has solidified things in net. Even with Alex Pietrangelo missing most of the season, there's still Brayden McNabb and Noah Hanifin to anchor that defense. The only team that can even remotely come close to knocking Vegas off in the division is going to be the Kings. It what will be the final season of Anze Kopitar career out in Los Angeles, it going to be a good year for the team. Sure they took a bit of a hit on the back end, losing both Jordan Spence and Vladislav Gavrikov.They still solid with Ceci, Doughty and Dumoulin. They have balance on the offensive side of things. This team isn't quite a cup contender yet, but they still good enough to be a playoff team out in LA. Right behind them is going to be the team that's knocked them out in the playoffs the last two seasons, the Oilers. You still have two of the best players on planet earth in your lineup in Draisaitl and McDavid. Problem is, the window with this team is closing and fast. McDavid due to hit the market at the end of the season. With Edmonton having gone to the finals the last two years and come up empty, they had better find a way to get over that final hump quickly. The team that's here is still a very good one. Again the big question that Edmonton still has to face is, can goaltending hold up enough to finally take them all the way? Now another question to bring up is how far can a team like the Canucks go? Depends on depth at center. Behind Elias Petterson, there's not much depth down the middle, which is going to be key for Vancouver this year. IF they want to go far during the season, centers have got to step up. Defense is solid on this team. But what is going to be another big question is how well, and healthy can Thatcher Demko play in net? He couldn't stay healthy last season. If he finally does, and can look like his old self, then Vancouver should have enough talent to get into the playoffs.
On the outside looking in are going to be the Flames. To say that Calgary was an overachiever last year would be an understatement. A large part of that was due to the play of Dustin Wolf. He played at a level that went above and beyond. In order for Calgary to even sniff that again, Wolf is going to have to repeat his performance. Why? Because Calgary did nothing else to change the product on the ice. The lineup is almost the exact same as last year. While a good team, its not good enough to really compete with the rest of the heavy hitters in the West. Then we have the Kraken, who haven't taken quite that leap to the next level in their early years in the league. There is still a solid mix of young talent and veterans. Problem is they don't have a big centerpiece that they can truly build around. As for the talent that's here in Seattle, there's not much there in the way of really being competitive. Sure they got some good young pieces, but nothing worthy really writing home about. Not much further behind them are the Ducks. Mason McTavish finally signed a long term deal, ending his holdout. Which is a good thing. but Trevor Zegras is no longer running with him, making things a bit tougher in Anaheim. They do have some good young talent here, but they are also saddled with a lot of older talent who aren't producing anywhere near what needs to be done to be a success. Going to be a long year in Anaheim. The only team that's going to be worse off is the Sharks. San Jose has it's young core working for it, the guys like Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, and William Eklund. They added plenty of veteran presence on the blueline. But what's going to be a sticking point is all the young talent that's going to take the time to develop. Not quite where it needs to be out in San Jose, with a long way to go before this team is really ready to challenge for anything of substance in the league, other than high draft picks.
Eastern Conference:
Atlantic Division:
1. Tampa Bay Lightning 112 Points*
2. Florida Panthers 102 Points*
3. Toronto Maple Leafs 99 Points*
4. Ottawa Senators 97 Points*
5. Buffalo Sabres 94 Points
6. Montreal Canadiens 88 Points
7. Detroit Red Wings 86 Points
8. Boston Bruins 82 Points
This will be another good year for the Lightning and a division crown. With the talent that's here in Tampa, its going to be hard to stop. Vasilevski is still an elite netminder that's going to be tough to beat when he's on his game. Here's hoping its a more balanced workload this year so Vasey can be ready to go come playoff time. The forward group can attack you in waves. Kucherov, Gentzel, Point, Hagel, Cerelli, the list goes on. It going to be a tough task to beat these guys. The only thing that might hold the Bolts back is the depth on defense. If they can find a way to keep the balance on the back line, what's to stop them from going on a deep run. The state of Florida is well represented with talent, and the Panthers are no exception. The two time defending Cup champions are going to have a bit of an uphill battle in defense of their titles. Why? Matthew Tkachuk is out until at least December with a lower body injury. To make matters worse, Alexandre Barkov is out the entire season with a knee injury picked up during camp. Still a ton of talent here with Reinhart, Bennett, Verhaege, Rodrigues, Ekblad. And Sergei Bobrovski is still a stud in net that's going to carry this team again. How far it will go come the playoffs, we will see as we get closer to springtime. Then we have the Maple Leafs, who are going to take a bit of a step backwards this season. Mitch Marner is no longer a part of this group. He's in Vegas. The rest are still there, Tavares, Matthews and Nylander. Mathew Knies is also expected to have a good year. Toronto is solid on the blueline, so there isn't too much to worry about there. What is going to be a problem is going to be in net. Goaltending has been an issue for a long time, and doesn't look like it has gotten any better. Playoffs? Yes but not a deep run. A surprise team that's going to make the post season is the Senators. They getting full seasons out of Cozens and Zetterlund up front is going to be a big help to that young core in Ottawa. Defense is solid with Chabot and Sanderson. Depending on the play of Ullmark in the nets will really be a factor as to how far the Sens could possibly go as far as being a playoff team. But this year might just be enough to get them in.
On the outside looking in will be the Sabres. It's been a rough going for Buffalo, a team that hasn't made the postseason since 2011. They have plenty of talent with Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, Rasmus Dalhin and Bowen Bryam. But there's not too much in terms of real depth around those guys. IF they can actually get some support, when UPL gets healthy, Buffalo might be able to make a push. But it won't really be enough to get them into the post season. Next is going to be the Canadiens. They surprised a lot of people last season by making the playoffs. The biggest move Montreal made was adding Noah Dobson in a huge sign and trade. Combine him with Hutson and Matheson, you really got something to build on the back end. Then you got Juraj Slafkovsky, Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki leading a pretty good young core. They might come close to making it back into the playoffs again, but it feels like they come up a little short this season. Now on to the motor city, the Red Wings are in a bit of an interesting spot. They've been waiting nine long years to get back into the playoffs, and that doesn't look like its going to change this season. Detroit has some good young talent here in the form of Moritz Seider, Ben Chiarot, Andrew Copp and Lucas Raymond, just to name a few. Problem is, there's too many deep teams ahead of them for Detroit to really make an impact. Finally, we got ourselves the Bruins, who are going to take a big fall this season. Morgan Geekie and David Pastrnak will be relied on heavily for production because the high-end talent disappears after those two. Charlie McAvoy and Mason Lohrei have the potential to really carry the blueline, but they can't do it all. Jeremy Swayman a solid goalie, but you could just tell he isn't the same when he's not paired up with Ullmark. Going to be a long season in Boston this season.
Metropolitan Division
1. Carolina Hurricanes 108 Points*
2. New Jersey Devils 107 Points*
3. New York Rangers 99 Points*
4. Washington Capitals 96 Points*
5. Columbus Blue Jackets 92 Points
6. New York Islanders 88 Points
7. Philadelphia Flyers 82 Points
8. Pittsburgh Penguins 80 Points
It seems like its becoming a regular thing now that the Hurricanes are staking claim to the division title. Carolina managed to get better with big moves, bringing in guys like Nikolaj Ehlers and K’Andre Miller to bolster an already very talented lineup. They can score, they can defend/ Oh and they got a pretty good goalie tandem in Fredrik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov. This team is so well built, it should be no surprise that they will take the division and have a shot a very deep playoff run. Behind them are going to be the Devils. What is of some level of concern in New Jersey is the fact that it took this long to get Luke Hughes signed to a deal. They are hoping to add a little more depth with the bottom six in scoring. But they should be good enough to provide some help for the big guns. if they can find their consistent touch. If everything goes according to plan, what's to stop the Devils from being a top three team this year. A team that's expecting to have a big bounce back season this year is going to be the Rangers. With all the talent that New York has, missing the playoffs las year was a disappointment. This year seems different. JT Miller is the new captain, and Mike Sullivan takes over as the new head coach. They los K'Andre Miller on the back end, and replaced him with Vladislav Gavrikov. They have plenty of talent on this team to be right in the thick of it for the top spot in this division, New York just needs to be able to put all together and make it happen to finisher higher than projected. A team that could slip a little but is going to be the Capitals. This was a team that overachieved big time a season ago, getting career years from guys like Tom Wilson. This year will be more of a slap back to reality in Washington. The team is basically running it back again this time not having Andrew Mangiapane and Lars Eller in their lineup. If somehow the players on this team can have a repeat of monster production from last year, expect a big step back this year. Washington won't fall all the way out of playoff contention, cause they will be there. Don't expect them to be fighting at the top for the division crown either.
Just on the outside looking in are going to be the Blue Jackets. They took a huge step forward last year in Columbus, just missing the playoffs by a mere two points. Goal scoring wasn't an issue last season as they had talented forwards. They got deeper by adding Charlie Coyle. What ended up costing Columbus on a playoff spot last year was poor defensive play. nothing was really done to try and improve the defensive depth and make them better. Between that and the average play of Elvis Merzlikins. IF they want to even get close to making the playoffs again this season, the play between the pipes has to get better. Same thing can be said about the Islanders as well. While having a good year in the New York nets last season, Ilya Sorokin played below the standard he had set for himself. If he returns to his true form, then the Islanders might have a chance to contend for a playoff spot. The future on this team looks bright with drafting talent like Matthew Schaefer, Victor Eklund and Kashawn Aitcheson. But what's holding New York back is, outside of Bo Horvat and Mat Barzal, the Isles are light in scoring. There's not going to be enough talent here to really get them into contention this season. Playing hockey in the state of Pennsylvania hasn't been much fun lately. Don't believe us? Ask Flyers fans. Look, Philadelphia did a little to get bette rin the offseason, bringing in Trevor Zegras and Christian Devorak. Sam Ersson needs to show real improvement in the Flyers nets if they want to go anywhere close to sniffing playoff contention again. It's going to be a long season in Philadelphia. Same exact thing can be said for the Penguins as well, who are getting long in the tooth. The winning window seems to be all but closed Pittsburgh right now. Yes Crosby, Malkin and Letang are all still there but are getting close to the end. Now would be the best time to really start to plan for a post Sidney Crosby world. They need to really focus on getting high draft picks to start rebuilding. This year is nowhere close to being the year.
Conference Finals: Lightning vs Hurricanes, Stars vs Kings
Cup Finals: Hurricanes vs Stars
