With the 2025-26 NHL season just around the corner, it’s time to make bold predictions about what will happen on the road to the Stanley Cup presentation.
Contents
Boston BruinsBuffalo SabresDetroit Red WingsFlorida PanthersMontreal CanadiensOttawa SenatorsTampa Bay LightningToronto Maple LeafsCarolina HurricanesColumbus Blue JacketsNew Jersey DevilsNew York IslandersNew York RangersPhiladelphia FlyersPittsburgh PenguinsWashington CapitalsChicago BlackhawksColorado Avalanche
How many of these predictions will come true? Risking overconfidence, possibly half. That was my hit rate on last season’s bold predictions. Seth Jones was traded. Jim Montgomery was fired. Lane Hutson was a Calder finalist. But every good news has a downside: The Sabres failed to make the playoffs, and the Hurricanes did. I didn’t say they were good predictions, just bold ones.
That being said, here are the bold predictions for the 32 NHL teams in the 2025-26 season. These informed guesses range from statistical achievements to award predictions, coach firings, and Stanley Cup playoff forecasts. Enjoy them and welcome back to hockey!
Boston Bruins
The Bruins will trade Pavel Zacha. Optimism is low in Boston for the Bruins to improve on last season’s last-place finish in the Atlantic with a points percentage of .463. Goalie Jeremy Swayman has had a suitable training camp. Key injuries from last season on the blue line have healed. David Pastrnak proved he can have a 106-point season during turbulent times that included the firing of coach Jim Montgomery and the surprising trade of captain Brad Marchand. But even if the Bruins become relevant again, they are not contenders. To become so, means finding ways to improve this roster as they did in the most recent deadline, making aggressive trades. Zacha has been a great find in Boston after being acquired from New Jersey in 2022. I’m not sure how much exchange there is between the teams that call general manager Don Sweeney that vice versa. But with two years remaining on his contract with an excellent impact on the salary cap ($4.75 million per year) and limited trade protection, he could be a coveted two-way center for a contender.Buffalo Sabres
Rasmus Dahlin is a Norris Trophy finalist The Norris Trophy loves rookies. Ten of the last 14 defensemen voted as the NHL’s best were first-time winners. Four of the last six seasons had at least one first-time finalist: Zach Werenski (2025), Quinn Hughes (2024), Adam Fox and Cale Makar (2021), and Roman Josi and John Carlson (2020). Dahlin finished sixth in the Norris last season. He’s on the radar. The 25-year-old needs a few things to go his way to crack the top three in the Norris for the first time. Dahlin probably needs at least 70 points and to finish as a plus player. He needs the analytics community to rally around his case. And he needs voters to find greatness in his game, or sympathy for his lot in life, while playing for the Sabres.There are other players seeking their first Norris nomination, especially Miro Heiskanen and Thomas Harley of the Stars, as well as Charlie McAvoy of Boston, perpetually at the top. But as long as Dahlin meets his goals, and with another season alongside Bowen Byram, it should be his turn.
Detroit Red Wings
Steve Yzerman fails upwards The challenge of bringing back a franchise icon to run said franchise is figuring out what to do if things go wrong. The Oilers faced that challenge for years when 1980s dynasty names like Kevin Lowe and Craig MacTavish were managing diminishing returns. The Red Wings are now facing that challenge, as Yzerman, beloved captain and three-time Stanley Cup winner in Detroit, oversees a Red Wings team that couldn’t make the playoffs with a sherpa and using Google Maps. If Todd McLellan finds a way to lead the Red Wings to the postseason for the first time since 2016 (!), Yzerman will be safe and sound. If he doesn’t, then the pressure will be on to make some kind of organizational change. The Red Wings are not going to fire Yzerman. The concept is inconceivable. Therefore, they will do what teams do in this situation: promote Yzerman to president of hockey operations and slide Kris Draper or Shawn Horcoff, both assistant general managers, into the big job. Or simply bet everything on “franchise icon as managerial savior” and hand the keys to vice president of hockey operations Nicklas Lidstrom.Florida Panthers
Bobrovsky gets a “Marchand” deal Sergei Bobrovsky is in the final year of one of the most controversial contracts of the last decade: his seven-year deal, signed as a free agent in 2019, has an annual cap hit of $10 million. There were times when he was called a disaster. There were times when many wondered if Florida would buy him out. Then there were those three times he backed the Panthers to the Stanley Cup final, winning twice, and that criticism was drowned out by the loud beats at the Elbo Room championship parties. For a while, it seemed that Spencer Knight could succeed him, before being traded to Chicago. Daniil Tarasov, a 26-year-old recovery project from Columbus, is his backup this season. Unless the Panthers’ Goaltending Excellence Department has another move in mind, playing Bob again beyond this season seems like the best option. My prediction: he gets a contract similar to Brad Marchand’s, another 37-year-old player, which has a cap hit of $5.25 million until he turns 43. But, according to the Panthers, it wouldn’t surprise them if Bob plays well until he’s 40.Montreal Canadiens
Kaiden Guhle earns recognition from the entire league Whenever up-and-coming prospects become contenders, there’s always a certain level of discovery from the hockey community at large. Lots of “people don’t appreciate how good this guy is!” moments. I think we’re heading for one with Guhle, a 23-year-old Canadiens defenseman. It’s not exactly a diamond in the rough, having been selected at number 16 in 2020. But he’s not always on the list of key players in Montreal like Juraj Slafkovsky or Ivan Demidov; and the blue line has more important names that get attention, such as the newly acquired Noah Dobson and current Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson. Guhle had time with Hutson last season and could be his partner again, given how coach Marty St. Louis likes Mike Matheson and Dobson as a pair, at least in the preseason. That will raise his profile. He’s 6-3, plays physically, and could have untapped offensive potential. Alexandre Carrier compared Guhle to Jaccob Slavin, a former “people don’t appreciate how good this guy is!” That’s a good indication of how his teammates see him, and after this season, the rest of the league if the Habs keep progressing. As long as he can stay away from freak injuries. Rare is the NHL player who has an emergency appendectomy and a quadriceps laceration in the same season, but that was Guhle in 2024-25. Ouch.Ottawa Senators
Dylan Cozens sets new career highs I didn’t hate the Cozens trade from Buffalo’s perspective, because I understood the logic behind it: turning a “maybe” into Josh Norris, an established NHL center, albeit seemingly made of porcelain. But as I pointed out, Cozens could end up on a growing list of players who leave Buffalo and immediately relocate their game elsewhere. He offered a preview last season, with 16 points in 21 games for the Sens after the trade. Most likely, in the midst of David Perron and Drake Batherson, Cozens could surpass his 68 points and 31 goals from the 2022-23 season.Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning will win the Atlantic Division While Jon Cooper’s soldiers have reached the Stanley Cup playoffs for eight consecutive seasons, including back-to-back Stanley Cups and three total trips to the final, they haven’t actually finished first in the Atlantic Division since 2018-19. Blame the rise of the Florida Panthers and the regular season dominance of the Toronto Maple Leafs. But things set up well for the Lightning to take the Atlantic, as the Leafs learn about life without Mitch Marner and the dynastic Cats are without Matthew Tkachuk for a while as they keep pace after playing for the Cup in three straight postseasons.Toronto Maple Leafs
The Leafs will retain Nick Robertson This could be Timothy Liljegren 2.0. Remember when the Leafs traded the defenseman in his sixth year with the franchise after Liljegren never really secured his place in the lineup. Robertson, a talented 24-year-old player, is also entering year 6, having signed a one-year extension before salary arbitration. He requested a trade last season. When asked recently if he still wanted to be in Toronto, Robertson replied: “Right now, I’m here.” And yet, it is there. The Leafs have him competing for time in their forward group, clearly believing he can add offense to a group that will need to generate more with Mitch Marner in Las Vegas. The obvious is that Robertson will be gone sooner rather than later. So, we’ll take the bolder path and say he finds a role and thrives enough to make everyone happy at least this season.Metropolitan DivisionCarolina Hurricanes
The Cavaliers will win the Eastern Conference Look, some of my misses last season were close, and some were emphatic enough to propel a sailboat. Claiming the Hurricanes would miss the playoffs was, without a doubt, one of my worst calls, as coach Rod Brind’Amour’s team advanced to the Eastern Conference finals. This prediction is not compensation for my friends in Raleigh. I simply believe the Hurricanes have smartly built a championship team through patience and creative thinking. The Mikko Rantanen trade didn’t end up giving them Mikko Rantanen, but it added Logan Stankoven and Taylor Hall, and gave Carolina a first-round pick that helped them acquire K’Andre Miller from the Rangers. The money that would have gone to Rantanen helped pay for Miller’s new contract and the free agent contract that Nikolaj Ehlers signed to be their ultimate top-line winger who can hopefully create that extra goal they’ve needed in the playoffs. They acquired impactful veteran players and a talented next wave in forward Jackson Blake and, especially, defenseman Alexander Nikishin. They also have plenty of cap space and draft capital beyond this season for general manager Eric Tulsky to continue adding. We’ve been waiting years for the Hurricanes to play for the Cup. Maybe the goaltending still isn’t good enough, and again, this is something they can remedy. Maybe Brind’Amour’s style is still too demanding and conservative to reach the Final. Or maybe this is the season for Hurricanes hockey.Columbus Blue Jackets
Jet Greaves takes charge in goal For the third consecutive season, Elvis Merzlikins played below expectations in goal for the Blue Jackets, with a save percentage below .900. He has kept his position thanks to a contract that Columbus cannot move: $5.4 million AAV, partial no-trade clause and two years remaining, and a lack of alternatives.But in the last two seasons, 24-year-old Jet Greaves has shown that he is that alternative. He had a 7-2-2 record last season in 11 games, with an astonishing 14.5 goals saved above expected in that span, according to Money Puck. He has also played great hockey in the AHL. The past is not always prologue with goalies, but Greaves is the one. It’s only a matter of time before Elvis has left the net, if not the building.
New Jersey Devils
Jack Hughes plays 82 games The Devils’ star center has only played 70 games in a season once in his career, reaching a maximum of 78 games in 2022-23, when he had 99 points. If we remove that season, Jack has averaged only 58 games per campaign. Some feel Hughes is destined to be this type. Some feel he can train to avoid the danger of injuries, something Hughes disagrees with. “At the end of the day, if you’re going to the final wall at a million miles per hour, you’re going to get hurt no matter what you do in the summer,” he said last week. So, we’re making the boldest of bold predictions here with Hughes playing all 82 games… and if he does, he’s sure to become the first player in Devils history to surpass 100 points.New York Islanders
Patrick Roy coaches his final season on Long Island When Mathieu Darche took over as general manager of the Islanders in May, he said Patrick Roy would remain their coach because “Patrick is a winner.” Last season, he wasn’t: 35 wins, 35 losses, and 12 overtime losses for a season without playoffs. When Lou Lamoriello hired Roy in January 2024, according to reports, he gave him a three-year contract that covered the rest of that season and two more. Which means Roy could be in a lame duck season for a team that will likely miss the playoffs, with a general manager eager to bring in his own guys behind the bench at some point, which is what new general managers usually do. Whether in season or in the offseason, Saint Patrick will be voted off the Island.New York Rangers
The Rangers return to the playoffs The Rangers’ success this season entirely depends on whether the toxicity levels in the locker room have normalized. Which might be a strange thing to say when J.T. Miller has just been named captain, based on all the disaster in Vancouver, but the point is valid. The entire 2024-25 season was played under a cloud of uncertainty created by the drastic remodeling of the roster by general manager Chris Drury, including the resignation of Barclay Goodrow before trading captain Jacob Trouba, and then, finally, the beloved Chris Kreider and young defenseman K’Andre Miller.The final result? It has reshaped the core. It will be good enough to get a return to the playoffs.
This assuming bounce-back seasons for star defenseman Adam Fox, goalie Igor Shesterkin (not bad in 2024-25, but not always dominant) and, especially, Mika Zibanejad, who regained his game on Miller’s wing at the end of last season. It also assumes the progression of impactful young players like Will Cuylle and Gabe Perreault, who can energize the lineup while free agent defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov fortifies it. And it also assumes that Mike Sullivan and his staff can fix the chaos that permeated Peter Laviolette’s tenure. You’re assuming a lot. But when I look at the rest of the division beyond the Canes, Devils, and Capitals, I assume the Rangers will be able to build a cushion of points and make the postseason cut.Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers win Gavin McKenna draft lottery When Canadian youth phenomenon Gavin McKenna took his talent to Penn State, it became the most used joke in hockey to say that he would now be closer to the NHL team that will select him next summer: the Pittsburgh Penguins, who “miraculously” have won the lottery before when they are in their darkest hour and there is a generational player available. So, imagine, dear friends, the utter indignation and disbelief when that other NHL team in the Keystone State gets the breaks next spring. Imagine seeing the best-laid plans for the Penguins’ rebuild go up in flames at the hands of their archrivals. Imagine having the Philadelphia Flyers restored to their rightful place as one of the league’s greatest antagonists at the dawn of the Gavin McKenna era, as he joins a growing collection of talents like Matvei Michkov to make Philadelphia a perennial contender, while the Penguins wander aimlessly around the state.Imagine all of this and shudder at the reality of it happening.
