With the end of summer and a new school year comes the beginning of a new NHL season. In which, all 32 teams in the league prepare for a grueling 84 games (lengthened this season from the previous 82) as they race to the playoffs that will take place over the next 6 months. It’s an incredibly unpredictable journey in which many factors can change. The last time we saw NHL hockey, the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in 6 games to lift the Stanley Cup for the second time in franchise history and the first in exactly 20 years. The Hurricanes look to repeat as champions, but there is no shortage of obstacles in the way of that goal.
The Atlantic Division is once again far and away the best division in hockey, with a playoff case to be made for every team in the division, though some teams are much stronger than others. The Buffalo Sabres look to return to the playoffs after snapping one of the longest postseason droughts in North American pro sports history. The Montreal Canadiens, who eliminated the Sabres in heartbreaking fashion last year, are looking to take the next step with their young core after making the Eastern Conference Finals a season ago.
Standing in those two teams’ way are the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Lightning are hunting a division title once again, with most of the core from the Covid-era back-to-back cups still intact. The Panthers’ goal this season is to simply stay healthy after losing nearly all of their high-end talent last year due to injury, resulting in them missing the playoffs for the first time since 2019. As long as that happens, they will be fine, especially with the addition of Brady Tkachuk. The Leafs, coming off of a similar situation, lucked out by not having to forfeit a potential top-10 selection in this year’s draft to Boston, and instead landed a potentially generational talent in Gavin Mckenna. The Leafs have certainly put themselves back on the playoff map.
Speaking of Boston, the Bruins are the most unpredictable team in the division this season. They could finish top 3 in the division, but could also easily finish last. They’re a good team, but good isn’t good enough in a loaded Atlantic, and the argument could be made that both Florida and Toronto have passed them since their first round exit to Buffalo in the 2026 playoffs. Still, it’s hard to imagine the Bruins being bad as long as David Pastrnak and Jeremy Swayman are around.
Detroit and Ottawa’s situations are a little more clear-cut. Sure, they’re not terrible teams, but when lined up against the rest of the division, it’s hard to see them doing anything. There’s also plenty of organizational tension with Ottawa’s captain being traded and Detroit’s captain requesting a trade. The Wings are also without a full-time GM after franchise legend Steve Yzerman abruptly stepped down in July.
The Metro features a slightly less cutthroat lineup, but is still competitive nonetheless. The Hurricanes have returned nearly their entire cup-winning roster, and are the favorites to win the division once more. The New Jersey Devils are once again going to rely on the health of Olympic Golden Goal scorer Jack Hughes to be competitive this season, and if he does, they have a very competitive roster. The Washington Capitals have high expectations after a mediocre finish last year following a surprisingly high finish the season before, with this potentially being captain Alex Ovechkin’s final go around.
“I think the east has the potential to have one of the most entertaining playoff races we’ve seen in years,” proclaims junior Nick Bigelow when asked about the NHL playoffs for the coming season.
The Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins made the playoffs last year, but both have fallen behind relative to their highly-competitive competition, and aren’t as big of a threat as they were a year ago. The Columbus Blue Jackets are trying to rebound after collapsing at the end of last season, resulting in them missing the playoffs once again. The New York Islanders and Rangers both missed the playoffs last year and are primed to do so again after little roster improvement.
The Western Conference features far less depth, though its top teams can go toe-to-toe with anyone in the East. The Central division is the perfect example of this, with Colorado, Dallas, and Minnesota all returning most of their rosters and once again likely beating up on each other before the second round of the playoffs even begins. The Utah Mammoth are a sneaky threat to do damage to the top three after they were defeated by the eventual runners-up in the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round of the 2026 playoffs.
The other half of the Central does not have much going for them. The Blues, Jets, Predators, and Blackhawks all missed the playoffs last year and are likely to do so again unless huge steps forward are taken in any of the clubs. To add insult to injury for the Jets, star goaltender and USA Gold Medalist Connor Hellebuyck has requested a trade and has not reported to training camp.
The Pacific will likely be the same story as recent years. The Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights are in position to take the top two spots again, led by superstars Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel. The San Jose Sharks are looking to take a step forward with newly-named captain Macklin Celebrini.
The Anaheim Ducks and GM Pat Verbeek had an eventful offseason, with an offer sheet from Philadelphia resulting in the Ducks making Leo Carlsson the highest-paid player in NHL history, and their neighbors north of Orange County in LA have an Anze Kopitar-sized hole to fill down the middle.
The Seattle Kraken are still trying to make their existence as a professional sports franchise known to the nation, and returning to the playoffs for the second time since they began playing in 2021 will be a difficult task. The Calgary Flames are getting ready to say goodbye to their iconic Saddledome in favor of a new arena which will open next fall, and the Vancouver Canucks will be doing whatever they can to lose as many games as possible and finally land the first overall pick in the draft this June.
“I think that this season will be really fun to watch all the way through, which is good because you don’t always get that,” states senior Brendan McCarthy.
If the league delivers on its promises, it will be. But we won’t truly know until games are played and scores are logged.
