Every Team’s Priority for the 2025-2026 NHL Season
As we get excited for the 2025-2026 NHL regular season, here is what I think should be the main priorities and goals for every team.
Anaheim Ducks - Make the Playoffs: The Anaheim Ducks have been steadily improving in the standings and developing their young prospects for years now. It is finally time to take that next step and aim for their first Stanley Cup Payoff birth since 2018. While this is easier said than done given that the top five Central Division teams are all considered to be better than the Ducks, making a wild card spot more difficult, as well as the fact that getting past the Golden Knights, Kings, and Oilers for a top three spot in the Pacific may be difficult, I don’t believe there is any other direction this team should go other than trying to compete and disrupt some of the other teams that are currently perceived to be better. This may also mean giving up assets to improve their blue line, which is widely considered as the biggest flaw of the current roster.
Green circle in 2018 indicates playoff appearance, red circles indicate missing playoffs
Boston Bruins - Find a True Number One Center: The Boston Bruins are currently missing a true number one center. Last season the Bruins utilized Moran Geekie, Elias Lindholm, and Pavel Zacha down the middle. All three of these players are solid options as middle six centers, but Geekie’s 57 points is not good enough as your leading center. Top six centers are not easy to find, however, recent 7th overall draft pick James Hagens may be their envisioned future number one center. Otherwise, this would be a good year for general manager Don Sweeney to sell off players to tank for the projected 2026 first overall pick Gavin McKenna.
Buffalo Sabres - A Strong Start: It is no secret that the Sabres haven’t qualified for the playoffs in 15 seasons now, so simply saying “make the playoffs” like I did for Anaheim is not sufficient. In the past four full seasons, the Sabres have had an average first half points percentage of 0.457, but were above .500 in the second half of all four of those seasons. If the Sabres want to finally return to the post-season, they cannot fall behind early in the season and get inside of their heads again.
Calgary Flames - Finish Off the Re-Tool: The Calgary Flames have been rather mediocre for three seasons in a row now; not a playoff team, but not a tanking team. With Rasmus Andersson rumoured to be on the trade block, I think this would be a good year to focus on the development of top prospect Zayne Parekh, as well as their other young NHLers, instead of pushing for another 9th place finish in the West and 16th overall draft pick. This way the Flames can aim to return to playoff contention in the following season.
Carolina Hurricanes - Acquire a Second-Line Center: As mentioned with the Bruins, it is not easy to simply go out and acquire a top six forward or a top two center; they are certainly hot commodities in the NHL right now. However, Jesperi Kotkaniemi is currently projected to be their second line center for the 2025-2026 season. The Hurricanes have been cup contenders for awhile now, but if they want to adjust their formula that hasn’t yet worked, I think now would be the time to do what it takes to acquire a second line center if possible, even if that means giving up expendable pieces on the blue line or future prospects.
Chicago Blackhawks - Ensure Bedard is Having More Fun: While the Blackhawks have had few expectations for many seasons now, and will continue to have low expectations, Connor Bedard was visibly frustrated last season, with little support around him. While general manager Kyle Davidson added Andre Burakovsky to the forward group, and Frank Nazar is also expected to grow and develop as a player, there may be more required to give Bedard that proper teammate support so that he can thrive and successfully develop into his prime.
Colorado Avalanche - Avoid Dallas in the Playoffs: While this entry is a bit more sarcastic, there really isn’t anything the Avalanche need to do other than win another Stanley Cup. While they are proven winners from a dominant 2021-2022 regular season and post-season, they haven’t been able to follow that up, with two consecutive playoff losses to the Dallas Stars. Unfortunately, as long as the playoff format is the way it is, there is no way for Central Division teams to escape the first two rounds without a difficult path.
Columbus Blue Jackets - Make the Playoffs: After the tragic passing of Johnny Gaudreau soon before the 2024-2025 season, there were little to no expectations of the Blue Jackets last season. Despite this, the Jackets shocked the hockey world and were alive in the playoff hunt until the final days of the regular season. After seeing what they are capable of, and with the expectation that their young core will only get better, and with the Metropolitan Division looking vulnerable with many teams struggling last season, it is not unreasonable to expect that the Blue Jackets could push for a 2026 playoff spot.
Dallas Stars - Win the Stanley Cup: The Stars are in a similar boat to the Avalanche, where there isn’t much left to accomplish aside from winning it all. While one could say the Stars should first focus on making it past the third round after three consecutive Western Conference Finals losses, the Stars did already make it to the finals in 2020, with some important pieces on that roster still on the team today. They have all the pieces, it’s just a matter of time before they should win a Stanley Cup.
Detroit Red Wings - Make the Playoffs: Similar to the Ducks, the Red Wings have been out of the playoffs for many years now, but in this time span they have been gathering and developing young talent. While I would argue the Atlantic Division is the best and most competitive division in the league, the Red Wings cannot continue to drop after they improved every season from 2019-2020 to 2023-2024 before dropping in the 2024-2025 season. This core needs to experience playoff hockey so that they can continue to progress.
Red Wings improved for four season in a row until declining last season
Edmonton Oilers - Sign McDavid and Address Goaltending: A two-for-one, the Oilers need to re-sign the best player in the league as soon as possible. Simultaneously, improving their goaltending situation can help with this extension, as it may make Connor McDavid feel better about the direction of the team. Last post-season was yet another display of dominance from McDavid and Draisaitl, but the defensive unit and goaltending, which were great in rounds two and three, were underwhelming in the Stanley Cup Finals. A fully healthy Mattias Ekholm should bring confidence back in the defence, but goaltending remains to be a concern.
Florida Panthers - Achieve the Dynasty Legacy: While there doesn’t seem to be a clear and universal definition of a dynasty, a commonly agreed upon definition is a team that wins at least three championships and is dominant over a given length of time. The Panthers won the 2021-2022 Presidents’ Trophy, went to the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals before losing, and won the 2024 and 2025 Stanley Cups. If the Panthers win the cup again this season, they would become an official dynasty, and could even make it into some of the “best teams of all time” conversations.
Los Angeles Kings - Avoid the Oilers in the First Round: There really isn’t a logical goal for the Kings to achieve; we have no idea what they are capable of in the playoffs with their core against teams outside of the Oilers. After missing the 2019, 2020, and 2021 post-seasons, the Kings managed to re-tool into impressive regular season teams for the past four seasons. However, every post-season, the Kings face the Oilers in the first round and have lost each and every time. While it looked like they were finally going to slay the dragon in 2025 being up 2-0 in the series, they blew it on a questionable coaches challenge in game three, and then lost the next three games as well. This core looks promising, yet we don’t actually know what the Kings need until we see them face a different opponent come playoff time.
Minnesota Wild - Sign Kirill Kaprizov: Similar to McDavid, the Wild need to prioritize signing their most talented player in franchise history. It is well known now that Kirill Kaprisov rejected an eight-year, 128 million dollar contract offer, which would have been by far the largest contract in NHL history. Some speculate he simply wants less term so that he isn’t locked down to Minnesota throughout his prime, while others speculate he wants to play elsewhere. Whatever the case, Wild general manager Bill Guerin must do what it takes to sign Kaprizov for an AAV of market value, whether that be decreasing the term, or as some have pointed out, making moves to visibly improve the team so that they don’t continuously lose in the first round.
Montreal Canadiens - Continue What Was Building Last Season: Last season, the Canadeins exceeded expectations by making it into the playoffs, and the development of Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson was magical to watch. With Ivan Demidov coming into the lineup for a full season, the Candiens’ season will be a success if they continue to develop and see growth from their young core, while also returning to the playoffs.
Nashville Predators - Decide the Identity in Q1: The Nashville Predators are a bit complicated, since they have some good pieces on paper. However, their core is quite old, and after a disastrous season last season, it is unlikely that they will bounce back. If the team does, it may be worth making another playoff push, but otherwise, it will be important to decide the direction of this team based on performance in the first quarter, and begin the process of a rebuild. Although I sometimes think re-tools are more appropriate than full rebuilds, I think a full rebuild would make more sense for the Preds given their aging core.
New Jersey Devils - Stay Healthy: We have seen what the Devils are capable of when they are fully healthy. However, some of their main pieces such as Jack Hughes and Dougie Hamilton have had a history of injury issues. The Devils should be a shoe-in for the playoffs if they are healthy, but we don’t have a fair assessment of their potential in the playoffs, as in 2023 they were quite young, and last season they were quite injured.
New York Islanders - Begin the Re-Tool: While a rebuild might make sense for a team like Nashville, I think as long as the Islanders have Ilya Sorokin in net and Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal down the middle, they are in no position to go into a full rebuild. First overall pick Matthew Schaefer will provide a tremendous boost on defence, and with a few more pieces up front and on the blue line, I think the Islanders can return to the playoffs sooner than later.
New York Rangers - Bouncing Back: After winning the Presidents’ Trophy in the 2023-2024 season, the New York Rangers had arguably the most disappointing season in 2024-2025, completely falling out of the playoffs. On paper, the Rangers still look like a playoff team. While it is unlikely that they will immediately return to cup contender status like they had been before, if the Rangers can make it back to the playoffs and prove that last year was a fluke, I think they will be in better shape moving forward. I also think assigning J.T. Miller the captaincy was a smart decision, as it gives the team a clear leader.
Ottawa Senators - Finish Top 3 in the Atlantic Division: Last season, the Ottawa Senators finally returned to the playoffs, and they did so with a comfortable 97 points. Similar to Montreal, there is no reason the Senators should decline this coming season. While the Atlantic Division is extremely competitive, I think it would be a huge step forward if the Senators can disrupt the consistent top three trio of the Maple Leafs, Lightning, and Panthers, and snag a top three spot in the division for themselves. While this goal may be ambitious, at a bare minimum the Senators should return to the playoffs and improve upon the big step they took last season.
Philadelphia Flyers - Player Development Under Tocchet: While there are low expectations for the Flyers, head coach John Tortorella did not receive the same praise last season as he did the year before, with critics saying his coaching style was not good for the development of some of their young players, especially Matvei Michkov. Expectations remain low for the Flyers, but with a new head coach in Rick Tocchet, the priority will be to see a better environment for their young players.
Pittsburgh Penguins - Correct Handling of the Vets: It is very unlikely that the Penguins return to the playoffs anytime soon due to their aging core. They are in a similar situation to the Nashville Predators, where on paper they have some good pieces, but most of their top assets are older players past their prime. With Evgeni Malkin entering his final year and Sidney Crosby having two years left on his contract, not to mention veteran defencemen Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson, how Penguins’ general manager Kyle Dubas balances the decision of getting returns for these pieces versus keeping them as Penguins due to their long-time legacy to the franchise will be an important one as they look to begin a rebuild. Sidney Crosby has made it clear he wants to stay in Pittsburgh, but this may delay the inevitable rebuild.
San Jose Sharks - Continue Strong Development: The last few seasons have been disastrous for the Sharks in terms of their standings results, but last season alone was the first time in years that it has felt like the Sharks had an optimistic direction. The development of Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith was a success in their rookie seasons, and there were even constant comparisons of Celebrini to Bedard, with many pointing out how much happier Celebrini looked despite a similar record to the Blackhawks. Goaltender Yaraslov Askarov had some great performances in the few games he played last season, and it looks like the Sharks are opening the door for him to have a full time spot on the roster. The Sharks will also have to make decisions regarding the development of top prospects Sam Dickinson and Michael Misa.
Seattle Kraken - Let’s Wait and See: The Seattle Kraken are a unique team, in that they are not in any position to tank or even re-tool, but they also don’t look good enough to finish in a playoff spot. It’s tough to say what they should do, but I think we will just have to wait and see how the first quarter of the season goes for the Kraken. After all, there wasn’t much expected of them in the 2022-2023 season, and then they were one game away from the Western Conference Finals.
St. Louis Blues - Carry the Momentum of Last Season Into This Season: Last season, the St. Louis Blues had the best points percentage in the league after the Four Nations Faceoff tournament. Although they lost in seven games to the Presidents’ Trophy winning Winnipeg Jets, the Blues nearly won the series, and it was obvious that the Blues were much better than the typical second wild card team. If the Blues can continue to ride this wave of momentum into this season, they could potentially make some unexpected noise in what is arguably the best division in the league.
Tampa Bay Lightning - Counter the Panthers: Ever since the Lightning’s fantastic run of three consecutive finals in 2020, 2021, and 2022, they have lost in the first round in three consecutive years, with the last two being to the Panthers, and both in five games. While the Lightning are still a great team with the same core as last season, the Panthers are also a similar team with their same core, the same one that, to reiterate, knocked them out in five games two years in a row. To avoid repeating themselves a third time, the Lightning should ensure they have what they need to best counter the Panthers’ physical play and textbook forechecking and back checking abilities, even if this task ends up being impossible. Due to the playoff format, there is a solid chance these two teams will meet yet again, so the Lightning need to come prepared.
Toronto Maple Leafs - Make it Past the Second Round: For years the Toronto Maple Leafs have been strong regular season teams, with no one doubting their ability to qualify for the playoffs. The expectations have always come in said playoffs. Now that we know they can get past the first round, having done it twice in three years after failing to do so in five consecutive years before that, the only way we can confidently see improvement in this team is if they make it to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2002. Although the loss of Mitch Marner will hurt this team, despite criticism of his playoff performances, these expectations still hold for the Maple Leafs to improve.
Maple Leafs lost 3-2 in the 2020 play-in series against the Blue Jackets
Utah Mammoth - Make the Playoffs: Although the Utah Mammoth technically became a new franchise last season, we can still make comparisons to the Arizona Coyotes given that all of their players were transferred over. With that said, the Coyotes hadn’t made the playoffs in a full season since 2011-2012, as in 2019-2020 they snuck in due to the extended qualifying round. After developing young talent and acquiring other players like Mikhail Sergachev and J.J. Peterka, the Mammoth look ready to take that next step and make the playoffs. The main road block is the division they play in, as most people would not claim the Mammoth are better than any of the Jets, Stars, or Avalanche. But with the additions they made, a wild card spot could be a realistic goal for the Mammoth, and in turn their first playoff birth since playing in Utah.
Vancouver Canucks - Support Elias Pettersson and Thatcher Demko: Last season was a complete disaster for the Canucks after having high expectations from the magical 2023-2024 season. From Demko’s nagging injury, to off-ice drama, to Elias Pettersson not performing up to expectations, everything that could go wrong went wrong for the Canucks. If the Canucks are going to return to the playoffs, or at least stay competitive to also entice Quinn Hughes to stay long-term, Pettersson will need to bounce back to his former self, as other than Pettersson, the Canucks’ center depth is rather weak. Simultaneously, the Canucks will need to ensure Demko can stay healthy, whether that means keeping him out longer to ensure he only plays when he is 100% ready, or whatever else it takes, as a healthy Demko could be the difference between the Canucks making the playoffs and missing the playoffs. I think management made a great step last season to support Elias Pettersson by bringing in his brother Marcus among other moves, as this type of support will likely help Elias turn his game around.
Vegas Golden Knights - Return to Dominance: After winning the 2023 Stanley Cup, the Golden Knights haven’t been their usual dominant selves in the recent two post-seasons. Even in prior post-seasons like 2018, 2020, and 2021, the Golden Knights looked more in control and in contention than they did these past two post-seasons. With the acquisition of Mitch Marner, and with rumours pointing towards the Knights being the top destination for Rasmus Andersson, it looks as though the Knights are continuing their strategy of acquiring all of the top players available and pushing to win another Stanley Cup.
Washington Capitals - One More Push With Ovi: The Washington Capitals had a fantastic season last year, and with a similar roster this season, there is no reason why the Capitals shouldn’t return to the playoffs. In what will likely be Alex Ovechkin’s final season, the Capitals can build upon last season and go for a deep playoff run. Although there are other teams more commonly picked as cup contenders than the Caps, at least making it past the second round would be a good start, as the Capitals seem to have fallen back into their old habits of early playoff exits.
Winnipeg Jets - Helping Hellebuyck: Last season, the Winnipeg Jets won their first Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history. From top to bottom they were, and still are, a fantastic team; but to no one’s surprise, their most important player was goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who also won the Hart Trophy as MVP of the league and the Vezina Trophy for the league’s best goaltender. Given that he had an extremely disappointing performance once the playoffs rolled around, which is now the third consecutive post-season that he has put up poor playoff numbers, it is no surprise that the Jets looked vulnerable in both the first and second rounds. If the Jets want to be in the conversation with the likes of the Panthers, Oilers, Stars, and Avalanche as the leagues top cup contenders, Hellebuyck will need to break out of this mental block and return to being able to perform in the playoffs like he did in his earlier seasons. While the loss of Nikolaj Ehlers will hurt a bit up front, the number one priority for the Jets is to ensure Hellebuyck is mentally prepared for the playoffs.
Connor Hellebuyck’s Career Performance in the Playoffs by Save Percentage