When predicting boldly, the best approach might be to modify “Go big or go home” to “Go big and go many!” That way, if you miss wildly on most cuts, hopefully you still connect on a couple moonshots.
Clearly baseball is on the brain these days and the drama of the MLB playoffs always dovetails with prediction time in the NHL.
Conventional calls are all around us, as observers lay down reasonable theories on who will do what in the 2025-26 season.
We’re here to add a double dose of hot sauce.
So, from the person who did not bring you “Mikko Rantanen will be traded twice this year” and “the reining Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers will tumble completely out of the playoffs” last October, here’s a flood-the-zone approach to bold predictions for the 2025-26 NHL season.
Alex Ovechkin will become the NHL’s first 900-goal scorer on opening night in D.C.
A hat trick at home versus the Bruins will do it, with the third goal — No. 900 for his career — obviously entering an empty net.
Elias Pettersson will look like a No. 1 centre again
Pettersson will come out of the gate strong and keep it going, re-establishing himself as a pivot Vancouver can count on at the top of its lineup.
Connor Bedard will lead the league in goals at American Thanksgiving
With more talent popping in Chicago, Bedard will bury the frustration of a difficult sophomore season by filling the net for seven weeks. His pace will tail off a bit, but the 20-year-old will cement himself as a lethal offensive weapon.
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Steven Stamkos will waive his trade protection and join the Hurricanes
The Preds will improve, but not to the point where Nashville is firmly back in the playoff picture. With a mutual acknowledgment that the experiment didn’t work, Stamkos will chase another title by joining a Canes team that needs more scoring to get over the hump.
Neither Canada nor Team USA will make the men’s gold medal game at the Olympics.
The first Olympics with professional men’s players in 12 years will serve as a reminder that, in that particular tournament, a heavyweight can suddenly find itself in a life-and-death quarterfinal match versus the likes of Slovakia or Switzerland. Both Team USA and Team Canada will be edged out before the gold medal game.
Vegas Golden Knights will re-acquire Alex Tuch for a Cup run
With Tuch, a pending UFA, unable to agree to terms on a new deal with the Sabres, Vegas swoops in and repatriates the guy they traded to the Sabres for Jack Eichel five years ago. With Eichel and Mitch Marner cooking on the top line, Tuch joins the second unit as the Knights load up for a Cup run.
Evgeni Malkin will be traded to the Los Angeles Kings
After all the trade talk around Sidney Crosby, it will be Crosby’s longtime running mate who leaves the Pens. With a desire to play one more year at end of his contract in July, Malkin will agree to waive his no-move clause and join the Kings as a top-six winger for the stretch run this year and for one more season after this, when he’s 40.
New Jersey Devils will win the Presidents’ Trophy
The Devils will finally get a reprieve from the injury bug and rack up a league-best 113 points, three years after collecting 112 in 2022-23.
The top-three finishers in the Atlantic Division will be Canadian teams
Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal all made the playoffs last year. This season, Toronto will carry on at the top of the table, Ottawa will nudge up from 97 to 100 points and the Canadiens will jump from 91 to 99. That will put all three Canadian teams ahead of the two-time defending champs from Florida and the slightly creaky Tampa Bay Lighting. Remember, Florida — which is without Aleksander Barkov all year and Matthew Tkachuk for a big portion of it — finished with 98 points last year, while Tampa would only need to fall back from 102 to 98 to finish behind the Leafs, Habs and Sens under the scenario outlined above.
William Nylander will win the Rocket Richard Trophy
After a career-best 45 goals last year — and three consecutive 40-goal campaigns — Nylander will nudge up to 53 to lead the league in goals. Part of what “Willy” has going for him is the fact he’s missed just one game in the past four years.
Every Western Conference team that made the 2025 playoffs will be back in 2026.
In a rare occurrence, there will be zero turnover from one year to the next in the Western Conference playoffs. Five Central teams will finish with at least 99 points, while the Ducks, Mammoth and Canucks will just miss the cut.
Edmonton Oilers will lose in the second round of the playoffs
After two straight trips to the Stanley Cup Final, the Oilers will be bounced in Round 2 of the playoffs. However, Oilers fans will feel OK about it because they’ll still have at least two more cracks at the Cup with Connor McDavid thanks to the two-year contract he signed just before puck drop.
Josh Morrissey will win the Norris Trophy
The cerebral Jets defenceman will put together a 75-point season that gets enough attention to allow all the little things he does night after night to be celebrated with a nod as the league’s best defenceman. That will keep some hardware in Winnipeg after two-time Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck surrenders that title to Ilya Sorokin and his Hart Trophy to Jack Hughes.
Florida Panthers will win the Stanley Cup
Congratulations, in advance, to Conn Smythe winner Seth Jones.
