The 2025 calendar year is coming to a close, and there’s plenty to reflect on. Over the past year in hockey, we saw a rivalry renewed on the international stage, a repeat champ crowned, record-setting contracts signed, a new CBA stamped, and blockbuster trades that shook things up in a big way.
But the hockey world is forever moving forward, and as we approach a new year, we’re looking at what 2026 may bring. Here are nine storylines we’re eying in the year ahead.
The Central Division playoff race is going to be Wild
Pun intended, of course, considering Minnesota’s show-stopping acquisition of Canucks captain Quinn Hughes loudly declared the Wild’s intent to win now. If Minnesota is to make good on its quest, it’ll have to emerge victorious from one of the toughest divisions we’ve seen in quite some time. Look at the top of the league standings as we close out 2025 and you’ll see a trio of Central heavyweights leading the way, with the Colorado Avalanche pacing all clubs, followed by the Dallas Stars and the Wild.
It’s pretty clear Minnesota felt they had to make a bold move to challenge their Central peers, and bringing in one of the most dynamic defenders in the game is the perfect way to do just that. Hughes is in good company in the Central. The division now houses the league’s best defencemen in Colorado’s Cale Makar, Dallas’s Miro Heiskanen, and Minnesota’s Hughes. Now the question is, will we see more major moves within the division as the battles heat up? The top seed is even more coveted now than before, considering the stakes — whoever lands in the 2-3 first-round series is going to be battle-tested, to say the least. And hockey fans are all the luckier to get to see how it all shakes out.
Who are the post-Hughes Canucks?
Speaking of Hughes… the Vancouver Canucks got a haul worthy of the franchise defender, but what comes next? The team is currently sitting 32nd in the league after entering the 2025-26 campaign with plenty of question marks, the biggest of which centres around their identity moving forward.
This is a rebuild, to be sure… but that term can mean many things — one GM’s full overhaul is another’s retooling, as we know. How will president Jim Rutherford and general manager Patrik Allvin proceed from here? Are more stars on their way out? After years of retooling and almost contending, fans clamouring for a full overhaul might just get exactly that in 2026.
All eyes on Edmonton’s blue paint
The Edmonton Oilers’ goaltender situation has been a major talking point for a few years now, and that may not change in 2026 thanks to December’s goalie swap that saw Stuart Skinner dealt to Pittsburgh in exchange for Tristan Jarry. It was a deal that allowed both organizations — and both goalies — a much-needed fresh start. We’ll have to wait and see whether Jarry is the answer in Edmonton, thanks to an injury that sidelined the netminder just three games into his Oiler tenure. But in the meantime, a new starter has emerged.
While Jarry heals, Connor Ingram now gets the starting gig for Edmonton, bringing yet more intrigue to a position that’s had plenty. How Edmonton navigates Jarry’s recovery, and whether he and Ingram can collaborate to be an effective tandem, will be a fascinating storyline in 2026 — as will any rumours that rise up, should Edmonton’s search for a solution continue.
Where do Maple Leafs go from here?
While we ponder the fate of the Canucks and Oilers in the west, all eyes are on the disastrous first-half efforts of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the East. Floundering in the Atlantic’s basement mere months after finishing atop the division last season, Toronto is home to perhaps the most puzzling roster questions in the league. This is a team that was expected to contend, despite losing one of the league’s most talented playmakers when Mitch Marner signed with Vegas in free agency. This is also a team that’s been hit with the injury bug, particularly in net, and has struggled to make up for it with any kind of offensive momentum. And after all that, this is now also a team whose captain and biggest star is appearing in the rumour mill at an increasingly alarming rate as bold predictors wonder aloud about blowing up the core in a major way. There’s a case to be made for a patient approach, and calls for urgent action. Is this season salvageable? Is this first half of the season a blip on the radar? The rock bottom before a rapid rise up the standings and back into relevance? A sign of more pain to come? Or the launch point for a major shakeup?
New faces in the playoff race
A lot can happen between now and the end of the regular season, but as we turn the calendar and near the midway point of the NHL season, it’s safe to say we’ve got interesting times ahead. Just look at the current playoff picture. Ringing in the new year atop the Eastern Conference are the Detroit Red Wings, with fellow rebuilders like the Islanders, Flyers, and — yes — the Buffalo Sabres, freshly into another new era and looking ready to jump into the fray. Meanwhile, should-be heavyweights like the Maple Leafs and New York Rangers are hitting troubled waters.
The Western Conference tells a similar story, with the Anaheim Ducks finally making their move in the Pacific while fellow California rebuilders in San Jose try to keep pace. The Utah Mammoth and Seattle Kraken, too, look capable of making waves.
And just when we thought last year’s finalists were doomed, the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers are picking up their respective paces… 2026 promises drama down the stretch.
Olympics, here we come!
Here we are, on the eve of Team Canada’s New Year’s Eve roster reveal, about to end the months of speculation about who’s playing their way in and out of Team Canada’s lineup. The 2026 Olympic Winter Games bring the long-awaited return of NHLers to the sporting world’s greatest stage, and following last February’s dynamic 4 Nations Face-Off, this next installment of international best-on-best hockey couldn’t come at a better time.
After spending the better part of the past year making our best guesses about roster makeup, we get to spend the first six weeks of 2026 plotting lines and matchups and soaking up the excitement. Expectations couldn’t be higher when it comes to the quality of play, but what about the quality of the rink? Questions about rink size, arena progress, and ice quality will surely be top of mind, but those will hopefully fade once the puck drops and the Games begin. How might some players boost their stock with a strong stint on the international stage? How will the condensed schedule affect the standings down the stretch post-Olympics? And, most importantly, who will reign supreme and claim four years’ worth of bragging rights?
Free agency brings few big names, but lots of questions
The 2026 UFA class was supposed to feature a star-studded lineup of generational talent, headlined by Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel, among others. That’s no longer the case, with the biggest names already long locked up, leaving stars like Artemi Panarin and Rasmus Andersson to shoulder the load of free agency speculation.
Yet, there’s still plenty of intrigue coming.
With the NHL’s new CBA, which was ratified in 2025, comes some interesting ramifications taking effect throughout 2026. This spring brings intrigue around how teams navigate the trade deadline without the much-discussed LTIR loophole, which allowed teams to go over the salary cap in the post-season. Summertime could bring a surge of long-term deals with maximum term limits shrinking to seven years on extensions and six for free agents. Next fall ushers in schedule changes with the introduction of an 84-game season. As the landscape changes, more trends will emerge.
Ovi Watch, Pt. 2
One of the biggest hockey stories of 2025 was Alex Ovechkin’s Gr8 Chase for history last spring as he matched and then surpassed Wayne Gretzky’s long-standing goal-scoring record to become the NHL’s most prolific scorer of all time.
Every goal that’s come since the historic No. 895 has been special, too, each adding to a total that may ultimately go unmatched.
Now, as we enter a new year and the Capitals dig into another stretch run with post-season hopes high, the hockey world will once again be watching Ovechkin’s every move closely as the 40-year-old decides whether this run will be his last. The longtime captain is currently playing out the final season of his five-year contract with Washington, and unlike his generational peer in Pittsburgh, there’s no speculation about Ovechkin playing in any other NHL home beyond D.C.
Colleague Ryan Dixon boldly predicted a two-year extension for Washington’s captain. Should that play out, we could be looking at another chase for goal No. 1,000 before all is said and done — and wouldn’t that be fun? But for now, the question is whether 2026 brings an end of an era in the NHL, or another freshly signed deal for the Great No. 8.
End of an era in Pittsburgh?
Like Ovechkin, Crosby also carved out a pretty special slice of history in 2025 — earlier this month, he passed the legendary Mario Lemieux’s franchise points record with No. 1,724.
It’s hard to talk about Ovechkin’s career and legacy without looking at that of Crosby in Pittsburgh. But while “retirement” is the word that garners the most speculation around Ovechkin, the central question in Pittsburgh revolves around “rebuild.”
A surprising start out of the gates for the Penguins had Crosby’s club looking like it might still have another post-season run in store, but they’ve since fallen back down to Earth — and that’s brought familiar questions about where this season (and, more importantly, this franchise icon) could be going. Will Crosby stay put in Pittsburgh and see the rebuild through? Or will we witness the end of an era for the Penguins and watch No. 87 suit up on a contender for another prolific playoff run? The upcoming year may not bring all the answers — with another season remaining on his latest two-year contract, he and the team don’t yet stand at a crossroads — but we could learn plenty in 2026.
