This campaign had no shortage of surprises. Not many people would have accurately predicted that the Rangers and Bruins would both miss the playoffs after finishing 2023-24 with 114 and 109 points, respectively. Nor was Mikko Rantanen being traded -- twice -- on many people's bingo cards. Lane Hutson tying for the fifth-most points (66) in NHL history among rookie defensemen, surpassing greats like Ray Bourque (65), Chris Chelios (64) and Nicklas Lidstrom (60), was also something to behold.

NHL 2025-26: Bold Predictions and Surprises in the Upcoming Season

Although the regular season only just ended, let's have some fun by making bold predictions about what 2025-26 might feature.

Minnesota Wild Poised for Western Conference Dominance

The Wild squeaked into the playoffs this season with a 45-30-7 record, which is quite the accomplishment given that the centerpiece of their offense, Kirill Kaprizov, missed half the campaign, and they had a significantly smaller usable cap ceiling than the rest of the league due to the lingering impact of buying out Zach Parise and Ryan Suter.

A healthy Kaprizov alone would go a long way towards changing their fortunes. He played in 34 of Minnesota's first 35 games, and over that span, the Wild went 21-10-4 while generating an acceptable 2.94 goals per game. By contrast, when Kaprizov played in just three of 43 matches from Dec. 27-April 6, Minnesota went 21-19-3 and managed only 2.47 goals per game.

Of course, being that dependent on one player is a problem, but the Wild should be able to give him some significant help over the summer. Suter and Parise's buyouts combined to cost the Wild $14.74 million in dead cap space in 2024-25. Next season, that will dip to just $1.67 million. Combine that with the projected increase in the cap, and the Wild should have about $20.6 million in additional cap space to play this summer, per PuckPedia. Minnesota will need to lock up RFA Marco Rossi, who had 24 goals and 60 points across 82 appearances in the 2024-25 regular season, but outside of that, the Wild don't have any major players on expiring contracts, so they can afford to be aggressive on the trade and UFA markets.

The timing of this newfound wealth is also ideal. The team's core forwards of Kaprizov, Rossi and Matt Boldy, as well as starting goaltender Filip Gustavsson, are all in or approaching their prime. Meanwhile, key defenseman Brock Faber will be entering his third full NHL campaign. That combination suggests that the Wild are beginning a window of serious contention, and a big move or two over the offseason could be what pushes them over the edge.

Offensive Surge: Predicting Two 100-Point Defensemen in NHL

In the history of the league, there have been only 15 examples of a defenseman recording at least 100 points, with the most recent being Erik Karlsson in 2022-23. There has never been a time when two blueliners achieved that feat in the same campaign -- not even in the high-scoring 1980s and early 1990s.

Still, we're witnessing something of a golden age for offensive defensemen. Cale Makar is one of the best blueliners to ever play in terms of scoring production, so although he hasn't hit the 100-point mark in the past, no one would be shocked if he reached that mark in his upcoming age-27 season.

He's not the only one who has a shot of reaching that milestone, though. If Quinn Hughes can stay healthy, he's also a serious candidate to do it.

Having Hughes and Makar both achieve that feat is by far the most likely path to getting two 100-point defensemen in the same campaign -- although, when talking about a scenario as extreme as this, the word "likely" is being used generously -- but there are a few other defensemen who have a chance of picking up the slack with a career year if one of the two falls short.

If the Rangers rebound and Adam Fox stays healthy, then he has a chance of finding another level after surpassing the 70-point mark three times. Although Evan Bouchard took a step back in the 2024-25 regular season with 67 points compared to his previous 82, the Oilers blueliner has the potential to hit a new personal best in his age-26 campaign, especially if Edmonton's power play is kicked up a notch after finishing 12th (23.7 percent) this season.

Roman Josi and Victor Hedman seem less likely to have that kind of historic season given that they're in their mid-30s, but both are still high-end blueliners, so you never know.

Ultimately, that's what drives my fascination with this particular scenario: There are just a lot of candidates right now who, while not probable to hit the 100-point mark, are at least within the realm of possibility, so to have two of them accomplish it in the same campaign is far from impossible.

The Nashville Predators Will Finish With 100+ Points

Although a Predators rebound is far from a safe bet, it does feel meaningfully tamer than my previous pick. Still, I couldn't help myself. Nashville was one of the most interesting stories of 2024-25, adding two talented scorers over the offseason in Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, only to see the team's offense completely collapse -- the Predators scored just 2.59 goals per game in 2024-25, down from 3.24 in the previous regular season -- resulting in a 30-44-8 record. There is reason for some cautious optimism, though. Per Moneypuck, Nashville finished with a goals-for above expected of -52.11. What that suggests is that part of the Predators' problem might have been exceptionally bad puck luck. Their goals-for above expected was by far the worst in the league, and the worst of any team since the 2015-16 Maple Leafs, which finished at -62.52. In terms of xGoals, the Predators finished 2024-25 with 264.11, which was good for 10th place.

Even taking a step back from that, it's not unreasonable to believe this core is capable of rebounding. Stamkos and Marchessault each recorded 13 points across Nashville's opening 28 games, and those slow starts from two important players are part of what snowballed the Predators into such a bad campaign. However, that duo was adjusting to a new environment after long stints with their previous teams -- that's especially true for Stamkos, who spent his first 16 seasons with Tampa Bay -- and that might have impacted those early-season results. At this point, they've settled in, though, so when given the opportunity for a clean slate in 2025-26, they're likely to perform better.

It's also reasonable to believe that we could see better from goaltender Juuse Saros, who finished 2024-25 with a 20-31-6 record, 2.98 GAA and .895 save percentage. While there is some cause for concern here -- Saros' 2023-24 regular season was better, but also a mixed bag -- he has shown in the past that he can be an elite netminder. Goaltenders also tend to have more extreme ups and downs than skaters -- just look at Sergei Bobrovsky's career -- and while that can be frustrating, it also gives room for cautious optimism after rough times.

Cautious optimism is a good phrase in general for the Predators because when you combine those factors with the hope of a healthier Roman Josi, there is certainly a path available to a bounce-back campaign.

The End of the Penguins' Greatest Era

Your mileage may vary on whether you view this as unlikely enough to be considered bold. After all, Evgeni Malkin will turn 39 in July and is entering the final season of his contract, so his retirement in the summer of 2026 wouldn't stun many. Still, I can't help but make special note of it after the trio of Malkin, Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang have played together for the better part of two decades.

I'll make things a little bit bolder by adding some meat to the scenario: All three of them open 2025-26 together, meaning that none were traded over the summer. Pittsburgh does fine, but not quite good enough to be anything more than a wild-card hopeful. By the trade deadline, the first domino falls: Letang, having been asked to waive his no-trade clause, is moved. Crosby won't be happy, but he'll press forward with the Penguins. Malkin, who is a little older than Crosby and has shown his age more -- although that's not much of a knock given that almost everyone shows their age more than Crosby -- will opt to either call it a career or conclude his playing days in the KHL after he finishes 2025-26 with Pittsburgh.

Crosby will still be with the team for 2026-27 as one of the final remnants of an amazing era of Penguins hockey. That campaign, a younger Penguins team, through a combination of fresh signings brought on by expired contracts and prospects making an increasing impact, will see some great progress. On the point of prospects: Pittsburgh has six picks in the top three rounds for the 2025 NHL Draft and already possesses an additional five for 2026, so the Penguins have a lot to work with going forward.

Barring a storybook turn of events, Crosby has won his final Stanley Cup as a player with Pittsburgh, but before his career ends, he'll likely see the promising start of a new era for the franchise.

The Ottawa Senators are heading back to the nation's capital empty-handed, and it figures that Tie Domi’s son would eventually emerge as a factor in the Battle of Ontario.

3:09 into overtime, Max Domi's shot from the high slot went off the goalpost and in, beating Linus Ullmark and the Senators, 3-2. With the victory, Toronto takes a strong 2-0 series lead.

Ullmark stopped 18 of 21 Toronto shots on the night, while Anthony Stolarz made 26 of 28 saves. Ottawa got goals from Brady Tkachuk and Adam Gaudette. John Tavares had a goal and an assist for the Leafs, while Morgan Rielly had the other goal.

It was a much more disciplined effort from the Senators, who gave the Leafs only one power play on the night.

In regulation, the two clubs each swapped goals that weren't exactly the highlight reel variety.

For the second straight game, the Leafs grabbed a 2-0 first-period lead. The first goal came off a nice pass off the half-boards from William Nylander. Nylander out-hustled Thomas Chabot to find a passing lane, then hit Morgan Rielly at the far post. Drake Batherson was able to take Rielly's stick away, but Rielly redirected the puck into the net with his skate to make it 1-0.

Tavares made it 2-0 on the power play. His shot was stopped by Ullmark, but the puck then banked in off Nick Jensen and into the net. 

The Sens did seem to get their feet under them after that and played an excellent second period, where they outshot the Leafs 13-3 and led in shot attempts 33-7. Tkachuk got the only goal of the second period when his centering pass deflected in off of Brandon Carlo’s skate to cut Toronto's lead in half.

While the Senators launched a shooting gallery at Stolarz in the second period, their first shot of the third period didn't come until just over 5 minutes left in regulation. It was a goal by Adam Gaudette, who tipped home a shot from the point over the right shoulder of Stolarz. The Leafs bench feverishly reviewed their replay monitors in hopes of challenging the goal for a missed offside. No luck.

That took the game to overtime, where it was decided just over 3 minutes in. On one ill-fated shift, the Senators' poise went right out the window.

Toronto's Simon Benoit grabbed the puck inside his own blue line and sprinted up the right wing on what turned out to be a 2-on-4 rush as the rest of the Leafs made a line change. Max Domi came along for the ride and accepted a drop pass from Benoit. Domi went right through Dylan Cozens and then right through Batherson, who both overcommitted and failed to take the body.

Then, with Chabot backing up too far to cover anyone, he and Benoit appeared to serve as the perfect screen. Domi then put one in off the post to win it.

Despite being down 0-2 now in the series, Senators head coach Travis Green was deadly calm in his post game availability, which set a fine example for his troops. He says there is no reason to panic.

"I think first of all, a lot of our guys haven't played a lot of playoff hockey,” Green said. “They haven't lost a playoff game in that way either. We talked about that quickly. I talked about earlier today that we had to play better. I really like the way we played tonight. A big step as a group. Looking forward to the next game.

“We came on the road, played two road games. Like someone said earlier, we probably deserved a better fate tonight. But that's part of playoff hockey, and we've said it all year: we don't get too far ahead of ourselves. We don't look behind. We worry about the next game, and if you do that, good things happen."

The Senators now face a near must-win situation on Thursday night at Canadian Tire Centre as the series shifts to Ottawa for Games 3 and 4.

Max Domi scored the overtime winner as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Ottawa Senators 3-2 to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven series on Tuesday. 

For a while, it looked like the Leafs were going to steamroll the Senators after scoring twice on their first four shots on goal for the second consecutive game. However, the Senators hung on and dominated the second period, which led to their first goal of the game from Brady Tkachuk.

The third period saw the Leafs play tighter defensively as they tried to hand on to the one-goal lead. But Senators forward Adam Gaudette deflected a shot past Toronto goaltender Anthony Stolarz to tie the game and force overtime.

It didn't take long before Max Domi scored the winner at 3:09. Toronto is 10-0 all-time in the best-of-seven series, where they won the first two games at home.

After the game, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube broke down the flow of the game.

"Yeah, it was great to see that goal by Max. Obviously a great play. (Simon) Benoit made a great play on it," Berube said. "But first period was really good. I liked our start a lot, came out playing on our toes, and got through our forecheck. We were aggressive. We got a good lead, our power play came through again. Second period I thought that they were the better team. We didn't make plays, we kind of looked like we were just protecting the lead a little bit and didn't make enough plays. Didn't advance and get to the offensive zone enough. Took a couple of penalties. And third period was fine. We were in good shape. The goal was the first shot we gave up in the third period. We were playing the right way and doing the right thing. It was a mistake and mistakes happen. We stayed with it and ended up getting the win."

In addition, Berube addressed:

* The change in Morgan Rielly's game (he scored Toronto's first goal of the game).

* Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz' performance (26-save performance)

* Why the Leafs elected not to challenge the Gaudette goal after mulling it over.

* The impact of Pontus Holmberg and his ability to draw penalties (leading to John Tavares' power-play goal that made it 2-0 Toronto)

Q: What have you seen different from Morgan Rielly that has allowed him to perform in the way he has? (one goal t

I don't think it's different in the playoffs than the last 20 games, I would say, or so, where he is up in the play more like I talked about. Playing with (Brandon) Carlo, I think he feels very comfortable with his partner. They got a good chemistry together and I think that he's freed up a little bit to do his thing offensively.

Q: Max looks like he's been putting in extra work. Good to see a goal like that pay off for him?

Yeah, he still works hard. I mean, he's always trying to improve and get better and work with people, skill guys, and practice and stuff like that. And I feel very good. I feel very happy for him to get a goal. It's a big goal, obviously, and it's a great feeling to score one of those. I've got a couple. *laughs* I'm very happy for him. He's a hard worker. I thought he had a good game tonight overall. You know, he was skating. I always say when Max skates and attacks, he's on his game.

Q: You've know Anthony his whole career. What are the lessons for a goalie who has waited this long to get his shot and see it pay off?

Yeah, I had him at the start of his career in Philly. He's just getting going in pro. You go through your career, how he went through it. Kind of always was like the backup, but, you know, not a starter. And still a valuable position. Ge's coming off a very good season last year and won him a Stanley Cup and he came in this year, wanting to be a starter. And I know it was a shared net for the most of the year. I think, you know, a lot of the reason for that was we had two guys that have not played a significant amount of games throughout the season. So I like the combination of both of them, but, you know, he's been excellent all year. I mean he got injured there, coming back from the injury, he took him a bit to establish himself again. But he's doing the job for us now.

'He Made Big Saves': How Anthony Stolarz Won Game 1 Of The Goalie Battle Against Senators' Linus UllmarkAnthony Stolarz showed up and showed out against the Ottawa Senators in Game 1 of the Battle of Ontario, which the Toronto Maple Leafs won commandingly, 6-2.

Q: What did you make of Anthony sticking up for himself and take a roughing penalty?

I mean, I think it gets annoying after a while, right? And I've seen that with goalies before. I really don't have a problem with it.

Q: What was the conversation on the bench like of Ottawa's second goal?

Oh the tying goal? Well Stutzle's coming in, you know, he's not over the blue (line) the other way yet. And the puck just fired in and it looks like it hit him. We couldn't really identify that immediately, so call timeout so our video guys can take a little bit more time to look at it, but we made the decision that it did not hit him.

Q: Pontus draws a penalty. Can you talk about the little things he's done in this series?

He draws a lot of penalties. He's very good at that. One of the best. I think, like I said, I talked about Pontus and to me his game has gone to another level in the last 20 or so where he's way more aggressive. He has the ability to hang on to pucks and keep pucks and win battles and things like that. But for me, the skating part of it has gotten to another level where he's not waiting to be safe or, you know, he's just going now. Skating. I thought he had a real good game tonight. He was strong on things in the corner, helping out, battling, doing a lot of good things. He was at the net most of the night too for that line, which is important.

Q: You've been through a lot as a coach. How frustrating does it get when you go through stretches where it looks like your team stops playing?

Yeah, and I thought in a second, like I said, we stopped skating and watched a little bit and stopped making plays. It is frustrating, but at the same time as a coach, you've got to, you know, we're asking our players to be composed. I've got to be composed too. Talk to them about things, try to motivate them a little bit on the bench and get them going again, get them skating again. It was a funny period because it was a lot of different matchups going on and whistles and penalties. We had a couple penalties, so, you know, there's certain guys that don't hit the ice and they get out of rhythm a little bit. So we definitely got to play better in the second period.

'I Don't Know How Much Of A Wrestling Match It Was': Maple Leafs React to Brad Marchand and Pontus Holmberg's Scuffle in Game 5 Against BruinsHolmberg and Marchand got into a scuffle during the third period of Game 5 before the Bruins' forward was taken down by one of the officials.

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There were plenty of fireworks during Game 1 between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Receiving a boost from the return of Matthew Tkachuk to the lineup, Florida scored early and often, taking down the Lightning 6-2 Tuesday night at Amalie Arena.

It didn’t take long for the Panthers to get things going.

Sam Bennett picked up the puck in Florida’s zone and quickly moved it up the ice, where Mackie Samoskevich eventually poked it into Tampa’s zone along the boards.

The rookie quickly collected the puck and sent a saucer pass toward the net, where Bennett was quickly heading, and the veteran deflected the pass from the rookie to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead at the 3:44 mark.

Playing in his first Panthers game since early February, Matthew Tkahcuk took the game’s first penalty. It was a roughing call on a hit on Nikita Kucherov that was more than questionable, especially during the playoffs.

Florida nearly killed it off but a late faceoff led to Jake Guentzel plucking a Kucherov rebound from the side of the net and quickly dangling it behind Sergei Bobrovsky to tie the game at one.

Another deflection goal would give the Panthers their second lead of the game. This time it was Dmitry Kulikov sending a wrist shot toward the net that Sam Reinhart redirected past Andrei Vasilevskiy with just 44 seconds left in the opening period.

A great shift by the Anton Lundell line led to Florida’s third goal of the game.

Pinning the Lightning deep in their zone, Bennett came flying off the bench and forced a turnover along the boards. The puck was picked up by Brad Marchand, and after his shot was stopped by Vasilevskiy, Nate Schmidt came barreling down the slot and poked in the loose puck.

Tampa Head Coach Jon Cooper challenged the play for goalie interference, but after a quick review the goal was deemed good, and Florida was given a power play for the failed challenge.

It took only 14 seconds for the Panthers to make Tampa pay.

Reinhart found Tkachuk all alone in front of the net, and he showed off his soft hands, dangling around Vasilevskiy to give Florida a sudden and commanding 4-1 lead.

A questionable hit by Emil Lilleberg on Anton Lundell put the Panthers back on the power play, and once again it was Tkachuk beating Vasilevskly to pump Florida’s lead to four.

Just over three minutes later, Brayden Point one-timed a nice pass from Ryan McDonagh past Bobrovsky’s blocker to trim Florida’s lead by one.

Florida’s third power play of the game would lead to their third power play goal.

A perfectly placed wrist shot by Schmidt from the point beat Vasilevskiy over the glove, restoring the Cats’ four-goal lead just over five minutes into the final frame.

On to Game 2.

QUICK THOUGHTS

Two goals and an assist for Tkachuk in his first game in over two months. The three points match his playoff career high.

Bennett’s goal was his first since March 28 against Utah.

Reinhart picked up where he left off after finishing the regular season with seven goals in 12 games.

Bobrovsky finished with 20 saves, including on six of Tampa’s seven high danger shots.

Florida’s two goals in 14 seconds during the second period were the fastest two goals scored in Panthers playoff history.

Schmidt’s goals were the eighth and ninth he’s scored during the Stanley Cup Playoffs over 77 postseason games.

The Panthers improved to 20-0 when leading after two periods during the playoffs under Paul Maurice.

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