Puck Yes, It’s Back! Your Guide to the 2025-26 NHL Season of Drama

The back-to-back champs are chasing dynasty status, but the ice is slicker at the top and that target on their backs could fill a whole net. Even with their captain Aleksander Barkov missing from the lineup with a knee injury, they still have Matthew Tkachuk stirring the pot and Sergei Bobrovsky brick-walling dreams, so Florida isn’t done tormenting the league just yet.

Marner swapped Toronto pressure for Vegas flash this summer, where he'll blend right in since both he and the city know it’s all about the show. Back in Toronto, Auston Matthews is wondering if he's just part of a "regular line" now as he quietly rethinks those friendship bracelets and what “forever line mates” really means.

Forty-year-old Alex Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record last spring and is now playing purely for the encore. Meanwhile, over in Pittsburgh, Sidney Crosby keeps defying time, playing like the Penguins never told him he’s 38. He refuses to slow down even as the Penguins slide into rebuild territory and trade rumors follow him like a defenseman who forgot his assignment.

The Montreal Canadiens’ youth movement is finally looking more like a plan than a promise. In Columbus, Adam Fantilli could be the spark that pushes the Blue Jackets back into playoff contention. The St. Louis Blues are quietly inching from “retool” to “dark horse,” and even though the Vancouver Canucks have been rebuilding so long it started to feel like a lifestyle brand, they might just be ready to break free from their long-term relationship with “almost.”

For the first time in years, general managers have a little spending money in their pockets. The NHL finally loosened its belt, and the salary cap jumped by $4.2 million, which means we can expect questionable contracts, panic extensions, and at least one team suddenly “all in.” Somewhere, a future buyout is already warming up.