Sportsnet NHL Insider predictions for 2025-26 season

The Major League Baseball playoffs have been thrilling sports fans nightly and in a large portion of Canada the Toronto Blue Jays have faithful north of the border hoping that a 2025 World Series banner will hang next to those from 1992 and 1993. But on this day a new NHL season also opens, and hopes spring anew for fams across the league that this will be their year, too.

Will the Florida Panthers continue a dynastic run in the playoffs and do something no team has since the early-’80s Islanders? Will Connor McDavid, with a fresh contract in hand, become more of a shooter and goal scorer again, and chase multiple individual awards? Will Montreal’s hyped freshman Ivan Demidov earn the Calder Trophy and bring the team back-to-back rookie of the year winners? And how will players — or coaches — in new places impact the fortunes of those teams?

Once again we’ve reached out to a wide range of Sportsnet hockey personalities to share their predictions for the season ahead, from divisional champions to award winners, who will win the Stanley Cup and more.

Atlantic Division regular season winner

David Amber: Ottawa
Nick Kypreos: Tampa Bay
Justin Bourne: Tampa Bay
Jason Bukala: Toronto
Mark Spector: Toronto
Luke Fox: Tampa Bay
Iain MacIntyre: Tampa Bay
Eric Francis: Ottawa
Eric Engels: Tampa Bay
Wayne Scanlan: Tampa Bay
Alex Adams: Ottawa
Sam Cosentino: Toronto
Matt Marchese: Toronto
Mike Futa: Tampa Bay
Anna Dua: Toronto
Michael Amato: Tampa Bay
Ryan Dixon: Toronto
Sonny Sachdeva: Tampa Bay
Rory Boylen: Toronto

Metro Division regular season winner

David Amber: NY Rangers
Nick Kypreos: Carolina
Justin Bourne: Carolina
Jason Bukala: New Jersey
Mark Spector: Carolina
Luke Fox: Carolina
Iain MacIntyre: New Jersey
Eric Francis: Carolina
Eric Engels: Carolina
Wayne Scanlan: Carolina
Alex Adams: Carolina
Sam Cosentino: Carolina
Matt Marchese: New Jersey
Mike Futa: New Jersey
Anna Dua: New Jersey
Michael Amato: Carolina
Ryan Dixon: New Jersey
Sonny Sachdeva: Carolina
Rory Boylen: Carolina

Pacific Division regular season winner

David Amber: Vegas
Nick Kypreos: Vegas
Justin Bourne: Edmonton
Jason Bukala: Edmonton
Mark Spector: Vegas
Luke Fox: Vegas
Iain MacIntyre: Vegas
Eric Francis: Vegas
Eric Engels: Vegas
Wayne Scanlan: Vegas
Alex Adams: Edmonton
Sam Cosentino: Edmonton
Matt Marchese: Edmonton
Mike Futa: Vegas
Anna Dua: Edmonton
Michael Amato: Vegas
Ryan Dixon: Vegas
Sonny Sachdeva: Vegas
Rory Boylen: Edmonton

Central Division regular season winner

David Amber: Dallas
Nick Kypreos: St. Louis
Justin Bourne: Winnipeg
Jason Bukala: Dallas
Mark Spector: Dallas
Luke Fox: Winnipeg
Iain MacIntyre: Dallas
Eric Francis: Minnesota
Eric Engels: Dallas
Wayne Scanlan: Colorado
Alex Adams: Colorado
Sam Cosentino: Winnipeg
Matt Marchese: Colorado
Mike Futa: Colorado
Anna Dua: Colorado
Michael Amato: Colorado
Ryan Dixon: Dallas
Sonny Sachdeva: Dallas
Rory Boylen: Colorado

David Amber: Tampa Bay
Nick Kypreos: Florida
Justin Bourne: Winnipeg
Jason Bukala: Toronto
Mark Spector: Tampa Bay
Luke Fox: Florida
Iain MacIntyre: Toronto
Eric Francis: Dallas
Eric Engels: Tampa Bay
Wayne Scanlan: Florida
Alex Adams: Florida
Sam Cosentino: Carolina
Matt Marchese: Toronto
Mike Futa: New Jersey
Anna Dua: Toronto
Michael Amato: Carolina
Ryan Dixon: Carolina
Sonny Sachdeva: Florida
Rory Boylen: Dallas

David Amber: Edmonton
Nick Kypreos: St. Louis
Justin Bourne: Florida
Jason Bukala: Colorado
Mark Spector: Edmonton
Luke Fox: Winnipeg
Iain MacIntyre: Vegas
Eric Francis: Dallas
Eric Engels: Dallas
Wayne Scanlan: Colorado
Alex Adams: Colorado
Sam Cosentino: Edmonton
Matt Marchese: Colorado
Mike Futa: Edmonton
Anna Dua: Edmonton
Michael Amato: Colorado
Ryan Dixon: Dallas
Sonny Sachdeva: Dallas
Rory Boylen: Florida

• 
• 32 Thoughts: The Podcast

  Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.

  Latest episode

David Amber: Jack Eichel
Nick Kypreos: Nikita Kucherov
Justin Bourne: Connor McDavid
Jason Bukala: Cale Makar
Mark Spector: Connor McDavid
Luke Fox: Connor McDavid
Iain MacIntyre: Leon Draisaitl
Eric Francis: Kirill Kaprizov
Eric Engels: Connor McDavid
Wayne Scanlan: Nathan MacKinnon
Alex Adams: Connor McDavid
Sam Cosentino: Connor McDavid
Matt Marchese: Kirill Kaprizov
Mike Futa: Connor McDavid
Anna Dua: Connor McDavid
Michael Amato: Connor McDavid
Ryan Dixon: Jack Hughes
Sonny Sachdeva: Connor McDavid
Rory Boylen: Kirill Kaprizov

David Amber: Connor McDavid
Nick Kypreos: Nikita Kucherov
Justin Bourne: Connor McDavid
Jason Bukala: Nikita Kucherov
Mark Spector: Connor McDavid
Luke Fox: Connor McDavid
Iain MacIntyre: Leon Draisaitl
Eric Francis: Nikita Kucherov
Eric Engels: Connor McDavid
Wayne Scanlan: Connor McDavid
Alex Adams: Connor McDavid
Sam Cosentino: Nathan MacKinnon
Matt Marchese: Kirill Kaprizov
Mike Futa: Connor McDavid
Anna Dua: Connor McDavid
Michael Amato: Connor McDavid
Ryan Dixon: Leon Draisaitl
Sonny Sachdeva: Connor McDavid
Rory Boylen: Kirill Kaprizov

David Amber: Ryan Leonard
Nick Kypreos: Jimmy Snuggerud
Justin Bourne: Zayne Parekh
Jason Bukala: Ivan Demidov
Mark Spector: Ivan Demidov
Luke Fox: Ivan Demidov
Iain MacIntyre: Ivan Demidov
Eric Francis: Zeev Buium
Eric Engels: Ivan Demidov
Wayne Scanlan: Ivan Demidov
Alex Adams: Ivan Demidov
Sam Cosentino: Jimmy Snuggerud
Matt Marchese: Michael Misa
Mike Futa: Matthew Schaefer
Anna Dua: Ivan Demidov
Michael Amato: Michael Misa
Ryan Dixon: Alexander Nikishin
Sonny Sachdeva: Ivan Demidov
Rory Boylen: Ivan Demidov

David Amber: Quinn Hughes
Nick Kypreos: Cale Makar
Justin Bourne: Quinn Hughes
Jason Bukala: Cale Makar
Mark Spector: Quinn Hughes
Luke Fox: Quinn Hughes
Iain MacIntyre: Quinn Hughes
Eric Francis: Cale Makar
Eric Engels: Cale Makar
Wayne Scanlan: Cale Makar
Alex Adams: Quinn Hughes
Sam Cosentino: Quinn Hughes
Matt Marchese: Quinn Hughes
Mike Futa: Quinn Hughes
Anna Dua: Quinn Hughes
Michael Amato: Zach Werenski
Ryan Dixon: Josh Morrissey
Sonny Sachdeva: Quinn Hughes
Rory Boylen: Cale Makar

David Amber: Igor Shesterkin
Nick Kypreos: Jordan Binnington
Justin Bourne: Connor Hellebuyck
Jason Bukala: Andrei Vasilevskiy
Mark Spector: Andrei Vasilevskiy
Luke Fox: Jake Oettinger
Iain MacIntyre: Igor Shesterkin
Eric Francis: Andrei Vasilevskiy
Eric Engels: Jake Oettinger
Wayne Scanlan: Connor Hellebuyck
Alex Adams: Dustin Wolf
Sam Cosentino: Jake Oettinger
Matt Marchese: Jacob Markstrom
Mike Futa: Dustin Wolf
Anna Dua: Dustin Wolf
Michael Amato: Jake Oettinger
Ryan Dixon: Igor Shesterkin
Sonny Sachdeva: Connor Hellebuyck
Rory Boylen: Jake Oettinger

David Amber: Joel Quenneville
Nick Kypreos: Jim Montgomery
Justin Bourne: Rod Brind’Amour
Jason Bukala: Joel Quenneville
Mark Spector: Adam Foote
Luke Fox: Joel Quenneville
Iain MacIntyre: Mike Sullivan
Eric Francis: Joel Quenneville
Eric Engels: Joel Quenneville
Wayne Scanlan: Martin St. Louis
Alex Adams: Andre Tourigny
Sam Cosentino: Martin St. Louis
Matt Marchese: Joel Quenneville
Mike Futa: Sheldon Keefe
Anna Dua: Ryan Huska
Michael Amato: Dean Evason
Ryan Dixon: Sheldon Keefe
Sonny Sachdeva: Mike Sullivan
Rory Boylen: Jim Montgomery

Which country will win menâ€s gold at the Olympics?

David Amber: Canada
Nick Kypreos: Canada
Justin Bourne: Canada
Jason Bukala: Canada
Mark Spector: Canada
Luke Fox: Canada
Iain MacIntyre: Canada
Eric Francis: USA
Eric Engels: Canada
Wayne Scanlan: USA
Alex Adams: Canada
Sam Cosentino: Canada
Matt Marchese: Canada
Mike Futa: USA
Anna Dua: Canada
Michael Amato: Canada
Ryan Dixon: Finland
Sonny Sachdeva: Canada
Rory Boylen: Canada

Which non-playoff team from last season do you believe in most to get back in this season?

David Amber: NY Rangers
Nick Kypreos: Utah
Justin Bourne: Utah
Jason Bukala: Anaheim
Mark Spector: Vancouver
Luke Fox: NY Rangers
Iain MacIntyre: Vancouver
Eric Francis: NY Rangers
Eric Engels: NY Rangers
Wayne Scanlan: Anaheim
Alex Adams: NY Rangers
Sam Cosentino: NY Rangers
Matt Marchese: Anaheim
Mike Futa: Anaheim
Anna Dua: Calgary
Michael Amato: NY Rangers
Ryan Dixon: NY Rangers
Sonny Sachdeva: Vancouver
Rory Boylen: Utah

Which team will Sidney Crosby be playing on after the trade deadline?

David Amber: Pittsburgh
Nick Kypreos: Montreal
Justin Bourne: Pittsburgh
Jason Bukala: Montreal
Mark Spector: Pittsburgh
Luke Fox: Colorado
Iain MacIntyre: Montreal
Eric Francis: Pittsburgh
Eric Engels: Montreal
Wayne Scanlan: Montreal
Alex Adams: Colorado
Sam Cosentino: Montreal
Matt Marchese: Colorado
Mike Futa: Montreal
Anna Dua: Montreal
Michael Amato: Colorado
Ryan Dixon: Pittsburgh
Sonny Sachdeva: Pittsburgh
Rory Boylen: Pittsburgh

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