Nine NHL storylines we’re watching this season

A new NHL season is about to begin, and with the return of the game comes a fresh batch of storylines to watch on the ice, in front offices and around the league.

From big names in new places and contract questions for the sportâ€s biggest stars to new CBA rules unfolding and the end of an era (possibly) incoming, weâ€ve highlighted nine of the most intriguing storylines weâ€re watching in 2025-26:

All eyes will be on Vegasâ€s newest winger — and the franchiseâ€s highest-paid player — as Mitch Marner takes his first strides as a Golden Knight. With Marnerâ€s move west comes new and heightened expectations for both the player and his squad. The Golden Knights know no mode other than all-in, and Marnerâ€s presence is expected to launch them back to the top. Can he shed past Toronto playoff woes to become a post-season difference-maker in Vegas?

Marner sets the team up to have a sensational one-two punch alongside Jack Eichel. The team is expected to announce a new deal for their top centre any day now… how does Marnerâ€s cap hit affect Eichelâ€s upcoming earnings?

And then thereâ€s Marnerâ€s former squad. The Toronto Maple Leafs enter Year 1 of the post-Marner era, and despite no longer being home to one of the gameâ€s most dynamic playmakers, the club still faces a mountain of pressure to win. Who takes Marnerâ€s spot in the lineup? How will Auston Matthews respond without his favourite linemate? Can the Maple Leafs maintain last yearâ€s scoring pace?

League-wide, Marnerâ€s $12 million cap hit is now the benchmark for top-line wingers (non-Kaprizov division). How will his AAV affect the market? And as the leagueâ€s highest-paid winger this season, can he set the scoring pace, too?

Speaking of top-line talent and cap hits to match, the hockey world is still waiting for the gameâ€s biggest name to sign on the dotted line. Will we see Connor McDavid put pen to paper by the time the Oilers season opens, or will negotiations bleed into the season? (Tick, tick, tick.)

Now that Kirill Kaprizov raised the bar by a few million — his $17-million AAV makes most others look like pocket change — speculation ramps up about what McDavid might earn.

Logically, McDavid will get whatever he wants, and heâ€ll be worth it. But logistically, should McDavid seek to set another new standard, a cap hit of $17M-plus greatly affects Edmontonâ€s ability to surround him with talent. Will the best player in the league earn the biggest AAV? What might that look like, in terms of cap hit, cap percentage and structure?

Just as McDavidâ€s $100 million extension ushered in a new era of big-money deals for the gameâ€s top young talents back in 2017, this next one will, too. Whether he signs a maximum-term deal to stay in Edmonton and resets the bar once again in terms of AAV, or goes against convention with a shorter-term payday and a chance to decide his future again soon, heâ€s once again in position to pave the path for how others do business.

The biggest question, of course, isnâ€t really about contract terms but championships: does McDavid feel he can win it all with the Oilers?

A rising cap floats all boats

Thatâ€s totally the saying, right?

The days of the flat cap are over, and weâ€re about to enter a new era of salary cap growth — the ceiling increased by $7.5 million to hit $95.5M this year and is poised to make an even bigger jump to $104M for 2026-27 and again to $113.5M the year after.

Weâ€re already seeing plenty of evidence in the big-money extensions players are signing. Kaprizovâ€s $17M AAV starting in 2026-27 is the most obvious example, but weâ€re also seeing teams elect to bet big on young extension-eligible skaters — for example, the Devils†deal with Luke Hughes may seem generous now, but it could look like a bargain really soon.

But itâ€s not necessarily that simple. The coming cap growth presents plenty of really interesting questions: Will we see stars prioritize max-term deals with big AAVs and job security, or do they bet on more cap growth to come (and bet on themselves, too) by signing shorter-term deals now to get another payday down the road (à la Auston Matthews)? Will cap percentage play a more central role in negotiations — and the way we all talk about contracts? Will we see all franchises spend to the cap? And will the rising cap truly benefit everyone, or just the biggest stars?

We wonâ€t get answers to everything this year, but with so much change on the horizon we could see a new wave start to build.

Panthers eying three-peat

Winning the Stanley Cup is hard. Winning two in a row? Thatâ€s impressive — and yet, itâ€s almost old hat at this point, considering weâ€ve seen three teams successfully run it back in the past decade alone: the 2016 and 2017 Pittsburgh Penguins, the 2020 and 2021 Tampa Bay Lightning, and the reigning champion Florida Panthers.

Now the question is, can the Panthers defend again? Three-peat watch is officially on. Not since the New York Islanders won four straight Stanley Cups to usher in the 1980s — an act that immediately followed the Montreal Canadiens†four consecutive Cups to close out the ‘70s — has an NHL team pulled off the elusive three-peat. The Lightning almost did it in 2022 when they made a return trip to the Final but lost to the Colorado Avalanche. The Panthers have already matched the Lightningâ€s three straight Cup Final appearances, as they fell to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023 before getting back to the big stage. A fourth straight appearance, and a third consecutive Cup, would have them in dynasty territory.

Of course, the odds are stacked against them this year — not just because 31 other teams will be trying to take them down, headlined by top challengers in Dallas, Vegas, and once again Edmonton, but because the injury bug has already hit.

Captain Aleksander Barkov wonâ€t be on the ice any time soon after suffering a devastating knee injury in pre-season and Matthew Tkachuk, too, is on injured reserve to open the campaign and could be sidelined until December. While this isnâ€t totally new territory for Florida — the Panthers started and finished both Cup-winning seasons with injuries to some of their biggest stars — theyâ€ll really have their work cut out for them this time. 

Which rebuilding team makes a long-awaited jump?

Last spring, the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators sprinted down the stretch to jump back into the playoffs, claiming the two wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference and announcing the end of their respective rebuilds in the process. In doing so, they leapfrogged clubs like the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres, both of whom have failed to launch despite long roster overhauls of their own and legitimate expectations of progress. Is this the year the Red Wings and Sabres finally take a step forward and challenge for a spot?

As crowded as things could look in the East, the Western Conferenceâ€s rebuilding clubs bring plenty of similar questions. The San Jose Sharks could be poised for meaningful hockey down the stretch, but expectations probably end there. The same cannot be said, though, for teams like Anaheim and Utah, where post-season hockey isnâ€t a hope but a legitimate expectation now.

Every season brings a surprise contender or two. Who will it be this year?

NHLers are going back to the Olympics

For the first time since the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, NHL players will be competing at the Olympic tournament. Not only does that mean weâ€re being treated to best-on-best hockey again — last Februaryâ€s sensational appetizer at the 4 Nations Face-Off left everyone craving more — it also gifts us a few months†worth of roster speculation, particularly when it comes to the Canadian and U.S. entries.

Can young stars like Macklin Celebrini and Connor Bedard play their way onto Canadaâ€s stacked squad? Who suits up in the blue paint? Is this Sidney Crosbyâ€s Olympic swan song?

Similar questions lay ahead for Team USA. Will reigning rookie of the year Lane Hutson jump into the mix in what is already a crowded blue line? Is Connor Hellebuyck still the guy in net, or can Jake Oettinger take the No. 1 gig? And is the hockey world even ready to witness the Tkachuk brothers back in action together?

Fall is great and all, but February canâ€t come soon enough.

New coaches taking the reins

This off-season saw another big spin of the coaching carousel, with nine clubs entering the campaign with a new voice at the helm. Three rookie head coaches will take the reins, with all positioned to steer their respective squads through a fascinating time.

The hiring of Dan Muse, after Pittsburgh parted ways with longtime head coach Mike Sullivan, marks a new era for the team as it officially enters a rebuild. How will Muse guide the club through this transitional time?

Adam Foote is a familiar face for the Canucks as he previously served as an assistant in Vancouver. Can he quiet the drama and refocus the squad? How does Elias Pettersson respond to a new voice? And can his defensive expertise help cultivate a winning culture — enough to convince Quinn Hughes to stay?

Meanwhile, Marco Sturm takes over in Boston for a team treading into new territory: rebuilding — or, are they just retooling? Surely, Sturm will have a say in that.

Other new-coach questions: Can Mike Sullivan bring stability (and renewed Stanley Cup hopes) to the Rangers? Will the young Ducks make a jump with veteran Joel Quenneville at the helm? (And how will he be received?) Are we about to see Rick Tocchetâ€s Philly homecoming launch the Flyers†return to relevance? Jeff Blashill couldnâ€t get Detroit over the hump, but will things be different in Chicago? Who are the Kraken under bench boss Lane Lambert? And, finally, can Glen Gulutzan be the one to finally guide the Dallas Stars to the Stanley Cup?

Year 21 of Crosby and Ovechkin brings questions for both

After three straight seasons without playoff hockey in Pittsburgh — and four consecutive early exits before that — the Penguins are officially entering a rebuild. What does that mean for captain Sidney Crosby?

Trade speculation is already buzzing, and itâ€ll only grow louder if — or is it when? — the losses start to pile up. Seeing No. 87 on any sweater other than the black and gold of the Penguins feels wrong — but seeing one of the greatest players the game has ever seen spend his final NHL seasons toiling through a rebuild and not in the playoffs feels worse, right? Still, the more likely trade candidate — for now, at least — could be Evgeni Malkin, who enters the final year of his deal and is nearing the end of his own illustrious career. If Malkin goes, speculation around Crosby will only grow louder.

Meanwhile, in Washington, after Alex Ovechkin officially claimed the crown as the NHLâ€s all-time goal-scoring king when he broke Wayne Gretzkyâ€s long-standing record last spring, the focus now shifts to a different kind of Ovi Watch.

Ovechkin, who just turned 40 last month, is entering the final year of his contract and hasnâ€t yet decided if this will be his last. Heâ€s said in the past he wants to finish his playing career in Russia, where his pro career began. Weâ€ll all continue to count up his goals — heâ€s three away from 900, and every marker is obviously another addition to his all-time record — but at what point do we learn what comes next?

How will the NHLâ€s expedited playoff cap rule affect teams†approach?

Change is coming next season with the new CBA taking effect, and that should carry some big consequences on how this season goes. Among the most notable changes headlining the new CBA are moving to an 84-game regular season, scaling back maximum contract term to seven years on extensions and six for free agents signing elsewhere, as well as altering how teams are permitting to navigate LTIR in the playoffs.

That shortened contract term is expected to come into effect next September, which makes it a bigger storyline next summer than this season, but that post-season LTIR rule change should have ramifications already this spring. The guidance in the new CBA states that teams’ active rosters must be cap compliant in the playoffs — a big change from post-seasons past. Take last year, when the Panthers placed injured star Matthew Tkachuk on LTIR late in the regular season, used the freed-up cap space to bring in Seth Jones and Brad Marchand, and then iced a playoff roster with all three (and no need for cap compliancy) to win it all. Any injured players still on LTIR come playoff time wonâ€t count against the cap, of course, but GMs and coaches will have to navigate the things differently when it comes to icing post-season lineups. The loophole has been closed, and intrigue opens up about how this new rule will affect teams†decision-making at the deadline.

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