What to remember about each NHL team as pre-season games begin

Summers are always short in the NHL. It seems like just yesterday the Florida Panthers claimed their second Stanley Cup in a row, and today game action returns.

While you’ve been away soaking up the summer, you could be forgiven for missing or forgetting anything that may have happened over the off-season, or where we left off in certain cities the last time their NHL teams were active.

Ah, but we’re back, with pre-season hockey beginning this weekend, and just 18 days away from the start of the regular season. To help you get back into the NHL mindset, here’s one thing you may want to remember about each of the NHL’s 32 teams.

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Anaheim Ducks: Mason McTavish is not at training camp

A core piece of the young roster, McTavish still does not have a contract and is missing the start of training camp. He’s seen improved points per game totals every year he’s played in the NHL, and it’s a big year for the Ducks to take another step forward. Historically, it’s a bit of a mixed bag for how players perform if they miss regular-season action over extended contract talks. McTavish, as a top-six centre, is a key part of their hopeful push to the playoffs, but he remains an RFA.

Boston Bruins: With goal scoring already a concern, David Pastrnak and ‘load management’ have come up

In our Bruins team preview, we pointed out that Boston only has two returning players who reached 20 goals last season, so they’ll be hoping for offence from some more unlikely places. At least they can count on David Pastrnak, who has scored 40-plus goals four seasons in a row, right? Well, when camp opened on Wednesday, GM Don Sweeney said Pastrnak wouldn’t skate for the first couple of days because “he had a little tendonitis.” The Bruins are calling it load management, and the expectation is that Pastrnak will return in full next week, but suddenly, this is an important situation to monitor.

Buffalo Sabres: A huge opportunity lies ahead for Josh Norris, and they need him to deliver

JJ Peterka had a breakout third season with Buffalo, then asked for a trade as he was about to become an RFA. While moving him to Utah returned a top-four defenceman (Michael Kesselring) and a promising young forward (Josh Doan), the fact is neither of them will replace Peterka’s 68 points, which were second-most on the team last season. The team is high on Josh Norris, brought over in the Dylan Cozens trade, and they’re hopeful he takes over as the No. 1 centre. When healthy, Norris has had some strong runs, including a 35-goal season in 66 games. But his injury history is troubling, with multiple shoulder surgeries. Norris only played three games after being acquired by the Sabres last season before being shut down with a torn oblique.

Calgary Flames: Rasmus Andersson is almost certainly going to be traded

This situation with Andersson will follow the Flames all season until they finally trade him before his contract expires next July. Heck, team captain Mikael Backlund said it was obvious Andersson would be moved at some point this season. Whenever Andersson is moved, it will likely open up a large hole in Calgary’s blue line, depending on the return, but also create more opportunity for another right shooter like rookie Zayne Parekh. The question doesn’t seem to be ‘if’ but ‘when’ this move happens. Flames fans will be hoping for a great return that helps set the table for a promising future.

Carolina Hurricanes: Nikolaj Ehlers has a chance to show what his ceiling truly is

In his final season with the Jets, Ehlers scored 63 points in 69 games, with a 0.91 points per game average that was the best of his career in an 82-game season so far. He was also second on the team in goals and points per 60 minutes of five-on-five play, but averaged just 13:14 of ice time per game at even strength, eighth among Winnipeg forwards. And that really was the tale of his 10 years in the organization. Now in Carolina after signing as a free agent, Ehlers surely will play in the top-six and definitely has a chance to be a top-line player. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, need help getting over the playoff hump with offensive players who can break a game open. Ehlers could chase another career season and show he can bring more with elevated minutes.

Chicago Blackhawks: Connor Bedard is playing for a lot in his contract year

The 20-year-old who was taken first overall in 2023, Bedard was invited to Team Canada’s Olympic orientation camp and certainly hopes he can crack that roster. But that might be an uphill battle. In many (most) eyes, Bedard was surpassed by 2024 first overall pick Macklin Celebrini, who scored 63 points in 70 games in his rookie season, while Bedard’s points per game declined from Year 1 to Year 2. Bedard now enters this third season, the last of his entry-level contract, but is a long-term, big-money contract a guarantee? Is something shorter-term on the table? Certainly making the Team Canada cut will help his side of the negotiations.

Colorado Avalanche: Martin Necas is the Mikko Rantanen situation Part 2

The Avs traded Rantanen last season when they didn’t want to meet his price, which ended up being the $12 million he got in Dallas. The key player brought in return for Rantanen was Necas, who himself is now entering the final year of a contract and could test free agency next July. In 30 games with Colorado, Necas was just under a point per game player and found a home alongside Nathan MacKinnon on the top line. What if he has another season like that, or better? It wouldn’t be far-fetched for Necas to seek around $10 million in that scenario, and if that number is at all uncomfortable for the Avalanche front office, they may have to consider making another trade in the exact same situation.

Columbus Blue Jackets: Yegor Chinakhov has requested a trade

The 23-year-old Chinakhov began last season on the top line, but his ice time began creeping down and an injury in November removed him from the lineup for three months. His place in the depth chart and production on the score sheet didn’t recover down the stretch, and he was made a healthy scratch on a few occasions. Over the summer, it came out that he had requested a trade. The good news is that he’s at camp and, according to The Athletic, was the first player from Europe to return to Columbus. Two years ago, Chinakhov scored 16 goals in 53 games, and the hope is that more is on the way in a Blue Jackets uniform. He’ll have to earn back his minutes, and if he does, perhaps the request will be rescinded.

Dallas Stars: Jason Robertson is in a very interesting contract year

Robertson scored 41 goals in 2021-22, then 46 goals and 109 points in 2022-23 — a superstar on the rise and in line to be the highest-paid Dallas Star. Since then, he’s had back-to-back 80-point seasons and recorded 29 then 35 goals, which certainly are not bad results, but give pause to consider what he’ll be consistently capable of through his prime. Robertson will be an RFA at season’s end and arbitration eligible, but a one-year award walks him straight to unrestricted free agency. Meanwhile, bona fide superstar Rantanen has already delivered a terrific playoff showing and will make $12 million for the next eight years, seemingly capping Robertson’s value here. Dallas is still eyeing a Stanley Cup with this group, but we shouldn’t dismiss the possibility of a Robertson trade depending on how the year goes.

Detroit Red Wings: The ‘Yzerplan’ is entering its seventh season

Patience is the key to a successful rebuild and the Detroit market has certainly been that as the Red Wings have worked through some pretty low lows that will hopefully one day pay off. Two years ago, they were within a whisker of a tie-breaker of making the playoffs, but were passed by division rivals Montreal and Ottawa, who qualified in 2025, while Detroit fell short by five points. They’re not far off, but that patience is starting to wear thin in the market; even captain Dylan Larkin expressed some frustration that the front office didn’t add more to help the team at last year’s trade deadline. Marco Kasper finished strong last season, giving hope that he can have a breakout season. Simon Edvinsson will be looked at to take on a greater role in his second full season from the back end, but he’ll miss training camp with an injury. Detroit has missed the playoffs for nine consecutive years, and we have to wonder what the reaction would be if that’s extended to 10.

Edmonton Oilers: In a way, there might be a lot riding on two rookies

Connor McDavid is still unsigned and that’s the biggest story in the league right now. He wants to make sure Edmonton is in a good place to compete over the life of his next deal (whether it’s long- or short-term), so what does that mean? The goaltending question looms over this team again. The ageing roster is another factor, but this year the Oilers have two intriguing rookies looking to crack the roster in Matt Savoie and Ike Howard. Savoie was a ninth overall pick by the Sabres, Howard 31st overall by Tampa Bay (both in 2022), and either one could end up playing alongside McDavid or Leon Draisaitl. Now we don’t want to make a mountain out of a mole hill here; McDavid’s decision will not depend on either being a Calder candidate, but certainly, if the Oilers get good contributions from these two early-20s players, it helps make the future look that much brighter.

Florida Panthers: Sergei Bobrovsky is a UFA at the end of the season

The Panthers were able to re-sign Aaron Ekblad, Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand when their cap picture was extremely tight, so it’s hard to get worried this year when only one core player is on an expiring contract. Still, Bobrovsky’s situation is an interesting one. He makes $10 million against the cap and has been worth every penny of that, but turns 37 years old today. His play certainly doesn’t warrant a pay cut. Will he get an increase? How long would his next deal be for? And what his the succession plan in net now that Spencer Knight is long gone?

Los Angeles Kings: Quinton Byfield was a top-25 scorer in the league from February until the end of the season

Now that we know it will be Anze Kopitar’s final year in the NHL, there’s some figuring out what will happen when he’s gone, but Byfield is the most important X-factor to step up and replace him in a year. At the start of last season, Byfield was a kind of outside-shot hopeful for Team Canada’s 4 Nations roster, but his play wasn’t elevating to make a strong enough case. And if you look at his season-long totals, Byfield’s 23 goals and 54 points were pretty flat from the season before, and he was the fourth-highest scorer on the Kings. However, in the final 32 games of the season, Byfield notched 31 points, which put him into a tie with several other players for 25th in NHL scoring from Feb. 1 on. Having that energy all season in 2025-26 would be big for the Kings, and may get Byfield some consideration for Canada at the Olympics after he was already invited to orientation camp.

Minnesota Wild: The worst of the cap pain is over

No longer are the Wild hamstrung by a $14-plus million cap penalty for the long-ago buyouts of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, and enter the year with $4.41 million in cap room. At that rate, they’d have more than $20 million in deadline day cap space, which would allow them to do pretty much whatever they want on the trade market (keeping in mind playoff lineups have to be under the $95.5 million ceiling now). Of course, if Kirill Kaprizov extends, he’s going to be a few million dollars more expensive than those penalties, but at least now GM Bill Guerin has the freedom to shop around for another big piece to help elevate the Wild to another tier of contender and show Kaprizov this is a contender on the way up.

Montreal Canadiens: They could have back-to-back Calder Trophy winners

After Lane Hutson ran away with rookie of the year last season, Ivan Demidov is the heavy favourite to win it this season. The Russian delivered a goal and an assist in two regular-season games at the end of 2024-25, then got five games of playoff experience. He torched the competition at last weekend’s prospect tournament, signifying he’s a cut above that class and more than ready for the full-time NHL challenge. If Demidov does take this award, it would be the first time a team has had players win the Calder in back-to-back seasons since the Boston Bruins in 1967 and 1968 with Bobby Orr and Derek Sanderson.

Nashville Predators: Silver lining? They were the ‘unluckiest’ team in 2024-25

The Predators had low expectations from the outside two years ago and made the playoffs. They had high expectations last season, and ended far outside of them. They start without anyone expecting much from them again in 2025-26, so GM Barry Trotz quipped he hopes to prove the experts wrong three years in a row. It is gloomy in Nashville, but let’s try to paint one hopeful picture of improvement. The Predators had the league’s worst PDO last season, with the 29th-ranked save percentage and 32nd-ranked shooting percentage. Perhaps Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault do have more offence to give in Year 2 of their contracts, and maybe Juuse Saros can recover to be one of the better goalies in the NHL again. That, or this is a team with a veteran core whose best years are behind them and younger players who aren’t yet at the stage to break out.

New Jersey Devils: It’s a contract year for Jacob Markstrom

Before last season, the biggest factor holding the Devils back was a weakness in net — in 2023-24, they had Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws and Akira Schmid playing most games. Landing Markstrom in the summer of 2024 was a game-changer; the Devils improved from a 3.43 GAA to 2.68 and a top-five finish in the stat. Midway through this season, Markstrom will turn 36, and at the end of it, he will be eligible to test free agency. The Devils do have Jake Allen signed cheap for the long term, but losing Markstrom would still put them back into a tough spot at the position again.

New York Islanders: Matt Barzal looks to be on the move back to centre

It’s been a few years, but head coach Patrick Roy’s intention is to move Barzal back to the middle of the ice this season, with Bo Horvat as the other middleman in the top six. These are two players who found chemistry with one another on the same line, but it’s a new era in this organization, with fresh eyes in the front office trying to get a handle on how to mould the team from here. Barzal is taking on this challenge coming off right knee surgery after only playing 30 games last season. Can he round out his game and be up for the two-way demands of the position? Will he ever reach or surpass the career-high points per game mark he posted as a rookie?

New York Rangers: Artemi Panarin might have one of the more interesting contract negotiations

When Panarin signed his seven-year UFA contract with the Rangers in 2019, it made him the highest-paid winger and stayed that way until Mitch Marner surpassed him in 2025. Now Panarin is up for a new deal again during an inflationary cap period where all salaries are rising, and in a class that includes other star wingers like Kaprizov and Kyle Connor. Turning 34 in October, Panarin was still New York’s highest scorer through all of last season’s tumult, but as the team has changed many of its parts and considers what else needs to be reshaped, what number might make sense for both sides today?

Ottawa Senators: They’re supposed to lose their 2026 first-round pick

When the NHL came down on the Senators for not passing along the correct no-trade list for Evgenii Dadonov, causing confusion when the Golden Knights later tried to trade him to Anaheim, Ottawa was to lose its first-round pick over one of the following three seasons. The Senators decided to keep their first-rounder in 2024 and 2025, meaning their 2026 pick should now be lost. However, the last time the NHL handed out a similar punishment, it was the Devils who were to lose a first-rounder in one of three years for circumventing the salary cap with an Ilya Kovalchuk contract. But after the Devils held on for the first two years, the league decided to rescind that part of the penalty, and New Jersey never lost its pick. Might something similar happen in Ottawa, or will the pick be lost?

Philadelphia Flyers: Trevor Zegras has a new team and new position

Once a video game cover boy and new generation sensation, Zegras flashed bright early, but his star has faded in recent years. It’s a big contract year for him now, a prove-it year to the league and the Flyers organization that he can be the player he was once touted to be. Under Rick Tocchet, it appears Zegras will be making the move back to centre, where he had spent most of the beginning of his career before injury contributed to his offensive decline.

Pittsburgh Penguins: This may be the last ride of the Crosby-Malkin era

A dynamic 1-2 punch down the middle for an entire generation, Crosby and Malkin have had every success together, but they enter the final stage of their careers with the Penguins in shambles. There is endless speculation about what Crosby might do — would he ask for a trade and chase another Stanley Cup elsewhere — but he still has another year on his contract. Malkin is in the final year of his deal at age 39, and it would seem unlikely he’d stick around for another as the Penguins are now on a different timeline.

San Jose Sharks: Yaroslav Askarov should finally get his shot as a No. 1 NHL goalie

When the Predators chose to keep Saros, they had to clear out Askarov, who was looking for more NHL opportunity but was blocked by the more senior netminder. His first year with the Sharks was mostly still spent in the AHL, but in the 13 NHL games Askarov did see, he posted an .893 save percentage and didn’t exactly steal the show. Former Sharks No. 1 Mackenzie Blackwood was traded out last season, and the team didn’t do anything over the summer that may further block Askarov. It’s his time now, but he has to meet the moment and seize the job.

Seattle Kraken: They are trying to find an identity this season

Three years past reaching Game 7 of the second round, any hope that the Kraken were on the verge of something has faded, and now this is a team still trying to figure out what it is. Small changes were made in the off-season to a non-playoff roster, adding Ryan Lindgren and Mason Marchment for a touch of “mean” hockey to make the team a tougher match on a nightly basis. Former head coach Dan Bylsma was fired after just one season, and now Lane Lambert is the team’s third coach in its five-year history.

St. Louis Blues: Robert Thomas led the NHL in scoring after the 4 Nations break

The most impactful change the Blues made last season was to hire Jim Montgomery as head coach on Nov. 24 after the Bruins let him go — from then until the end of the regular season, St. Louis’ .642 points percentage was seventh-best in the league. They still only just barely got into the playoffs by a tie-breaker. Certainly, Robert Thomas’ contributions down the stretch were a big reason why. From the time teams returned from the 4 Nations break until the end of the season, Thomas scored 40 points in 26 games, best in the league ahead of Nikita Kucherov and Pastrnak. It ended in the best points per game season of Thomas’ career and gives hope that a bigger final number is on the way in 2025-26.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with the second-best save percentage over an 82-game season in his career last season

In 2018-19, Vasilevskiy won his only Vezina to date with a .925 save percentage and 2.40 GAA. Goal averages have been up since then and, as a result, save rates around the league have fallen — in 2018-19 the average SV% was .910, last season it was .900. And yet Vasilevskiy, overshadowed by Connor Hellebuyck’s MVP campaign, was spectacular for the Lightning. In 2024-25, he finished with a .921 save percentage, 2.16 GAA (a career best) and the second most goals saved above expected.

Toronto Maple Leafs: For the first time in a long time, the regular season matters

It’s not that the first 82 games have had no meaning for the Maple Leafs, but the regular season has been a predictable saunter through the winter for years; a slow build-up to when hockey really mattered for a few weeks in the spring. The Leafs haven’t had any trouble qualifying for the playoffs in a long while, but getting through them has been a whole different question. Now with one of the Core Four gone, some roster spots to battle for, and a mostly bigger group of replacement players, this Leafs team has a fresh feel to it and must prove that it can get through the regular season just as efficiently (if with a different style) and be better designed for post-season hockey when they get there.

Utah Mammoth: They added JJ Peterka, who would have finished second in goals and points on last year’s team

The Mammoth seem on the precipice of breaking out, but have some final steps to take. They still have oodles of salary cap room and future assets to move when the right deal comes along, and that’s even after making one of the biggest trade splashes of the summer. Utah acquired Peterka from Buffalo after he requested a trade out, following his own breakout season, where he scored 27 goals and 68 points. The Mammoth finished 21st in scoring last season, and Peterka should help elevate them in that department.

Vancouver Canucks: Elias Pettersson may be the biggest factor in Quinn Hughes’ decision

What a huge year it is for the Canucks after a dramatic fall from grace that was distracting at best and ugly at worst. Their biggest concern from here is the future of star defenceman Hughes, who is still two years away from UFA, but by next summer, the team will be hoping for some clarity. Two years ago, this team nearly knocked Edmonton out in Round 2 of the playoffs. Three years ago, Pettersson was a 102-point player. Pettersson was the poster child for Vancouver’s struggles last season, finishing with just 45 points while making $11.6 million against the cap. With J.T. Miller long gone, much lies on Pettersson returning to form as the undisputed 1C on this team, and if he can’t get back close to that level of offence, the Canucks may struggle again. And if they do, Hughes might start thinking of other destinations.

Vegas Golden Knights: Jack Eichel is a pending UFA

We’ve gotten used to the Golden Knights taking the absolute biggest swings on players, and they pulled it off again with the sign and trade for Mitch Marner, now the NHL’s highest-paid winger at $12 million AAV. He and Eichel figure to come together on Vegas’ top line, and it isn’t out of the question that the duo becomes the NHL’s most dangerous in the regular season. But looking at Eichel individually, he’s coming off a career-best year in which he finished with 94 points in 77 games, so he was already in line for a pay hike. With the cap jumping, a robust class of 2026 UFAs will reset the market and take it to new heights, but how will Eichel’s extension (assuming there is one) settle in alongside Marner’s?

Washington Capitals: Pierre-Luc Dubois had a successful rebound season in 2024-25

Dubois had just one 40-point season in Los Angeles for the Kings to decide it wasn’t worth keeping him for the remaining seven years of his contract that came with an $8.5 million AAV and no-movement clause. So, on to his fourth NHL team in eight years, Dubois was something of a risk with the early promise and strong playoff showings from his days in Columbus long in the rear view mirror. But there was some magic in last year’s Washington Capitals, and Dubois was a contributor. He rebounded to 20 goals and 66 points, and when he was on the ice at five-on-five, the Capitals scored 62.39 per cent of all goals — a team high.

Winnipeg Jets: Jonathan Toews is back

After not playing at all the past two seasons due to Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome, the result of a fallout from COVID, Toews is making a comeback attempt with his hometown team on a one-year, bonus-laden contract. With Adam Lowry expected to miss the first month or more of the season, Toews instantly has great importance to this lineup too, and may vie for the second line centre spot immediately. It will be fascinating to see how much he has to give at 37 years old and how long it takes him to get back up to his full speed.