NHL Odds: 10 bold predictions for 2025-26 season
Puck drop for the 2025-26 season is set for Tuesday night, so it’s time to bust out my magician’s hat and look into the future with 10 bold NHL predictions.
Which team will win the Stanley Cup? Which player will be the breakthrough star of the year? And will I make a fool of myself with my predictions? I think we know the answer to that last question.
Let’s dive right in.
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Ivan Demidov brings Montreal Canadiens a second straight Calder Trophy
I’m starting off more lukewarm than bold as Ivan Demidov is a heavvy +175 favourite to win the Calder Trophy (next closest player is +1300), but I’m banking on the talented Russian to bring Montreal a second straight Rookie of the Year award.
Demidov possesses size, intelligence and incredible puck skill. He’ll win the Calder and go on to be a superstar by the end of his entry level contract.
Jake Oettinger leads the Dallas Stars to a Central Division title in a Vezina Trophy-winning season
With the likes of Connor Hellebuyck, Jeremy Swayman, Thatcher Demko and Jake Oettinger, it’s a renaissance of sorts for American goalies in the NHL. This year Oettinger will stand above the rest and earn the starting job for Team USA at the winter olympics.
Not only that, but Oettinger will lead Dallas to a Central Division title and win the Conn Smythe Trophy before falling to Colorado in the playoffs.
New Jersey Devils will be a top-five team in the standings
After finishing with a 10-point improvement last season, New Jersey will continue to grow by winning the Metropolitan Division and finishing as a top-five team in the NHL in 2025-26.
Jack Hughes will be healthy and produce his first 100-point campaign and brother Luke will have a breakthrough season with a new long-term contract inked.
The Minnesota Wild will miss the playoffs and massively regret giving Kirill Kaprizov $17 million per year
The Minnesota Wild turned heads by signing Kirill Kaprizov to a contract with a $17 million average annual value, making him the highest paid player in NHL history. Unfortunately, that’s all they really did in the off-season.
Even with the salary cap rising, Kaprizov’s contract will be so burdensome, Minnesota won’t be able to acquire the type of depth needed to stay afloat in the competitive Central Division. The Wild will miss the playoffs and GM Bill Guerin will be on the hot seat.
Nashville’s Andrew Brunette will be the first coach fired
Speaking of hot seats, Nashville was arguably the most disappointing team in the NHL last season, so head coach Andrew Brunette begins the year with little room for error.
The Predators are in a weird place where their top players are older and past their prime, while the young prospects aren’t ready to make the leap to the NHL. Brunette will be the scapegoat for another disappointing year and it will cost him his job.
The Columbus Blue Jackets’ five-year playoff drought will come to an end
Columbus barely missed the playoffs last year, but that won’t happen in 2025-26. Core pieces like Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson and Cole Sillinger will all take another step forward and push this team into the postseason.
Buffalo’s playoff drought reaches a ridiculous 15 years
Nothing Buffalo general manager Kevyn Adams has done has worked out and that won’t change this year. The Sabres’ playoff drought will reach 15 years and yet another rebuild will begin in upstate New York.
The Penguins will finish bottom-three in the NHL standings and win the draft lottery
The Green Bay Packers rolled Brett Favre into Aaron Rodgers into Jordan Love. Some sports franchises just have that type of luck and the Pittsburgh Penguins are one. Pittsburgh is the only NHL team openly tanking to start the year and it will work.
The Pens will finish bottom-three in the NHL, win the draft lottery and have Sidney Crosby mentor Gavin McKenna the same way Mario Lemieux mentored Crosby.
Evgeni Malkin becomes the odd man out in Pittsburgh
With so much talk over Crosby potentially moving on in Pittsburgh, my bet to actually leave is Evgeni Malkin, who is in the last year of his contract.
Geno will waive his no-movement clause for a shot at another Stanley Cup with a contending team and the Penguins will receive a haul of picks and prospects back in return for eating half of Malkin’s cap hit.
The Colorado Avalanche defeat the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final
For the first time since Colorado won the Stanley Cup in 2022, they enter the year with captain Gabriel Landeskog fully healthy, they have a legitimate second-line centre in Brock Nelson and they have a solid goaltending tandem with Mackenzie Blackwood and Scottt Wedgewood. Combine that with the skill of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar and you have a dangerous team.
Is it a coincidence the last time the Avalanche were this deep they ended a Florida team’s chance to three-peat when they beat the Lightning in the Cup Final in 2022? I think not. The Avs will rekindle that 2021-22 dominance and win the Stanley Cup in 2026.
