NHL Odds: Training camp battles heading into 2025-26 season

With less than a month until puck drop on the 2025-26 NHL campaign, plenty of training camp battles are developing.

From Mitch Marner’s replacement in Toronto, to who will play with Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews in Edmonton, we’re going over four of the biggest training camp battles ahead of the new NHL season.

Let’s dive in.

Make sure to check out our complete list of NHL game odds and NHL futures.

Who fills out the top-six around No. 97 and 29 in Edmonton?

Fresh off back-to-back losses to Florida in the Stanley Cup Final and with Connor McDavid set for unrestricted free agency next summer, it’s never been more important for the Edmonton Oilers to add impact players to their top-six forward group.

McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are arguably the two best players in the world, but the last two years has shown that the Oilers aren’t deep enough.

Edmonton lost impact forwards Connor Brown, Corey Perry and Jeff Skinner in free agency and Evander Kane through trade. Their replacements? Andrew Mangiapane and Curtis Lazar. That simply won’t be good enough to improve the roster.

Matthew Savoie, acquired from Buffalo last year, is a young player who could break through and make the top-six. The team will also get Zach Hyman back from injury at some point.

And don’t forget, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has also lined up alongside McDavid in the past. However, in a perfect world, you could have a triple-threat at centre with McDavid, Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins. That’s the kind of depth that wins in the playoffs.

The Oilers likely aren’t done adding to their roster, so this is a team we have circled to make a significant trade during the season.

Who will ride shotgun with Nathan MacKinnon in Colorado?

When you’re talking about great wing jobs, riding shotgun on Nathan MacKinnon’s right side is about as good as it gets. For years that assignment fell to Mikko Rantanen, but Colorado is still trying to find a permanent replacement after trading Rantanen last season.

Artturi Lehkonen is a lock to play on MacKinnon’s left wing, while the most obvious choice to play on MacKinnon’s right side is Martin Necas, who was acquired in the Rantanen trade. Necas has the speed and skill to keep up with MacKinnon, but there’s a question on whether he’ll sign a contract extension and commit long-term to the team.

Who replaces Marner on Leafs top line?

While Rantanen’s two trades were the headlines of the regular season last year, Mitch Marner’s departure from the Leafs headlined the off-season moves. Marner left his hometown club for the bright lights of Vegas after putting up 102 points playing beside Auston Matthews and there’s been no clear replacement.

Toronto has a massive hole on the top line. Matthew Knies is a good complimentary piece, but he’s not the setup man for Matthews that Marner was. William Nylander has played with Matthews in the past, but his best fit is on the second line if the Leafs want any type of depth in their top-six.

Matias Maccelli could get a shot to play with Matthews and Knies, but his 18 points in 55 games with Utah last season is a far cry from the production Marner provided.

The key for Toronto is finding a player who can help Matthews get back to the 60-goal scorer he was a couple years ago.

Will Matthew Schaefer crack Islanders’ opening night roster?

With Noah Dobson traded to Montreal and Matthew Schaefer drafted first overall by the Islanders this year, it’s officially a new era on Long Island. But, can the rookie defenceman crack the opening night roster?

First overall picks may seem like a lock to start in the NHL, but it’s important to remember defencemen take longer to develop than forwards on average. It’s worth noting that Cale Makar didn’t play his first full NHL season until he was 21 and Quinn Hughes was 20. By contrast, Schaefer just turned 18 earlier this month.

Right now the Islanders’ blue line features Alexander Romanov, Tony DeAngelo, Adem Pelech, Ryan Pulock, Scott Mayfield and Adam Boqvist. There’s room for Schaefer to break in, but it might be better for his development to follow the Makar and Hughes route and spend a year or two developing in college.