Five bold predictions for the 2025-26 NHL season

The NHL regular season will begin Tuesday night on ESPN, with the Blackhawks taking on the reigning Stanley Cup champion Panthers (5 p.m. ET), the Penguins facing the Rangers (8 p.m. ET) and the Avalanche battling the Kings (10:30 p.m. ET).

As the new season begins, predictions have been laid out by fans and insiders alike. Some have kept it safe, while others have been adventurous with their takes. We'll go the adventurous route and take a look at five bold predictions for the upcoming NHL season.

1. The Edmonton Oilers will be a first-round exit

Edmonton has now made back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, losing both to the Florida Panthers. It may be easy to predict another deep playoff run for the Oilers, especially when they feature two of the game's best players in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

However, there's still a lot left to be desired roster-wise, especially when it comes to goaltending. They will once again enter the season with Stuart Skinner, who posted a .889 save percentage in the playoffs, as their starter. If their goaltending doesn't improve, they could be in for a short postseason stint.

2. The Ottawa Senators will win the Atlantic Division

The Atlantic Division looks to be the most competitive of the four, with teams like Ottawa, Toronto, Florida and Tampa Bay all looking to win the division, and Montreal, Detroit and Buffalo pushing for playoff spots.

With Toronto losing Mitch Marner to free agency, Florida losing both Matthew Tkachuk (out until January) and Aleksander Barkov (out for the season) to injury and Tampa Bay's aging core, the young Ottawa Senators could surprise many with a division title. Look for Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle and Jake Sanderson to lead the way.

3. Someone other than Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Nathan MacKinnon or Nikita Kucherov will lead the NHL in points

McDavid (2020-23) and Kucherov (2024-25) have each led the league in points three and two times, respectively, over the past five seasons, while Draisaitl and MacKinnon round out the top four in points per game since 2020.

This season, we will see something different. Perhaps Jack Eichel, who is due to be a free agent after this season and finished eighth in points last season, will be even more motivated to land a big contract. Or, Kirill Kaprizov, who just signed the largest deal in NHL history, will rise to the occasion. Regardless, we may see a different name at the top of the leaderboard come spring.

4. The New York Rangers will trade Artemi Panarin

This may be the boldest prediction of the group, but with Panarin set to be a free agent after this season and lots of changes in New York, the Rangers could look to trade the soon-to-be 34-year-old superstar for a haul.

After missing the playoffs last season, the Rangers hired new head coach Mike Sullivan to turn the ship around. However, with an aging core and lower-end prospect group, the Rangers could move Panarin to secure some younger, near-NHL-ready prospects and inject some youth into the team. So far, there haven't been very many contract talks with one of the league's top wingers. If things stall, Panarin could be on the move.

5. The Calgary Flames finish last, select Gavin McKenna first overall

The Calgary Flames surprised many last season, finishing with 96 points and missing the playoffs on a tiebreaker. Much of this was in part thanks to rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf, who finished second in the Calder Trophy voting.

This season, however, they should be due for some regression. They had just two players break 60 points in 2024-25 (Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau) and finished 29th in goals for per game. With a potential trade of top defenseman Rasmus Andersson looming, the Flames are a prime candidate to win the draft lottery and land coveted prospect Gavin McKenna.