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. <\/p>\n
From big names in new places and contract questions for the sport\u2019s biggest stars to new CBA rules unfolding and the end of an era (possibly) incoming, we\u2019ve highlighted nine of the most intriguing storylines we\u2019re watching in 2025-26:<\/p>\n
All eyes will be on Vegas\u2019s newest winger \u2014 and the franchise\u2019s highest-paid player \u2014 as Mitch Marner takes his first strides as a Golden Knight. With Marner\u2019s 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 Marner\u2019s 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? <\/p>\n
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\u2026 how does Marner\u2019s cap hit affect Eichel\u2019s upcoming earnings?<\/p>\n
And then there\u2019s Marner\u2019s former squad. The Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> enter Year 1 of the post-Marner era, and despite no longer being home to one of the game\u2019s most dynamic playmakers, the club still faces a mountain of pressure to win. Who takes Marner\u2019s spot in the lineup? How will Auston Matthews respond without his favourite linemate? Can the Maple Leafs maintain last year\u2019s scoring pace?<\/p>\n League-wide, Marner\u2019s $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 league\u2019s highest-paid winger this season, can he set the scoring pace, too?<\/p>\n Speaking of top-line talent and cap hits to match, the hockey world is still waiting for the game\u2019s biggest name to sign on the dotted line. Will we see Connor McDavid<\/a> put pen to paper by the time the Oilers season opens, or will negotiations bleed into the season? (Tick, tick, tick.)<\/p>\n Now that Kirill Kaprizov<\/a> raised the bar by a few million \u2014 his $17-million AAV makes most others look like pocket change \u2014 speculation ramps up about what McDavid might earn.<\/p>\n Logically, McDavid will get whatever he wants, and he\u2019ll be worth it. But logistically, should McDavid seek to set\u00a0another\u00a0new standard, a cap hit of $17M-plus greatly affects Edmonton\u2019s 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? <\/p>\n Just as McDavid\u2019s $100 million extension ushered in a new era of big-money deals for the game\u2019s 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, he\u2019s once again in position to pave the path for how others do business. <\/p>\n The biggest question, of course, isn\u2019t\u00a0really\u00a0about contract terms but championships: does McDavid feel he can win it all with the Oilers?<\/p>\n A rising cap floats all boats<\/p>\n That\u2019s totally the saying, right?<\/p>\n The days of the flat cap are over, and we\u2019re about to enter a new era of salary cap growth \u2014 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. <\/p>\n We\u2019re already seeing plenty of evidence in the big-money extensions players are signing. Kaprizov\u2019s $17M AAV starting in 2026-27 is the most obvious example, but we\u2019re also seeing teams elect to bet big on young extension-eligible skaters \u2014 for example, the Devils\u2019 deal with Luke Hughes may seem generous now, but it could look like a bargain really soon.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s 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 (\u00e0 la Auston Matthews)? Will cap percentage play a more central role in negotiations \u2014 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? <\/p>\n We won\u2019t get answers to everything this year, but with so much change on the horizon we could see a new wave start to build.<\/p>\n Panthers eying three-peat<\/p>\n Winning the Stanley Cup is hard. Winning two in a row? That\u2019s impressive \u2014 and yet, it\u2019s almost old hat at this point, considering we\u2019ve 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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 \u2014 an act that immediately followed the Montreal Canadiens\u2019 four consecutive Cups to close out the \u201870s \u2014 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 Lightning\u2019s three straight Cup Final appearances, as they fell to the Vegas Golden Knights<\/a> in 2023 before getting back to the big stage. A fourth straight appearance, and a third consecutive Cup, would have them in dynasty territory.<\/p>\n Of course, the odds are stacked against them this year \u2014 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. <\/p>\n Captain Aleksander Barkov won\u2019t 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 isn\u2019t totally new territory for Florida \u2014 the Panthers started and finished both Cup-winning seasons with injuries to some of their biggest stars \u2014 they\u2019ll really have their work cut out for them this time.\u00a0<\/p>\n Which rebuilding team makes a long-awaited jump?<\/p>\n 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?<\/p>\n As crowded as things could look in the East, the Western Conference\u2019s 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 isn\u2019t a hope but a legitimate expectation now.<\/p>\n Every season brings a surprise contender or two. Who will it be this year?<\/p>\n NHLers are going back to the Olympics<\/p>\n For the first time since the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, NHL players will be competing at the Olympic tournament. Not only does that mean we\u2019re being treated to best-on-best hockey again \u2014 last February\u2019s sensational appetizer at the 4 Nations Face-Off left everyone craving more \u2014 it also gifts us a few months\u2019 worth of roster speculation, particularly when it comes to the Canadian and U.S. entries.<\/p>\n