It’s time to build our annual all-intrigue team, a collection of the most interesting names heading into the season. Some will make the list due to sheer star power, while others are more about circumstances or just morbid curiosity. Either way, they’re the names worth watching, many of whom will go a long way to deciding their team’s fate.
The rules, as always: We’re building a roster of 12 forwards, six defensemen and three goalies, plus a coach and a GM, and then enough honorable mentions to get every team one representative. And just to juice up the difficulty, we won’t allow any repeats from last year’s post. (Sorry Mitch Marner, we know you love the media attention.)
And as with all great teams, we build from the net out…
Goalies
Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators
While the free-agent spending spree got most of the headlines, the biggest question in Nashville last year was, what happened to Saros? After four straight years of finishing in the top six in Vezina voting, Saros saw his play crater with by far the worst numbers of his career. Was it a fluke, just the sort of outlier season that happens to most goalies eventually because the position is so darn weird? The Predators had better hope so, since the eight-year extension he signed a year ago is only kicking in now.
Mackenzie Blackwood, Colorado Avalanche
We know he’s better than what they had this time a year ago. We’re not sure if he’s good enough to out-duel Jake Oettinger in a seven-game series, but we’ll probably get another chance to find out in the spring. In the meantime, let’s see if he can live up to last year’s promise, and maybe work his way into a Team Canada role.
Honorable mentions: Jet Greaves is the future in Columbus, and you wonder how quickly that future will fully arrive, and just how good it could be for a franchise that’s rarely had stability in goal. And I swear I didn’t do this on purpose just to annoy you, Preds fans, but Yaroslav Askarov, the kid they picked the veteran Saros over, has a chance to cement himself as part of the next generation of dependable starters in San Jose.
Defensemen
Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres
It’s somehow been seven years since Dahlin was the No. 1 pick in what turned out to be a great draft for offensive defensemen (with Quinn Hughes, Noah Dobson and Evan Bouchard also going). Of that group, Hughes has clearly established himself as the best of the bunch, with a Norris in 2024 and a spot as a finalist last year. Meanwhile, Dahlin finished a career-best sixth in voting. That’s a great season, but it still feels like there’s another gear here. If so, it’s time to find it, because I’m not sure there’s a viable path back to relevancy for the Sabres that doesn’t involve Dahlin making The Leap.
Is this the year Rasmus Dahlin takes another step? (Rebecca Villagracia / Getty Images)
Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins
In hindsight, it maybe feels like the whole “star goes to international tournament, plays well, develops a serious infection under mysterious circumstances and then has his season wrecked by it” story didn’t get as much attention outside of Boston as it probably deserved. Or maybe that’s just the kind of subtle foreshadowing you need to lay down before springing a great redemption story on everyone. Either way, McAvoy may be the most important skater in Boston in terms of preventing this season from being as bad as so many seem to want it to be.
Adam Fox, New York Rangers
In a sense, Fox is like Dahlin: a blueliner in his prime who’s settled in just outside of the truly elite. The difference is that Fox has been to the top of the mountain, with a Norris already under his belt. That came way back in 2021, and he followed it with three top-five finishes before falling out of the top 10 last year. He’s still an elite player at the position, but there was a time when we talked about him in the same breath as Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes. Maybe we still should. If the Rangers are going to get back into contention, we’ll probably have to be talking like that.
Luke Hughes, New Jersey Devils
Jackson LaCombe, Anaheim Ducks
He’s good. Is he $9 million worth of good? That’s a trickier question, for both guys.
For Hughes, forget about him being the highest paid of the three brothers — that’s a weird artifact of timing. The bigger question is how much progress he can show this year toward being worth that cap hit for as many of those seven years as possible. (And how many of his brothers he’ll be playing with by the end of them, but that’s a subplot for next year.) Meanwhile, LaCombe goes from being one of the league’s best-kept secrets to the pressure of a superstar’s contract.
Rasmus Andersson, Calgary Flames
Wasn’t he getting traded? I was pretty sure that was a thing, and so was the captain, but here we are. OK, now what? Probably a bit of showcasing before a midseason deal, but in the meantime, a Flames team that could be better than we all think should have a motivated veteran playing for a big contract.
Honorable mentions: I’ll admit I wondered a bit about the Florida Panthers adding Seth Jones (and his contract), but he seemed like a great fit and now we get to see if that first impression holds up over a full season. Meanwhile, don’t sleep on Morgan Rielly as a dark-horse pick to become the new scapegoat in Toronto now that Mitch Marner has fled.
Forwards
Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild
The new deal doesn’t kick in until next season, but that’s a technicality. Kaprizov has the richest contract in NHL history in terms of AAV, and it’s not close. Under the circumstances, that doesn’t mean he has to be the best player in the league to justify the $17 million a year he’ll make on the extension. But he needs to at least be in the conversation, right? That starts with staying healthy, which he couldn’t do last year. If he can, he’s a solid bet for the Hart Trophy discussion. But if not, or if he struggles, the second-guessing is going to overwhelming.
Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights
Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets
We can group these two together, as both got in just under the wire by signing max-length extensions before the season started. Neither got anywhere close to Kaprizov money, as Wild fans no doubt noticed. But both did well for themselves, becoming just the eighth and ninth players to cross the $12 million AAV mark. Both deals feel mildly pricey now but almost certainly won’t once the cap has a few more years of growth behind it. For now, Eichel and Connor will be under pressure to have big years – both for their NHL teams chasing the Cup, and Team USA chasing gold.
Ivan Demidov, Montreal Canadiens
Last year, I used Lane Hutson for the Habs’ pick, gently chiding Montreal fans for how hard they were hyping a kid who might not even be ready for full-time NHL duty. Then I conceded that “if he can stick around all year, then maybe a Calder run isn’t even out of the question.” No, I guess it wasn’t. This year it’s Demidov getting the future superstar treatment, and I’ll learn my lesson and keep any doubts to myself.
Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
I mean the forward, not the defenseman, by the way. And it’s appropriate to have to include that weird clarification, because I’m not sure there’s a player in the league about whom I’m more confused about exactly who he is. An MVP-level superstar, like he was in 2022-23? Sure, could be. An overpaid bum with one of the worst contracts in the league, like he was in 2024-25? I don’t think so, but I can’t rule it out. With J.T. Miller gone, you’d at least figure there are no more excuses.
Mikko Rantanen, Dallas Stars
Last year was one of the weirdest seasons we’ve ever seen from a star in this league, with not one but two midseason trades and what ended up being the highest-scoring season ever from a player who appeared for three teams — and then things got really interesting once the playoffs started. This year, there’s no contact to worry about and more than enough stability for him to show us what he can do.
Brandon Hagel, Tampa Bay Lightning
A career-best 90 points, a top-10 Selke finish, second-team All-Star honors and a prominent role on Team Canada? Sure, we could call that a good year. The question is whether that was a ceiling he’ll have trouble living up to, or a rare (but not unheard-of) case of a 26-year-old introducing himself as a legitimate star for years to come. If it’s the latter, that $6.5 million cap hit through 2032 starts to look almost ridiculously team-friendly.
Connor Bedard, Chicago Blackhawks
OK, maybe we were out over our skis a bit on that second-year MVP talk. Sidney Crosby did it. McDavid did it. Bedard did not, and in fact he took a step back from a solid rookie season. At this point, it doesn’t seem like he’s the generational talent some expected. But there’s a ton of room to work with below “McDavid/Crosby generational legend,” and superstars such as Nathan MacKinnon and Leon Draisaitl took a few years to really find their game. It would be nice if Kyle Davidson eventually gave him a linemate or two, but for now, we wait.
Tim Stützle, Ottawa Senators
In 2022-23, he finished with 39 goals and 90 points, but his offensive numbers have fallen since then and it’s fair to say the defensive side of things has yet to emerge as a strength. Here’s the thing — he’s 23, and from the same draft as guys such as Quinton Byfield and Alexis Lafrenière, who are very much still considered works in progress. Stützle absolutely should be, too, but Sens fans might appreciate a little reassurance that they haven’t already seen the peak.
Trevor Zegras, Philadelphia Flyers
The good news is that he doesn’t have to worry about going down in history as the weirdest pick as a video game cover athlete, since Peyton Hillis exists. Still, it’s been a weird few years for Zegras, who legitimately felt like one of the league’s next big stars just three years ago. Since then, we’ve seen him fall out of favor in Anaheim and be anointed the league’s most overrated player by his own colleagues. Now he gets a fresh start in Philadelphia, and while it would be overly dramatic to call it a last chance, it certainly feels like it’s time for him to take control of the narrative again.
Andrei Svechnikov scored eight goals for the Hurricanes in the 2025 playoffs. (Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)
Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina Hurricanes
Nikolaj Ehlers is the more obvious pick in Carolina, where the expectations and the cap hit are high for a guy who’s never hit 65 points, and you could also make a case for K’Andre Miller given how much they gave up to get him. But I think Svechnikov is the real key, seven years removed from debuting but still just 25 years old. He’s been good and seemed well on his way to great a few years ago before sputtering in recent years. Last year’s playoffs showed flashes, with eight goals in 15 games, so let’s see where this goes.
Emmitt Finnie, Detroit Red Wings
The rebuilding Red Wings are counting on their youth to carry them back to the playoffs, and some of that may come from an unlikely source. Two years after being the No. 201 pick in the draft, Finnie has been penciled in on the first line alongside Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. That’s on the strength of a strong camp and exhibition season, one that’s won over a big chunk of the fan base. It’s a fun underdog story. Can it last? They rarely do, but rarely isn’t never.
Honorable mentions: JJ Peterka gets a fresh start in Utah, and a chance to settle the debate over whether he’s really as good as his offensive numbers would suggest. Seattle gets a full season of Kaapo Kakko, who didn’t look like a star after last year’s trade but was at least close enough to earn one more year before we close the book on him being more than a quasi-bust. Dylan Strome had never had a 70-point season heading into last season, and he still hasn’t because he jumped all the way to 82 points, which makes you wonder if he can maintain that level for Washington. And yes, as sick as Penguins fans probably are of all the trade talk, it’s going to be all eyes on Sidney Crosby until either the deadline passes or the Penguins play well enough that it doesn’t matter.
Coach and GM
Jim Montgomery, St. Louis Blues
He had the Blues playing at a 105-point pace last season, and now he’s had his first training camp to work through. I’m not sure anyone’s all that excited about the Blues’ roster, so if they overachieve expectations again this year, we know where a lot of the credit will go. By the way, Montgomery comes into the season one hundredth of a point back of Scotty Bowman’s .657 points percentage for best record by a coach with more than 250 games. Though in the loser-point era, that’s not bad.
Stan Bowman, Edmonton Oilers
Our last spot is also the easiest call in this entire piece. With Connor McDavid signed to an absolute gift of a contract, the pressure is now entirely on Bowman and the Oilers’ front office to build a winner around their generational talent before he walks once and for all. They have three years to win, and the good news is, they’re already so close that it feels inevitable they’ll get there. The bad news, at least as far as Bowman is concerned, is that every slump, or loss, or (especially) bad goal against will feel like a referendum on his vision. No pressure, Stan.
Honorable mentions: I’ve already made the Kings’ Jim Hiller my first coach fired pick, although maybe he’d want to challenge that. Rookie GM Mathieu Darche is replacing a legend with the Islanders, and you wonder just how far he’ll go in remaking this team.