NHL Season Predictions

With the NHL season started, the time for way-too-early predictions has come. Who will be the best team, which player will have a breakout year, and most importantly, who will win the Stanley Cup?

With the Florida Panthers winning their second Stanley Cup in two years, most people would easily have them as the best team in the league. Though their first-line center and captain, Alexander Barkov, was recently injured and will be on Long Term Injured Reserve for 7 to 9 months. After sustaining a lower-body injury in training camp, the Finnish forward underwent ACL and MCL surgery. This is a huge blow to the Panthers’ line-up, especially when considering that star forward Matthew Tkachuk will be out until December. These two missing pieces will make it very difficult for the Panthers to three-peat.

I believe the Dallas Stars could end up giving them a run for their money. At the trade deadline last year, the Dallas Stars acquired superstar forward Mikko Rantanen from the Carolina Hurricanes and signed him to an 8-year, $12 million AAV contract extension. At the start of the 2024-2025 season, Rantanen was entering the final term of a 6-year, $9.25 million contract with the Colorado Avalanche, who he had previously won the Stanley Cup with in 2022. The Avalanche were desperately trying to re-sign Rantanen to hopefully win another Cup, though they were having trouble trying to get him to agree to a deal that would keep the team under the league salary cap. The Avs were already paying their best forward and 2024 Hart Trophy winner (League MVP), Nathan Mackinnon, $12.6 million a year, and the best defenseman in the league, Cale Makar, $9 million per year. With those players already on payroll, there wasn’t any room for Rantanen’s asking price. On January 24th, the Colorado Avalanche traded “the Moose” to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forward Martin Necas, who was having a breakout season, and bottom-six forward Jack Drury. Carolina also received forward Taylor Hall from the Chicago Blackhawks, who also retained 50% of Rantanen’s salary. Fast forward to the playoffs, when Rantanen and the Stars would take on the Avalanche in the first round. Many people referred to this as “the Stanley Cup Final in the first round,” due to the absolute skill on both teams. In a do-or-die Game 7, Rantanen scored a hat-trick to defeat his former team and ended up carrying his team all the way through the conference final, where the Stars were ultimately defeated in 5 games by the Edmonton Oilers. In game 5, Dallas’s coach, Pete DeBoer, made the controversial decision to replace goalie Jake Oettinger just 7 minutes and 9 seconds into the game, after he gave up two goals. Oettinger watched the rest of the game from the bench, as Dallas' back-up goalie Casey DeSmith finished the game with 17 saves on 20 shots. “Anytime you pull a goalie, the reasoning is always to try and spark your group, so that was the No. 1 reason,” Deboer told reporters after the game. “We had talked endlessly in this series about trying to play with a lead. And obviously, we’re in a 2-0 hole right away. And you know what, I didn’t take that lightly and I didn’t blame it all on Jake.” A few days later, the Dallas Stars fired DeBoer after he had led the team to three straight conference finals. This year, with new coach Glen Gulutzan and a full season with Mikko Rantanen, I think the Stars could definitely win the President’s Trophy(Best Team), and even the Stanley Cup.

As far as the best player, I’d say Connor McDavid is the favorite. Last season, McDavid finished the year with 100 points in 67 games. Though after back-to-back finals, McDavid has played a lot of hockey in the last two years. If not McDavid, then Nathan Mackinnon is a very close second. After losing Rantanen, it will be hard for Mackinnon to be the main scorer on his line. With the help of Martin Necas on his wing, and Cale Makar on the blue line, I would say Mackinnon is definitely a contender for the league MVP.

I

predict Ivan Demidov of the Montreal Canadiens will win the Calder Trophy(Rookie MVP). After playing two regular-season games and five playoff games last season, Demidov proved he was ready to play at an NHL level. In the two regular-season games, Demidov had a goal and an assist, and in the playoffs, he had 5 assists. Demidov has the advantage of playing on a young and talented group and already has playoff experience. This means he’ll be able to get more assists and get set up for more goals, unlike Connor Bedard, who was in a sophomore slump last year, mostly due to the lack of talent on his team. On April 14th, 2025, Deidov played his first NHL game in front of a sell-out home crowd at the Bell Center in Montreal. The long-awaited debut, as well as the out-of-nowhere success from the Canadiens, had Habs fans ecstatic. In his first shift, the crowd erupted, cheering and chanting his name. “It was pretty distinct when he hit the ice,” said announcer Michael Lacroix. “And listen to the crowd here at the Bell Center.” Even more cheers echoed throughout the rink after Demidov laid his first hit on Frank Nazar of the Chicago Blackhawks. Just 13 and a half minutes into the game, Demidov scored his first goal after taking a bank pass and shooting the puck from the backhand. “And now,” Lacroix started, “I think the roof is ready to be blown off.” Even from his first game, Demidov proved he was ready to play at the elite level of the NHL. Demidov’s pure skill, in combination with his skilled linemates and experience, sets him apart from contenders for the Calder Memorial Trophy.

Last season, the Bruins were nothing more than a failure. With the ultimate busts that were Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov, the Bruins didn’t have enough talent to make it far. Jeremy Swayman’s play didn’t help at all. Before the season, the Bruins signed Swayman to an 8-year $8 million AAV contract. Throughout the 2024-2025 season, Swayman proved that he couldn’t play at an $8 million level. This season, I predict the Bruins will tank to increase their chances of obtaining the first overall pick in the draft, allowing them to select Gavin McKenna. McKenna is supposed to be the next “generational talent” in the NHL(I heard the same thing two years ago with Connor Bedard). McKenna had a whopping 129 points in 56 games last season with the Medicine Hat Tigers in the WHL. Over the summer, McKenna announced that he would be playing for Penn State, after the NCAA allowed players to play in both CHL teams and college. If the Bruins acquire McKenna, they could definitely become a playoff contender. For now, if the Bruins need to be good, Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman need to step up. Last season, David Pastrnak played very well. He finished the season with 106 points and was tied for 3rd in league scoring. McAvoy also played alright, finishing with 23 points in 50 games and ending the season with 0 +/-, but needs to be a bit better in both zones to finish the year as the best two-way defenseman. Swayman was the worst of the three, ending the year with 22 wins in 58 games, and with a 3.11 Goals Against Average and a .829 Save Percentage. Though the team in front of him wasn’t great, he needs to prove that he’s worth the $8 million a year. For the future, the Bruins' prospect pool isn’t great. The best player in the group is James Hagens, who was picked 7th overall by the Bruins in the 2025 Entry Draft. Hagens could end up being the missing first-line center that the Bruins have always needed. Hagens played for BC last season, scoring 37 points in 37 games, and played in the World Juniors Tournament, scoring 9 points in 7 games for the U.S. Hagens could end up being a future stud for the Bs. The next best prospect for the Bruins would be Matthew Poitras. There is a big question mark around the skill and potential of Poitras. It looked like he started with some skill and would get better over time, but really, his skill has plateaued. He could end up being a good second-line center or wing, but he has a lot to prove this season to both the management and the fans.

Will these predictions turn out to be correct? Probably not, because the NHL is always changing, and 100% correct predictions are nearly impossible in such a fast-changing sport with many variables. There we have it! The predictions are over and out of the way, so the NHL season is to commence.