CENTRAL DIVISION
Chicago Blackhawks
Head coach: Jeff Blashill (second season)
Last season: 29-39-14, eighth place in Central Division
This season: Is this the year the Blackhawks turn the corner? It will not be easy with Connor Bedard expected to miss the first month or more. But Chicago does have young talent that should improve.
What’s New: Patrick Kane is back in the fold, and defenseman Bowen Byram was acquired at a huge price. Other veterans, such as Ian Cole, Jordan Greenway and Cole Smith, add much-needed presence. The Blackhawks also hope to integrate a couple of high draft picks in forwards Roman Kantserov and Anton Frondell.
Players to watch: On top of all those skaters, much of Chicago’s hopes rest on goalie Spencer Knight, who was strong last season.
Colorado Avalanche
Head coach: Jared Bednar (11th season)
Last season: 55-16-11, first place in Central Division
This season: The Avalanche boasted the league’s best offense and best goals-against average last season, and they may be even better this season. A shot at the title is in their sights.
What’s New: Mainly depth forwards in Jaden Schwartz, Zachary L’Heureux and Fedor Svechkov, with salary cap constraints a factor after the club pushed for the title last season.
Players to watch: Where to start? The Avalanche have a cast that rivals any show on earth with likely the best top-six group of forwards in Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, Artturi Lehkonen, Nazem Kadri, Brock Nelson and Gabriel Landeskog, not to mention Cale Makar headlining the defense. Injuries are about the only thing that could derail them.
Dallas Stars
Head coach: Glen Gulutzan (second season)
Last season: 50-20-12, second place in Central Division
This season: Once again, the Stars have Stanley Cup hopes but are in a heavyweight division, making that quest all the more difficult. Also, the championship window is starting to close with a handful of players on the downside of their careers.
What’s New: Fourth-liner Joel Kiviranta is back after signing as a free agent. Otherwise, it is much the same team that was knocked out in the first round of the 2026 playoffs by the Minnesota Wild.
Players to watch: On the ice, Dallas is led by the usual suspects. The off-ice drama will focus — again — on Jason Robertson, who signed a one-year contract that will make him an impending unrestricted free agent after this season.
Minnesota Wild
Head coach: John Hynes (fourth season)
Last season: 46-24-12, third place in Central Division
This season: After winning a playoff series for the first time in more than a decade, the Wild are in much the same place: likely to make the playoffs but in a whale of a battle to make a deep run with Colorado, Dallas and possibly Utah in their way.
What’s New: Scoring depth at forward has been an issue, and the club addressed it by acquiring veteran Blake Coleman and signing free agent Maxim Shabanov to skate in their middle six. The Coleman deal also added depth defenseman Olli Maatta and goalie Calvin Pickard to serve as a backup to begin the season.
Players to watch: In Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy and defenseman Quinn Hughes, the Wild have an electric trio of skaters. Will Hughes stay after this season with a new contract or leave as an unrestricted free agent?
Nashville Predators
Head coach: Andrew Brunette (fourth season)
Last season: 38-34-10, sixth place in Central Division
This season: After a slow start, the Predators fell four points shy of a playoff spot. They are likely to find themselves in a similar spot, perhaps a playoff team but likely to be in the mushy middle.
What’s New: Nashville lured general manager Chris MacFarland from Colorado to change the club’s fortunes. It is a tall order with a lot of veterans on the roster. Initially, MacFarland brought in forwards Mavrik Bourque, Nils Hoglander, Ross Colton, Jack Drury and Alex Newhook and defensemen Ilya Lyubushkin and William Trudeau. A bigger splash was signing KHL star Vitali Pinchuk.
Players to watch: So many key players in Nashville are past their prime, namely Filip Forsberg, Ryan O’Reilly, Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, Roman Josi and Brady Skjei. Maybe they can turn back the clock for one last hurrah.
St. Louis Blues
Head coach: Jim Montgomery (third season)
Last season: 37-33-12, fifth place in Central Division
This season: The Blues opted to retool after last season with new GM Alex Steen taking the helm. They will have a tough time making the playoffs but are likely too good to fall to the bottom.
What’s New: Big offseason deals brought in forwards Connor McMichael and Mason McTavish, while fellow forwards Dillon Dube and Zach Dean appear to have made the team out of training camp. On defense, Brandon Carlo and Justin Barron are being counted on to improve that group.
Players to watch: The Blues have some offensive punch with forwards Robert Thomas, Dylan Holloway, Pavel Buchnevich and Jimmy Snuggerud. They must receive better netminding from Joel Hofer and Jordan Binnington to make a legitimate playoff push.
Utah Mammoth
Head coach: Andre Tourigny (sixth season)
Last season: 43-33-6, fourth place in Central Division
This season: The Mammoth made the playoffs last season and appear poised to take another step. They likely will not be battling the Avalanche and Stars for the top spot but could nab third in the division.
What’s New: Looking to add veteran contributions, the Mammoth acquired forwards Anders Lee and Vincent Trocheck to guide the up-and-coming squad and Andrew Peeke to shore up the defense. Backup goalie Sebastian Cossa will finally receive his chance to be a full-time NHL player after being acquired from the Detroit Red Wings.
Players to watch: Utah has a strong group of forwards led by Clayton Keller, Barrett Hayton, Lawson Crouse, Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther and Nick Schmaltz. They took a collective step forward last season and are expected to move another rung up the ladder.
Winnipeg Jets
Head coach: Scott Arniel (third season)
Last season: 35-35-12, seventh place in Central Division
This season: Winnipeg suffered an ugly fall last season, from Presidents’ Trophy winners to missing the playoffs, and it’s hard to imagine things getting better with franchise goalie Connor Hellebuyck suspended after he refused to report despite having five seasons remaining on his contract.
What’s New: Hopefully, there’s a resolution of Hellebuyck’s situation soon, but for now, Stuart Skinner will take the net. Forward Viggo Bjorck, the eighth pick in this year’s draft, is expected to make the team out of training camp and could provide offensive punch. The other important newcomer is defenseman Mario Ferraro.
Players to watch: With skilled forwards Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi and linchpin defenseman Josh Morrissey, the Jets have a solid core. Unfortunately, the Hellebuyck situation, unless it results in a trade that brings in a strong return of players who can help now, puts them in a tough spot.
PACIFIC DIVISION
Anaheim Ducks
Head coach: Joel Quenneville (second season)
Last season: 43-33-6, third place in Pacific Division
This season: After making the playoffs for the first time since 2018 and knocking out the Edmonton Oilers in the first round, hopes were high in Anaheim, but things went sideways in the summer, making a repeat a 50-50 proposition.
What’s New: Defensemen John Carlson, Radko Gudas, Olen Zellweger and Jacob Trouba departed in the offseason, as did forwards Chris Kreider, Mason McTavish and Ross Johnston. In addition, skilled forward Troy Terry is likely to miss at least a month with a hip injury, and new contracts to Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier have created a salary-cap mess made worse by signing depth skater A.J. Greer. Expect to see a lot of shuttling of players as they try to rebuild the defense and fill out the forward ranks. Forward Roger McQueen and defenseman Tristan Luneau may be forced into bigger roles than they are ready to take.
Players to watch: Anaheim’s top forwards — Carlsson, Gauthier and Beckett Sennecke — and defenseman Jackson LaCombe are outstanding. Their fate, however, rests on whether goalie Lukas Dostal can come up with enough saves in what will be an intriguing season.
Calgary Flames
Head coach: Ryan Huska (fourth season)
Last season: 34-39-9, seventh place in Pacific Division
This season: The teardown is nearly complete, with only a couple of candidates to be traded (Morgan Frost, for example) while the youth is integrated. Calgary finished fourth from the bottom of the league last season and likely will end up in that mix again.
What’s New: The main offseason additions came on defense, with Simon Nemec acquired from the New Jersey Devils (along with forward Maxim Tsyplakov) and Jake Middleton from the Minnesota Wild.
Players to watch: After going through big sell-offs the past few seasons, the Flames will likely have a quieter time in that regard while they hope their young players, such as forwards Matvei Gridin and Samuel Honzek and defensemen Nemec and Zayne Parekh, elevate their game.
Edmonton Oilers
Head coach: Mike Babcock (first season)
Last season: 41-30-11, second place in Pacific Division
This season: After a pair of runs to the Stanley Cup Final — and losing both times to the Florida Panthers — the Oilers were bumped off by Anaheim in the opening round last year. There are question marks, but it would surprise nobody if they won a division title for the first time since 1987 and had a lengthy run.
What’s New: Babcock was brought in to make this squad better defensively and have a better shot at the title. Other newcomers include defensemen Ryan Shea and Shakir Mukhamadullin, goalies Frederik Andersen (currently injured) and Devon Levi and forwards Mathieu Joseph, Owen Michaels and Alex Formenton.
Players to watch: As much as the Oilers are trying to build a more complete team, albeit with middling goaltending, the key remains how Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl fare. That said, this team appears to have maintained its offensive strength while also improving on defense.
Los Angeles Kings
Head coach: Peter Laviolette (first season)
Last season: 35-27-20, fourth place in Pacific Division
This season: The Kings have reached the playoffs five consecutive seasons and have been eliminated in the first round each time. Even duplicating that will be a tall order for a club that became older despite seeing Anze Kopitar retire.
What’s New: The Kings acquired Artemi Panarin last season and added veteran forwards Mats Zuccarello, Erik Haula — both pegged for the top two lines — and Corey Perry and defensemen Erik Gustafsson in the summer.
Players to watch: The Kings have a talented crop of wingers in Panarin, Adrian Kempe, Kevin Fiala, Zuccarello and Alex Laferriere. Center is a question mark. Quinton Byfield is likely to get a shot at playing in the middle on the top line, but there is no guarantee it will pan out.
San Jose Sharks
Head coach: Ryan Warsofsky (third season)
Last season: 39-35-8, fifth place in Pacific Division
This season: Four points separated San Jose from the Kings, who grabbed the final playoff spot, last season. With a plethora of young stars, the push is on to make the postseason for the first time since 2019, and it will surprise nobody if it happens.
What’s New: The Sharks were busy in the offseason, on top of a lucky lottery that brought in forward Ivar Stenberg, the second pick in this year’s draft. The defense was retooled with newcomers Darnell Nurse, Jacob Trouba and Michael Kesselring, and forward Mason Marchment was signed as a free agent.
Players to watch: San Jose’s embarrassment of riches starts with Macklin Celebrini, who has already confirmed his status among the league’s elite. The club also boasts Will Smith, Igor Chernyshov and Michael Misa. The Sharks need goalie Yaroslav Askarov to reach the next level with a more veteran club.
Seattle Kraken
Head coach: Lane Lambert (second season)
Last season: 34-37-11, sixth place in Pacific Division
This season: Seattle was in the playoff mix last season at the trade deadline, when it added Bobby McMann, then promptly lost 17 of its final 22 games. It is hard to imagine anything but a similar finish unless many players reach a level of play that has not yet been seen.
What’s New: Despite the frustration of last season, the Kraken only added forward Mackie Samoskevich, acquired from the Florida Panthers and pegged to have a bigger role.
Players to watch: Seattle has a handful of forwards in their mid-20s — Samoskevich, Matty Beniers, Shane Wright and Kaapo Kakko — who should be hitting their prime. Second-year pro Berkly Catton is on the rise, as well.
Vancouver Canucks
Head coach: Manny Malhotra (first season)
Last season: 25-49-8, eighth place in Pacific Division
This season: Vancouver plummeted to the bottom of the standings, 14 points behind the 31st-place Blackhawks. Life cannot get any worse, but it is hard to imagine it getting better this season.
What’s New: A new GM (Ryan Johnson) and coach (Malhotra) will try to steer the ship out of the wreckage of the past two seasons. Despite a need to rebuild the roster with youth, the major moves were to add character veterans, such as forwards Brendan Gallagher and Paul Cotter and defensemen Jamie Oleksiak and Luke Schenn. Forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki, the 15th pick in the 2022 draft, has been given every opportunity to make the club.
Players to watch: Elias Pettersson, Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser should give the team at least one good line, but the season may already be going off the rails with goalie Thatcher Demko and forward Filip Chytil both injured.
Vegas Golden Knights
Head coach: Ryan Craig (first season)
Last season: 39-26-17, first place in Pacific Division
This season: The Golden Knights came close to claiming their second championship before losing in the Stanley Cup Final. They will once again be a contender for the Pacific crown.
What’s New: Their success last season came with a price. Several players have moved along, although that is nothing new for Vegas. The biggest loss will be Pavel Dorofeyev, who was dealt because of cap considerations. Victor Olofsson was added, and he or Trevor Connelly, the 2024 first-round pick, may jump onto the third line with Tomas Hertl. Defenseman Parker Wotherspoon and forward Marc Gatcomb are new.
Players to watch: Vegas reached the final thanks to superlative performances by forwards Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and Mitch Marner, as well as its strong defensive group. The question mark, even after last season’s run, is whether the goaltending duo of Carter Hart and Adin Hill can overcome being the club’s weak link.
