The 2025-26 National Hockey League (NHL) season officially kicked off on Oct. 7. Fans across the world are back to cheer on their teams and see which club is going to take home the 2026 Stanley Cup.
It’s too early in the season to figure out which teams are strong and could make it into the Cup but many fans are still placing bets on who they think will win. Many fans believe a team who has already won the Stanley Cup will take it home once more, but some believe a new team will take it home.
Assistant principal John Crall says that the 2025-26 hockey season is not the Blackhawks’ season.
“The Blackhawks will disappoint me like they always do!” said Crall. “They have been struggling ever since they fired their coach a few years ago, which I thought he did pretty good.”
Social Studies teacher Michael Childers thinks that the Colorado Avalanche will take home the cup for 2026.
“Their elite core of Nathan Mackinnon and Cale Makar provides unmatched speed, skill, and leadership in high pressure moments,” said Childers. “Their balanced roster- strong offense, and dependable goaltending-makes them the most complete team in the league.”
Childers says that the Avalanches will beat strong teams this season.
“They will beat one of the teams out east, either the Florida Panthers (who are back to back champions) or the Carolina Hurricanes in 7 games. Mark it down.” said Childers.
Math teacher Claude Lang says that this season is finally the Oilers season
“The Oilers have been in the finals for two years already but have never won due to the Panthers,” said Lang. “ Due to them losing both times I think this year they will do whatever it takes to make it to the cup and win this time.”
Math teacher Mike Lichtenberger says The Panthers are a favorite this year.
“They’ve won the previous 2 Stanley Cups and lost in the finals to Vegas 3 years ago,” said Lictenberger. “Most of their roster is returning from last season and they have one of the best goalies in the game in Sergei Bobrovsky. Until another team steps up to knock them off, they are the favorite.”
Looking at ESPN’s predictions for the 2025-26 season they believe the teams most likely to make it to the playoffs are going to be the Hurricanes, the Oilers, and the Golden Knights. Looking at ESPN’s predictions about the Hurricanes they believe there is a strong chance they will make it, this prediction is mostly based on the Hurricanes place on the last couple of seasons and their new recruits. ESPN mentions that the Hurricanes have surprised them over the last season especially with making it to the playoffs last season and the outstanding chemistry between the veteran and young players, they believe this team will pull it out and make it to the playoffs and maybe to the cup.
Looking at the predictions for the Oilers they think that there should not be a reason that the Oilers can’t make it to the playoffs for the third time. Looking at the Oilers record and standings they have been in the finals for two years but have lost against the Panthers both times but that doesn’t mean they won’t make it. The Oilers have multiple different players who are outstanding and they have a great goaltender and they have a great record when looking at the numbers. ESPN believes that the Oilers simply can not be counted out and that there is a fantastic chance that the Oilers return to the playoffs and finals for the third time.
Looking at ESPN’s prediction about the Golden Knights it seems that they were surprised by the support the team was receiving but it wasn’t entirely odd. Looking at the Knights we can see that most of this support is because of Mitch and Marner both who have positively affected the team and have made the team stronger. The Knights also have a strong defense and have shown that it can be unfair for other teams. With all of these things combined, it’s not a total shocker for them to be favored; in fact it’s proven to be a smart choice.
Now many people have wondered why ESPN would not favor the Florida Panthers especially since they have won the Stanley Cup two times back to back, but it’s really not that simple. ESPN has mentioned that they love the Florida Panthers and would love it if they won for a third time but it might not be easy especially since two of their strong players are out for a good amount of time. Do they think this will stop the Panthers in the long run? No. They believe this might not be a big deal but who knows this could be the thing that stops the Panthers from entering the playoffs or finals.
An NHL hockey season consists of about 82 games, plus more if the team reaches the playoffs. Even if a team does bad for the first couple games it doesn’t mean they can not reach the playoffs. There are many different ways for a team to make it to the playoffs, whether that is winning the rest of the games, or making sure they don’t have too many losses. Because of the many different ways a team can win, make sure to keep track of your team to see if they make it to the Stanley Cup final for the 2026 season.
