{"id":283951,"date":"2025-10-07T12:26:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T12:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/283951\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T12:26:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T12:26:14","slug":"oddly-specific-nhl-predictions-for-all-32-teams-2025-26-seasons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/283951\/","title":{"rendered":"Oddly specific NHL predictions for all 32 teams\u2019 2025-26 seasons"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you had enough predictions yet? It\u2019s possible, given just about everyone who covers this league has spent the last few weeks trying to tell you what\u2019s about to happen. We even gave you a chance, in the annual reader contest, and if you haven\u2019t entered yet please get in there now<\/a>. Everyone is putting their predictions out there.<\/p>\n

Just not like this. It\u2019s time to get oddly specific.<\/p>\n

This is one of my favorite annual columns, in which I try way too hard to get way too specific about predictions that are way too unlikely. Do they ever come true? Sure, sometimes. And when they do, I never shut up about it. We won\u2019t worry about what happens the other 99 percent of the time.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s do this. We\u2019ve got 32 teams, and 32 predictions to get through. This is your final spoiler warning: Don\u2019t read any further if you want to be surprised.<\/p>\n

Anaheim Ducks<\/p>\n

I already said I think they\u2019re making the playoffs<\/a>, which is a bold prediction but not especially specific. So let\u2019s go with something even more outlandish, but which will probably have to happen for the first prediction to come true: In his first season as an undisputed starter, Lukas Dostal gets multiple Hart votes.<\/p>\n

Boston Bruins<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a weird fact I found while researching this piece: Last year\u2019s Bruins had more goals scored on penalty shots (one) than they did successful shootout attempts (zero). I have no idea what to do with this information, other than to say the Bruins will go to a shootout in Wednesday\u2019s opener against the Washington Capitals, and they\u2019ll score on their first attempt.<\/p>\n

Buffalo Sabres<\/p>\n

Remember when Team USA didn\u2019t pick Tage Thompson for the 4 Nations<\/a> because they figured they had enough offense, then fell one goal shy of beating Canada? That was cool. Anyway, Thompson won\u2019t just make the Olympic team, he\u2019s scoring an overtime goal when he\u2019s there.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Tage Thompson won a gold medal with Team USA at the World Championship this spring. (Claus Fisker \/ Ritzau Scanpix \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Calgary Flames<\/p>\n

Can we just take a minute to recognize Oddly Specific Prediction first-ballot Hall of Famer<\/a> Joel Hanley, who posted career highs in goals and points last year? OK, sure, he had two goals and nine points. That\u2019s not bad for a defensive defenseman whose whole thing used to be never scoring at all. In fact, let\u2019s get completely crazy and predict that Hanley goes absolutely haywire this year to the tune of \u2026 three goals! And he\u2019ll divide them up nicely, scoring one in October\/November, one in December\/January and one the rest of the way.<\/p>\n

Carolina Hurricanes<\/p>\n

Sergei Fedorov is (finally) getting his number retired<\/a> in Detroit on Jan. 12. That\u2019s a fun choice, since it\u2019s the night that sees the Wings face the Hurricanes, the team Fedorov signed an ultimately unsuccessful offer sheet with in 1998. Let\u2019s lean into the irony here and say the winning goal that night will be scored by another failed offer-sheet signer, Sebastian Aho.<\/p>\n

Chicago Blackhawks<\/p>\n

Connor Bedard came into the league with the hype of an elite goal-scorer. While he\u2019s shown some flashes, he\u2019s yet to post a hat trick in his NHL career. That won\u2019t last long, because he\u2019ll do it twice in the first month of the season.<\/p>\n

Colorado Avalanche<\/p>\n

There aren\u2019t a lot of items left on the list of things Nathan MacKinnon hasn\u2019t been able to accomplish in the NHL, but here\u2019s one: He\u2019s never scored on a penalty shot. He\u2019s oh-for-three and hasn\u2019t even had an attempt since 2021. Needless to say, I\u2019m bringing this up because he\u2019s getting one this year.<\/p>\n

Columbus Blue Jackets<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an annual tradition that never, ever hits, and we\u2019re doing it again. Let\u2019s make the Blue Jackets our pick for the team that\u2019s all over the place in preseason predictions and ends up frustrating everyone by finishing with the exact same number of points as last year.<\/p>\n

Dallas Stars<\/p>\n

Is this the year that they finally make it past the conference final? Well, if they can\u2019t manage it this year with both the Norris and Vezina winners on the roster, they may never do it.<\/p>\n

Detroit Red Wings<\/p>\n

Patrick Kane comes into the season only 31 points away from tying Mike Modano for most career points by a U.S.-born player, and 48 points back of Brett Hull for the most by an \u201cAmerican\u201d player. He\u2019s got a good chance to hit both marks, but we\u2019re going to go with something far less likely. Did you know that of his 1,343 points, only one has come short-handed? That was an assist back in 2009<\/a>, meaning one of the most dynamic forwards of his generation has played 18 NHL seasons without ever scoring a short-handed goal. It\u2019s going to be tough ask for a guy who never kills penalties, but I\u2019m saying he gets one this year. (And if that goal also breaks one of the scoring records, I\u2019ll retire this column permanently.)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Edmonton Oilers<\/p>\n

I had Connor McDavid\u2019s extension nailed exactly, but unfortunately he jumped the gun and signed it a day before this column ran. Pretty selfish, if you ask me. Ah well, let\u2019s go with a different McDavid prediction, as he and Leon Draisaitl combine to score exactly 100 goals.<\/p>\n

Florida Panthers<\/p>\n

We won\u2019t have to wait long for Brad Marchand\u2019s return to Boston, which comes on Oct. 21. And fans in Boston that night won\u2019t have to wait long to see him get on the scoresheet \u2026 because he\u2019ll take the game\u2019s first penalty.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Brad Marchand\u2019s return to Boston as a Florida Panther will be emotional after winning a Stanley Cup. (Steph Chambers \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Kings<\/p>\n

It\u2019s always a little grim, but we need a \u201cfirst coach fired\u201d pick and Jim Hiller would seem to fit the bill. That\u2019s especially true given a very tough early schedule, which sees the Kings open with seven of eight games against teams that made the playoffs last season, including the Avs, Knights, Stars, and Hurricanes. Let\u2019s say Hiller gets the pink slip on Oct. 24, just in time for the new guy to get a chance to hit the ground running against the Predators, Hawks and Sharks.<\/p>\n

Minnesota Wild<\/p>\n

The good news is that they\u2019ll make the playoffs. The bad news is that, for the ninth straight time, they\u2019ll be one-and-done with a first-round loss. The even worse news is that they\u2019ll be this year\u2019s Ultimate Loser<\/a>, which is to say the team that loses to the team that loses to the team that loses to the team that loses to the team that wins the Cup.<\/p>\n

Montreal Canadiens<\/p>\n

The list of Russian players who\u2019ve cracked the 25-goal mark as a rookie is a fun one, including names like Alex Ovechkin, Pavel Bure and Kirill Kaprizov, but also Sergei Berezin and Evgeny Davydov. Can Ivan Demidov join the list? Yes, and it comes against Nikita Kucherov and the Lightning.<\/p>\n

Nashville Predators<\/p>\n

Among the long list of things that went wrong for the Predators last year, they were one of only four teams to go the entire season without scoring a five-on-three goal \u2013 and their 8:24 with a double-man advantage was more than twice any of those other teams. This year, they break the curse early, scoring on their first five-on-three of the season. Steven Stamkos gets the goal, if you\u2019re wondering.<\/p>\n

New Jersey Devils<\/p>\n

There are two things that are true about the Oddly Specific Predictions world: We love Jacob Markstr\u00f6m, and we\u2019ve been trying and failing to correctly predict a goalie goal for nearly a decade. Let\u2019s kill two birds with one stone and predict that our old pal Markstr\u00f6m shoots and scores this year. OK, sure, I know he\u2019s not a great puckhandler, but maybe we could have him do some reps with the EVP of hockey ops<\/a>.<\/p>\n

New York Islanders<\/p>\n

They were one of only two teams in the league to go all of last season without taking a single misconduct penalty, which doesn\u2019t feel very on-brand for a Patrick Roy team. We\u2019ve had some luck on misconduct predictions before<\/a>, so let\u2019s try again: The Islanders get a ten-minute call on Nov. 8, in their first visit to Madison Square Garden to face their old pals the Rangers.<\/p>\n

New York Rangers<\/p>\n

Igor Shesterkin got his record-breaking extension. But as with so many stars who sign big contracts, his offensive production immediately cratered \u2014 in his case, from a career-best one point in 2023-24 to zero in 2024-25. Despite being a solid puckhandler<\/a> who very obviously wants to score a goal someday<\/a>, Shesterkin has only three assists to show for six NHL seasons. But this year, he\u2019ll have a two-assist game, something no Rangers goalie has managed since Mike Richter in 1992<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ottawa Senators<\/p>\n

We won\u2019t get three fights in nine seconds<\/a> in any Olympic Games this year, thanks to international rules. But while Brady Tkachuk might not be allowed to drop the gloves, he\u2019ll figure out a way to earn himself a major at some point during the tournament.<\/p>\n

Philadelphia Flyers<\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s kind of cool Rick Tocchet is back, making him the first person to be a team\u2019s head coach and all-time PIM leader since Dale Hunter was in Washington. You know who else is in the Flyers\u2019 all-time top ten? Leafs coach Craig Berube. Let\u2019s tie it all together by predicting that the first meeting of the season between Toronto and Philadelphia gets well and truly out of control \u2026 which by today\u2019s standards means there are three fights in the game.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Connor Dewar and Joel Farabee trade blows in January 2025, an omen of things to come this season despite neither of them being on the Leafs or Flyers anymore. (Eric Hartline \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh Penguins<\/p>\n

Screw it, let\u2019s swing as big as we can possibly swing by not just predicting a Sidney Crosby trade will actually happen, but going for the actual date. Crosby gets dealt on Feb. 27, 2026, exactly thirty years to the day from the only other midseason trade<\/a> involving a player of this stature.<\/p>\n

San Jose Sharks<\/p>\n

The Grier family remains one of the most unique in all of pro sports, with Mike serving as GM for the Sharks while brother Chris holds the same role for the NFL\u2019s Miami Dolphins. Sibling rivalry? Probably, although this year both teams will finish the same number of wins away from a playoff spot.<\/p>\n

Seattle Kraken<\/p>\n

It might be a rough first month in Seattle, where the Kraken aren\u2019t expected to be very good and are facing what looks to be a tough early schedule. Long-time readers know what that means: Let\u2019s make them this year\u2019s not-so-good team that will at least earn an upset win over the eventual Stanley Cup champion in the season\u2019s first month.<\/p>\n

St. Louis Blues<\/p>\n

On March 10, the Blues will beat the Islanders in overtime, with Dylan Holloway scoring the winner. Why am I predicting this specific game? Ah, why do any of us do anything, you know?<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay Lightning<\/p>\n

They finally get to host an outdoor game this year, welcoming the Bruins to Raymond James Stadium in February. Here\u2019s a weird outdoor stat: There have been 53 power-play goals scored outside, but only James van Reimsdyk has more than one, and nobody has ever scored two in the same game. That ends this year in Tampa, when Jake Guentzel gets a pair.<\/p>\n

Toronto Maple Leafs<\/p>\n

Toronto sports fans could be forgiven for being a little distracted right now<\/a>, but if you try hard enough, you can make anything about the Leafs. In this case, let\u2019s say this year\u2019s Blue Jays and Maple Leafs will win the same number of playoff games. (And no, there\u2019s no way to win 16 MLB playoff games. Sorry, Leafs fans, I\u2019m just reporting facts here.)<\/p>\n

Utah Mammoth<\/p>\n

The Mammoth were the only team to go the entire 2025-26 campaign without scoring a goal with their goalie pulled for an extra attacker, the first team since 2013-14 to do that in an 82-game season. They won\u2019t have to wait long this year, as they\u2019ll click on their very first opportunity with the goalie out at the end of a game.<\/p>\n

Vancouver Canucks<\/p>\n

The Canucks face the Devils twice this year, in December and again in January. This is interesting because the two teams feature several players who are related, a fact that does not come up very often. One of those players, Quinn Hughes, will have an overtime winner in one of those meetings.<\/p>\n

Vegas Golden Knights<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all eyes on Mitch Marner, and the early returns will be strong. That\u2019s especially true in the postseason, where Marner will have four points in his Vegas playoff debut.<\/p>\n

Washington Capitals<\/p>\n

Are you ready for the Alexander Ovechkin goals record chase? Sure, we already did that last year. But this year, Ovechkin is 43 away from passing Wayne Gretzky for the most goals scored in the regular season and playoffs combined<\/a>. Can he do it? Sort of \u2026 he\u2019ll finish the year with 42, leaving him in a dead heat with Gretzky that he may or may not decide to stick around and break in 2026-27.<\/p>\n

Winnipeg Jets<\/p>\n

Jonathan Toews is back, and he\u2019s got four games against the Blackhawks on the schedule, including two in Chicago. Of those two, I\u2019m predicting he\u2019ll score a goal in one. Which one? Well, the only one of the two he actually plays in, obviously.<\/p>\n

(Top photo of Igor Shesterkin and Mika Zibanejad: Justin Berl \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Have you had enough predictions yet? It\u2019s possible, given just about everyone who covers this league has spent…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":283952,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[3115,3103,1720,3113,3107,291,2995,3110,1320,2993,2997,1323,2081,3112,3104,3111,2994,1301,1302,293,3105,3108,1334,1328,2999,62,2996,3106,1304,67,132,68,2082,3114,3116,3109,292],"class_list":{"0":"post-283951","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-anaheim-ducks","9":"tag-boston-bruins","10":"tag-buffalo-sabres","11":"tag-calgary-flames","12":"tag-carolina-hurricanes","13":"tag-chicago-blackhawks","14":"tag-colorado-avalanche","15":"tag-columbus-blue-jackets","16":"tag-dallas-stars","17":"tag-detroit-red-wings","18":"tag-edmonton-oilers","19":"tag-florida-panthers","20":"tag-los-angeles-kings","21":"tag-minnesota-wild","22":"tag-montreal-canadiens","23":"tag-nashville-predators","24":"tag-new-jersey-devils","25":"tag-new-york-islanders","26":"tag-new-york-rangers","27":"tag-nhl","28":"tag-ottawa-senators","29":"tag-philadelphia-flyers","30":"tag-pittsburgh-penguins","31":"tag-san-jose-sharks","32":"tag-seattle-kraken","33":"tag-sports","34":"tag-st-louis-blues","35":"tag-tampa-bay-lightning","36":"tag-toronto-maple-leafs","37":"tag-united-states","38":"tag-unitedstates","39":"tag-us","40":"tag-utah-mammoth","41":"tag-vancouver-canucks","42":"tag-vegas-golden-knights","43":"tag-washington-capitals","44":"tag-winnipeg-jets"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283951\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}