How are the NHL's Big Boys Shaping Up Ahead of the 2025/26 Season?

High drama, staggering pressure, and the scent of legacy. The 2025/26 NHL campaign is peering over the horizon, its storyline already written in all-caps: Can the Florida Panthers engineer a modern dynasty with a threepeat, or will a new predator emerge from the pack to upend the order?

No team in a generation has so deftly blended ferocity with flair as the reigning champions. Their rivalry over the last two years with Connor McDavid and his Edmonton Oilers will stand the test of time. On both occasions, however, it was the Cats that came out on top, despite being narrow underdogs at one point or another. Heading into 2025/26, online NHL betting sites won't be making the same mistake.

The latest NHL betting at Bovada odds currently position the Panthers as the +600 favorites to complete the threepeat, with the +800 Oilers expected to push them all the way once more. But what of the NHL's biggest names? Well, while the Cats have been creating a dynasty, some others have been plotting their own route to the top. Here is how the big boys are shaping up ahead of the new campaign.

Maple Leafs
In Toronto, hope and heartbreak now feel practically synonymous. Another regular season ticking past 95 points. Another Round 1 exit—the franchise’s eighth in ten years. And still, with every puck drop, the shadow of 1967 continues to loom: it's been 58 long years since the biggest name in the game last tasted Stanley Cup glory. After yet another early exit, however, complacency has been consigned to the grave this summer.

The front office detonated the roster core, headlined by the Marner-for- Guenther/Maccelli blockbuster with Las Vegas. Data analysts love the upside—Dylan Guenther’s 24 goals at age 22, Matias Maccelli’s 54-point breakout campaign, and an additional two picks to fortify a thin pipeline. Paired with Toronto’s existing arsenal—Auston Matthews, still the most fearsome shooter on Earth, William Nylander’s improvisational brilliance, and John Tavares’ steady hand—there’s an undeniable charge of “last chance” urgency.

Goal number 67 for Auston Matthews ✅ https://t.co/91ucU5f7GH pic.twitter.com/PikEXRSQJs

— Bovada (@BovadaOfficial) April 11, 2024

Change, however, isn’t merely cosmetic. Joseph Woll’s .920 SV% in high-danger moments last postseason points to possible stability between the pipes, a critical deficiency for decades. Does this fresh chemistry have time to bake in the crucible of Toronto’s pressure cooker? Or do the ghosts of spring inevitably return? For the Leafs, it’s a season—and perhaps an era—balanced on a knife’s edge.

Canadiens
Two years ago, few outside of Montreal saw the Canadiens as anything more than a plucky rebuild. Now, they’re armed and dangerous. The league's youngest playoff roster managed a 40-31-11, rejuvenating the spirits all throughout the team and the fan base. And the front office hasn't rested on its laurels.

Noah Dobson, one of the league’s top defensive play-drivers, thanks to a 56% expected goals share for the Islanders, arrives to anchor a rapidly maturing blue line. Zachary Bolduc and Joe Veleno inject sandpaper and secondary production into a top-six that already boasts 64-point Nick Suzuki and 37-goal Cole Caufield. Factor in Lane Hutson’s dazzling draft profile—leading the NCAA in points per game as a defenseman—and you have a group on fast-forward.

The wild card? Ivan Demidov, the Russian prodigy, finally lands in North America. If his KHL-to-NHL transition matches the hype, the Habs have the lightning for their bottle. Is this the first installment of a new Montreal dynasty, or a year too soon? The ingredients are here; now comes the alchemy.

Rangers
Never has star power paid so little playoff interest as at Madison Square Garden last spring. Despite a top-10 offense that amassed a whopping 261 goals and elite individual campaigns—highlighted by Artemi Panarin’s 107 points and Adam Fox’s 61 from the blue line—the Rangers were undermined by coaching drift and a midseason malaise.

Enter Mike Sullivan, whose two championships in Pittsburgh were built on structure and accountability. The mandate rings clear: lift this group from highlight reels to June relevance. The aforementioned Panarin remains the pulsing creative engine, while Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider form one of the league’s most synergetic power-play connections. If that wasn't enough, Fox’s tape-to-tape exits remain a coach’s dream.

Yet, perhaps nowhere does greatness hinge so tightly on stewardship in the basket. Igor Shesterkin and his .925 SV% on high-danger is still the most unflappable goalie in chaos, making him the Rangers’ pressure-release valve. Internal improvement is the model—depth signings to fix a bottom-six that hemorrhaged goals last year. Sullivan’s system will demand buy-in; if he gets it, the Big Apple's finest can finally banish inconsistency and storm the Metro’s summit.

Bruins
Everyone remembers Boston’s record-breaking 2022-23 Presidents’ Trophy. Few—especially those of the TD Garden faithful—would like to recall the franchise’s implosion since. Last year’s 33-39-10 finish saw the Bruins dead last in the Atlantic, prompting a ruthless management rethink. New coach Marco Sturm inherits a roster with cap handcuffs but no shortage of heart.

Where does renewal begin? It starts with the unwavering greatness of David Pastrnak, a 50-goal product in consecutive seasons and the only Bruin on the league’s All-Star radar last year. Add Charlie McAvoy, whose defensive analytics—zone exits, suppressed high-danger chances—routinely top NHL leaderboards, and the ever- dependable Jeremy Swayman in the blue paint.

Free agency brought necessary grit. Tanner Jeannot’s five-year deal was a statement of intent; Conor Geekie’s six-year pact reflects a subtle pivot toward youthful depth. Most crucially, Elias Lindholm’s two-way acumen provides flexibility down the middle. For this proud, blood-and-thunder fanbase, nothing less than a culture reset and a run for the wild card is acceptable. Can old-school toughness and elite goaltending revitalize Boston, or is another year in the wilderness looming?