10 people under the most pressure entering the 2025-26 NHL season
Who's feeling the heat? Below is a list of 10 people under supreme pressure ahead of the 2025-26 NHL season. It consists of five players, two head coaches, two general managers, and one franchise owner, presented in alphabetical order.
Kevyn Adams
The margin of error is razor-thin for the Sabres and GM Kevyn Adams.
Tensions are high in Buffalo as the club tries to snap an NHL-record playoff drought of 14 years. A deep Atlantic Division makes for a crowded path to the postseason. In other words, this could go off the rails quickly for Adams, who's become the main punching bag for a smart, (rightfully) fed up fan base.
Adams recently traded young core pieces Dylan Cozens and JJ Peterka for Josh Norris, Josh Doan, Michael Kesselring, and Jacob Bernard-Docker, who was then replaced by free agent Conor Timmins. Those moves will elicit elation or another round of face-palming in the coming months. It feels like there's no middle ground for a franchise that's finished 31st, 24th, tied for 19th, 22nd, and 26th during Adams' five years in charge.
Other important business: The futures of first-line winger Alex Tuch (pending unrestricted free agent) and top-four blue-liner Bowen Byram (trade rumors).
Rasmus Andersson
Andersson's intentions of leaving Calgary are out in the open, and fresh takes on his future seem to hit the rumor mill every other week. It can't be easy for him to fully concentrate while on the ice.
"The thing that bothers you is fake information that comes out," the 28-year-old Flames defenseman told reporters last Tuesday.
"I saw some reports that I would only sign with one team (Vegas) and this and that. I mean, it couldn't be further from the truth. Me and (Calgary GM Craig Conroy) have had a few conversations over the summer, and I would never handcuff him and give him one team."
So, how does the pending UFA start the season? Will Andersson boost his trade value by doing his usual thing - eating minutes and pucks while pitching in offensively in a prominent role on the right side of Calgary's back end? How will he factor into the Swedish national team as it works to solidify an Olympic roster that will rely heavily on D-men performance?
Andersson's $4.55-million cap hit won't be overly difficult for a Stanley Cup contender to absorb. The Golden Knights are an obvious fit as a super aggressive team with a gaping hole at RHD now that Alex Pietrangelo is out long term.
Andrew Brunette
Brunette's seat might be the hottest among all 32 head coaches.
The Predators were a disaster last season, collecting only 68 points after being crowned winner of the 2024 offseason for reeling in free agents Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei. The offensive attack, a supposed strong suit under Brunette, slumped from 10th in goals scored to 31st and dropped from 12th in expected goals generated to 20th (per Sportlogiq).
Brunette, a former Preds player who's entering his third season as bench boss, doesn't deserve all the blame. Management hasn't exactly assembled a Cup-contending roster, and virtually every player on the 2024-25 squad - including star goalie Juuse Saros - had a down year. It's certainly possible, arguably probable, that the pendulum swings in a positive direction in Nashville.
If it doesn't, surely GM Barry Trotz will strongly consider a coaching change.
Connor Hellebuyck
The numbers are damning.
Hellebuyck, one of the greatest goalies of his generation, is rocking a .918 save percentage through 568 regular-season games. He won the Hart and Vezina trophies last year after posting a .925 during a season in which the league average settled way down at .900. But the longtime Jet's SV% plummets when his team needs him most (.903 in 58 career playoff games, including an ugly .866 mark across 13 games versus St. Louis and Dallas this spring).
Hellebuyck tried to adjust on the fly during the 2025 playoffs, and it backfired.
"I thought maybe I could add something here, tweak something there. That's typical stuff you do during the regular season too," he said during the NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas. "But once I did that, I didn't like it. I didn't like the look of the game. I thought I was out of what makes me, me."
The upcoming campaign could offer Hellebuyck playoff redemption - or provide another bit of evidence suggesting he simply can't perform under the bright lights. Along with his heavy workload in Winnipeg, the 32-year-old Hellebuyck is the presumptive starting goalie for Team USA at the Olympics, though Jake Oettinger, Jeremy Swayman, and Thatcher Demko are capable of stealing the job.
Craig Leipold
Leipold, the billionaire owner of the Wild, said in early September that the club and superstar winger Kirill Kaprizov were "not that far off" with regards to hammering out a contract extension. A week later, NHL insider Frank Seravalli reported that Kaprizov turned down what would've been the richest contract in league history ($128 million over eight seasons).
Oh ... OK then.
Owners typically aren't directly involved in negotiations, but this is an atypical situation. Leipold's influence looms large because Kaprizov, the best player to ever don a Wild uniform, is clearly testing the team's commitment level. Either the financial stakes will raise enough to sell the Russian on staying or Leipold and GM Bill Guerin pivot. If Kaprizov is intent on testing free agency, the Wild can try to trade him midseason (his current deal includes a no-move clause). They could also keep him and treat 2025-26 as a "last dance" of sorts.
The Wild's middling existence complicates the issue. Having missed the playoffs or lost in Round 1 each of the past 10 seasons, they need more game-breaking talents like Kaprizov, not fewer, to truly challenge for a Cup.
Mitch Marner
Without proper context, Marner shouldn't be on this list.
With it, he's a no-brainer.
The 28-year-old playmaker is coming off a career-high 102 points as well as a strong showing for Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off. He's starting an eight-year, $96-million contract after Vegas acquired him in a June sign-and-trade with Toronto. Marner is no longer at the center of a hockey-mad market or angling for a massive long-term deal.
But - and this is a significant but - Marner still needs to slay some demons.
Regardless of market size or intensity, the dazzling winger must finally elevate his game late in playoff series. The pressure's on until he breaks through.
Auston Matthews
Matthews' shine has worn off over the past 12 months, with multiple injuries limiting him to 67 games (and 33 goals) in 2024-25 and the Leafs again failing to advance past the second round of the playoffs. Toronto has tallied just two series wins in the captain's nine seasons with the team.
If you asked players, coaches, managers, media members, and fans to list the NHL's top five players, Matthews would be left off many ballots despite scoring 69 goals two years ago. As I wrote last week, he's somehow become underrated.
Three questions linger: Can Matthews, who's believed to be fully healthy ahead of his 10th NHL season, return to his dominant two-way form in the regular season - without Marner by his side? What impact will No. 34 have on the Olympics as a top-six center on a stacked Team USA? Can Matthews and William Nylander carry Toronto to its first deep playoff run?
Elias Pettersson
Pettersson doesn't need to come out of the gate flying. He doesn't have to outproduce ex-teammate J.T. Miller - now in New York after a fallout between the two - or set a new personal best in goals or points. He just needs to show early progress, look like himself again, and ride that momentum.
Bounce back - that's all.
It sounds like a small ask for a $11.6-million player. And, hey, maybe it is. But being a solid top-line center would be a nice first step toward removing the target from his back in the Vancouver market and beyond. Pettersson is currently a wildly overpaid second-liner, having accumulated 59 points in 84 games since signing an extension in March 2024. Yes, he's a high-end defensive player; however, at that cap hit, he needs to also lead the attack.
Quinn Hughes sees a rebound coming: "He's a competitive guy," the Canucks captain said recently. "I don't think he gets that stature (as a highly paid NHLer) without having some intangibles inside you. I've seen it before."
Joel Quenneville
Quenneville last coached in October 2021, resigning from his coaching job with the Panthers in the wake of the Blackhawks' sexual abuse case. The NHL determined Quenneville and other staffers inadequately responded in 2010 to allegations that player Kyle Beach had been assaulted by Chicago's video coach, who reported directly to Quenneville.
Reinstated by the league in July 2024, Quenneville was hired in May to run the Ducks' bench. Similar to Mike Babcock's return to the NHL in 2023, Quenneville's behavior will be under the microscope, especially in the early going. On a more practical, coaching-specific level, it's fair to wonder if the sport has passed him by. He's 67 and hasn't worked at all the past four years.
That said, Quenneville - a Jack Adams Award winner and three-time Cup champion - has inherited a team on the rise. Anaheim jumped from 59 points in 2023-24 to 80 last season. Its core has a ton of untapped potential. Plus, management has slowly but surely filled out the roster with useful veterans.
Steve Yzerman
Armed with the so-called Yzerplan for rebuilding an Original Six franchise, Yzerman is about to embark upon Season 7 as the Red Wings' GM.
Detroit has yet to make the playoffs, and it's a coin flip if the skid ends at nine years given the competition for an Eastern Conference wild-card spot. Yzerman's job should be hanging in the balance, but then again, he's a franchise icon who's ostensibly mastered the art of tempering expectations.
Detroit's forward group is roughly NHL average. Its blue line is one gigantic question mark beyond cornerstones Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson. Goaltending's been upgraded through the John Gibson acquisition. Todd McLellan, meanwhile, can flex his coaching muscles in his first full season.
John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter/X (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email ([email protected]).