The NHL season gets underway Tuesday, and theScore's staff got together to predict how it will all play out. The panel consists of Michael Bradburn, Kyle Cushman, Sean O'Leary, Eric Patterson, Levi Smith, and Josh Wegman.
Eastern Conference predictions
Why the Maple Leafs can contend for the division: The Atlantic is the NHL's deepest division, but the Maple Leafs are well equipped to bounce back from a disastrous 2025-26 campaign. It all starts with Auston Matthews, who looks healthy and will benefit from a new coaching staff and front office that's intent on maximizing his offensive abilities. Toronto's blue line will also be much better at moving pucks after replacing Brandon Carlo and Simon Benoit with Darren Raddysh and Emil Andrae, and its revamped, defense-conscious bottom six will free up Matthews for more offensive opportunities. - Wegman
Why everything will come together for the Capitals: We view the Metropolitan as a two-horse race, but several factors point to the Capitals potentially knocking off the Hurricanes and earning a No. 1 seed in the playoffs. Carolina finally got over the hump after years of knocking on the door and may save itself for the postseason like many defending champs do. Washington also boasts a strong blue line, a legitimate No. 1 goalie in Logan Thompson, and had a dynamite offseason after adding Jordan Kyrou, Alex Tuch, and Boone Jenner to an already solid forward corps. - O'Leary
The disparity in outcomes for the Rangers is highlighted here, with four panelists predicting they'll reach the playoffs and two expecting them to finish last in the division. As for the best team in the East, the Panthers and Capitals have the most support, while no one picked the reigning-champion Hurricanes to lead the conference.
A variety of outcomes here, but half the panel sees the Panthers rebounding after an off year to make it back to the Stanley Cup Final. Meanwhile, O'Leary has Florida falling just short. Only Cushman and Patterson don't see Florida reaching the Eastern Conference Final, and both have the Canadiens and Hurricanes duking it out (to different outcomes).
Western Conference predictions
The Avalanche, Stars, and Wild each received the same amount of support to win what's surely the league's toughest division. However, it gets more interesting when we look more closely at the predictions, as two panelists tabbed the Mammoth to finish better than Minnesota. Also, no one ranked Colorado lower than second, and Dallas doesn't appear lower than third. Of the three top teams, the Wild clearly have the highest variance.
Why the Sharks are the best team in the Pacific: Why not? First, this is the same division Connor McDavid called a "pillow fight" last year. Have any of these teams gotten definitively that much better since? The Oilers maybe did, but they have tremendous implosion potential. And then there's the Sharks, who undoubtedly tried to address their biggest weakness in the offseason. Is signing Jacob Trouba and acquiring Darnell Nurse enough to fix San Jose's anemic defense, which allowed the third-most goals per game in the NHL last year? Time will tell, but steps forward from Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, and Michael Misa will make it tough for opponents to outscore the Sharks anyway. - Bradburn
The best team in the West is either one of the three Central behemoths or the Vegas Golden Knights. Interestingly, our experts have stunningly similar playoff fields in the West. All six have the Avalanche, Stars, Wild, Sharks, Golden Knights, and Oilers in the dance. The Mammoth got a bunch of support beyond that, with only Patterson predicting them to be on the outside. The Kings have a smattering of backers as well, followed by the Ducks. Wegman is the lone Blues believer.
Half of our panel picked the Avalanche to be the Western delegate in the Cup Final. The Wild, Stars, and Oilers are the others. Notably, more than half the panel believes Edmonton will reach the conference championship, but only Patterson thinks they'll go further.
Nearly all our experts believe the winner is coming from the Western Conference, which makes sense given our contender tiers. Despite almost all the panelists agreeing on the conference, four different Western teams were picked. Parity is looking good. Smith is the lone holdout in the Western Conference trend, taking the Panthers to win their third Cup in four seasons.
Individual awards predictions
Why McKenna won't win the Calder: While McKenna looked stellar in the preseason, it's important to remember this is a 170-pound 18-year-old who got off to a slow start at Penn State last season after making the jump from WHL to NCAA. The jump from NCAA to the NHL could lead to similar growing pains out of the gate. Players who have already proven they can handle the NHL - like Martone, Frondell, and Hutson - have the upper hand. - Wegman
Why Robertson will lead the league in scoring: Robertson ranks eighth among all players in goals (196) over the past five seasons and was tied for fourth with 45 tallies in 2025-26. This is the year he'll break through and add some hardware to his resume, just in time to negotiate a lucrative extension with the Stars as unrestricted free agency looms. No one will be as motivated as Robertson to score this season, and he already has the talent to do it at will. - O'Leary
Why Shesterkin can restore his Vezina status: Shesterkin hasn't been a Vezina finalist since winning the award in 2021-22, but that's about to change thanks to the Rangers' improved defense. New York overhauled half its blue line this offseason by adding Marcus Pettersson, Sean Durzi, and No. 5 pick Alberts Smits, which should help Shesterkin put up his best numbers since 2021-22. - Wegman
Why Hughes will return to Norris form: Hughes played at a 90-point pace after Vancouver traded him to Minnesota last season. A full campaign with a Cup-contending team will lead to a career-best season, especially with the added motivation of a contract year. - Wegman
McDavid was so close to a sweep! Instead, Smith picked Kucherov to lead the league in scoring. The Lightning star has done it three times before, including as recently as 2024-25, so it's not outlandish. He also finished only eight points behind McDavid last season despite playing six fewer games.
Why Celebrini is ready to be MVP: Celebrini broke out with 115 points last campaign, and at 20 years old, he's only getting better. If he helps the Sharks snap their seven-year playoff drought with similar or better production than last year, the award will be his. - Wegman
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