Trending Up or Down: 6 teams to watch in 2025-26
While there are a handful of surefire Stanley Cup contenders in their own tier of competitiveness, several teams enter the 2025-26 season looking to take the next step or avoid falling out of relevance.
Below, we look at two clubs trending up, two trending down, and two that are a coin toss.
Trending up 📈
Montreal Canadiens
The Habs flipped a switch late last season, surging into the Eastern Conference's final playoff spot and transforming from a rebuilding team to a dark horse in a matter of months. Now, they look primed to take another step forward. Captain Nick Suzuki has established himself as one of the league's premier two-way centers, and Montreal has another offensive weapon potentially ready to break out in Ivan Demidov. If the 19-year-old can meet expectations of a Calder-worthy campaign, the Canadiens' attack will be difficult to slow down.
To supplement a core that proved capable of making noise in the East, Montreal acquired Noah Dobson and Zachary Bolduc in trades over the summer. Dobson can play top-line minutes as Lane Hutson continues to grow, and Bolduc is a sneaky effective bottom-six player who bagged 19 goals for the St. Louis Blues last season.
Center depth is a legitimate concern, but the Canadiens are still on an upward trajectory as constructed.
Utah Mammoth
The Mammoth were in the hunt for a wild-card spot last campaign with 89 points, a total the Arizona Coyotes hadn't matched in their final 10 years of existence. Utah boasted five 20-goal scorers in its debut season and added another over the summer in JJ Peterka. Offense won't be a problem for this club. And the Mammoth should get a natural boost on the back end with a healthy Sean Durzi and John Marino, who were limited last year to 30 and 35 games, respectively.
Although Utah's unlikely to push for a Central Division crown, building on last season's progress is a fair expectation. The margins in the Western Conference were so thin in 2024-25 that some better fortune in extra time could have propelled the Mammoth into the playoffs. Utah lost 13 games in overtime and was 1-4 in shootouts.
Trending down 📉
Winnipeg Jets
The Jets technically have nowhere to go but down in the standings after winning the Presidents' Trophy, but there are legitimate reasons to expect some regression in Winnipeg this season. Expecting another MVP-caliber campaign from Connor Hellebuyck is a big ask, especially considering no goalie has won three consecutive Vezina Trophies since Dominik Hasek in the late 1990s. The Jets' backbone will also take on extra responsibility with Team USA at the Olympics this winter, and he faces enormous pressure to erase the recent playoff disappointment.
The club also lost Nikolaj Ehlers to free agency, and captain Adam Lowry is out injured to start the campaign. Winnipeg's group of centers is a major concern against the West's top teams, even if the Jonathan Toews experiment works out.
Los Angeles Kings
New general manager Ken Holland was reckless with his cap space in his first summer in Hollywood, signing Brian Dumoulin, Cody Ceci, Joel Armia, and Corey Perry for a combined $13 million. While they're all established NHLers, none of them bring Los Angeles closer to Stanley Cup contention after four consecutive first-round exits. The additions of Dumoulin and Ceci compound the loss of Vladislav Gavrikov, who was quietly one of the best shutdown defenders in the NHL during his tenure with the Kings.
Additionally, L.A. is in a questionable spot in goal. Darcy Kuemper is fresh off his first Vezina Trophy nomination, but he has struggled to string together healthy seasons throughout his career. He's only hit the 50-game barrier four times in 13 years and has only done it once in consecutive campaigns.
Could go either way ↕️
Toronto Maple Leafs
Whether the Maple Leafs will be better or worse without Mitch Marner was a popular offseason debate, and we're about to find out which side of the argument is correct. Losing a perennial 90-point player isn't easy for any club to overcome, but Toronto's forward depth looks more competitive on paper now that the "Core Four" era has ended.
Although the Maple Leafs will ice a different look, their campaign hinges on captain Auston Matthews. If he's back to being an MVP and "Rocket" Richard candidate, Toronto should breeze into the playoffs. If injuries plague Matthews like they did last season, the Leafs might not have the firepower to get where they want to go.
Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks are hoping to have a drama-free season after last year's soap opera, but they're not off to a great start. Chatter about Quinn Hughes potentially uniting with his brothers outside of Vancouver was a major story in the buildup to camp, and the narrative won't die down if the Canucks stumble out of the gates. That said, this team has more pressing concerns than the captain's contract expiring in two years.
At the top of the list is Elias Pettersson. The 26-year-old desperately needs a rebound year as Vancouver can't afford another 45-point output from its highest-paid player. If Pettersson can return to his 100-point form, the Canucks' chances of competing in a wide-open Pacific Division increase significantly.
The health of Thatcher Demko is another factor that could make or break the club's efforts to get back to the playoffs. He was the Vezina runner-up in 2024 but posted underwhelming numbers across 23 games in his return from injury. Demko rediscovering his game could make the biggest difference of all for the Canucks, who ranked 25th with an .885 save percentage last season.