The race for the Stanley Cup is wide open, but the eventual champ will come out of the Western Conference, according to a panel of NHL.com writers and editors.
A total of 15 staff members made their preseason predictions and five picked the Vegas Golden Knights to win the Cup, four picked the Dallas Stars and three picked the Colorado Avalanche. One staffer picked the Edmonton Oilers, while the only Eastern Conference teams to get a pick were the two-time defending Cup champion Florida Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes.
The winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is more wide open, with Mitch Marner of the Golden Knights, Nathan MacKinnon of the Avalanche and Mikko Rantanen of the Stars each getting three votes. Jack Eichel of the Golden Knights got two votes, while Jake Oettinger (Stars), Matthew Tkachuk (Panthers), Sebastian Aho (Hurricanes) and Connor McDavid (Oilers) got one vote each.
The 2025-26 NHL season starts Tuesday with a tripleheader on ESPN: Chicago Blackhawks at Florida Panthers (5 p.m. ET), Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers (8 p.m. ET) and Colorado Avalanche at Los Angeles Kings (10:30 p.m. ET).
Here is how our experts picked:
Amalie Benjamin, staff writer
Atlantic Division
1. Montreal Canadiens | 2. Tampa Bay Lightning | 3. Toronto Maple Leafs
Metropolitan Division
1. Carolina Hurricanes | 2. New Jersey Devils | 3. New York Rangers
Eastern Conference wild cards
1. Florida Panthers | 2. Ottawa Senators
Central Division
1. Dallas Stars | 2. Winnipeg Jets | 3. Colorado Avalanche
Pacific Division
1. Edmonton Oilers | 2. Vegas Golden Knights | 3. Los Angeles Kings
Western Conference wild cards
1. Vancouver Canucks | 2. Utah Mammoth
Conference champions
East: Carolina Hurricanes
West: Dallas Stars
Stanley Cup champion: Dallas Stars
Conn Smythe Trophy winner: Mikko Rantanen, Dallas Stars
