Here is a look at the top twenty five stories that took place in the NHL in 2025.
#25. NHL Global Series returned to Stockholm, Sweden November 2025 – The Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Nashville Predators in Sweden. Nashville won the first game 2-1 in overtime when Steven Stamkos won it for Nashville 44 seconds into overtime. In the second game of the Global series, rookie goaltender, Sergei Murashov made 21 saves for his first NHL win in a 4-0 victory for the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Nashville Predators at Avicii Arena in Stockholm.
#24. Leon Draisaitl scores four playoff overtime goals – Setting an NHL record, Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers scored two OT winning goals in the Stanley Cup finals (Game One and Game Four) to join Murice Richard (3), John Raleigh (2), Jacques Lemaire (2)and John LeClaur (2) as the only players in NHL history to score multiple OT winning goals in the Finals. Draisaitl also scored OT winners in game four of the Oilers first round series vs. Los Angeles Kings and in game two of the second round vs. Vegas.
https://www.nhl.com/video/draisaitl-makes-history-with-4-ot-winners-in-one-postseason-6374253084112
#23. Lane Hutson (Canadiens) takes Calder Trophy as top rookie — joins elite defensemen-only rookie winners. Hutson led rookies in points and set new Canadiens franchise records for assists and points by a rookie defenseman, becoming the first Canadien player to win the award since Ken Dryden in 1972. Hutson beat out goalie Dustin Wolf and center Macklin Celebrini for the award. According to NHL.com, “Hutson (6-60—66 in 82 GP) became the fourth defenseman in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) to lead rookies in scoring, joining Bobby Orr (13-28—41 in 1966-67 w/ BOS), Brian Leetch (23-48—71 in 1988-89 w/ NYR) and Quinn Hughes (8-45—53 in 2019-20 w/ VAN).”
#22. Stuart Skinner / Tristan Jarry trade: In early December, the Pittsburgh Penguins sent goalie Tristan Jarry to the Edmonton Oilers for Stuart Skinner and Brett Kulak. There were rumors in Oil Country about a goaltending move ever since the Oilers fell to the Florida Panthers in game six of the Stanley Cup finals. Just days later on December 16, 2025, the two goaltenders would face each other with their new teams with the end result being a 6- win in Pittsburgh for the Oilers.
#21. NHL’s 109th Season – The NHL’s 109th season started on October 7, 2025 and will be the final regular season played under the 82-game schedule before the schedule will expand to 84 games in 2026–27.
#20. Leon Draisaitl gets his 100th point – On December 16th vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins, Oilers centre Leon Draisaitl recorded his 1,000th NHL point. What makes this feat so significant is that the Oilers become the first team in NHL history with five 1,000 point players as Draisaitl joined Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Mark Messier, and Connor McDavid as Oilers who recorded 1,000 points as an Oiler.
#19. Cale Makar wins Norris Trophy for league’s best defenseman. With 32 goals, Makar posted the first 30-goal campaign by a defenseman since Mike Green recorded 31 goals in the 2008-09 season. Makar put up 92 points during the season.
https://www.nhl.com/avalanche/news/player-recap-cale-makar
#18. Connor Hellebuyck wins both Hart Memorial (MVP) and Vezina Trophies – the Winnipeg Jets tender became the first goalie since Carey Price (2014‑15) to earn both in one season.
#17. The emergence of the next generation of NHL superstars – at the quarter point of the NHL season, San Jose Sharks second year forward Macklin Celebrini and Chicago Blackhawks star Connor Bedard were atop the NHL leader for points. Ads of early November, after a multi-point affair for Macklin Celebrini and a stellar four-point night for Connor Bedard, the young superstars from North Vancouver were now first and second in NHL scoring, respectively showing what the youth of the league has to offer.
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/celebrini-bedard-take-first-and-second-in-nhl-scoring-race/
While MacKinnon and McDavid would step up, and an injury to Bedard, the youth movement of the NHL looks strong for years to come.
#16. The Rising Salary Cap – It appears that the days of the flat cap are over, and we’re about to enter a new era of salary cap growth. With the salary cap ceiling increasing by $7.5 million to hit $95.5M this year and is poised to make an even bigger jump to $104M for 2026-27 and again to $113.5M the year after we can expect some massive signings and overpayments in the next couple of years. We will see the first $20M NHL player in the next couple of years. There will be lots of questions to be asked and it will be interesting to see how it plays out. Will we see stars prioritize max-term deals with big AAVs and job security, or do they bet on more cap growth to come (and bet on themselves, too) by signing shorter-term deals now to get another payday down the road
#15. Matthew Schaefer goes to the New York Islanders with the first overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft – The Islanders moved up nine spots to receive the first pick with which they drafted the defensemen from the Erie Otters. Schaefer made his NHL debut with the team on October 9, against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and recorded his first NHL point by assisting on a first-period goal by Jonathan Drouin. Schaefer was emotional as he was drafted as his mother died of breast cancer in February 2024, less than three months after his billet mother Emily Matson died in an apparent suicide.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_NHL_entry_draft
#14. Mitch Marner trade to Vegas Golden Knights: In the biggest offseason shocker, Mitch Marner left the Toronto Maple Leafs for the Golden Knights, with questions about his playoff performance and fit with the Leafs. One of the games greatest passers, Marner appeared to be looking for a fresh start. As the 2025-26 season continues, the Leafs have not been the same team since Mitch Marner left. His totals as a Maple Leaf:
| Season | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 2016-17 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 77 | 19 | 42 | 61 | 38 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 2017-18 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 22 | 47 | 69 | 26 | -1 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 4 |
| 2018-19 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 26 | 68 | 94 | 22 | 22 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 2019-20 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 59 | 16 | 51 | 67 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| 2020-21 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 55 | 20 | 47 | 67 | 20 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 2021-22 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 72 | 35 | 62 | 97 | 16 | 23 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 |
| 2022-23 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 30 | 69 | 99 | 28 | 18 | 11 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 2 |
| 2023-24 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 69 | 26 | 59 | 85 | 18 | 21 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 2024-25 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 81 | 27 | 75 | 102 | 14 | 18 | 13 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 2 |
| Totals | Toronto Maple Leafs | 657 | 221 | 520 | 741 | 198 | +128 | 70 | 9 | 50 | 59 |
#13. Status of the Pittsburgh Penguins – depending on how the season goes, could we see some movement with the Penguins roster? Could we see Sidney Crosby moved from the Penguins at the NHL trade-deadline? Colorado, Montreal or Edmonton all seem like suitable destinations. What about Evgeni Malkin? Rental players? It’s looking like a great draft year, could a team like the Penguins try to retool with some draft capital? At the time of this writing, the Pens are doing quite well and are in the race for a playoff spot.
#12. Kirill Kaprizov signing – The Minnesota Wild signed a record-setting 8-year, $136 million contract extension with the Minnesota Wild on September 30, 2025, making him the highest-paid player in NHL history at the time, with a $17 million average annual value (AAV). The deal, which begins in the 2026-27 season, gives him a $17M cap hit setting a new financial benchmark for star players in the league. Speculation was that the Oilers’ Connor McDavid would become the highest paid NHL player… but enter Kirill Kaprizov.
#11. NHL player injuries – with a condensed schedule due to NHL players participating in the Winter Olympics in February 2026, injuries are up ads players play a grueling schedule to kick off the season. We have seen a number of players suffer injuries including Connor Bedard, Tyler Segin, Connor Hellebucyk, Brady Tkachuk, Auston Matthews and others see time missed as a result of injury.
https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/what-s-going-on-with-all-the-injuries-in-the-nhl
#10. Winnipeg Jets win Presidents’ Trophy (best regular-season record)—first Canadian team since 2012.
#9. Notable goalie deaths – Within a short span of weeks, the hockey world lost some of the games greatest goalies. Arguably three of the greatest passed with weeks of each other as Ken Dryden passed away on Sept. 5, nine days before the great Eddie Giacomin died, and just over two weeks before we said goodbye to Philadelphia Flyers Stanley Cup-winning goalie Bernie Parent. We also lost other notable tenders including Greg Millen who had a great broadcasting career in Canada and passed at age 67 in April https://torontosun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/former-nhl-goaltender-broadcaster-greg-millen-dead-at-67 and Mark Laforest who passed a few days before Millen. May they rest in peace.
https://torontosun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/2025-year-we-said-goodbye-to-greatest-goaltenders
#8. New CBA extension agreed on June 27, 2025—finalizes format through 2029‑30. Among the most notable changes headlining the new CBA are moving to an 84-game regular season, scaling back maximum contract term to seven years on extensions and six for free agents signing elsewhere, as well as altering how teams are permitting to navigate LTIR in the playoffs.
#7. All four U.S. Original Six teams miss playoffs—first occurrence in NHL history. The Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers all missed the post season in 2025, marking the first time this has happened in the history of the National Hockey League.
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/all-four-u-s-based-original-six-teams-miss-playoffs-for-first-time-ever/
#6. The trading of Quinn Hughes out of Vancouver – the rumors were there, but in early December the Canucks crushed the rumors as they traded their captain and former Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild that saw Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, Liam Ohgren and a 2026 first-round pick go back to the Canucks. A pretty decent return for the Canucks whose hand may have been forced as Hughes may not have wanted to sign an extension in Vancouver. Reports out of Vancouver suggest this was a win-win for both sides.
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/quinn-hughes-agent-wild-canucks-trade-is-win-win/
#5. Reinstating of accused players in hockey Canada scandal – It was announced that the five hockey players acquitted on sexual assault charges in the Hockey Canada trial will be eligible to return to the NHL this season. Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote are officially unrestricted free agents, per the decision, and can sign contracts with any team. The contracts can be registered with the NHL on Oct. 15, and the players can appear in a game on Dec. 1. They can begin conditioning with a team on Nov. 15, according to a league source. Carter Hart has already signed with Vegas and has appeared in games. Dillon Dube joined the St. Louis Blues’ AHL affiliate on a professional tryout. The Carolina Hurricanes affiliate Chicago Wolves quietly signed Cal Foote earlier this month. “The Chicago Wolves say they signed Foote at Carolina’s behest, months after Hurricanes fans loudly protested the team’s reported interest in other defendants from the trial.”
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6525702/2025/09/11/nhl-hockey-canada-bettman/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hockey_Canada_sexual_assault_scandal
#4. The passing of Ken Dryden – Ken Dryden, the legendary Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens, author, lawyer, and former Member of Parliament, died on September 5, 2025, in Toronto at age 78, following a battle with cancer. Dryden was arguably one of the game of hockey’s greatest netminders. He won the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP before he won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 1971-72.
He authored arguably the greatest book about hockey, “The Game”, and had a storied career beyond the sport of hockey.
Ken Dryden was a Hall of Fame goaltender whose long resumé in and out of hockey included six Stanley Cup victories with the Montreal Canadiens and helping backstop Team Canada’s generation-defining victory at the 1972 Summit Series. His famous pose of leaning on his goalie stick is one of the greatest images the game has ever produced.
https://www.nhl.com/news/montreal-canadiens-legend-ken-dryden-dies-at-78
Dryden still was at the top of his game but instead retired after that 1979 championship with six Stanley Cup titles in eight NHL seasons. Ken Dryden was for our money, the greatest hockey goaltender of all-time and although we never met Mr. Dryden he seemed to be an even better person than he was a goaltender which says a lot. Here are but a few of Ken Dryden’s many accomplishments:
- Conn Smythe Trophy winner as MVP of the playoffs (before he won the Calder Trophy)
- Back-stopped the Candiens to six Stanley Cup championships in eight seasons.
- Helped Team Canada win the 1972 Summit Series vs. Russia
- Won the Calder Trophy in 1971-72 as he was voted as NHL rookie of the year.
- Vezina Trophy winner given to the League’s best goalie. He won the Vezina Trophy five times (1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979).
- Earned his law degree and became a lawyer
- Best-selling author when “The Game,” a first-person account of his 1978-79 season with the Montreal Canadiens.
- President of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
- Ran for a seat in Canada’s Parliament on the Liberal Party ticket in the riding of York Centre. Dryden won his parliamentary seat in a landslide and was named Canada’s Minister of Social Development.
- He received the Order of Canada in 2012.
The Great Ken Dryden is missed and will always be in our top ten players to have ever played in the National Hockey League.
#3. Alex Ovechkin, the greatest goal scorer of all-time breaks Gretzky’s goal scoring record with his 895th goal and surpasses 900 Goals: The Washington Capitals captain continued his historic chase, entering the 2025-26 season just three goals shy of the milestone. Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goal record on April 6, 2025, scoring his 895th goal against the New York Islanders, making him the league’s all-time leading goal scorer in a historic moment attended by Gretzky himself. We posted his career stats at the time Ovie broke the record.
https://www.nhl.com/news/alex-ovechkin-wayne-gretzky-nhl-goals-record-chase
On November 5th, 2025, Alex Ovechkin scored his 900th career goal at 2:39 of the second period vs. Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues.
https://www.nhl.com/news/every-alex-ovechkin-nhl-goal-video-and-list
#2. Florida Panthers win their second consecutive Stanley Cup over the Edmonton Oilers – the Panthers wormed their way to another Stanley Cup Championship. Pretty sure the league is tired of the antics they used to intimidate, play and bend the rules to succeed. Not a great look for the NHL, but hey those handful of Panthers fans will disagree with this take. it’s a crying shame the the NHL allows some of that stuff to go on. Do you research to learn more about what we are talking about. Needless to say there were some missed calls that prevented the Oilers from going up two games to none in the series, calls that changed the trajectory of the series. This is no loser’s lament, this is matter of fact. Nonetheless it is impressive to make the Stanley Cup Finals three years in a row, so they must be doing something right. 2026 will be the year of the Avalanche!
#1. Connor McDavid’s hometown discount – As we were days away from the puck dropping on the regular season, there still wasn’t a resolution to the Connor McDavid-Edmonton Oilers saga. Would he resign with the Oilers, or play out the final year of his contract and test free agency next summer? McDavid had made it clear that after two consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Finals results in losses in game seven in 2024 and game six in 2025 he had indicated that he wants to see a greater commitment to winning from the organization.
It’s been a great start to 2026, teams like the Sabres, Avalanche and Wild are hot, while teams like the Jets, Sens and Ducks are not. With the Olympic break coming in February we should be in for a real ride down the stretch.
