Five Bold Predictions for the Upcoming NHL Season

Marc-Olivier Cook
Five Bold Predictions for the Upcoming NHL Season
Credit: Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images

The next NHL season is coming up.

Last week, I posted an article in which I shared five hot takes ahead of the Canadiens' season.

Today, I'm going in a similar direction: I'm sharing my five bold NHL predictions for the upcoming season!

1: Connor McDavid will change his mind… and ask to be traded

Connor McDavid signed a two-year contract extension with the Oilers last season.

But you know what?

Things are going to go SO badly in Edmonton that by the trade deadline, #97 will ask his team to trade him because he'll see himself winning somewhere else. Even though the original plan was for him to do that right here in Alberta…

It would be absolutely crazy to see that scenario play out.

In fact, it would send shockwaves throughout the NHL…

2: 90 points for Connor Bedard—even after missing the start of the season

Connor Bedard racked up 75 points in just 69 games last season.

And that's even more impressive considering he's… all on his own in Chicago. But the arrival of Anton Frondell will help him reach the 90-point mark for the first time in his career, even though he'll have to sit out his team's first month of play due to an injury.

In 26-27, Bedsy will prove that the expectations placed on him were well-founded. 

3: The Minnesota Wild will win the Stanley Cup (with Dylan Larkin)

Who will win the Stanley Cup in '26–'27? The Minnesota Wild… after acquiring Dylan Larkin!

The Wild will be able to convince Quinn Hughes to sign a contract extension, and afterward, Bill Guerin will do whatever it takes to pry Larkin away from Detroit.

Minnesota has the assets to pull off a trade like that…

Quinn Hughes, Kirill Kaprizov, Dylan Larkin, Matt Boldy, Brock Faber: the Wild will have an extremely talented core, and that will carry them all the way.

It would be the franchise's first Stanley Cup in its history…

4: Matthew Schaefer will be a Norris Trophy finalist

In '25–'26, Matthew Schaefer proved—in his rookie season—that he has the potential and talent to become the best defenseman in the National Hockey League.

And my prediction for the upcoming season is this: the young defenseman will finish the season in the top 3 in Norris Trophy voting. I mentioned in my post on the Canadiens' hot takes that Lane Hutson would win the trophy… and the top 3 will look like this:

  1. Lane Hutson
  2. Cale Makar
  3. Matthew Schaefer

The young NHL defensemen are going to take over the league…

5: David Pastrnak, the National Hockey League's leading scorer

The Boston Bruins acquired the talented JJ Peterka in the most recent NHL Draft.

And the arrival of the German player will help David Pastrnak finish the season at the very top of the Bettman League's scoring leaderboard, ahead of players like Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov, and Macklin Celebrini.

It'll come down to these five… but it's Pasta who'll come out on top. 

Do you have any bold predictions?

If the answer is yes… share them in the comments. I want to hear from you!


In a nutshell

– Yeah.

– Nice photo.

– With a little Rolex thrown in, by the way!

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