NHL’s hot topics waiting for answers
The new NHL season features Olympic interruptions and major storylines affecting top teams and players.
- By Bruce Penton
October 06, 2025
key points from this story:
- Fringe players get midseason break
- Olympics interrupt regular NHL schedule
- Panthers aim for third consecutive Cup win
- Bedard expected to improve this season
- Ovechkin holds scoring record, may retire
- Canadian teams poised for playoff spots
Fringe players in the National Hockey League will have special reason to enjoy the 2025-26 season, which gets under way this week, thanks to a nearly three-week break — book those Caribbean vacations, boys — smack dab in the middle of the 82-game regular season. That’s because the league’s best players — McDavid, Matthews, Rantanen, Crosby et al — will be playing for their countries at the Olympic Games in Italy. The NHL schedule, which increases from 82 to 84 games per team next year, will be dark from Feb. 6 until play resumes on Feb. 25. Picking the various countries’ Olympic teams will be one of the most discussed aspects of the 2025-26 NHL season, but there are other hot topics, too. Such as …
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