Three NHL storylines are already setting the tone for next season, and all of them come back to the same idea: teams are trying to get ahead of their own mess before it grows.
In Edmonton, Frederik Andersen’s one-year contract looks a lot more interesting than simple depth on paper. The deal initially read like insurance, but his relationship with new head coach Mike Babcock has people around the Oilers wondering if he’s actually the early favorite to open 2026-27 as the No. 1 goalie.
Kurt Leavins of The Edmonton Journal said it’s hard to picture Andersen not being pencilled in as the starter from the start, and Babcock spoke with him before the signing. That would put Andersen ahead of Devon Levi and Tristan Jarry.
The logic is straightforward: Andersen may not be asked to carry a full workload, but a split of roughly 35 games would let Levi and Jarry handle the rest while also helping Edmonton manage its brutal travel schedule and the usual injury risk. If Babcock wants to keep everyone fresh and still stay competitive, the fit makes sense.
Toronto’s path back is less about one fix and more about a pile of things finally going right together. After a brutal 78-point season and another missed postseason, Jonas Siegel of The Athletic laid out five specific pieces that have to click at once.
Auston Matthews needs to look like Auston Matthews again. The goaltending has to be steady, even if it isn’t flawless.
The younger players have to provide real value. Jim Hiller has to sharpen the team’s defence and game control.
And the veterans have to stay healthy long enough for any of it to matter.
Then there’s Ottawa, where Brady Tkachuk’s return in a Florida Panthers jersey is already shaping up to be a hostile night. Senators fans are expected to boo him, and plenty of the reaction has turned toward the way his trade request unfolded.
Tkachuk asked for a trade in June and landed in Florida to play with his brother Matthew, but the way he handled the “am I committed to Ottawa?” questions in the media didn’t sit well with fans.
The online response has been harsh, with criticism aimed at his loyalty, his style of play and even his character. His first game back in Ottawa could be one of the loudest and most tense moments on next season’s schedule.
In Other News...
Panthers Decision On Bobrovsky Suddenly Looks Far Riskier
The Panthers offseason reshaping in net already looked like a clear pivot away from Sergei Bobrovsky, with Florida bringing in Jacob Markstrom and Akira Schmid before free agency even settled in. That left Bobrovsky on the move, and the veteran goalie landed with the Maple Leafs after Toronto went through its own wave of organizational change, including new management and coaching additions.
What makes the decision feel riskier now is the simple fact that Florida chose not to keep pace once Bobrovskys market firmed up, preferring to move on rather than meet the price to retain a familiar presence. With Bobrovsky now in a new division and a new setting, the Panthers will be watching closely to see whether the crease they rebuilt can hold up against the same goalie they let walk. [Read more 🡒]
Inside The Panthers Plan To Protect Their Core During A Bold Gamble
Offer sheets sound simple on paper: identify a target, set the money, and wait to see whether another club blinks. But former Panthers assistant general manager Steve Werier said the real work goes well beyond the contract itself, because any team willing to go down that road has to think about how it protects its own roster at the same time. He pointed to the Panthers own history as a reminder that the strategy is never just about the player you are chasing, but also about the players you have to keep safe.
Werier referenced Floridas 2016 thinking around Tampa Bay winger Nikita Kucherov and said the broader lesson is that once a club gets a reputation for offer-sheet aggression, it can invite the same kind of pressure back. He also pointed to Carolina as an example of a team that has stayed active on that front while making sure its own young core is not left exposed, which is the sort of due diligence that happens long before an offer sheet is ever signed. [Read more 🡒]