It was an intense off-season for hockey players and fans everywhere. The dynamic on the ice is changing this season with some major trades and coaching changes. With preseason underway, teams across the National Hockey League (NHL) are gearing up for the 2025-26 season.
One of the major headlines this summer was Mitch Marner getting traded to the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Marner played for the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2016 to 2025.
The Knights picked up Marner to add to their offense in an eight year contract. In return for Marner, the Maple Leafs got Nicholas Roy as part of the new era in Toronto without one of the league’s best players.
Marc‑André Fleury played for the Pittsburgh Penguins for his first 13 seasons of his career, including time with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the earliest part of his professional career.
After winning three Stanley Cups with the Penguins, Fleury went on to play for the Golden Knights, Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild before ending his career after the conclusion of last season.
Recently, the second-most winningest goaltender in NHL history signed a professional tryout contract with the team he began his career with, in order to finally call it a career where it all began.
On Sept. 27, “Flower” played his final game with the Penguins, recording a perfect eight saves on eight shots in the third period in a 4-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
In June, Trevor Zegras was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers from the Anaheim Ducks. After injuries and inconsistent play, the Ducks moved on from the former first round draft pick, sending him to the City of Brotherly Love after five seasons in California.
In return for Zegras, Anaheim received a second and fourth round draft pick in the 2026 draft as well as forward Ryan Poehling and a fourth rounder.
The Ducks also acquired former New York Rangers captain Chris Kreider and signed Mikael Granlund, adding two key veterans to one of the league’s younger offensive cores. The Ducks also locked up Mason Mactavish, ensuring a key piece of the lineup is staying for the next seven seasons.
Elsewhere, the goaltending carousel was in full effect, with the Ducks trading John Gibson to Detroit, the Vancouver Canucks sending Arturs Silovs to Pittsburgh, as well as the Penguins sending Alex Nedeljkovic to San Jose.
Multiple teams are trying to rebuild their teams by bringing in new coaches, some with previous NHL experience and some that will be brand new to the NHL.
In total, nine teams hired new head coaches ahead of the 2025-26 season, most notably Joel Quenneville going to the west coast to coach the Ducks.
In New York, after a disastrous season, the Rangers parted ways with Peter Laviolette and looked to Pittsburgh for their new bench boss.
After the Penguins and Mike Sullivan parted ways, the Rangers scooped up the winningist head coach in Penguins history, who led the team to two Stanley Cup wins in 2016 and 2017.
Sullivan brings former Pittsburgh assistant coaches David Quinn and Ty Hennes to New York with him.
In the midst of what could be a massive rebuild, the Penguins made the decision to hire Dan Muse. Muse, a first time NHL head coach will look to help bring playoff success back to the Steel City.
In the Pacific Division, Adam Foote leads the Canucks, while Lane Lambert takes over in Seattle, after the Kraken fired head coach Dan Bysalma.
This will be Anže Kopitar’s final season with the Los Angeles Kings before retiring. After some speculation behind Kopitar and his contract he will be hanging up his skates after this season. After winning two cups with the Kings, the captain will leave, holding many franchise records.
Maybe the biggest headline of the offseason was the acquittal of five members of the 2018 World Junior Canadian team.
Former Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart, along with former NHL forwards Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube and defensemen Cal Foote were acquitted in the sexual assault case that rocked the Hockey Canada, and the hockey world in general to its core.
The five players can return to NHL action on Dec. 1, however it is unclear at this point if any teams will look to add them to their rosters. They are eligible to sign contracts beginning on Oct. 15.
The regular season is set to start on Oct. 7, with the game of the night set to be a reunion between the Pittsburgh Penguins and former head coach Mike Sullivan. With new faces, both on the ice and behind the bench, as well as some standout rookies, it’s bound to be another exciting season of NHL hockey.