NHL Eastern Conference preview, storylines: Panthers aim to three-peat, Hurricanes look to make Cup run

The 2025-26 NHL season is about to get underway and the Florida Panthers are looking to win their third consecutive Stanley Cup. 

While the Panthers certainly have a chance to chase a third consecutive Stanley Cup (+750 at FanDuel), they’ll have to accomplish that feat shorthanded while fending off a slew of talented Eastern Conference teams battling to upend them. If the Panthers were to win a third straight Stanley Cup, they’d be the first to do so since the New York Islanders in the early 1980s.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the biggest storylines surrounding the Eastern Conference as the 2025-26 campaign begins.

Atlantic Division

Shorthanded Panthers go for Stanley Cup three-peat

Few teams have been able to slow down the Panthers over the past couple of seasons. However, Florida will be without two of its top superstars throughout the season as forwards Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk will miss significant time. Tkachuk will likely be out for at least the first two months of the regular season as he recovers from a torn adductor muscle and a sports hernia injury that he suffered last season. Meanwhile, Barkov suffered a torn ACL during training camp and will miss 7-9 months.

Last season, the Panthers’ biggest strength was their depth, but that will be called into question this time around. Tkachuk’s timetable isn’t set in stone, but he should be back by the new year. That’s a loss that Florida should be able to overcome, but Barkov’s absence will felt at both ends of the ice. Barkov is one of the sport’s top two-way forwards and has won the Selke Trophy as the top defensive forward in three of the last five seasons. Not having Barkov up the middle will leave a gaping hole on the Panthers’ top line. It also emphasizes how massive it was for Florida to re-sign Sam Bennett this past summer as he’ll now shift to centering the top line. If any team can survive losing two stars for an extended period, it’s the Panthers.

Maple Leafs begin new era without Mitch Marner

As the Maple Leafs were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, the potential exit of star winger Mitch Marner loomed. Marner ended up landing with the Vegas Golden Knights this summer, signaling a new era in Toronto. 

A divorce may have been the best remedy for both sides with Marner facing immense pressure to produce when the lights were the brightest. Following Marner’s departure, the Maple Leafs were active in free agency as the team added forwards Matias Maccelli, Nicolas Roy, and Dakota Joshua, while also re-signing star center John Tavares. 

It’s possible that Maccelli could skate on the team’s top line alongside Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies. Speaking of Knies, the 22-year old will also be expected to help fill the scoring void left by Marner.

Canadiens look to take next step

Prior to the 2024-25 campaign, the Canadiens had missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs amid three consecutive losing seasons. However, Montreal bounced back in a big way by securing a playoff berth. The Canadians have rebounded by developing top-end talent like Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, while landing young talent like Lane Hutson, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Ivan Demidov through the draft. 

Fast forward to the 2025 offseason and Montreal’s front office was able to land former Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson in a draft day trade. Now the Canadiens have a talented top four on the back end with Hutson and Dobson. After losing to the Washington Capitals in five games in the opening round, the Canadiens will be looking to expand on that success and perhaps make some noise in the 2026 postseason.

Metropolitan Division

Hurricanes set to make Stanley Cup run

In 2024-25, the Hurricanes were eliminated by the Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final for the second time in three seasons. After failing to reach the Stanley Cup Final yet again, Carolina was very active throughout the offseason as they signed winger Nikolaj Ehlers and landed defenseman K’Andre Miller via trade. With the tweaking of the roster, the Hurricanes now have the NHL’s third-best odds (+900 at FanDuel) to win the Stanley Cup. 

Ehlers gives Carolina’s top six group of forwards a huge boost and could do wonders for the team’s top line. With the Panthers potentially being shorthanded, this could be the Hurricanes’ chance to make a run at the Cup and finally get over that proverbial hump.

Sidney Crosby’s future with the Penguins

It’s no secret that the Pittsburgh Penguins have struggled in recent years, missing the postseason in each of the past three seasons. Due to the team’s shortcomings, the trade rumors surrounding aging superstar center Sidney Crosby have become more prevalent. 

In September, Crosby did reiterate that he wants to remain with the Penguins and has no desire to finish his career elsewhere. Will that mindset change closer to the trade deadline if Pittsburgh is out of the playoff picture? It’s something that the Penguins may want to consider since Crosby is still an elite player and could command quite a haul on the trade market. Regardless of what Crosby says publicly prior to the regular season, it’ll be a situation to monitor as the campaign moves along.

Rangers look to rebound from down year

Last season, the Rangers failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since the 2020-21 campaign. New York made some changes in the middle of last season as the team landed star forward J.T. Miller in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks. In September, the Rangers elected to name Miller as the team captain under new coach Mike Sullivan. 

The talent is definitely in place for the Rangers, but bounce-back years are needed for several of the team’s top stars. Defenseman Adam Fox and forward Mika Zibanejad struggled at times, so that will need to change in order for the Rangers to make a playoff push. It also won’t be easy in the extremely competitive Metropolitan Division that includes the Devils, Hurricanes, Capitals, Blue Jackets, and Senators.