NHL Season Opens Oct. 7; Marner Now in Vegas

The 2025-26 NHL season opens Oct. 7 and will pause later for Olympic play in Milan; the Boston Bruins will retire Zdeno Chara’s No. 33 on Jan. 15 and Chara has rejoined the organization as an adviser. The Florida Panthers face a major challenge to three-peat after long-term injuries to Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, though the club’s depth and championship momentum temper concerns. Early-season developments include the Vancouver Canucks opening with a 5-1 win as 18-year-old first-rounder Braeden Cootes made an unexpected NHL debut, and betting models project the Calgary Flames’ home games to be low-scoring behind elite home defense and goalie Dustin Wolf. Toronto has pivoted its roster identity after Mitch Marner’s exit and a Nicolas Roy sign-and-trade, and Marner has joined the Vegas Golden Knights, supplanting Shea Theodore on the top power play unit — a change expected to alter fantasy valuations. Columbus will lean on an offense that scored a franchise-record 267 goals last season and produced two 30-goal scorers, while preseason simulations and models heavily favor the Vegas Golden Knights as Cup favorites. Off-ice shifts include the CHL stopping league all-access NCAA scouting passes amid NIL departures, and the Nashville Predators’ 2025-26 schedule features a Stockholm series and an extended Olympic break.