32 Teams, 32 Questions: What Every NHL Club Must Answer as Training Camps Open

32 Teams, 32 Questions: What Every NHL Club Must Answer as Training Camps Open

The waiting is over. NHL training camps are opening across North America, and the sprint toward the 2026–27 season is unusually short.

Under the league’s new schedule format, clubs will play only four preseason games before beginning an expanded 84-game regular season on September 29. The preseason starts September 19, leaving coaches less time to experiment with lines, evaluate prospects and settle roster battles. 

And there is no shortage of intrigue. Connor Hellebuyck wants out of Winnipeg. Dylan Larkin has requested a trade from Detroit. Quinn Hughes enters camp without an extension in Minnesota. Toronto has No. 1 pick Gavin McKenna. Florida has reunited the Tkachuk brothers. Carolina begins its title defense. Chicago has named Connor Bedard captain — although an injury could delay his season.

Every team believes something is possible in September. Before we find out what actually is, CrossTalk Media takes a look at the single biggest question facing all 32 NHL teams as training camp begins.

ATLANTIC DIVISION

Boston Bruins

The Question: Can Boston finally build enough offense around David Pastrnak?

Boston made one of its most aggressive moves by acquiring JJ Peterka, who is expected to receive an opportunity alongside Pastrnak. James Hagens is also in camp as part of a younger group that could change the complexion of Boston’s forward corps. The Bruins reached the playoffs last season, but they need to become less dependent on Pastrnak creating offense. Peterka, Hagens, Morgan Geekie, Elias Lindholm and others give Boston options. Camp will begin determining whether those pieces can become legitimate scoring support rather than simply complementary players. 

Buffalo Sabres

The Question: Was last season the beginning of something sustainable?

Buffalo finally broke through, winning the Atlantic and reaching the second round, but now comes a different challenge: doing it again without Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram. Olen Zellweger was acquired to help replace Byram, while Buffalo is counting on continued growth from Zach Benson, Josh Doan and Jack Quinn to absorb some of Tuch’s offense. The Sabres no longer enter a season simply trying to end a playoff drought. Expectations have changed, and that makes the development of their young core one of the most important camp stories in the conference. 

Detroit Red Wings

The Question: How does Detroit function with Dylan Larkin’s future unresolved?

This has quickly become one of the NHL’s messiest camp situations. Larkin has requested a trade, Detroit has shifted Steve Yzerman into a senior-adviser role, Shawn Horcoff is serving as interim GM, and the Red Wings plan to begin the season without a captain. Now Larkin is also sidelined at the start of camp by an upper-body injury with no firm return date, though Detroit hopes he can return during the preseason. He scored a career-high 34 goals last season. Detroit needs to prepare for the season while simultaneously determining whether its No. 1 center remains part of it. 

Florida Panthers

The Question: What does the Tkachuk experiment look like when Florida is finally whole?

After missing the playoffs one season removed from consecutive Stanley Cups, Florida responded aggressively, acquiring Brady Tkachuk to join Matthew Tkachuk while also expecting Aleksander Barkov back after he missed last season. Paul Maurice can play the Tkachuks together or use them to drive separate lines, creating a fascinating camp experiment. One complication: Brad Marchand underwent offseason surgery and will miss the beginning of the regular season. Florida’s roster is imposing on paper. Camp begins the process of figuring out how all those pieces fit. 

Montreal Canadiens

The Question: Was last year’s Eastern Conference Final a destination or the beginning?

Montreal went 48-24-10 and reached the conference final with one of the league’s most exciting young cores. That changes the standard. The Canadiens are no longer merely waiting for their prospects to develop; they now have to determine whether they can withstand the expectations that accompany a deep postseason run. Young players will have larger responsibilities, goaltender Jacob Fowler could continue gaining prominence, and Montreal’s roster has continued evolving. The most important development in camp may simply be seeing whether this young group looks comfortable carrying the weight of becoming a genuine contender. 

Ottawa Senators

The Question: Who becomes the emotional heartbeat after Brady Tkachuk?

Trading a captain changes more than a line combination. Ottawa sent Tkachuk to Florida and responded by bringing in William Eklund and Andre Burakovsky while placing even more responsibility on Tim Stutzle, Jake Sanderson and the rest of its emerging core. Eklund produced 53 points last season and gives Ottawa another dynamic offensive piece, but camp will reveal who fills the leadership vacuum Tkachuk leaves behind. Ottawa reached the playoffs last year. Maintaining that trajectory while redefining the team’s identity will be one of its biggest tests. 

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Question: Can Tampa evolve without closing its championship window?

The Lightning remain built around Nikita Kucherov and an established veteran nucleus, but they’re attempting to inject new elements into it. John Carlson was added to the defense, while Conor Geekie could receive an expanded opportunity. Tampa is also discussing another contract with Kucherov as it considers how long this version of the franchise can remain intact. Training camp is about finding the right balance: enough responsibility for younger players to move the roster forward without diminishing what has made the veteran core so successful. 

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Question: How ready is Gavin McKenna for all of this?

There may not be a more fascinating rookie camp in hockey. Toronto finished last in the Atlantic, changed its hockey operations structure, hired Jim Hiller as coach, signed Sergei Bobrovsky and then selected Gavin McKenna No. 1 overall. The 18-year-old is expected to receive a significant role rather than being sheltered. Where does he play? Which center fits him? How quickly does he receive power-play responsibility? Toronto still revolves around Auston Matthews, but camp represents the official beginning of the McKenna era. 

METROPOLITAN DIVISION

Carolina Hurricanes

The Question: Can the champions replace Frederik Andersen without missing a beat?

Carolina returns virtually the entire group that won the Stanley Cup, but its goaltending changes are significant. Andersen left for Edmonton, putting Pyotr Kochetkov and Brandon Bussi in position to handle the crease. Seth Jarvis is also expected to miss the beginning of the season following shoulder surgery. Carolina’s structure, depth and continuity give it an enormous head start, but repeating requires surviving the inevitable injuries and fatigue that come with being the defending champion. Camp starts with determining whether the new goalie configuration can provide the stability Andersen delivered during the Cup run. 

Columbus Blue Jackets

The Question: When does Adam Fantilli get back on the ice?

This one is immediate. Fantilli is a restricted free agent and will not begin camp with Columbus while contract negotiations continue. The 21-year-old produced a career-high 59 points in 82 games last season and was expected to center Kent Johnson and Kirill Marchenko on the first line. General manager Don Waddell says he remains confident a deal will get done. In a shortened camp, however, every missed practice matters. Columbus has missed the playoffs six consecutive seasons. The Blue Jackets need Fantilli preparing to become a centerpiece of their next step, not watching from outside camp. 

New Jersey Devils

The Question: Has New Jersey finally built enough depth around its stars?

The Devils responded to missing the playoffs by changing both management and personnel. Anthony Mantha, Evan Rodrigues and Adam Boqvist were among the offseason additions, and New Jersey later acquired Luke Evangelista. Nico Hischier is recommitted to the franchise, while Jack Hughes remains one of hockey’s premier offensive talents. The question has rarely been whether the Devils have star power. It has been whether they possess enough size, scoring depth, durability and goaltending stability around those stars. Camp is where the newest version of that supporting cast begins taking shape. 

New York Islanders

The Question: Is the next generation ready to take control?

Anders Lee is gone after 14 seasons, making this a real changing-of-the-guard season on Long Island. Matthew Schaefer enters Year 2, while prospects including Victor Eklund and Isaiah George have opportunities to secure larger NHL roles. Matias Maccelli adds skill up front, and Peter DeBoer takes over behind the bench following a late-season collapse that knocked the Islanders out of postseason contention. The Islanders don’t need their young players simply to make the roster anymore. They need some of them to become difference-makers. 

New York Rangers

The Question: Did the Rangers’ retool actually make them younger, faster and better?

Chris Drury said that was the objective, and the roster looks considerably different. Pavel Dorofeyev, coming off a 37-goal season in Vegas, is the centerpiece. Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson reshape the blue line, with additional depth added throughout the organization. But roster turnover alone doesn’t repair an eighth-place finish. The Rangers have to establish a different pace and identity. Camp offers the first meaningful look at whether Dorofeyev’s finishing ability and the revamped defense can transform the Rangers from a collection of talented individuals into a more coherent team. 

Philadelphia Flyers

The Question: Is the goaltending finally stable enough for the Flyers to take another step?

Philadelphia reached the second round last spring and now enters camp with Dan Vladar and Joseph Woll positioned to share the crease after Woll was acquired from Toronto. That’s important because the Flyers increasingly have enough young talent to expect meaningful postseason progress. Their next step depends on reducing the nights when goaltending or defensive breakdowns erase otherwise strong performances. With Matvei Michkov and other young pieces continuing to mature, camp should establish whether Philadelphia has found a tandem capable of supporting — rather than limiting — that development. 

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Question: Can Pittsburgh keep winning while reconstructing the supporting cast?

The Penguins surprised plenty of people by finishing second in the Metropolitan last season, but leading goal scorer Anthony Mantha departed. Andrei Kuzmenko arrives following knee surgery, while Nicholas Robertson gives Pittsburgh another potential scoring option. The familiar veteran core remains under enormous pressure to produce, but this camp is about determining whether enough secondary offense exists around it. Pittsburgh doesn’t necessarily need every newcomer to replace Mantha individually. It needs the collective group to replace his 33 goals without forcing its veteran stars to carry an unsustainable workload. 

Washington Capitals

The Question: How does Washington redistribute the workload around Alex Ovechkin?

The Capitals went shopping. Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou and Boone Jenner give Washington a dramatically deeper forward group, while Ovechkin returns for his 22nd NHL season. Ovechkin still led Washington with 32 goals and 64 points last season, but his ice time has gradually declined. That’s not necessarily a problem if Washington’s additions can carry more of the five-on-five workload while allowing Ovechkin to remain dangerous in targeted situations and on the power play. Camp should show how radically Washington intends to restructure its lines around its 41-year-old captain. 

CENTRAL DIVISION

Chicago Blackhawks

The Question: How much progress can Chicago make if Connor Bedard’s season begins late?

Bedard has officially become the Blackhawks’ captain and signed a five-year extension, but a shoulder injury is expected to keep him from fully participating in camp and could delay his season. Chicago did strengthen the roster, bringing Patrick Kane back and adding Bowen Byram to the defense. That gives the organization more experienced talent around Bedard than it has had during much of his young career. The immediate challenge is using camp to establish structure without the player everything is ultimately built around. 

Colorado Avalanche

The Question: Can Colorado’s goaltending be that good again?

Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood shared the Jennings Trophy after Colorado allowed an NHL-low 197 goals. Wedgewood led qualifying NHL goaltenders with a 2.02 goals-against average and .921 save percentage. Repeating that level of performance is a massive ask, particularly after Colorado altered parts of the roster around Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and its championship core. Makar is now locked into a record extension, so Colorado’s biggest variable may be behind him. If the goaltending remains elite, the Avalanche’s ceiling remains enormous. 

Dallas Stars

The Question: When does being close stop being enough?

Dallas possesses almost everything a contender is supposed to have: elite scoring, a franchise goaltender and playoff experience. Jason Robertson is back after signing a one-year, $12 million contract following a 45-goal, 96-point season. But after three straight trips to the Western Conference Final from 2023–25, Dallas was eliminated in the first round last season. Training camp isn’t about discovering whether this roster is talented. It is about finding the adjustments that allow that talent to survive four postseason rounds. The Stars are firmly in a window where results matter more than promise. 

Minnesota Wild

The Question: Can Quinn Hughes’ contract remain a background story?

Hughes enters the final season of his contract and has made clear that he isn’t rushing into another one. He can become an unrestricted free agent in July 2027. Minnesota wants him long term, and Hughes has said he can envision remaining with the Wild, but until an agreement exists, the subject isn’t disappearing. On the ice, Minnesota is talented enough to build on a second-round appearance. Off it, virtually every development involving its franchise defenseman will create another round of questions. How successfully the Wild separate those two realities will matter throughout camp. 

Nashville Predators

The Question: Can an almost completely rebuilt forward group develop chemistry quickly enough?

New general manager Chris MacFarland did not make minor adjustments. Nashville added Mavrik Bourque, Ross Colton, Jack Drury, Adam Edstrom, Nils Hoglander and Alex Kerfoot as part of an overhaul aimed at fixing an offense that wasn’t good enough. That makes Nashville one of the teams most affected by the compressed preseason. Four exhibition games do not provide much runway to experiment with multiple line combinations. The talent mix looks different. Camp has to turn different into cohesive. 

St. Louis Blues

The Question: How quickly can the Blues’ new young core become the team?

The transition is obvious. Alexander Steen has taken over as general manager, while St. Louis has moved further away from older pillars and toward Robert Thomas, Jake Neighbours, Jimmy Snuggerud, Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg. The additions of Mason McTavish and Connor McMichael add even more youth and upside. Brandon Carlo gives the defense veteran stability. St. Louis isn’t tearing everything down; it’s attempting to accelerate a transition while remaining competitive. Camp should show whether that youth movement is ready to produce immediately. 

Utah Mammoth

The Question: Is Utah ready to move from interesting young team to legitimate threat?

Utah made the playoffs last season and then added a substantial amount of experience. Vincent Trocheck provides another proven center, Anders Lee brings leadership and net-front scoring, and the organization acquired goaltender Sebastian Cossa while continuing to develop young talent such as Dmitri Simashev, Caleb Desnoyers and Tij Iginla. The Mammoth don’t have to prove the rebuild has produced NHL players anymore. They have to demonstrate that the combination of those young players and veterans can win playoff rounds. 

Winnipeg Jets

The Question: Is Connor Hellebuyck actually going to begin the season in Winnipeg?

Nothing else around this team comes close.

Hellebuyck publicly confirmed in August that he had requested a trade several months earlier and said his position had not changed. The three-time Vezina winner remains under contract and is expected to report, but Winnipeg must prepare for multiple possibilities. Stuart Skinner was signed as his backup, but replacing Hellebuyck would be an entirely different assignment. For a team trying to rebound from a 35-35-12 season and a missed postseason, having its franchise goaltender’s future unresolved is about as significant a training-camp distraction as possible. 

PACIFIC DIVISION

Anaheim Ducks

The Question: Are the young Ducks ready for expectations instead of potential?

Anaheim answered its most immediate contractual issue Wednesday by signing Cutter Gauthier to a six-year deal, ensuring that its 41-goal scorer is in camp. Leo Carlsson is also locked in long term after Anaheim matched Philadelphia’s massive offer sheet. Last season’s second-round appearance changed the conversation around this team. Gauthier, Carlsson, Pavel Mintyukov and the rest of Anaheim’s young core aren’t simply promising anymore. The question now is whether they can reproduce success once the league begins preparing for them like a playoff-caliber opponent. 

Calgary Flames

The Question: Where will enough goals come from?

Calgary strengthened its defense by acquiring Simon Nemec and Jake Middleton, but the Flames also moved Blake Coleman to Minnesota after he scored 20 goals last season. The defensive structure could be better, and Dustin Wolf gives Calgary an important foundation in goal, but an improved blue line can’t completely compensate for insufficient scoring. Training camp needs to identify players capable of assuming greater offensive responsibility. Calgary’s pathway back toward playoff contention may depend less on another defensive addition and more on discovering another 20-goal threat already inside the organization. 

Edmonton Oilers

The Question: How different will Edmonton look under Mike Babcock?

Few teams made a more consequential coaching change. Babcock returns to an NHL bench for the first time since 2019, inheriting Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and a franchise still trying to convert its championship window into a Stanley Cup. Edmonton also changed its crease by signing Frederik Andersen and revamped the defense after trading Darnell Nurse to San Jose. That is a lot of structural change for a short camp. The Oilers’ talent isn’t in question. How quickly that talent adapts to a different system and voice is. 

Los Angeles Kings

The Question: Who replaces what Anze Kopitar meant to the Kings?

There isn’t one player who can. That’s the problem — and the challenge.

Los Angeles enters its first season after Kopitar with a different group of veteran voices. Mats Zuccarello, Erik Haula and Corey Perry were added, and Peter Laviolette takes over behind the bench. Those players bring enormous experience, but Kopitar’s value included top-line offense, defensive responsibility, faceoffs and leadership. Training camp will start revealing whether Los Angeles can redistribute all of those responsibilities without changing the defensive identity that has defined the franchise. 

San Jose Sharks

The Question: Is the rebuild ready to become a playoff push?

Macklin Celebrini erased much of the uncertainty surrounding San Jose’s offense by producing 115 points, including 45 goals, last season. Now the Sharks have begun strengthening the structure around him. Jacob Trouba and Darnell Nurse were added to the defense, while young talent continues to emerge alongside Celebrini and Will Smith. San Jose finished only four points outside the playoff picture last season. That changes the objective. Camp is no longer about identifying signs of future progress. The Sharks need to determine whether they have enough defensive stability to turn Celebrini’s brilliance into meaningful spring hockey. 

Seattle Kraken

The Question: Can Seattle play an entire season at its best level?

The Kraken were in a playoff position entering the Olympic break last season, then unraveled with a 2-6-0 stretch after play resumed and later an 11-game run in which they went 1-8-2. Seattle added Mackie Samoskevich and continues trying to create more offense around its developing nucleus. The problem isn’t proving that the Kraken can play playoff-caliber hockey for stretches. They already did. The question entering camp is whether the roster has enough scoring, depth and resilience to maintain that level across an 84-game season. 

Vancouver Canucks

The Question: What does the next version of the Canucks actually look like?

Vancouver went 25-49-8 last season and responded by changing nearly everything around the roster. Manny Malhotra is the new coach, Henrik and Daniel Sedin are co-presidents of hockey operations, Ryan Johnson is general manager, and veterans including Brendan Gallagher and Jamie Oleksiak have been added. This is no longer simply a matter of tweaking lines. Vancouver is attempting to establish a new organizational identity after a dramatic fall in the standings and the earlier departure of Quinn Hughes. Camp represents the first real look at what that reset means on the ice. 

Vegas Golden Knights

The Question: Can Vegas absorb another major transition and stay near the top?

Vegas came within two wins of the Stanley Cup last season but enters camp with a new coach and without Pavel Dorofeyev, who scored 37 goals before being traded to the Rangers. Victor Olofsson returns to help replace some offense, while prospects could receive larger opportunities. Vegas has made a habit of aggressively reshaping successful teams instead of preserving them out of sentiment. This camp will test that philosophy again. The Golden Knights don’t need to recreate last year’s roster — but they do need to replace enough of Dorofeyev’s scoring while adapting quickly to a new coaching structure. 

The Clock Is Already Running

The most important element of this training camp might be time.

Teams normally use September to experiment. This year they have far less room for it. The regular season starts September 29, every club gets just four preseason games, and the schedule grows to 84 regular-season games. Prospects fighting for jobs have fewer opportunities to force decisions. New coaches have fewer rehearsals. Teams with major roster turnover have fewer nights to discover which combinations work. 

That makes some of these questions more urgent than they would be in a traditional September.

Winnipeg needs clarity on Hellebuyck. Detroit has to manage Larkin’s situation. Columbus needs Fantilli signed. Minnesota has Quinn Hughes’ future hovering over the organization. Toronto is about to find out how quickly McKenna can handle the NHL. Florida has to assemble one of the league’s most intriguing forward groups. And Carolina begins discovering just how difficult defending a Stanley Cup can be.

Thirty-two teams arrive believing the season can become something special. Over the next several days, we’ll start getting the first real evidence of which ones might be right.