For the third straight year, The Athletic covered each of the NHL player media tours — one last month in Milan, Italy, and the other last week in Las Vegas — in part to conduct a preseason player poll.

We surveyed dozens of players in attendance and asked everything from what teams would be on their trade-me-to lists to how much money they think Connor McDavid and Kirill Kaprizov will sign for to which player will be the next face of the NHL to what they think of 84-game seasons.

Players’ answers were anonymous so they could speak freely, although some did agree to go on the record with specific responses. Not every player answered every question.

Here are the results. Enjoy!

Winning matters to NHL players, and right now the belle of the ball on that front is the Florida Panthers, who have represented the East in three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals and won the past two.

“They’ve won two in a row, so that’s a no-brainer,” said one Eastern Conference player.

“I’ve been traded a lot, but I had a great time in Florida,” said one former Panthers forward now in the West. “They treat their players great, and (Aleksander) Barkov sets the culture there.”

Said an Eastern Conference defenseman, “The easy one is Florida, but for me, it’s New York.”

One forward who plays for a team in a no-state-tax state chose the Dallas Stars or Vegas Golden Knights, saying, “I’d like to keep my salary, and also those two teams have a chance to win the Cup and are good places to live, too, from what I gathered.”

One forward chose Vegas because he couldn’t stomach picking Florida because his team has been eliminated by the Panthers in the playoffs more than once. “I would say the team that has the best chance of winning the Cup, but I can’t say Florida,” the player said, smiling.

Many of the players polled are locked up long-term, but they see the advantage of shorter deals — and why they could be trendy, especially for young players with star power.

“With how the market’s going with cap going way higher, you’re gonna see bigger numbers and shorter-term deals make a lot more sense for some players,” said one Eastern Conference defenseman.

Added a Western Conference forward, “If you look at it, the cap’s rising where you can make more money. Maybe that’s when people lean on signing more bridges and making more money in the future. I mean, if you ask me, security and getting to know that you’re going to be in the city for six years maybe weigh more than making the most amount of money, right? Depends on the player. What I like is if you’re a younger player that wants to bet on yourself, now at least you have the possibility to take different routes and what you want to do in your career.”

Said one Western Conference veteran, “I would assume many players will sign short, at least the next two to three years until the cap reaches some kind of plateau where it slows down a little bit. If I was up, I wouldn’t sign longer than three years. I mean, my situation’s a little different because I’m older, but if I’m 23, there’s no point of not signing a two-or three-year deal.”

Added another Western Conference forward, “From what I’ve read, it sounds like (Connor) McDavid might do that. (Auston) Matthews just did. He set the standard. If you’re that good and want to make a lot of money, it makes sense.”

Then there are other players who see a risk in signing short when a team’s willing to lock you up at a lucrative price.

“I like the security,” said one Eastern forward on a long-term deal.

“I’d prefer the guaranteed money,” added a Western Conference forward.

When it comes down to it, it likely depends on the individual.

“Guys that want security are still gonna go long-term, and guys that want to gamble and make as much money as they can, they’ll go short,” said an Eastern Conference defenseman.

Several of the players polled will be in Milan for the Winter Olympics. Hockey will be busy, but they hope to watch other sports.

“The only thing that sucks is a lot of the skiing is four or five hours away, but I really want to watch the ski events,” said a Western Conference forward.

“I’m really looking forward to the skiing because Sweden is usually pretty good,” said a Swedish forward.

“I find the cross-country fascinating,” said an Eastern Conference forward.

“I like the skiing where they shoot,” said one Eastern Conference player.

The player who picked women’s skiing is from Czechia and is rooting for decorated Ester Ledecka to win gold.

It sure feels like if McDavid extends his contract in Edmonton, it’s going to be for a short term and a team-friendly price so he can ensure the Oilers have a chance to pay players around him and continue to win.

“Which I respect,” an Eastern Conference defenseman said.

Still, as one Western Conference forward said, “I want to see him get 20 percent of the cap.” That’s the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement and is currently $19.1 million — 20 percent of the $95.5 million cap.

Added another West forward, “You ask me, he should get whatever he wants. That’s the best player in the league, and there’s no one even close to it. And, I mean, obviously he sets the standard. It’s going to affect the team and all that. But at the end of the day, like, what he gets, he deserves. He’s the best player in the league, and I feel it’s time the best players in the league start getting what players in other leagues get.”

Last week, Kirill Kaprizov turned down an eight-year, $128 million extension from the Minnesota Wild, a contract that would have carried the highest average annual value ($16 million) and total dollars in NHL history. That report came out after our polling concluded.

“What’s he make, $9 million, now?” said one Western Conference forward. “(Mitch) Marner got $12.5. (Mikko) Rantanen got $12. Crazy he’s not signed yet. (Leon) Draisaitl got $14. He’s better, in my opinion, but it’s not who’s better. It’s who’s next and the importance to a particular team. I’ll go $15.”

Added another Western Conference star, “I’m assuming everyone’s just gonna wait for McDavid. Kaprizov will go right underneath. Probably a million dollar gap between McDavid and the next, which is probably him. Then (Jack) Eichel comes in right behind, and then Kyle Connor a step behind that.”

“It’s tough,” added another Western Conference forward. “He scores a lot of goals. It all comes down to the player — if you take a discount or not. I have no idea what it’ll take, but it feels like every year there’s another star player that needs a new contract, and then one guy’s pushing the other one to the next level. I don’t think Connor tries for the max rate possible, but I bet Kirill does.”

He may have finished third in last year’s Calder Trophy race, but in a landslide, Macklin Celebrini was chosen as the “next face of the NHL.”

“It’s not only him as a player. I love just his personality,” said one Western Conference forward.

“What a player he is,” another Western Conference player said of the young San Jose Sharks star.

“He’s like a cross-breed of Sidney Crosby and Patrice Bergeron,” said a Western Conference center. “I feel (Connor) Bedard needs help to be good. Celebrini, I feel it’s like he’s carrying his line, his team.”

In another landslide, players are more than willing to play two more regular-season games in exchange for a 13-day training camp, fewer preseason games and no fitness testing starting in 2026-27.

“The return was worth two more games,” one Western Conference forward said.

“We’d all rather play than practice,” another West forward added.

“More games means more money, which means higher cap,” an Eastern Conference defenseman said.

“Two more games is not gonna be the end of the world. It’s good for revenue, obviously, and the season will end earlier,” an Eastern Conference forward said.

“I’d rather play meaningful games than two more meaningless preseason games,” said another Eastern Conference defenseman.

But, as one young Western Conference forward said, “I do feel bad for young guys trying to get seen. The two less preseason games may hurt them.”

On the flip side of the argument, one Western Conference defenseman said, “I think 82 is already a lot of games.”

Added another player, “I get it, but I think it’s a tough topic because we play so many games as it is. But I guess it’s just two games. Not like they extended 10 games.”

This one was tight, and some of the more defensive defensemen got a lot of love.

For context, it’s worth noting that many of the Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes responses came from defensemen and goalies who know either defenseman can turn defense to offense in the blink of an eye.

“You have to be aware of Makar any time he’s on the ice,” one Western Conference defenseman said.

“Quinn’s as good as I’ve ever seen,” said another Western Conference defenseman.

The Carolina Hurricanes’ Jaccob Slavin got a lot of love.

“Slavin is always in the right spot,” a West forward said.

“He’s decent at everything, and if you get within striking distance with the puck, it’s off your stick before you know it,” an Eastern Conference forward added.

As for Florida’s Gustav Forsling, an Eastern Conference forward said, “He’s a very good skater and hard to get around.”

Added another, “He is really tough to play against, just the way he moves and how fast he is and how agile he is.”

We have the Selke Trophy for the league’s best defensive forward. Why don’t we have one for the league’s best defensive defenseman when the Norris Trophy is so often about points?

“It’s hard because Cale Makar is unbelievably hard to play against, but then there’s somebody like (Erik) Karlsson who won it a few years ago when he had like 100-something points but was minus-(26),” a Western Conference player said. “Plus-minus is a funny stat. Still … Karlsson’s a forward. But Makar’s great defensively, (Roman) Josi’s great defensively, Quinn Hughes is great defensively.

“Some of the best guys are pretty good defensively. Then there are some guys that are just all offense. One thing I would say (is the voters) should not focus so much on points. Like Adam Fox, I think he’s really good, but he’s not that hard to play against. He’s unbelievable with the puck. He’s probably one of the best offensive defensemen, but he’s not Norris-like. Like Forsling gets 25 points a year. He’s not going to be in contention even if he’s the hardest guy to play against.”

Added one Western Conference forward, “It does feel like it’s every time, ‘Who has the most points?’”

And an Eastern Conference forward: “Guys like Forsling and Slavin never have a shot.”

One Eastern Conference defenseman said there shouldn’t be a defensive defenseman award because then it would go to best lockdown defensemen or who has the most blocked shots.

“It should be most efficient defenseman and then one more most scoring,” he said.

Added a Western Conference center, “I don’t love the idea, because shouldn’t awards only be to the best stars? So defensive defensemen could be (Chris) Tanev or Slavin. But are they stars? I don’t know. You have the Selke, but Selke’s also turned a little, too, where you’ve got to score points. Maybe change the name of the Norris trophy to the Nick Lidstrom Trophy. He won it … seven times? Make a Nick Lidstrom award because he was so complete. So, instead of 90, 100 points, you can get 50. So if Slavin scores 50 one year, sure, give it to him.”

We took the question to Makar, who won his second Norris Trophy last season.

“It’s hard,” Makar said. “People have asked me if there should be a defensive award, and I always say it’s hard to kind of quantify what basically that means, like, ‘OK, you’re putting up five points (a year) and you’re the best defensive player of the year.’ You might be. And I respect those guys so much. Slavin, he’s one of the most challenging guys to play against out there — one of the best sticks.

“And so it’s really hard for me to basically say, ‘Who’s the best defensive guy?’ And I think when you look at it from like an award perspective, it would be hard to do like a straight best defensive (defenseman) award, or whatever you want to call it. But I think if you did like a best offensive award where you called it the Bobby Orr award for most points as a D-man, and then kept the Norris more so like as an all-around D, I think that’s kind of where it should be.

“I think the Norris (has become) more of a points race a little bit and lost the touch of kind of like full-on defensive qualities that you want to be in every situation. And so I might get roasted for that, but I just find it hard to kind of quantify what you would consider a top defensive defenseman.”

(Illustration: Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic, with photos of Macklin Celebrini, Connor McDavid and Kirill Kaprizov by Brian Babineau, Deborah Robinson and Jeff Vinnick / Getty Images)