Now, with less than three weeks of the regular season remaining, some are holding up well, while others look to have been a bit too bold.<\/p>\n
This week, our staff revisited its 2025-26 NHL season bold predictions. Which ones get a pass, fail or incomplete?<\/p>\n
FailPhiladelphia Flyers<\/p>\n
They will trade for Quinn Hughes<\/p>\n
This is at least half-right, isn\u2019t it? Hughes was indeed traded as Vancouver quickly plummeted in the standings, but it just wasn\u2019t to the Flyers. While the Flyers were interested, the Canucks had no interest in dealing him to Philadelphia to reunite with Rick Tocchet, per multiple Flyers team sources, and it\u2019s unlikely they would have been able to put a package together that was as strong as Minnesota\u2019s, anyway. \u2014 Kevin Kurz<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Jets<\/p>\n
Jonathan Toews will play exactly 57 regular-season games<\/p>\n
Forget about load management; Toews is on pace to play in all 82 Jets games. This prediction was always a shot in the dark \u2014 57 GP is too specific to hit \u2014 but my idea that Winnipeg might ease Toews into his role, sparing him back-to-backs, and otherwise not immediately treat him as its second-line center was flat-out wrong. The Jets started dropping Toews\u2019 workload late in the season, but he\u2019s still a second-line player in terms of his average TOI for the year. \u2014 Murat Ates<\/p>\n
Detroit Red Wings<\/p>\n
Lucas Raymond will hit 90 points<\/p>\n
Raymond was tracking toward 90 late into January, but he\u2019s fallen off the pace since, and would need a Nikita Kucherov-like finish to hit that mark. Considering he appears to be playing hurt \u2014 missing practice for maintenance \u2014 that looks unlikely. But the Red Wings will be much less worried about the round number and more focused on whether he can help them find a way into the playoffs. He\u2019s shown a penchant for big goals in the past, and Detroit will need some over the season\u2019s final weeks. \u2014 Max Bultman<\/p>\n
Ottawa Senators<\/p>\n
Jake Sanderson will win the Norris Trophy<\/p>\n
Sanderson definitely took steps forward as his team\u2019s No. 1 defenseman, soaking up increased ice time and playing at a pace that should\u2019ve resulted in career-best numbers while being elite at both ends. Sanderson was even on Team USA\u2019s gold-medal-winning team. Sanderson being injured recently hurts his Norris campaign. But he was already in tough with Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, Zach Werenski, Evan Bouchard, Rasmus Dahlin and more making significant cases for the Norris. Maybe next year. \u2014 Julian McKenzie<\/p>\n
Carolina Hurricanes<\/p>\n
Alexander Nikishin will win the Calder Trophy<\/p>\n
Nikishin has an outside shot of being a finalist for the Calder Trophy and should make the All-Rookie team, but no one is surpassing emerging Islanders star Matthew Schaefer as this season\u2019s top rookie. Still, Nikishin has had a record-breaking campaign, scoring the most goals (10) by a rookie defenseman in franchise history while establishing himself as a physical force on Carolina\u2019s blue line. \u2014 Cory Lavalette<\/p>\n
\n Sam Rinzel didn\u2019t have the year many thought he could have. (Michael Reaves \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n Chicago Blackhawks<\/p>\n Sam Rinzel will win the Calder Trophy<\/p>\n Rinzel didn\u2019t come close to having that type of season. While he started the season with high expectations after a strong finish last season, he couldn\u2019t maintain that consistency going through his first full pro year. His game and confidence took a hit, and eventually, he was sent to the AHL for a stint. He\u2019s back in the NHL and has been regaining his form. But overall, it wasn\u2019t the year many thought he could have as a potential top-pairing defenseman and power-play quarterback. \u2014 Scott Powers<\/p>\n Vancouver Canucks<\/p>\n Filip Chytil will be the team\u2019s second most valuable forward this season<\/p>\n This was looking good a week into the season, but fell apart when Chytil sustained a concussion on a Tom Wilson hit. Then, after returning to the lineup and not looking like himself for a brief stint ahead of the Olympic break, Chytil sustained a fractured orbital bone on a freak practice accident. This was an L for us. \u2014 Thomas Drance<\/p>\n Seattle Kraken<\/p>\n Shane Wright will break out<\/p>\n Wright hasn\u2019t built on his 44-point 2024-25 campaign. His usage has been flat, as new Kraken coach Lane Lambert has instead increased Chandler Stephenson\u2019s role (and defensive responsibility), and Wright\u2019s production has trended down. Meanwhile, there have been whispers that he\u2019s dissatisfied with his role and would welcome a change of scenery. This is a swing and a miss from me on the Wright breakout.\u00a0\u2014 Thomas Drance<\/p>\n Toronto Maple Leafs<\/p>\n Matthew Knies will lead the NHL in short-handed goals<\/p>\n Woof. Bold apparently equals bad. Not only is Knies not going to lead the NHL in short-handed goals, but he also just scored his first short-handed goal of the season (and his career) this week! What\u2019s gone wrong? One part is opportunity: Knies has only been a secondary contributor on the Leafs penalty kill this season, particularly before the trade deadline. We also know that Knies played through injury this season. I still see a future where he can become a menace on the penalty kill. \u2014 Jonas Siegel<\/p>\n Vegas Golden Knights<\/p>\n Jack Eichel will score the most goals in franchise history<\/p>\n This was a total whiff. With the addition of Mitch Marner, I thought Eichel would be on the receiving end of more passes. Instead, William Karlsson missed nearly the entire season, Marner was bumped to the center position, away from the top line, and Eichel spent the vast majority of his time as a passer. He doesn\u2019t have a single goal on the power play for the first time in his 11 NHL seasons, and has his fewest goals as a Golden Knight. \u2014 Jesse Granger<\/p>\n Florida Panthers<\/p>\n They will make a blockbuster trade to replace Aleksander Barkov<\/p>\n After three consecutive trips to the final and two straight Cup titles, all of that hockey finally caught up with the Panthers. Not only were they not able to attempt to replace Barkov using that cap space, but they\u2019re also going to miss the playoffs, with his absence a big reason why. Expect Florida to reload in the offseason \u2014 including possibly with a high pick \u2014 and try to take another run at things next year. \u2014 James Mirtle <\/p>\n Minnesota Wild<\/p>\n Matt Boldy will rack up 50 goals and 50 assists<\/p>\n Boldy has tailed off a bit, but Joe Smith was close. Boldy has 38 goals and 38 assists in 69 games \u2014 a pace of 45.2 goals and 45.2 assists over an 82-game season. He missed four games, though, so unless he catches fire, it ain\u2019t happening. Still, what a year for Boldy, who blossomed into a star and won gold at the Olympics. Still, I knew I should have done the submission, not Joe. I told Joe in October, \u201cThe Wild will trade for Quinn Hughes,\u201d but he ignored me. \u2014 Michael Russo<\/p>\n Dallas Stars<\/p>\n Thomas Harley will be a Norris Trophy finalist<\/p>\n Harley reached a new tier of stardom last year during Miro Heiskanen\u2019s injury absence, but has taken a small step back this season. His production has dropped off, and he\u2019s been basically an even player at five-on-five. He\u2019s still a good player, of course, but he certainly hasn\u2019t bullied his way into the Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, Zach Werenski, Matthew Schaefer conversation. Not yet, at least. \u2014 Mark Lazerus<\/p>\n Buffalo Sabres<\/p>\n Zach Benson will break out with 60 points<\/p>\n Entering play Friday, Benson is playing at roughly a 52-point pace, but he\u2019s missed 17 games this season due to injuries. He has 10 goals and 25 assists, but is also plus-25, and the Sabres have 53 percent of the expected goals during his five-on-five minutes. He continues to make a major impact, even if the point production hasn\u2019t been there. He\u2019s still only 20, and the underlying metrics suggest a surge in points is coming. \u2014 Matthew Fairburn<\/p>\n Los Angeles Kings<\/p>\n Brandt Clarke will break out with 50 points<\/p>\n Clarke has 38 points in his 72 games. I can\u2019t see him getting 12 more in the remaining 10 contests. But that\u2019s not his fault. The 23-year-old has been one of the few bright lights for the Kings, who\u2019ve been slow to understand he is their best defenseman. He didn\u2019t get a steady dose of 20-plus minutes until January and is finally quarterbacking their top power-play unit. He can play NHL-level defense. Don\u2019t blame me for getting this wrong. \u2014 Eric Stephens<\/p>\n![\"Sam](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2244220072-scaled-e1774651296582.jpg\")
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