Which NHL teams have the most to prove in 2025-26? Placing 13 teams into tiers

Few teams successful NHL past person proved themselves successful the look of their doubters much than the Florida Panthers of the past fewer seasons.

After getting humiliated arsenic a Presidents' Trophy victor successful 2022 -- swept by the Tampa Bay Lightning arsenic their historical discourtesy was mostly silenced -- Florida rebuilt its identity nether Bill Zito and Paul Maurice, traded for toughness with Matthew Tkachuk, leaned into defence and the goaltending of Sergei Bobrovsky, and turned those lessons into a title blueprint: 3 consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearances, back-to-back titles and a bona fide dynasty.

But erstwhile 1 squad proves truthful much, it doesn't permission overmuch country for others to bash the same. So successful galore ways, this NHL play volition beryllium defined by the teams extracurricular of South Florida that request to bash a batch of proving of their own.

To assistance benignant retired which clubs person the astir connected the enactment successful this prove-it 2025-26 season, we grouped 13 of them into 5 categories of teams with enactment to bash and boxes to check. These scope from longtime contenders inactive knocking connected the doorway to hyped up-and-comers, possibly-past-their-prime powers and franchises whose fans would simply emotion them to beryllium they tin marque the playoffs each truthful often.

The communal thread for each is that they person to alteration the communicative astir their team, conscionable similar Florida had to bash a fewer years ago. Let's unpack each -- and spot who's nether the astir unit to get the occupation done this season.

The now-or-nevers

We've written astir it present before, but the superior victims of Florida's occurrence successful caller seasons person been the teams that repeatedly came adjacent to a title but couldn't interruption through. So this radical is each astir those that are seeking to beryllium they tin yet marque the title leap -- and particularly those with a ticking timepiece connected however agelong they tin support trying, and failing, to crook their imaginable into a parade.

Chief among this benignant of team? Clearly the Edmonton Oilers, who yet skated for the Cup for the archetypal clip successful the Connor McDavid-Leon Draisaitl epoch successful 2024 aft ne'er antecedently advancing further than being swept successful the league finals. But back-to-back losses to Florida person raised the question of whether they tin ever genuinely get implicit the hump.

The main things to beryllium mightiness beryllium whether the returning tandem of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard tin supply amended goaltending than the .866 SV% they collectively posted successful past season's Final -- and if this season's offense, bolstered by the additions of Jack Roslovic and Read Entire Article