10 must-see games during the 2025-26 NHL season
Photo Credit: Rob Grabowski/USA Today Sports
The 2025-26 National Hockey League schedule was released on Wednesday, with all 32 teams revealing their games for the upcoming season in unique ways on social media.
While it feels like yesterday when the Florida Panthers were parading around the ice with the Stanley Cup, the league is already through the draft, free agency, and development camps. Outside of training camp and preseason, the next big date on the NHL calendar is October 7, when the puck drops on the new season.
From players returning to their former homes to some of the biggest rivalries in the league, let’s take a look at 10 must-see matchups during the 2025-26 NHL season.
(These games are in no particular order)
1. Mitch Marner returns to Toronto
The Vegas Golden Knights will visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 23, 2026. This marks the return of former Maple Leaf Mitch Marner. The boyhood Maple Leafs fan was traded to the Golden Knights this summer as part of a sign-and-trade. Marner was selected fourth overall by the Maple Leafs in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, playing nine seasons in Toronto, all resulting in playoff appearances. Marner tallied 221 goals and 741 points for the Maple Leafs, but, along with his team, was rather quiet in the playoffs. The Maple Leafs never made it out of the second round during Marner’s tenure, only winning two series. Blowing a 2-0 series lead to the eventual champions this season was the final straw for Marner and Maple Leafs fans. Although he is a local guy, fans were not pleased with how things ended between Marner and the team, leading to what could be a hostile environment when he returns with the Golden Knights in January.
2. Brad Marchand returns to Boston
The hockey world was caught off guard, especially Boston Bruins fans, when longtime fan favorite and two-year captain Brad Marchand was traded to the Florida Panthers, playing a key part in their second consecutive Stanley Cup. While some thought a reunion with the Bruins could be on the table, along with potentially signing for the Maple Leafs, Marchand ultimately re-signed with the Panthers this summer. Marchand will return to Boston with the Panthers on October 21, 2025, just a few weeks into the new season. The 37-year-old played 16 seasons with the Bruins, scoring 422 goals and registering 976 points. Marchand was a four-time All-Star in Boston and won the Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2010-11, his first full NHL season. Marchand’s reception when he returns to Boston should be a good one.
3. Jonathan Toews makes his long-awaited return to Chicago
Many fans thought they’d never see the day Jonathan Toews steps onto the United Center ice in a jersey other than the classic red sweater of the Chicago Blackhawks. On January 19, 2026, Toews will return to Chicago, but not with the Blackhawks. After Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome forced the center to miss the entire 2020-21 season, and the negative effects of long Covid derailing his health during the 2022-23 season, Toews decided to step away from hockey and focus on recovery. Two years later, the 37-year-old was ready to make a return to the NHL, signing a one-year contract with his hometown Winnipeg Jets this offseason. In 15 NHL seasons, Toews tallied 883 points and won three Stanley Cups. Along with other awards, Toews formed a dynamic partnership with winger Patrick Kane. The two would lead the Blackhawks to three Cups in six years and cement themselves as hockey legends in the Windy City. Toews will have a lot to live up to during his return, as the aforementioned Kane scored the overtime winner with the Detroit Red Wings in his first game back in Chicago.
4. Jonathan Toews vs Patrick Kane
Sticking with the theme of Toews and Kane, the two will square off as opponents for the first time in their NHL careers on New Year’s Eve when the Jets visit the Red Wings. Toews and Kane are known for their partnership on the ice and for what they’ve accomplished as teammates. The pair was even featured lifting the Stanley Cup on the cover of EA Sports NHL 16 video game. While the Blackhawks won’t have any involvement in the game, their fans will be turning back the clocks to watch the duo hit the ice together, even though they are now on different teams. While Kane is a winger and Toews is a center, the former mentioned on a recent Barstool Sports podcast interview that they’ve been talking about taking the opening face-off against each other. Either way, it will be great to see two of the greatest players from the 2010s back on the ice together.
5. Mike Sullivan coaches against the Penguins
New York Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan will be behind the bench for the visitors at PPG Paints Arena, something he isn’t accustomed to. The only American coach to win more than one Stanley Cup, Sullivan spent 10 years as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins and Rangers play twice within the first week of the season, throwing Sullivan right into the fire against his former team. Sullivan’s first game in charge will be against the Penguins at Madison Square Garden on October 7, and four days later, he will return to Pittsburgh when the two teams square off again. Sullivan had a 409-255-89 record with the Penguins and won back-to-back Stanley Cups (2015-16 and 2016-17). The team parted ways with Sullivan this summer, who was then hired by the Rangers a week later, sticking in the Metropolitan Division.
6. Mikko Rantanen returns to Carolina
Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen will make his return to Carolina when the Stars play the Hurricanes on January 6, 2026. Midway through last season, the two-time 40-plus goal scorer was traded from the Colorado Avalanche to the Hurricanes. Rantanen, who spent 10 years with the Avalanche and won a Stanley Cup, couldn’t agree on a contract extension with the team that drafted him 10th overall in 2015, leading them to move him to Carolina. After just 13 games and six points with the Metropolitan Division team, Rantanen was traded to the Stars. The fit wasn’t right for the 28-year-old in Carolina, and he made it clear he wasn’t going to re-sign with them. The Hurricanes decided to recoup some assets by moving Rantanen at the deadline instead of letting him walk in free agency. While the Hurricanes aren’t attached to Rantanen like other teams on this list are to their former players, the fans will surely give him a warm welcome upon his return.
7. Trevor Zegras and the Flyers vs Cutter Gauthier and the Ducks
Trevor Zegras will face his former team for the first time when the Anaheim Ducks visit the Philadelphia Flyers on January 6, 2026, also signaling the second time former Flyer Cutter Gautheir will play in Philadelphia. When Gauthier refused to sign with the Flyers after they drafted him fifth overall in 2022, he was shipped to Anaheim in exchange for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick in 2025. Gauthier was met with a chorus of boos and deprecating chants during his first game in the City of Brotherly Love last season. The Flyers would dominate 6-0 in what was the loudest Flyers home game in a long time. Now Zegras is added to the mix. A former Ducks first-round pick, Zegras started his career strong but battled injuries and lacked production during his last two seasons, finally being sent to the Flyers in a June trade. Zegras will certainly have his first game against his former team circled on his calendar, as things didn’t end smoothly for the skillful center in California.
8. The first NHL outdoor game in Florida
The Panthers and Rangers will take center stage on January 2, 2026, during the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic in Miami. LoanDepot Park, home of the Miami Marlins, will host the Winter Classic and the first-ever NHL outdoor game in the Sunshine State. This also marks the first outdoor game in Panthers history, and all they had to do to get one was win back-to-back Stanley Cups. After a down year where they missed the playoffs, the Rangers will be looking to bounce back under the guidance of Sullivan. The Rangers are frequent participants in NHL outdoor games, having won all five they have played in, including two Winter Classic wins in 2012 and 2018. Florida will also host a second NHL outdoor game later in the season. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins will play in the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series on February 1, 2026, at Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
9. Stanley Cup rematch
The Panthers and Edmonton Oilers have been the two best teams in hockey the past two seasons, with the Panthers defeating the Oilers in back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Final. The Stanley Cup rematch will once again feature these two teams and will take place on November 22, 2025. The Panthers’ domination over the Oilers hasn’t just been in the Cup Final. The Panthers have won the last four regular-season meetings between the two teams. Both teams return almost identical rosters - with the same star players - which will lead to more electric hockey between two of the league’s elite teams. The second game between the Panthers and Oilers will take place at Rogers Place in Edmonton on March 19.
10. Crosby vs Ovechkin for one final time?
Two of the NHL’s greatest ever players are still kicking it in the league today. Crosby, who will be 38 when the puck drops this season, has 1,687 points in 20 seasons with the Penguins and is a three-time Stanley Cup champion. Ovechkin, who will be 40 when next season starts, broke Wayne Gretzky’s record for most goals in NHL history late last season. The Russian has 897 goals and 1,623 points in 20 seasons with the Washington Capitals, winning his only Stanley Cup in 2017-18. The two have been battling against each other in the regular season and the playoffs since 2005, having been the first-overall picks in back-to-back drafts. As their careers wind down, every year could be their last. While rumors have swirled about this being Ovechkin’s final season, he has denied that claim. There have also been trade rumors surrounding Crosby, who has been a Penguin for his whole life. With the Penguins entering a rebuild phase, Crosby may want to chase one last Cup. Crosby and Ovechkin go head-to-head on back-to-back nights in April (April 11 and 12) in what could be the final time they play against each other, or at least the last time as division rivals.
