By Frank Pingue
Sept 25 (Reuters) – The NHL drops the puck on an extended 84-game campaign next week with Macklin Celebrini leading a new generation of superstars and record goalscorer Alex Ovechkin returning for what could be the final season of his glittering career.
Ovechkin, the NHL’s all-time leader with 929 goals, signed a one-year contract with the Washington Capitals, who he believes can challenge for the Stanley Cup, but he has not decided if this is his final season.
“You can see the new faces that we have it gives us a chance to fight for a Cup,” said the 41-year-old forward, who continues to command the spotlight every time he hits the ice.
“You can see the depth in our team, the skill, the leadership that we bring to the locker room.”
As Ovechkin and three-time Stanley Cup champion Sidney Crosby navigate the twilight of their celebrated NHL careers, there is an impressive wave of young talent that is ready to take centre stage.
YOUNG GUNS TAKE AIM
There will be sky-high expectations on San Jose Sharks forward Celebrini, who is coming off an outstanding sophomore season, and fellow young gun Connor Bedard, who at 21 is the second-youngest captain in Chicago Blackhawks history.
Celebrini set a Sharks franchise record last season with 115 points, more than the team’s next two top scorers combined, and also produced a breakout performance while helping Canada to a silver medal at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics.
San Jose have not made the postseason since 2019 but the 20-year-old Celebrini, surrounded by perhaps the deepest Sharks roster in years, feels a renewed anticipation in the Bay Area.
“It’s pretty cool walking around, talking to people, people coming up to us on the street just saying how excited they are about the season,” said Celebrini. “We didn’t really get that the last couple of years.”
Bedard, the first pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, will miss the start of the season while recovering from shoulder surgery.
He is coming off a season in which he set career highs in goals (30), assists (45) and points (75) in 69 games and he is hopeful that offseason roster improvements will boost a Blackhawks team that have missed the playoffs for six straight years.
The intense spotlight of the Toronto media market will focus on rookie Gavin McKenna, who will be counted on to anchor the next era of the city’s Maple Leafs after they made him the first overall pick of the 2026 NHL Draft.
McKenna understands what he is getting into by joining Toronto, where a run of strong regular seasons repeatedly failed to produce playoff success before the Maple Leafs missed the postseason last year for the first time since 2016.
“It’s a good motivator coming to a market like this, where the eyes are on you and you’re going to hear if you’re playing bad,” he said.
“Some people might not like it, but for me I see it as a blessing in disguise.”
MCDAVID CHASES ELUSIVE STANLEY CUP
Connor McDavid, widely regarded as the NHL’s best player, will resume his search for an elusive first title when he takes the ice with the Edmonton Oilers, one of five teams entering the season under a new head coach after appointing Mike Babcock in June.
The Stanley Cup remains the glaring omission from the 29-year-old’s resume. McDavid led Edmonton to the Final in 2024 and 2025 and has piled up individual accolades in 11 NHL seasons, including being a three-time league MVP and six-time leading points scorer.
The road to the Stanley Cup Final in June will be even longer as the NHL expanded its season by two games in an effort to balance out the number of divisional matchups.
The action begins on Tuesday when the reigning Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes host the Florida Panthers in the first of five opening-night games.
The 2026-27 schedule also includes a pair of games in both Finland and Germany as the league continues efforts to expand its fan base outside of North America as well as outdoor games in Winnipeg, Salt Lake City and Arlington.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto and Amy Tennery in New YorkEditing by Toby Davis)
Comments