2026 NHL Opening Night Takeaways: Panthers and Hurricanes Don’t Look Like Cup Favorites Yet
Despite the brevity of the NHL offseason, it’s always great when a new season gets underway. My 2026 NHL opening night takeaways start with Florida and Carolina, who kicked things off at 5 p.m. Eastern with the Panthers facing the reigning champion Hurricanes. As Forsling ended the game in overtime I reflected and said neither of these teams look like world beaters. The Panthers are the talk of the town, and understandably so given their offseason work. I think the Panthers went too all in on being bullies. We saw Boko Imama, former Penguin, make their opening night roster just to get beat up by Nic Deslauriers. Radko Gudas, noted terrorist for what he did Sid last year, is not going to be a difference maker on the back end. Markstrom played well in this game, but he is far cry from what they had in Bob the last few seasons. Even Brady Tkachuk is somewhat overrated. Actually, Brady and Matthew both are somewhat overrated. Matthew has had a few seasons over 100 points, but they seem to be either extreme anomalies or his absolute peak. Brady on the other hand has only once been over a point per game player (83p in 82gp). While Brady is definitely a valuable asset, he went from being the guy to a guy and his point totals will likely hover in the 60s in Florida given their depth. I think the Panthers outplayed the Hurricanes yesterday, but their lack of team speed might bite them in the ass as most teams in the NHL will have a significant advantage in that department against them. Everyone talks about how many hits Florida has added to their roster, but I have always said that hits are indication that your team isn’t playing with the puck while you’re on the ice. The entire Panthers roster is seemingly built to get hits, not goals. The Hurricanes on the other hand really didn’t improve their roster. Sure, their roster won the cup last season but with no changes it’s easy to see how they can become complacent. It took them years to get on top of the mountain, and do they really have the urgency to get back there? Both of these teams will likely make the playoffs but nothing from game one would have me believe that either team should be an odds-on favorite for the cup.
Toronto’s McKenna Era Starts With a Loss
The new-look Toronto Maple Leafs played their first game in the McKenna era last night. The last 24 hours have been a whirlwind for the Leafs but that’s nothing new. The Leafs made the final big trade of the offseason when they acquired Marchenko just an hour before rosters were due. To get Marchenko out of Columbus they had to give him a 12.5 million AAV extension, and they had to trade the promising 23-year-old Matthew Knies. I really believe the Leafs got fleeced in this deal, but Marchenko should be a solid piece on the top line. Marchenko didn’t disappoint as he registered an assist less than a minute into his first game in a Leafs sweater.
From there, Montreal controlled the game. Montreal is the team in the East I believe to be the most dangerous. They are so young, they got deeper, and all of those young players now have decent experience at the NHL level. I don’t think this game is an indication that Toronto will be the same as last season, but they still started the season 0-1. Gavin McKenna went pointless in his debut and got dominated in his 5v5 minutes, but I really believe in the talent this kid has so unless the Toronto media destroys him, I am not worried about this performance.
Edmonton’s Problems Look Bigger Than Mike Babcock
Toronto is the epicenter of the NHL. Edmonton is a close second. Edmonton might have taken over Toronto as the most talked about team for portions of the summer when they weirdly decided to hire Mike Babcock. The players backed the decision and said it would make them better. Yet we saw much of the same last night. The defense was putrid and the goaltending was even worse. The roster is the issue in Edmonton, not the coaching. Now not only do they have a flawed roster, but they also have a hated head coach. The season will be fine for Edmonton, but they aren’t winning the Stanley Cup. You cannot be under fire all offseason for advocating for Mike Babcock to be your head coach just to lay an egg in his first game behind the bench. Was Jarry from Pittsburgh to Edmonton the biggest fleecing of all time? My god is he a horrible goalie. Edmonton had to comeback from a 5-2 deficit in the third period to get a point. Great accomplishment except they were playing the worst roster in the entire league. If Vancouver can score six goals against Edmonton what will the Colorado’s and Dallas’ be able to do to against them?
Quick Hits
- The Rangers were blanked in their season opener for the second year in a row. I know they fixed their defense, but I don’t believe they have nearly enough firepower upfront.
- Patrick Kane scoring for the Blackhawks in the year 2026 was pretty cool. I wish Bedard was healthy because Chicago looks poised to make a jump.
- Kane’s goal aside, the Golden Knights are going to be good again this season. Jack Eichel was the best player from his draft class.
