The results of The Hockey News’ 2025-26 NHL pre-season fan survey are in.
As we approach the start of the new campaign, NHL fans have shared their predictions, preferences and perspectives on a ton of topics. Thank you to all those who participated.
We begin with revealing the results of the first nine questions from the survey, including favorite teams and players, biggest pest, Hart Trophy and Stanley Cup predictions and more.
As a note, for responses that listed multiple players or teams, the first player or team listed was counted.
Favorite Team
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Keep the answers for the favorite team and player questions in mind when reading the rest of the results over this three-part series.
Three Canadian teams led the way, with the Vancouver Canucks, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs combining for 35 percent of the votes.
Following the trio of Canadian teams are six consecutive Eastern Conference squads, then six Western Conference clubs.
Favorite Player
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Considering the Canucks received the most votes for favorite team, it’s little surprise that captain Quinn Hughes earned 22 votes.
Canadian heroes Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid come in the top three in this section of the survey. Aside from their outstanding talent and accolades, they both have a tournament-clinching goal for Team Canada in their careers.
Some respondents listed a current player and a former player, such as Joe Sakic and Mario Lemieux. Someone else listed Gordie Howe and Steve Yzerman. (Whichever name was listed first was counted.)
And to the Canucks fan that said “Pettersson” – you’ll have to be more specific.
Most Underrated Player
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This question never seems to have a collective answer and can change with every season. But these results for the most underrated player in the NHL show a clear top three: Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki, Winnipeg Jets left winger Kyle Connor and Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin.
Suzuki is coming off a career year, scoring 89 points and leading his Habs to the playoffs. With that, he was left off Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster, which sparked a real debate about Suzuki’s ability.
Connor is arguably a budding superstar who can score at will, posting 41 goals and 97 points last season.
Meanwhile, Slavin is often discussed as the best defensive defenseman in the NHL, a type of player that doesn’t get all the hype.
“How he’s not in the Norris Trophy conversation every single year, it doesn’t seem right,” Washington Capitals coach Spencer Carbery told reporters last spring.
NHL’s Biggest Pest
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For the NHL’s biggest pest, there seems to be a theme for the top three. Brad Marchand, Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett all play for the Florida Panthers and have won a Stanley Cup together. Even former Panther Nick Cousins made the list.
Outside of Florida’s trio, Capitals’ right winger Tom Wilson was the only other player to receive double-digit votes with 14. Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk sneaks in at No. 5.
Most Dominant Player Right Now
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There was no contest nor any doubt as to who would get the most votes for this question. Connor McDavid received 129 votes, which equals over 60 percent of all responses.
The Edmonton Oilers captain is one of the few players in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy on the losing team in a Stanley Cup final. That alone is a testament to his dominance in the NHL.
In his 10-year career, McDavid has had eight seasons with 100 or more points. The two seasons where he didn’t reach the 100-point mark were his rookie campaign, when he played 45 games due to injury, and 2019-20, when he scored 97 points in 64 games in a season cut short by COVID-19.
Most Dominant Player In 10 Years
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The trio of Macklin Celebrini, Gavin McKenna and Connor Bedard could be the faces of the NHL in 2035, according to the fans.
Fans got a taste of what Celebrini and Bedard are made of, since Bedard has been around for two seasons and Celebrini wrapped up his rookie campaign last year. But McKenna is yet to be drafted into the NHL.
The former Medicine Hat Tiger is projected to be the first overall pick in the 2026 NHL draft. He’s coming off a WHL championship, where he recorded 48 goals and 167 points in 72 regular-season and playoff games. He’s taking his talents to NCAA Penn State in his draft year and could be college hockey’s next superstar.
2025-26 Hart Trophy Winner
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While McDavid was once again the clear winner, he didn’t get as big a chunk of the votes as he did for the “most dominant player right now” question. Nathan MacKinnon, meanwhile, got a bigger chunk in second place than the dominance question.
In fact, 16 people who voted for McDavid for most dominant player predicted MacKinnon to win the Hart Trophy.
The defending champion of this award, Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, received only one vote. He’s tied with “Definitely not Matthew Tkachuk.”
McDavid has the best odds of winning the Hart Trophy at 2.90 (+190), according to BetMGM. MacKinnon is second, at 5.75 (+475).
2026 Stanley Cup Champions
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The back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, the Panthers, are favorites to win it again, according to the fan survey. That said, it’s close between them and the Dallas Stars.
Florida was the only Eastern Conference squad in the top five, which suggests we could see an exciting post-season in the Western Conference yet again between contenders in Edmonton, Dallas, Vegas, Colorado and Winnipeg.
The Canucks even beat out the Jets in the voting despite missing the playoffs last year. All 11 people who chose Vancouver said they’re Canucks fans.
And despite Florida being the popular pick, two fans were clear about how they feel toward the team. “Anyone but the Panthers PLEASE,” one fan said. Another fan said, “I hope it’s not Florida again.”
The Panthers have the best odds of winning the Cup at 7.00, according to BetMGM. The Avalanche and Golden Knights are tied at 9.00, followed by the Hurricanes (9.25), Oilers (9.50) and Stars (11.00).
2026 Olympics And 2028 World Cup Winners
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This question was meant to see which country’s national men’s team will not only win the Olympics but the 2028 World Cup of Hockey as well.
With over 65 percent of the vote, Team Canada is the favorite to win both international competitions. Canada has won the last four best-on-best international tournaments: the 4 Nations Face-Off from last February, the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and the 2014 and 2010 Winter Olympics.
Team USA was second with 62 votes, while Sweden, Finland, Czechia and Russia also received votes. Russia will not be in the 2026 Olympics, while the eight teams for the World Cup haven’t been announced yet.
Four voters predicted different teams for each tournament, which was a combination of Canada, the USA and Russia.
Canada has the best odds on BetMGM of winning the men’s hockey tournament in the 2026 Olympics, at 2.75, while the Americans are at 3.00.
Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3.
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