After the exhilarating days leading up to the draft and free agency, it appears NHL teams have gone to sleep. Free agents have fizzled out quickly, and players, coaches, and others are hitting top vacation destinations.
Related: NHL Rumours: Andersson, Flames, Rust, Rakell, McTavish
In other words, it’s the dog days of the summer, which is a good opportunity for NHL teams to reflect on where they stand. With the majority of clubs set on their rosters after making moves the past handful of weeks, which teams enter the 2025-26 season as contenders or pretenders?
Let’s get real with some teams that think they’re contending, but their rosters indicate otherwise.
Contenders
Florida Panthers
This one feels like a no-brainer: the Florida Panthers will be penciled in as contenders once again in 2025-26. General manager Bill Zito managed to keep the core intact, re-signing the big three of Aaron Ekblad, Brad Marchand, and Sam Bennett.
The Panthers have been the NHL’s gold standard over the past three seasons, reaching the Stanley Cup Final each year and hoisting the Cup in the last two. Will they three-peat in 2025-26 remains a big question, but they certainly have the roster intact to do it again.
Vegas Golden Knights
Plenty of questions followed the Vegas Golden Knights after their second-round loss to the Edmonton Oilers in 2025. Injuries hurt the lineup, and the scoring that defined their regular season all but disappeared.
Then came the splash. Vegas landed Mitch Marner on an eight-year, $12 million deal, giving them a dynamic playmaker to reignite their offense up front. With a healthier roster and Marner in the mix, the Golden Knights are firmly back in the contender conversation out West.
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche were dealt an unlucky hand entering the 2025 NHL Playoffs, going head-to-head with the Dallas Stars. Not to mention former Avalanche, Mikko Rantanen, who notched five goals and 12 points in a seven-game series win for Dallas. It was an unfortunate series right off the bat in which they lost in seven games.
But with a team that has Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, and a healthy Gabriel Landeskog, the Avalanche will try to replicate their 2021-22 season when they won the Stanley Cup. They’ll also have to rely big-time on goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, who could…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at The Hockey Writers…