We’re now well into the NHL’s 2025-26 regular season, and it’s clear which teams are “all-in” teams. Whether it’s because of the age of their core players, their prospect pool and their cache of draft picks, some teams are built to win and win now.
Here, then – in alphabetical order – are seven “all-in” teams this year.
1. Colorado Avalanche
It’s easy to see why the Avalanche are an “all-in” team this season. Their superstar players, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, are either in or are approaching their prime, and recent acquisitions Martin Necas and Brock Nelson have been persuaded to stick around via contract extensions.
In addition, Avs GM Chris MacFarland has worked furiously to remake his roster in the past year. He’s not doing that to contend for a Stanley Cup in 2029 or 2030.
He’s doing that to win right away and figure out the rest after that. Colorado wants to win every season, but certainly, this season is the priority for them.
2. Dallas Stars
Don’t get it twisted – the Stars have plenty of young players who are there to get Dallas on deep playoff runs many years from now.
But the heart-and-soul of this Stars team is more old than it is young, including veterans Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Matt Duchene, who are all either at the end of their NHL days, or they can see the end from here. Even Mikko Rantanen is approaching 30 years old, and Roope Hintz is 28.
Thus, the Stars are focused on winning now, and even if they’ve got great younger players, they’ll have failed their older players if they don’t seize the day and win the second Cup in franchise history.
3. Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers have been fortunate in this generation, not only to have landed multiple No. 1 draft picks over the years, but to have convinced their generational players to re-sign multiple contract extensions when they didn’t have to.
Superstar Connor McDavid’s new two-year extension puts a crystal-clear clock countdown for this Edmonton team to live by.
If the Oilers haven’t won a Cup – at least one – by the time McDavid’s next contract expires, many will be expecting him to move on.
While that may be a small consolation to Oilers fans who wanted McDavid to sign an eight-year contract, there now has to be a sense of urgency this season for Edmonton to make the most of its roster as deep as it is right now.
In a couple of more years, it may be considerably thinner than it is today.
4. Florida Panthers
It sounds unrealistic for any team to win three straight Cups, but the Panthers are built to dominate for multiple seasons.
Although Florida absorbed serious body blows with the injuries to star forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov, there’s sufficient talent still healthy enough to at least get the Panthers back into the post-season.
Florida’s roster includes many veterans who want desperately to get back into the playoff dance this year. And once they get there, there’ll be enough urgency for the Panthers to make a deep playoff run again.
5. Los Angeles Kings
When GM Ken Holland was hired this summer, that was Clue No. 1 that the Kings were in “all-in” mode.
Clue No. 2 was the slew of veteran additions Holland made after being hired, including 40-year-old right winger Corey Perry and 32-year-old right winger Joel Armia. Those are the type of plates teams make when they’re in a win-now situation.
With the end coming relatively soon for stars Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty, L.A. has to apply serious internal pressure to cap off the Kopitar-Doughty era with a successful playoff run. So winning now has to be paramount for the Kings.
6. Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning have played more playoff hockey than just about any team in the past decade, and few teams can boast of the playoff success the Bolts have had during that span.
But slowly but surely, Tampa Bay has been shifting toward a new generation for the franchise. And now that star defenseman Victor Hedman is 34, goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy is 31, and top-scorer Nikita Kucherov is 32.
That “tick-tick-ticking” sound you hear is the clock on the Lightning, and three or four years from now, Tampa may be looking at a massive rebuild. For now, though, the pressure is on the Lightning to win as often as they can.
7. Toronto Maple Leafs
You can make the argument that there’s always one type of pressure on the Maple Leafs, and that’s true. However, there’s a difference between making or missing the playoffs and being a legitimate Cup threat once you’re a playoff team.
The latter situation is what the Leafs are dealing with now. Toronto must accept that time is of the essence for 35-year-old center John Tavares and 28-year-old captain Auston Matthews alike.
The Maple Leafs are trying to set new standards in the post-Mitch Marner era, and the best way to do that – and the only way to keep their cynics at bay – is for the Leafs to finally get beyond the second round. Anything less will be considered a massive failure.
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