Welcome to part three of The Athletic’s NHL fan survey, which gathered feedback from 20,000 respondents. In part one, we covered the state of the NHL, Gary Bettman and the always-contentious no-state-taxes debate. Part two covered fan experience topics such as viewership habits, game attendance and more. In this final installment, we’re diving into the future of the NHL, with on-ice predictions, league expansion, and outdoor games.
Without further ado, let’s dig in.
Who’s the better power play QB: Quinn Hughes or Lane Hutson?
Scott Wheeler, Max Bultman and more
Which NHL team improved most this offseason?
There were three clear favorites, each earning between 20 and 24 percent of votes.
The Panthers stunned the hockey world in June when they pulled off a blockbuster trade for Brady Tkachuk. Acquiring Tkachuk undoubtedly gives Florida the scariest forward core in the NHL. It’s an embarrassment of riches with Aleksander Barkov returning, Brady and Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand, Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen. A big unknown, though, is whether newcomer Jacob Markström can be the No. 1 goaltender the franchise needs. Florida’s goaltending was a letdown last year, and while Markström has a high pedigree, he’s coming off a tough season in New Jersey.
San Jose was extremely busy, even if one or two of the contracts it signed were questionable. Mason Marchment and Ivar Stenberg will bolster the wings, while Michael Kesselring, Jacob Trouba and Darnell Nurse will add much-needed talent to a blue line that was woeful last year.
The Capitals were very aggressive, adding Jordan Kyrou, Alex Tuch, Boone Jenner and Vincent Desharnais.
Which 2026 non-playoff team are you most certain will make the playoffs in 2027?
The same three teams from the last question were popular answers again. Florida ran away with this one, earning 45 percent of the votes. San Jose got plenty of love as well; the Sharks’ playoff case is legitimate not only because of their young, emerging talent, but because they play in the weakest division in the NHL.
After Washington, the Maple Leafs garnered some votes, too.
Which team will win the Stanley Cup in 2027?
It was fun to look back at a similar question we posed in 2023, when we asked fans to pick one team that they’re most confident will win a Cup before 2030. The Hurricanes led the way, and sure enough, they made good on that prediction this year (just ignore the fact that New Jersey was No. 2).
This question is slightly different because it’s only asking about next season, and 10 teams garnered at least 450 votes. The Avalanche were by far the most dominant team in the NHL last year until the Vegas Golden Knights stunningly swept them in the Western Conference final.
It’s also no surprise to see Florida back as the East’s favorite considering their splashy offseason, Barkov’s return and their historical success against the Hurricanes in the playoffs.
Carolina, Minnesota and Edmonton rounded out the top five.
Which team are you most confident will NOT win a Stanley Cup before 2036?
Three Canadian teams finished at the top, combining for 38 percent of all votes. Vancouver was the most popular answer, which makes sense. There’s some optimism locally with new management led by the Sedins and Ryan Johnson finally committing to a proper rebuild, but it’s almost certainly going to be a long, painful process with how little elite talent the Canucks have on the roster and in the prospect pipeline.
Columbus was the only American team that got more than 10 percent of the votes. The Blue Jackets have legitimate talent on their roster, but they’re in danger of being stuck in the mediocre middle.
I was surprised that the Kings weren’t a more popular answer, considering how entrenched they seem in that middle; L.A. received only 1.7 percent of the vote.
Are you in favor of NHL expansion to 34 teams?
This almost exactly mirrors our results from 2024, when 63.3 percent of fans voted against expansion. Some factors that may have contributed to this include concerns about talent dilution, skepticism that certain expansion markets can succeed, and the simple fact that only one team can win the Cup every year, so expanding the league further diminishes their favorite team’s chances of winning a championship.
However, it feels like expansion is inevitable; Vegas and Seattle have been very successful financially, and it’s extremely profitable for NHL owners, plus players will always support it because it creates more roster spots/jobs.
Which potential expansion cities would you most like to see get a new franchise?
Respondents could select two cities, so the percent of answered totals will be greater than 100 percent
Quebec City dominated this one. NHL players sung a different tune, though, as Houston was the clear favorite in our anonymous player poll. The difference is understandable from players’ perspective — the taxes, weather and media pressure would all be more favorable in Houston.
It makes sense why a lot of fans are so fond of Quebec City because it’s a passionate market and would reignite such a cool rivalry with the Canadiens, but it’s doubtful that the NHL will consider it anytime soon. It’s a smaller market, the lack of corporate sponsors is a worry, and the league is probably searching to expand into U.S. markets where they can create new fans rather than go to traditional hockey markets that are already tuned into the NHL and contributing to league revenue in some capacity.
Should the NHL adopt an in-season tournament?
This one was extremely lopsided. Only about one in every six fans supported the idea of an NBA-like midseason tournament, likely because most view the idea as a gimmick.
There have been 45 outdoor NHL games since the 2003-04 season. What’s one outside-the-box location you’d like to see a game played?
There were a lot of fun, creative responses to this one. Over 1,500 responses mentioned Alaska in some form, which made it the most popular answer.
“Somewhere in Alaska, make it a postcard even if there would be no fans. COVID outdoor game (at Lake Tahoe) was (an) awesome setting, but the ice was an issue.”
“Redo ‘Mystery, Alaska’,” said one of many responses that referenced the 1999 hockey movie.
There, of course, would be logistical challenges because Alaska is far from the closest NHL city and it’s unknown how many fans they’d draw, which matters to a league that’s always going to care about revenue from gate receipts for a marquee outdoor game.
Lake Louise, Alta., an iconic tourist site, was very popular. There was also lots of interest in an outdoor stadium game in either Sweden or Finland.
Central Park in New York City, along with Hawaii, Quebec City, Beaver Stadium at Penn State, Mexico City, and the White House lawn all got some interest, as well.
