By The Canadian Press

Questions loom over all seven Canadian NHL teams as training camps begin

Sep 17, 2025 | 12:27 PM

The start of a new NHL season brings renewed hope, with a healthy serving of anxiety over looming questions, to the league’s 32 teams.

Here are some of the looming questions facing Canada’s seven teams as NHL camps open this week:

EDMONTON OILERS

The Oilers open training camp with one massive, looming question: when will Connor McDavid sign a contract extension — or will he at all?

Anxiety is rising in Edmonton as the superstar captain enters the final season of an eight-year deal. Since the Oilers’ second straight Stanley Cup final loss to Florida last June, McDavid has said he wants to win in Edmonton, but plans to take his time before deciding his future. He has been eligible to sign an extension since July 1.

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General manager Stan Bowman said he and the 28-year-old McDavid — a three-time Hart Trophy winner as NHL MVP — continue to have conversations about the team’s direction.

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TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

The Maple Leafs gathered in Toronto for fitness testing and physicals Wednesday minus one familiar face — Mitch Marner. The star winger from nearby Thornhill, Ont., bolted for the Vegas Golden Knights right before the opening of free agency July 1 in a sign-and-trade deal.

The Original Six franchise is also opening training camp for the first time in a decade without a team president after Brendan Shanahan’s contract wasn’t renewed following last season’s second-round playoff exit.

Toronto has advanced in post-season just twice in the NHL’s salary cap era. Leafs captain Auston Matthews, meanwhile, will be looking for a healthy campaign. The centre was bothered by a nagging upper-body injury most of last season — a campaign that saw his goal total drop to 33 after scoring a career-high 69 in 2023-24.

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MONTREAL CANADIENS

The Canadiens surprised many by reaching the playoffs ahead of schedule in their rebuild last season. The question now: can they meet the expectations of getting back there? Montreal opens camp with its most talented roster since the 2021 Stanley Cup Final run, bolstered by the off-season additions of defenceman Noah Dobson and forward Zack Bolduc. Dazzling rookie Ivan Demidov is also set for his first full season.

A question mark lingers at second-line centre, but Kirby Dach — coming off a second straight season-ending knee injury — will begin camp in that role. Dach only totalled 22 points in 57 games before his injury last season. The Canadiens also hold the assets to trade for an upgrade at the position.

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CALGARY FLAMES

Can Calgary take a step forward after missing the playoffs in a tiebreaker? The Flames were an entertaining team to watch, but were on the outside looking in at the post-season a third straight year.

The Flames firmly hitched their goaltending fortunes to 24-year-old Dustin Wolf with a seven-year extension. The young talent general manager Craig Conroy wanted in the lineup needs to take on more of the load from top players Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri and Mikael Backlund.

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VANCOUVER CANUCKS

After a tumultuous season marred by personnel issues and injuries, the Vancouver Canucks are looking to rebound. To do so, though, newly minted head coach Adam Foote will need to get more out of some of the stars who underperformed in the 2024-25 campaign.

Swedish centre Elias Pettersson needs to rediscover his offensive prowess after registering 15 goals and 30 assists last season, and star sniper Brock Boeser will be challenged to surpass the 25 goals and 25 assists he contributed.

The Canucks front office has expressed confidence in Vancouver’s goalie tandem of Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen, but how the workload will be shared is another question mark hanging over the team as training camp begins.

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WINNIPEG JETS

The Jets showed last year they can be an elite team after winning the President’s Trophy as the club with the best regular season record. The burning question in Winnipeg is how to translate that to post-season success.

The Jets needed a dramatic Game 7 comeback to eliminate St. Louis in the first round before losing to six games in Dallas. Part of the problem came in the crease, where Connor Hellebuyck didn’t play with the same consistency that earned him MVP and goaltender of the year accolades in the regular season.

The Jets have added three-time Stanley Cup champion Jonathan Toews to their camp roster. The Winnipegger is attempting a comeback after missing two years with chronic inflammation and immune system issues likely related to long COVID. If he sticks, perhaps his history of success in big games will help the Jets soar to greater heights.

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OTTAWA SENATORS

The Senators enter the season in a much better place after making the playoffs for the first time since 2017 last spring. The question in the nation’s capital is whether the team can take advantage of stable ownership and continue progressing.

The Senators were a mess during a glacial rebuild, with on-ice failures compounded with off-ice blunders, and a fanbase alienated by former owner Eugene Melnyk.

But thing finally started coming together last season, culminating in the Senators taking the rival Maple Leafs to six games in the first round of the playoffs.

With stability in current owner Michael Andlauer, general manager Steve Staios and head coach Travis Green, it’s up to a young and talented team led by captain Brady Tkachuk to keep the momentum going.

— With files from Joshua Clipperton, Daniel Rainbird, Donna Spencer and Gemma Karstens-Smith

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2025.

The Canadian Press