A new NHL season starts today — here's a catch-up on Canada's teams

The 2026-27 NHL season begins today with five games, including an oddly timed 5 p.m. ET opener between the Tkachuk-fuelled Florida Panthers and the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, plus a pair of all-Canadian matchups as Montreal visits Toronto at 7 p.m. ET and Edmonton hosts Vancouver at 10 p.m. ET.

Last week, we looked at some players to watch this season. They include the controversial Tkachuk bros (reunited in Florida after Brady asked out of Ottawa), embattled Leafs captain Auston Matthews (coming off knee surgery and a career-low 29 goals), restless Oilers icon Connor McDavid (still looking for his first Stanley Cup) and blossoming San Jose superstar Macklin Celebrini, who, at age 20, is already a top MVP contender.

Before that, we brought you up to speed on some other new stuff around league, including the expanded 84-game season (up two from previous years), hockey's first $20-million-per year player (Colorado's Cale Makar), and who might command the next eye-popping contract as reigning MVP Nikita Kucherov, Minnesota star Quinn Hughes and other increasingly empowered stars leverage their pending free agency and a skyrocketing salary cap.

But now, time is tight! The puck drops less than an hour after this newsletter hits your inbox. So here's a very quick catch-up on each of the seven Canadian teams to get you set for the new season.

Calgary Flames: Spoiler alert — the final season at the Saddledome will not result in the Flames hoisting their first Stanley Cup since 1989 (Al MacInnis and Joe Nieuwendyk are not walkin' through that door). Rebuilding Calgary will likely miss the playoffs for the fifth straight year after finishing 29th overall last season. 

Edmonton Oilers: McDavid did the team a favour