Lapsed fan's guide to the 2025-26 NHL season: Get caught up here - ESPN

The 2024-25 NHL season was a smashing success.

There was Alex Ovechkin breaking Wayne Gretzky's goals record. There were the Florida Panthers shattering the hearts of Edmonton Oilers fans for a second straight Final series to win another Stanley Cup. There were the Tkachuk brothers (Matthew and Brady) trying to smash every Canadian player in sight during the 4 Nations Face-Off.

What's in store for 2025-26? Plenty where that came from, including the NHL's much-anticipated return to the Winter Olympics.

If you haven't kept up with the NHL in the past few months, don't fret, we've got you covered. Here's a chance to catch up on everything that has happened — the hirings, firings, signings, trades and significant rules changes thanks to a new collective bargaining agreement. It's all in our guide to the 2025-26 season for lapsed fans. Read up before the puck drops!

Jump ahead:
Panthers' threepeat attempt
Free agency, trades
What's next for Ovi?
Coaching carousel
Crosby's uncertain future

For the first time since the 2014 Sochi Games, the NHL will send its players to the Winter Olympics in 2026. The league will pause its season Feb. 6-25 to allow players to compete for their home nations at the Winter Games in Italy. Preliminary games will begin Feb. 11, and the gold medal matchup is set for Feb. 22.

The NHL will hold a launch event at UBS Arena in Long Island, New York, that Sports Business Journal reports will be a «Super Bowl-style media day» before players and coaches leave for the Milan-Cortina Olympics.

The level of hype for this Olympic tournament couldn't be higher. The success of the 4 Nations Face-Off last season was the perfect international hockey appetizer. Who doesn't want to see another showdown between the