6 NHL Ice-Cold Takes We'd Love to Have Back

Folks, I have some breaking news that you may want to sit down for. When you're in the business of providing hockey analysis and takes, sometimes -- just sometimes -- you're going to whiff. That's the beauty of this sport, isn't it? We start each season with some idea of how we think it's going to go, and without fail, there are always at least a few surprises.

We try as we might to use data, eye tests, team patterns, and context to predict a team's trajectory, but we know there's no way to say for sure until that puck drops and the season begins. There are unpredictabilities throughout the sport: offseason moves, trade deadlines, injuries, and recovery timelines. The humanity of it all keeps things entertaining.

The Buffalo Sabres have shown us this season just how far the power of intangibles -- and drinking some beers with your brothers -- can go to change the complexion of a team. This year, they've had the best vibes of any team in the league; their depth scoring and young, skilled players are panning out, Rasmus Dahlin has emerged as one of the best leaders in the NHL, and everything is finally clicking for the team with the NHL's longest playoff drought.

I have absolutely no problem admitting I didn't think this was how it would go for them when I wrote this article at the end of last season, but I am so glad this is the way it has gone. Watching the Sabres build the confidence and trust that has been their biggest missing link for years has been the biggest joy of this NHL season. They made a great decision in promoting GM Jarmo Kekäläinen, which paid off in morale long before he even had the opportunity to make a move. The moves the Sabres made -- and didn't make -- to get to this point, and their camaraderie, can teach us all a lesson about perseverance and the power of collective belief.

I was surprised to see my article from the end of last season, before last offseason's free agency even started, circulating on social media over the weekend as a "freezing cold take."

Surely, I was not the only one at this time last year who was concerned about the Buffalo Sabres. Plus, I wrote in the article that the team had potential and needed to fundamentally address specific issues to turn it around. I doubted they would change those things, but to my pleasant surprise, they did!

Maybe the catchy headline was fun for freezing take fodder, but the actual words in the article honestly aged decently enough.

Anyway, the resurgence of this post inspired me to take a look at all of the other stuff I was wrong about at the beginning of this season. There's no shame in whiffing as long as you can admit it. You might even learn a thing or two in the process.

The Sabres Being Hopeless

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Rasmus Dahlin

Not only do these Sabres have hope, but they look primed to win the entire East. Which reminds me: If you're going to revive a prediction I made a year ago before the Sabres even fired Kevyn Adams, how about adding this one from last week, where I said they're going to win the East?

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25406072-bold-predictions-rest-2025-26-nhl-season

Anyway, the Sabres haven't just made a tweak or two to lead to this complete 180: There's been a fundamental change in the belief about their own narrative, and the confidence emerging from the room has been so fun to watch.

In the past, maybe the Colton Parayko situation led to bad vibes. In the present, the Sabres came out of the trade deadline and gave us the most thrilling hockey game of the season as they beat the Lightning in a wild game.

In the past, a seven-game win streak would lead to a seven-game losing streak and a loss of identity. In the present, a seven-game win streak turns into an eight-game win streak, a loss or two, and then more winning.

The philosophy change is special, as is Rasmus Dahlin's leadership. The Sabres are definitely not hopeless. They finally took their fate into their own hands.

The Penguins Tanking for Gavin McKenna

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Erik Karlsson

Remember when we all thought the Penguins were gonna tank for Gavin McKenna? Well, all of us, of course, except Kyle Dubas and Sidney Crosby, who are now laughing at us like the mad scientists that they are.

It turns out Dubas is one of the few GMs to grasp the state of the market, and he's approached this re-tool with a patient series of tweaks spanning several seasons, rather than needing to buy or sell scraps at one specific deadline only to come up short.

The Penguins are having their cake and eating it too this season -- they held on to some trade chips to maintain their No. 2 playoff spot in the Metro, but they've been selling gradually at the right price to take care of their future. No tank needed.

The Panthers 3-Peating

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Matthew Tkachuk

This one is giving me a chuckle in retrospect. Maybe I thought the Panthers were in the "Cup hangover" clear, maybe I was inspired by Bill Zito's almost effortless signing of free agents. In the end, it turns out it was more of a delayed onset Cup hangover. We know the worst hangovers are the ones you thought you avoided.

We all know what happened here: Half the team was completely broken, including No. 1 center Aleksander Barkov, who didn't even touch the ice this season. The wear-and-tear of the two Game 7-needing Cup runs coincided with brutal injuries to star players and penalty killers alike. You never want to see injury, so it stinks that this prediction was mostly wrong due to injury.

But I will say, I am excited to see different teams and storylines emerge in these playoffs.

The Maple Leafs Being Better Without Mitch Marner

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Auston Matthews

OK, I don't know what I was thinking with this one. Maybe I was bold enough to believe that the Leafs would have some sort of plan to replace their 100+ point scorer and then everyone could move on from the drama and benefit from the catharsis on both sides.

What an absolute fool I was to trust that there was a plan. There was no plan. The market has been a bad place for buyers since last offseason, sure, but the Leafs had years to think about the post-Marner protocol, and it's clear they didn't. It turns out that losing a 100+ point player who had been a cog in your power play for years and just kinda vibing was not a recipe for success.

The Isles Being Screwed

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Look, I "predicted' the Isles being screwed before they were even awarded the first overall pick that gave them the phenom who is Matthew Schaefer -- I think we can forgive me for that one. Unexpectedly winning the draft lottery -- especially when the projected No. 1 overall pick is Matthew freaking Schaefer -- will unscrew you pretty quick.

Still, No. 1 2025 draft pick Schaefer has surpassed even our highest expectations in his rookie year. The defenseman jumped right into a top pairing at 17 years old and has provided the missing combination of elite star-power and transitional game that the Islanders so needed. He's the front-runner in a stacked Calder Trophy race, averaging a whopping 24:21 minutes per game. The kid deserves some Hart Trophy love for the impact he's had on the playoff-bound Islanders.

Led by Schaefer, an incredible bounce-back season from Ilya Sorokin (who's leading the league in GSAA at 26.2), and a healthy Mat Barzal, the Islanders have more than held their own in the East this year. They're currently in the No. 3 playoff spot in the tough Metropolitan Division, and they've got the right momentum to make a bigger splash than any of their playoff runs in recent memory.

Elias Pettersson Bounces Back During the 2025-26 Season

This one makes me sad.

Every year, I think it's going to be Elias Pettersson's bounce-back year, and every year, he goes, like, six games before the trade deadline, failing to record a shot on net. It's clear at this point that a change of scenery and exit from the Canucks will be his big shot to finally turn things around, but he has to want it for himself more than any of us want it for him.

Why do I feel like I've made Pettersson's bounce back my hill to die on more than he's even made it his own hill to die on? The Canucks have kept faith in him, shipping off J.T. Miller amidst rumors of a tiff between the two, but Pettersson has struggled to make it count as the Canucks sit at the bottom of the league. They virtually had no choice but to trade Quinn Hughes, and it's hard to see a path forward for Pettersson.