2025-26 Stanley Cup playoff brackets: Daily Faceoff’s staff predictions
Is the NHL playoff format fair? Not really. It will produce many of its best matchups in Round 1 rather than 2 and 3. But it will also make Round 1 difficult to project, which will generate some chaotic brackets, and that does make the process of predicting the entire tournament fun.
How will all four rounds play out? We could see the Colorado Avalanche reach the summit for the first time since 2022. Maybe the Carolina Hurricanes or Dallas Stars finally break through after years of coming close. Perhaps we see a Cinderella run from a sneaky-good team like the Ottawa Senators or Utah Mammoth.
Let’s map out our 2025-26 Stanley Cup playoff bracket predictions.
Our panel:
Matt Larkin, DFO managing editor & senior writer
Steven Ellis, DFO associate editor & prospect analyst
Scott Maxwell, DFO editor & writer
Jason Gregor, co-host of The DFO Rundown podcast
Tyler Yaremchuk, host & senior producer of The Nation Network
Anthony Di Marco, DFO contributing writer
Paul Pidutti, founder of Adjusted Hockey & DFO feature writer
Jonny Lazarus, DFO digital reporter & co-host of Morning Cuppa Hockey
Mike Gould, Writer for DFO and Flames Nation
Anthony Trudeau, DFO columnist
Matt Larkin’s bracket
Steven Ellis’ bracket
Scott Maxwell’s bracket
Jason Gregor’s bracket
Tyler Yaremchuk’s bracket
Anthony Di Marco’s bracket
Paul Pidutti’s bracket
Jonny Lazarus’ bracket
Mike Gould’s bracket
Anthony Trudeau’s bracket
What’s most fascinating: we all take different routes to get there, but eight of 10 brackets have some combination of the Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning or both. They are our two most popular Stanley Cup picks, each chosen by three voters to win it all. I could throw shade at my pals Tyler Yaremchuk and Jason Gregor for their hometown selections of the Edmonton Oilers to hoist the chalice but, hey, they both picked Edmonton the previous two years, and Edmonton came within one and two wins, respectively, of a championship, so Yaremchuk and Gregor deserve some rope. Paul Pidutti has Dallas finally getting over the hump, but only one of us has Carolina escaping the Eastern Conference Final, and no one has the Canes winning it all.
Despite the relative cohesiveness in our actual champion picks, we see a motley crew of teams predicted to make deep runs, particularly in the East, with the Pittsburgh Penguins (!) and Montreal Canadiens getting some Cup finalist love. And despite the Buffalo Sabres’ amazing play from December on, only one us has them winning more than a round: the gutsy Mike Gould picked them to reach their first Final since 1999.
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