The2026 Winter Olympicsare over, theUnited States won its first gold medal since 1980and now Olympians are rejoining their NHL teams for the stretch run.
The league is starting up again on Wednesday, Feb. 25, and NHL games will be played for the first time since Feb. 5. TheDetroit Red Wings,Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Islanders,Buffalo Sabres,Boston Bruins,Seattle Kraken,Utah MammothandAnaheim Duckssit in a playoff position after missing the postseason in 2024-25.
Thetrade deadline is around the cornerand the rush to a playoff berth is on before theregular season endson April 16.
Here's a look at key questions as the NHL regular season resumes:
Feb. 4: The Los Angeles Kings acquired left wing Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers in exchange for forward Liam Greentree and conditional third-round (2026) and fourth-round (2028) picks." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Jan. 27: The New York Islanders acquired left wing Ondrej Palat, a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 sixth-round pick from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for forward Maxim Tsyplakov." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Jan. 20: The San Jose Sharks acquire forward Kiefer Sherwood from the Vancouver Canucks for second-round picks in 2026 and 2027, plus defenseman Cole Clayton." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Jan. 16: The Anaheim Ducks acquire winger Jeffrey Viel from the Boston Bruins for a 2026 fourth-round pick. Anaheim will give up the better of the fourth-rounder previously acquired from Philadelphia and Detroit." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Jan. 8: The San Jose Sharks acquire goaltender Laurent Brossoit, defenseman Nolan Allan and a 2028 seventh-round pick from the Chicago Blackhawks for defensemen Ryan Ellis, Jake Furlong and a 2028 fourth-rounder." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Dec. 29: The Pittsburgh Penguins acquire forward Yegor Chinakhov from the Columbus Blue Jackets for forward Danton Heinen, a 2026 second-round draft pick and a 2027 third-rounder." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Dec. 12: The Minnesota Wild acquired Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks for Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, Liam Ohgren and a 2026 first-round pick." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Dec. 12: The Edmonton Oilers acquired Tristan Jarry and Samuel Poulin from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak and a 2029 second-round pick." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
NHL trade tracker: Who changed teams in 2025-26
Will the trade deadline be busy?
The date is March 6 this year, so teams don't have a lot of time to work something out.
There was a major trade right before the Olympic freeze when theRangers moved Artemi Panarin to the Kings. Once the freeze lifted, theAvalanche traded defenseman Samuel Girardto the Penguins for Brett Kulak on Feb. 24.
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There's an opportunity for more trades because there's a gap between the haves and the have-nots, and top teams have needs. The last-place Canucks, who already moved Quinn Hughes and Kiefer Sherwood, have Evander Kane and Teddy Blueger as pending free agents. The Rangers could move Vincent Trocheck, Flames center Nazem Kadri would be coveted and the Blues could be sellers.
Will the Panthers keep their Stanley Cup hopes alive?
They won the last two Stanley Cup titles, went to the Final the year before that and were Presidents' Trophy winners in 2021-22. But that string of success suffered a serious blow when captain and Selke Trophy winner Aleksander Barkov needed ACL surgery after being injured on his first day of practice in September.
They're also missing defensemen Dmitry Kulikov and Seth Jones and sit in last place in the Atlantic Division with 61 points, eight points out of a playoff spot. The good news is Matthew Tkachuk returned before the break and that Jones is skating with a non-contact jersey. Bill Zito is a creative general manager and Paul Maurice a top-notch coach. They have 25 games to make up those points, which is possible if they come out strong after the break. And as they showed the last three years, if they make it into the postseason, they can go far.
Can the Sabres end their playoff drought?
Their 14 years out of the playoffs is an NHL record. It looked like it might reach 15 when they started slowly. But things turned around when they fired general manager Kevyn Adams and promoted Jarmo Kekalainen. They pushed a winning streak to 10 games and now sit in the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. But they lost three out of four heading into the break and will need to remedy that, especially when they will be facing the Lightning and Golden Knights two times each in the next 11 games.
Can the Red Wings end their playoff drought?
They haven't made the playoffs in nine years and are sitting in third place in the tough Atlantic Division. Other teams have a game or more in hand. But their goaltending is better than in the past because of John Gibson, and they have plenty of cap space to make a move at the deadline.
Can Kings overcome the loss of Kevin Fiala?
Fialabroke his legwhile playing for Switzerland at the Olympics, had surgery and will miss the rest of the regular season. The Kings have Panarin now, but his acquisition was designed to boost an offense that had Fiala in the lineup. Fiala leads the Kings with 17 power-play points. Los Angeles is three points out of a playoff spot, so it might need to make another trade.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:NHL season resumes: Here are 5 pressing questions
