The NHL is set to drop the puck on the 2025-26 season on Tuesday with a tripleheader on ESPN. Ahead of the season. ESPN BET is offering futures markets that include player props for stat totals, awards, and head-to-head scoring races between players.
With the season just ahead of us and lineups taking shape, here are the player prop bets that have caught my attention.
All odds accurate as of publish time. For more, go to ESPN BET. 
Nathan MacKinnon most regular shots on goal (+350)
Looking at recent history, this is a two-horse race. There's MacKinnon, David Pastrnak, and then the field. MacKinnon's 320 (in three fewer games) vs. Pastrnak's 319 this past campaign. Nate's 405 over David's 382 the season previous. The last time the Bruins' winger beat the Avalanche center in sheer number was back in 2022-23, when the latter missed 11 games. Even then, MacKinnon's 5.15 shots/contest bested Pastrnak's rate of 4.96, playing with Patrice Bergeron. For the number, I'll side with the running favorite.
Jack Hughes total points over 84.5 (-110)
Plain and simple, this is a wager on a player's fitness. A healthy Hughes flirts with 100 in a full season. He collected 99 in 78 games as a 21/22 year-old in 2022-23, before averaging 1.16 points/game in the past two injury-shortened campaigns. Only nine NHLers bettered that rate over the same period. Anything near 75-80 games alongside winger Jesper Bratt at even-strength, and Nico Hischier on the Devils' top power play, will result in a total above the 90-point mark. Fortunately, Hughes is fully recovered from surgery following last winter's nasty shoulder injury. I also don't mind that the 24-year-old is a little irritable after enduring bad physical luck of late.
Tage Thompson total goals over 38.5 (-110)
He scored 44 in 76 games this past season, a number the Sabres' top forward could conceivably improve on, shifted to the wing alongside one of the better two-way centers in the league. Sure, preseason/schmeseason, but it's still worth noting that Thompson, Josh Norris, and Zach Benson are developing palpable chemistry together. Buffalo's fresh top line appears in excellent position to make a great deal of productive noise. Even if Norris falls hurt again -- an ongoing issue for the former Senator -- Thompson is proven capable of getting it done with anyone. The 27-year-old is a 50-goal scorer who just hasn't pulled it off yet. A total of 39 feels like a modest ask.
Cam Talbot total regular-season wins under 20.5 (-115)
Keep in mind, John Gibson is the No. 1 netminder for the Detroit Red Wings. Following 12 years in Anaheim, the former Duck is healthy and jazzed to write a fresh chapter with his new squad. If Talbot ends up winning more than 20 it will be because Gibson suffers a significant injury. Sure, it's been a bumpy road for the 32-year-old recently, but he's fit heading into the regular season. Also, Talbot won exactly 21 games while earning the bulk of starts (47 appearances) in 2024-25. While the Red Wings are reasonably competitive, they're not a .600% winning team. Not now, anyway.
Cale Makar to score 12-plus points in October (-130)
The game's most productive defenseman amassed 19 points through 11 games last October. Fourteen through his initial 11 the previous campaign. Thirteen in 11 contests the year before that. The Avalanche play a cool dozen in this first month to start this season. Makar hasn't paced out at less than a point per game since his rookie run in 2019-20. Small wonder this number isn't all that rewarding. Still exploitable though.
H2H Cole Caufield more goals vs. Wyatt Johnston (-115)
The greatest "knock" against Johnston is he's another productive member of a team full of players who contribute regularly. Caufield is the Canadiens' most prominent goal-scorer. The Stars' gifted center can shift up and down the lineup, alongside a variety of wingers, in whichever way benefits his team the most. Montreal's best winger is competing on a top line and power play with the club's No. 1 center Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky, like he did all of last year. Johnston is a 30-35 goal-scorer, while Caufield projects to hit 40 after finding the back of the net 37 times this past season.
H2H Alex Ovechkin more points vs. Evgeni Malkin (-115)
This offer confounds me a bit, in that in this battle of elders, one seemingly has a significant edge over the other. Malkin posted 50 points in 68 games in 2024-25. Ovechkin erupted for 73 in 65. I get the added incentive of chasing down Wayne Gretzky's goal-scoring record, but that's still a large gap.
Plus, the Capitals are a superior team, made up of almost the same cast of characters -- loss of Lars Eller notwithstanding -- as when they finished top of the East. Right now, Malkin is slated to line up on a second scoring unit with Anthony Mantha and a rookie. So, give me the most successful goal-scorer the game has ever seen.
H2H Alex DeBrincat more points vs. Lane Hutson (-115)
What Hutson accomplished in his Calder-winning season is nothing short of remarkable. A feat that may be difficult to improve upon, if not repeat. With former Islander Noah Dobson on board in Montreal, the 21-year-old projects to see a minor dip in production after racking up six goals and 60 assists in 2024-25. Skating on a scoring line with long-time pal Patrick Kane and up-and-comer Marco Kasper, plus on the No. 1 power play, DeBrincat projects to collect upwards of 70 points like he did last year. Fourth on the active consecutive games played list, the 27-year-old hasn't missed a contest since Feb. 2, 2021. As easy as it is to be wooed by Hutson's magic, I'll side with the goal-scoring winger over a defender in this case.
Nikita Kucherov Hart Trophy winner (+650)
Third time's a charm? After losing out to Connor Hellebuyck last spring, and Nathan MacKinnon the year before, Kucherov is once again considered a premature top-3 favorite to be recognized as the league's most valuable player. That he was honored with the Ted Lindsay Award -- the league's most outstanding player as judged by his peers -- might offer a soft hint to some members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association that maybe granting Hellebuyck the Vezina was enough.
But what I appreciate most about the winger's chances to secure the Hart several months from now is his agenda for February. One that's ripe for rest and restoration. Unlike Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews and others, as a Russian, Kucherov isn't competing in the Olympics. Who's going to feel fresher for a push to the postseason once play resumes Feb. 25? For the number, if the 32-year-old continues to put up dizzying stats, I like his chances of securing the NHL's MVP award for the second time in his career.
Longshot Special: Jimmy Snuggerud Calder Trophy winner (+1600)
Before we just hand favorite Ivan Demidov the Calder crown, let's give the other youngsters a go, shall we? Like the 21-year-old winger in St. Louis, who's skating on a top line and power play with underrated center Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich. Snuggerud more than held his own when called up late this past season, earning four points in seven regular-season contests, and two goals and two assists in that wild seven-game playoff series with the Winnipeg Jets. While Demidov deservedly remains the early favorite, the Blues' 23rd-overall draft pick (2022) appears poised to make a strong case for his own consideration.