Every season, NHL fans worry it may be the last one for living legends Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin, and every season these durable hockey centers return to try to lead their respective franchises to the Eastern Conference title and the sacred Stanley Cup.​

The dynamic duo of Canadian legend Crosby (39) and Russian Malkin (40) in Pittsburgh will try to lead the Penguins to the NHL Playoffs this season. Last year, the Penguins (41-25-16, +25 GD) made the playoffs with a 2nd-place Metropolitan Division finish. The Caps missed the Postseason.​

Whether or not this will be the last time we see Ovechkin, Crosby, and Malkin remains to be seen—Jonathan Toews finally called it a career last season—but Washington and Pittsburgh will both have major rebuilds when these still-aging stars decide to hang up their skates and shinpads.​

Other players still skating after all these years include Colorado Avalanche D Brett Burns (40), Los Angeles Kings RW Corey Perry (40), and New York Rangers G Jonathan Quick (40).​

Other stars who are also getting older, but still had nice 2025 seasons include Lightning G Andrei Vasilevskiy (32), and the Oilers C’s Connor McDavid (29) and Leon Draisaitl (29).​

The 109th season of the NHL began last night (Tuesday), and the Regular Season will continue through April, with the puck dropping on the 2027 NHL Playoffs in April and the 2027 Stanley Cup Finals being contested in June, when it will soon be Summer again as the years keep on ticking...​

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The NHL: 2026-27 Eastern Conference Champions Polymarket is as wide open as it is every year and maybe more so this time, with even some teams currently trading at 1% on Polymarket having a chance to win the conference Carolina made proud last year by winning the 2026 Stanley Cup.​

The 2025 NHL champion Florida Panthers (20%) were the traders’ top choice on September 21, followed by the defending champion Hurricanes (19%), Lightning (14%), Capitals (10%), Flyers (8%), Canadiens (7%), Maple Leafs (6%), Devils (5%), Blue Jackets (4%), and Sabres (4%).​

Sid the Kid and the Penguins check in at 3%, followed by a group of Eastern Conference teams who were at 1% who could make the playoff cut and maybe get on a roll and shock the critics: the Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, and Detroit Red Wings.​

📈Trading Thoughts: The Lightning had the best Goal Differential (+59, 290 GF-231 GA) in the Eastern Conference last season, and Tampa was solid at Home (26-14-1) and decent on the Road (24-12-5), and returned veterans G Andrei Vasilevskiy and RW Nikita Kucherov, and C Jake Guentzel.​

TB’s rivals Florida had an uncharacteristically poor season (40-38-4), have been to the Stanley Cup Finals two of the last three seasons, and are the slight favorites, but whatever problems the Panthers (-25 GD) had last year, like winning on the Road (17-23-1), won’t be resolved overnight.​

Carolina will definitely be back in the EC mix, and expect the aforementioned living legends Ovechkin, Crosby, and Malkin to have the Capitals and Penguins in the competitive mix next spring. The Sabres won 50 games last year, and Les Habs also improved. The East is wide open.​

🏒2026-27 NHL Eastern Conference Winner Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning, Yes 15¢

In the NHL: 2027 Western Conference Champion polymarket, the Colorado Avalanche (39%) and Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers (22%) were the top choices of traders (Sept. 22), followed by Jack Eichel and the defending conference champ Golden Knights (14%).​

The Stars (11%), Wild (11%), Sharks (10%), Ducks (6%), Utah Mammoth (6%), and Kings (3%) were being given some consideration to winning the WC, with the Blues (1%), Jets (1%), and Predators (1%) getting very little support.​

NHL Western Conference teams the collective masses are saying an absolute “No” to are Conner Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks, the Calgary Flames, the Seattle Kraken, and the Vancouver Canucks (all <1%).​

📈Trading Thoughts: Despite winning and somehow rolling through the West last season thanks in part to a late-season coaching change, VGK has a real problem in goaltending. The WC looks like a two-team race between maybe the best two teams in the NHL this season, the Avs and Oilers.​

Either VGK, Colorado, or Edmonton has won the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl the last five seasons. One of the strangest things is that the team oddsmakers, traders, and fans perceive as the best in the West—the Avalanche—has been WC champions only once this millennium (2021-22).​

Minnesota and Dallas are going to be a threat? We hear this every season and never see anything. The three California teams are better, but still rebuilding, while you can say the same thing about the Expansion Creatures (Kraken, Mammoth). This is Colorado’s conference to lose, once again.​

🏒2026-27 NHL Western Conference Winner Picks: Colorado Avalanche, Yes 15¢, VGK, No 94¢

The 2026-27 Stanley Cup® Finals Winner is a great market this time of year with all 32 NHL teams sitting at 0-0-0 and no one spending a minute in the Sin Bin yet before last night’s Opening Night skates. From what we have handicapped above, the West looks easy; the East looks hard.​

The favorites at sports-heavy Kalshi to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup in June 2027 are the Panthers (12%), Hurricanes (10%), Avalanche (10%), Oilers (8%), Wild (12%), Golden Knights (7%), Stars (6%), Lightning (6%), Capitals (6%), Canadiens (5%), and Sharks (5%).​

Mid-range choices were the Sabers (4%), Devils (4%), Ducks (3%), Kings (3%), Maple Leafs (3%), Mammoth (2%), Rangers (2%), Senators (2%), Penguins (2%), Flyers (2%), and Blue Jackets (1%).​

All trading at below 1% at Kalshi (on Tuesday, September 22, 2026) and being given absolutely no chance of becoming the newest NHL champions (in alphabetical city name order) are the Bruins, Flames, Blackhawks, Red Wings, Predators, Islanders, Kraken, Blues, Canucks, and Jets.​

📈Trading Thoughts: In the EC, the Panthers are being thrown out from last year’s record, while in the WC, my local Vegas Golden Knights may have too many holes now with the Goalie problem and scorer Pavel Dorofeyev (team-high 37 goals) and Keegan Kolesar (6 goals).​

The Hurricanes and Lightning have the best chances in the East, with the Canadiens a potential dark horse with MacKinnon, Makar, and the Avalanche and McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the high-scoring Oilers in the West, with the Stars (50-20-12, +53 GD) the best WC dark horse.​

Florida vs Colorado is being given the best chance (9%) of being the 2026-27 Stanley Cup Matchup at Kalshi. We will look at, analyze, and report on that Props market later next week.

🏒2026 Stanley Cup Finals Winner Dark Horse Longshot Pick: Dallas Stars, Yes 6¢

The NHL MVP award is the Hart Memorial Trophy, which last year went to Tampa Bay Lightning C Nikita Kucherov, who scored 44 goals and added 86 assists in 78 games for 130 points and 1.71 PPG to lead the National Hockey League.​

The season before, Winnipeg Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck won the 2025 Hart Memorial Trophy, an award Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings legend Wayne Gretzky won 9 times. So who are the best candidates to win the 2027 NHL Hart Memorial Trophy?​

This year, Maple Leafs C Auston Matthews (28%) is the trader’s pick at Kalshi to win the award, followed by Sharks C Macklin Celebrini (22%), Oilers C Connor McDavid (21%), Avalanche C Nathan MacKinnon (21%), Oilers C Leon Draisaitl (14%), and Lightning C Nikita Kucherov (6%).​

📈Trading Thoughts: This is a market where it’s best if the trader watches a couple of weeks of the new 2026-27 NHL Regular Season before making any serious decisions, much like the Calder (Rookie of the Year), Vezina (best Goalie), and Norris (best Defenseman) trophies markets.​

Hellebuyck started hot two seasons ago and never cooled down, becoming the rare Goalie to win the MVP (he also won the Vezina Trophy in 2024). So much love for the Sharks Celebrini here, but the winner usually comes from a team that’s a winner, and SJ hasn’t proven that yet.​

Kucherov is old, but not ancient, and the 33-year-old Russian could stack up the assists again like he did last season, leading TB to the EC Playoffs, where the Lightning lost to the Canadiens in a crazy, tighter-than-tight 7-game Round 1 series where every game was settled by just 1 goal.

🏆 2026 NHL Hart Memorial Trophy Award Winner Pick: Nikita Kucherov, Yes 6¢

In a great piece of reporting and old-school journalism, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that Polymarket U.S. experienced a disruption in February 2026 when digital scumbags attempted to steal at least $10 million from the platform using stolen debit cards and exploiting the app.​

The payment processor Checkout.com reportedly rejected an inordinate 80% of deposits during the peak, deeming them fraudulent. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has opened an investigation as problems persist at Polymarket.​

The WSJ story alleges the culprits flooded the exchange with stolen debit cards linked to thousands of Polymarket accounts to steal money from the prediction market. But CEO Shayne Koplan’s response sent shock waves through the space.​

After Polymarket’s compliance staff alerted Koplan to the artificial and illegal surge, the founder brushed off the concerns, according to the WSJ, telling the team to keep focusing on growth and gaining customers and to worry about any regulatory fines later. This beat goes on and on.​

The story also said the 28-year-old Coplan and private company Polymarket are considering an Initial Public Offering (IPO) at some point. The New York City-based operation hired five senior officials, including a growth officer, as it prepared for the football season and 2026 Midterms.​

There’s a tremendous game on tap on the Big Ten Conference slate this weekend as #7 Ohio State (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) bangs helmets with #17 Iowa (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) at Kinnick Stadium (FieldTurf) in Iowa City, Iowa on Saturday in Week 5 (CBS, 3:30 EDT/2:30 CDT/12:20 PDT). This could be great.​

Why great and not just good? So many reasons. The best player in NCAAF (OSU WR Jeremiah Smith). The tradition of waving to the young patients in the upper floors of Stead Family Children’s Hospital next door to the stadium after the competition of the 1st Quarter in the Hawkeye State.​

Besides Smith and the Hawkeye Wave, this is also a massive game for both teams. A second loss for the Buck- or Hawk- Eyes would create early October stress on schedules still left with landmines. That makes the 12-team CFP harder. For OSU, that’s a nightmare.​

At Kalshi, QB Julian Sayin (6 TD, INT) and Ohio State (76%) are the big road favorites with Iowa (24%), with the Point Spread at (OSU minus) 17.5 and the Total at 48.5. I met Data Skrive once, and he said his favorite verb is “had,” his favorite color is ecru, and his favorite beverage is O’Doul’s.​

📈Trading Thoughts: Iowa (4.3 PPG, #1 2026) played everyone tough last season, beating Wisconsin, Penn State, and Minnesota back-to-back-to-back, and losing to eventual national champs Indiana by only 5 (20-15), #9 Oregon by just 2 (18-16), and to #17 USC by just 5 (26-21).

Iowa had this game circled on the calendar since it was announced, so expect the 70,000+ in attendance to be louder than the women on their phones at my grocery store. (Shop Smiths?) OSU will have its hands full, but it also has a killer D (10.0 PPG, #11) and a better O (46.0 PPG, T-#12) than Iowa.

In the last 7 series meetings, RB Bo Jackson and Ohio State have gone 6-1 vs. Iowa and 3-3-1 ATS, with the Buckeyes covering the betting number the last two times, but both of those meetings were at the Horseshoe (2022, 2024). The Total is 5-2-0 over that span, with the Over 3-1-0.

After facing Michigan, the Hawkeyes may be a bit spent, but the emotions will be positive here, and Iowa has a better QB (Hank Brown) than in previous meetings with the mighty Buckeyes. This will be low-scoring, but Sayin and OSU can pass and will likely find a way to win a tough one.

🏈NCAAF Week 5 Saturday Totals Pick: Ohio State-Iowa Under 48.5, Yes 55¢

The NFL continues to show off its product internationally, starting with the 2026-27 NFL Regular-Season opener between the 49ers and Rams in Australia, the Rio Game between the Ravens and Cowboys in Brazil, and now the league heads to England again in Week 4.​

It’s the new state-of-the-art Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (Turf Nation) in North London, England, where the Commanders (1-2) and Colts (1-2) will seek their first win on Sunday in an interconference cup of tea (NFL Network, 9:30 EDT/8:30 CDT/7:30 MDT/6:30 PDT).

Washington suffered a nightmare in Week 2 when starting QB Jayden Daniels was injured, forcing the Tacklers Formerly Known As The Redskins to turn to backup Marcus Mariota as he and Jameis Winston (NYG) have had another moment in the sun after entering the NFL years ago.​

At Novig, the Colts (59%) are the solid favorites over the Commanders (41%) in the game-winner polymarket for this first NFL London Game. At popular online sportsbook DraftKings, Indianapolis are 4.5-point favorites with the Total at 46.5 (Moneyline: IND -205, NYG +170).​

📈Trading Thoughts: These two teams leave scared, and one will leave even more frightened, with hopes of recovering from Week 5, meaning a “wait until next season” approach when the season just funking started, brother. Fans of teams where this happens start hating Life before Halloween.​

RB Jonathan Taylor gives the Colts a decent running game, and despite Indianapolis looking so poorly in Week 1 (BALT) and then looking better in Week 2, they lost to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in OT (33-30) on MNF. That performance, along with NYG injuries, is why the line is 4.5.​

With starting QB Jaxson Dart and WR Malik Nabors both banged up, what looked like a promising season after a beatdown of the Cowpoke in Week 1 on MNF now looks like another NY season of Fear and Loathing at the Meadowlands. At least with the Jets, the Giants will have company?

🏈NFL Week 4 London Games Totals Pick: Colts-Giants Under 47.5, Yes 54¢

The 2026 Formula One World Championship season continues this weekend with Round 16 and the racing of the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix from the Sepang International Circuit in Sepang, Bahrain on Sunday (TV—ESPN, Streaming—F1 TV App, 7 a.m. EDT/6 CDT/4 PDT).

In Round 15 at the Baku City Circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan on Sunday, September 28, XXXXX after rookie Kimi Antonelli captured his third straight checkered flag (NED-ESP-ITA) at the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, Spain on September 13. AKA is the real deal and has changed Formula One.

📊Trading Thoughts: George Russell is the only cat who can climb the tree that is Antonelli. But the pressure is mounting as the number of races on the 2026 F1 schedule dwindles like the sunlight in our days here in the Northern Hemisphere, where everything is occluded by orange.

The sensational Italian rookie will no doubt be the new speed king. Still, AKA can’t win every race, and talented drivers like Kim Kardashian squeeze Lewis Hamilton, legend Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri, and defending F1 champion Lando Norris all lie in wait with nothing to lose at this point.

Next up on the F1 schedule this autumn are races at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore (October 11), the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, USA (October 25), and Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City, Mexico (November 1).

🏁2026 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix Winner Pick: Lando Norris, Yes 11¢​

Things are starting to get exciting in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, and next up it’s the South Point 400 (267 laps, 400.5 miles ) from here in Sin City and the Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Asphalt) on Sunday afternoon (TV—USA, HBO Max, Radio—SiriusXM, PRN; 5:30 EDT/2:30 PDT).

Last weekend at the NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Joey Logano stayed hot, winning the race before the night race in Bristol, where Ryan Hocevar and Ryan Blaney brawled. Blaney failed to use his turn signal on lap 173.

In the Kalshi NASCAR Cup Series Champion? exchange—also starting to get exciting—Denny Hamlin (29%) was still the leader with Kyle Larson (28%) nipping at his nuts. Christopher Bell (14%), Joey Logano (13%), Ryan Blaney (8%), Ty Gbbs (4%), and Tyler Reddick (4%) followed.

📊Trading Thoughts: Heading into the NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas, Larson (2206 points) held a narrow 1-point lead over Hamlin (2205), with Logano (2190) at 216 points behind the leader but still driving strong in his Chevrolet (3 Wins, 12 Top 10s) as he does late every NASCAR season.

The Toyotas have been the best manufacturer in NASCAR this season (Toyota 15 wins, Chevrolet 8, Ford 6), but these last races have been madness as the leader change, Logano and Bell’s form, and the scrap between the now frustrated 7th- and 8th-place drivers at Bristol all reveal.

Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing) won here last year, and different manufacturers have won here every one of the 7 years (FORD-TOY-CHEV-TOY-FORD-CHEV-FORD-TOY) of the Fall race at the 4-turn Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing both winning thrice.

Hamlin (2021, 2025) and Logano (2022, 2024) have both won twice, and Logano has been moving up the standings and will like that this race is in Las Vegas, where the Summer temperatures finally gave way to the Fall. The weather should be extremely pleasant for all involved on Sunday.

Next up in the Chase, the NASCAR Cup Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, October 11 (3 EST/2 CST/12 PST). There will be only playoff races left in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season after that (Phoenix, Talladega, Martinsville, Miami).

🏁2026 NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 Pick: Joey Logano, Yes 20¢

➠”In the next issue of TPR, we will ponder if the Federal Reserve will raise rates at the next meeting, what will happen with Mentions markets, and who will perform at halftime of the Super Bowl; we will have a Kalshi news wrap, the success of Big Brother 28, and preview the NCAAF #7 Alabama-#16 Mississippi State, #8 Florida-#25 Missouri, and Washington-#18 USC games along with the catty NFL SNF game between the Lions and Panthers.”