The new NHL season starts on Wednesday night Swiss time with eleven Swiss players. Here are a few facts.
07.10.2025, 17:00
07.10.2025, 17:03
SDA
Roman Josi
Roman Josi missed the last 25 games of last season after being violently checked into the boards by Florida's Sam Bennett at the end of February. The 35-year-old defenseman, who has already suffered several concussions, feared that his brain was damaged. Fortunately, this was not the case, but he was diagnosed with postural tachycardia syndrome. This leads to an excessive increase in heart rate when the body straightens up. The Bernese's symptoms were headaches, dizziness and exhaustion.
For Josi, the diagnosis was a relief. He now knows how to deal with the condition. He spent almost two months in Switzerland in the summer, which he thoroughly enjoyed. Among other things, he trained for two days with star coach Darryl Belfry in Fribourg and also got involved in social activities. He has been an ambassador for the Laureus Foundation since this year. "It's cool to do something in Switzerland, where I grew up," Josi told Keystone-SDA.
He feels ready for the new season. He's not afraid, he's back at 100 percent. The father of two is entering his 15th season in the NHL, his 15th with the Nashville Predators, whom he has led as captain since the 2017-18 season. Including the playoffs, he has already played 1053 games in the best ice hockey league in the world. Nevertheless, he is not yet part of the 1000 club, as this requires 1000 games in the regular season in the NHL. He is still 38 games short. If he stays healthy, he will reach the magic mark at the end of the year - and would be the very first Swiss to do so. His contract with Nashville runs until 2028.
Josi was not the only one to experience a difficult season. That was also true for the Predators. Despite big-name additions, Nashville missed the playoffs by a wide margin - only the Chicago Blackhawks and the San Jose Sharks scored fewer points. "A lot of guys have something to prove. But that's not a bad thing. We're going to adjust a few things in our game," Josi told NHL.com.
Nino Niederreiter
Like Josi, Nino Niederreiter will normally join the NHL's 1000-man club before the end of the year. The 33-year-old forward still needs 31 games to do so. He has played a total of 1074 games, more than any other Swiss player. Number 3 behind him and Josi is Mark Streit with 820 appearances.
Niederreiter can look back on the best qualification in the club's history with Winnipeg. With 116 points, the Jets were number 1 in the league. Nevertheless, they lost in the quarterfinals to the Dallas Stars (2:4).
Niederreiter spent the summer in Switzerland as usual, working on his fitness with coach Michael Bont. How did he cope with losing his fourth World Championship final (0:1 against the USA)? "Good, of course, I needed some time. But objectively speaking, we wanted the win so badly that no one was really able to perform at their best." On the other hand, you first have to manage to reach the World Cup final twice in a row.
Nevertheless, not everything is rosy for Niederreiter in Swiss ice hockey, as he told Keystone-SDA. "People don't talk about the fact that the U18s have been relegated. I find that crazy and it upsets me. I'm not saying that my generation will soon be finished, but many good players are over 30 years old. What comes from behind then? The U18s should never be relegated. It's been said that it's a bad year. But Norway can't be any better."
Swiss Devils
With the Swiss trio of Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and Jonas Siegenthaler, the New Jersey Devils are making their next attempt at a fourth Stanley Cup triumph, their first since 2003. The Devils' offense appears to be more broadly based following the additions of Yevgeny Dadonov, Connor Brown and Arseni Grizjuk. Last season, captain Hischier was his team's top scorer with 35 goals.
"With our speed, we can cause problems for a lot of opponents and put pressure on them," the 26-year-old Walliser told NHL.com. "The challenge for us will be to carry that pace over 82 games or find ways to win even when we're not at 100 percent. We're still young, but we're getting to an age where we can start a long (playoff) run. I'm sure we can become a team like the Panthers." The Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup for the second time in a row this year.
Swiss players with expiring contracts
The contracts of Swiss players Janis Moser, Philipp Kuraschew and Akira Schmid expire at the end of the season. Moser has established himself as a reliable defenseman in his first year with the Tampa Bay Lightning and has a good chance of staying in Florida. Meanwhile, Kurashev can look back on a difficult season with the Chicago Blackhawks. Now the Bernese forward is getting a new chance with the San Jose Sharks on a one-year contract. The rebuilding Californians won just 20 of 82 games in the last qualifying campaign. Like Kurashev, goalie Schmid's future in the NHL is also at stake next season. The 25-year-old is now No. 2 in the Vegas Golden Knights' goalie hierarchy behind Adin Hill.
More Swiss players
Kevin Fiala is one of the top performers for the Los Angeles Kings. In his first three seasons with the Californians, the forward from eastern Switzerland produced 92 goals and 128 assists in 246 games and was always one of his team's top three scorers.
After his best season in the NHL to date (25 goals, 21 assists), Pius Suter moved from the Vancouver Canucks to the St. Louis Blues, where he signed for two years. At best, the versatile Zurich native will start the championship as the Blues' No. 2 center.
The 21-year-old Lian Bichsel made his NHL debut with the Dallas Stars on December 12, 2024 and stuck with the team thanks to his physical play, even in the playoffs, where the Stars only lost in the semi-finals. The defenseman from Solothurn should have a bright future in the NHL.
Dallas is once again expected to do well. The Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers - the finalists of the past two seasons - are often named as the top favorites.
