Sixteen nations will vie for gold at the 2025 IIHF World Championship.The teams are divided into two groups of eight - Group A and Group B - and will compete in a round-robin format to determine which teams advance to the quarterfinals.

If they want to defend their title, the Panthers have to go through a much more well-rested Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final. The Panthers went into Toronto Sunday night and flexed their postseason prowess with a 6-1 blowout in Game 7.

In a recent interview with NHL insider Pierre LeBrun, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly spoke about talks to start the regular season earlier.