Another year is in the books, and with the shift in the calendar often comes New Year's resolutions, self-imposed mission statements intended to better ourselves and/or overcome our problems. But resolutions don't just have to represent our comprehensive life goals. We can apply them to specific passions of ours, like hockey.
Round table discussion: What is your New Year's hockey resolution for 2026?
MATT LARKIN: To keep the trolls from getting me.It is not my intention not to participate. I've always enjoyed sparring with fans, even the excited kind, about current topics, as long as the banter is respectful. But I let my year-and-a-half-long war with the Buffalo Sabers fanbase over Ryan McLeod, Matt Savoie, Martin Erat, and Filip Forsberg (my supposed trade equation) affect me and showed more emotion than I normally do this year. The key to approaching trolls: don't take what they say personally, as they don't really know you. The only one knows the little part of yourself that you show online. That doesn't mean I'm going to stop fighting the Buffalonians, or the New York Islanders fans, about Bo Horvat or the uh, just take a number. But it's time to embrace the fun and hilarity of it all again, which is what I've done well for 90 percent of my career.
ANTHONY TRUDEAU: See the big picture.My recurring monthly storylines require me to be constantly aware of current events in the NHL, which can lead to short-sighted conclusions. Watching the Blues' playoff run, I was optimistic about them coming into the season, even though I said myself years ago that their core would end in disaster. I should have known that 25 good games won't make up for the previous two and a half bad seasons. Instead, here I sit on the coldest takes of the preseason for the next five months: After a full offseason in Montgomery, the Blues are the best bet to disrupt a top three that has been unchanged for two years. Bah. Don't fall in love with a heater, kids.
SCOTT MAXWELL:This is a bit of a cursory answer since it's similar to my New Year's resolution from last year, but it's stillimproving my interviewing skills with players. I've at least completed the second part of last year's resolution, about finding a way to incorporate that element into my analysis pieces, a process that turned out to be much easier than I expected, but the quotes themselves could still have more substance. Whether that's asking tough questions in the scrums (or asking questions in general, I'll let the daily beat writers take the reins there) or engaging in deeper and more personal conversations in one-on-one interviews, there's still a lot of room for improvement.
MIKE GOUL:My decision is made see more from the minnesota wild. After trading for Quinn Hughes, is it safe to say that the Wild are no longer lenient? They have Kirill Kaprizov, they have Matt Boldy, they have an incredible goalkeeping tandem of Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt. I think it's time to take this team a little more seriously. After including Marco Rossi in the Hughes deal, they are likely due to trade for a center. Is that where Nazem Kadri ends up? Either way, I'm fascinated to see if the Wild can make it to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in over two decades.
PAUL PIDUTTI:I don't want to get too sentimental during the holidays, but my hockey resolution is to do soalways remain grateful for the platform and opportunity I found. My own hockey career ended when I was 20 as a junior and I was very content with a quiet, happy life as a hockey fan in my spare time. I started writing a book during the COVID lockdowns and createdCustom ice hockeymore for myself as a passion project and to use the newfound free time as an outlet. So as someone who entered hockey media at age 36, had never written a published word or maintained a social media account, and juggled a full-time corporate job, it's a small miracle that I'm here writing weekly articles and interacting with passionate hockey fans on a daily basis. Everything about my path, style, and topics is completely non-traditional for sports writing. I'm grateful for it all, especially the people who gave me the opportunity and believed in a complete unknown, with lots of big ideas and zero practical experience. It's easy to get caught up in finding time, creating topics, meeting deadlines, tracking page views, etc., so I want to stay grateful and keep creating unique, interesting content.