NHL Power Rankings 26-27

With the NHL season 2 weeks away, it’s time for my Preseason Power Rankings!

#32- Vancouver Canucks

I have Vancouver at the bottom of my rankings because while they do have some star power with Elias Petterson and Brock Boeser, this team lacks bottom 6 depth, and it is well known that this group is going through a full rebuild.

#31- Calgary Flames

This team is just so one-dimensional; they have no true goal scorers, and although there is a lot of upside to their young goaltending tandem in Dustin Wolf and Devin Cooley, they don’t have much depth defensively with the departure of Mackenzie Weegar at the deadline last year, and Jonathan Huberdeau is not near the caliber of scorer he used to be, and you could make a case for this team to be below Vancouver because of the lack of young talent outside of Zane Parekh.

#30- Nashville Predators

Nashville to me is just a team built up of veterans who are past their primes. Stamkos is on the wrong side of 35, Ryan O’ Reilly has dropped in production as he’s gotten older and he turns 36 in November, as well as Roman Josi struggling to stay on the ice consistently. On top of this, the team not having ready-to-win talent, their young talent has a lot of question marks. 2025 8th overall pick Brady Martin was seen as a surprise pick in that spot, and he has a lot to go before he is fully NHL-ready. Nashville did add Ross Colton for a scoring boost in the offseason, as well as young stud Mavrik Bourque from the Stars, who had 41 points as a rookie, but this team does not feel like it will be in any spot to compete this year.

#29- Chicago Blackhawks

The reason why I didn’t have the Hawks in the bottom 3 is that I am pretty high on the potential of this team's young core. Oliver Moore showed great flashes as a rookie, Frank Nazar has turned into Bedard’s running mate, and Anton Frondell will have the chance to show his strides with a top-six role this season. Patrick Kane returning is great for the culture and is a great leader for Connor Bedard to have around as a mentor. If Bedard can stay healthy, this team might have a shot in the dark to sneak into the playoffs, or at least build a great future foundation.

#28-Winnipeg Jets

Noticing a theme here? The West is significantly weaker than the Eastern Conference, and the key for the Jets if they want any shot is to reach an agreement with Connor Hellebuyck. If Hellebuyck does stay for the full season and plays up to Vezina Trophy level, the Jets could sneak into the postseason, but the likelihood of that happening is low.

#27- New York Rangers

The Rangers made a splash on draft night by trading for young star forward Pavel Dorofeyev from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for 3 draft picks. New York then signed him to a 7-year, 77 million deal ($ 11 M AAV) to lock up a young franchise cornerstone. Pavel tallied 37 goals and 27 assists for 64 points while also appearing in every regular-season game for the second consecutive year last season. He also led Vegas in playoff goals with 12. With that massive scoring output added to this Rangers offence to replace Artemi Panarin’s production, the future doesn't look as grim as it did before draft night. With that being said, this team is relatively young and has a lot of strides to make before they can get back to being a prime Cup

contender.

#26- Seattle Kraken

Seattle is 3 years removed from eliminating the then-defending Cup champs Colorado

Avalanche, and after that season, it looked like the future was extremely bright in Seattle. Now, as we enter the 2026-27 campaign, Seattle has no great young talent, but they do have a couple of guys who could turn into mainstays if they are developed properly. Ryker Evans is a really good two-way defenseman, and the addition of former Panther Mackie Samoskevich adds some size and depth to this forward core. The goaltending position for this group is still extremely hit or miss, and Joey Daccord has struggled to stay healthy over the past two seasons. Matty Beniers, who is still a very good player and has the potential to be a star, needs the guys around him to take that next step. Matty has played in all 82 games for 2 seasons in a row and has tallied exactly 20 goals in both of those seasons, so he could be in position for a big year if his lackluster supporting cast can feed him the puck.

#25- St Louis Blues

St. Louis trading away a top scorer and assistant captain, Jordan Kyrou, to Washington points to the team wanting to retool. I say retool because this team traded for Mason McTavish, and that shows they still want to compete but did not feel as if they were good enough to run it back with the same group of guys. If youngsters Jimmy Snuggerud and Dalibor Dvorsky can leap in year two, there could be a world where they sneak in just as they did in the 24-25 campaign.

#24- New Jersey Devils

The Devils traded away Jacob Markstrom at the peak of the offseason, and that is why I have them this far down in my rankings. The forward group is very talented, but the goalies will hold them back.

#23- Columbus Blue Jackets

Columbus has been a frisky team the last few years, and I love Sean Monahan as their captain, and Jet Greaves is a young stud at goalie, but this team lacks depth and a true #1 scorer. The Jackets need Adam Fantilli taking that next big step.

#22- Detroit Red Wings

The Yzerplan is over, but this team has a lot of off-ice issues to deal with. While the talent is there, it is hard to trust this team with Dylan Larkin having no desire to stay in the Motor City.

#21- Ottawa Senators

Ottawa traded Brady Tkachuk to the Panthers, and then used picks from that trade to acquire former top-5 pick William Eklund from the Sharks. He is a crafty scorer, and the Sens have a great young D core with Jake Sanderson as the anchor, but like New Jersey, the goaltending position has a lot of question marks. If Linus Ullmark can play the way he did in the first round against Carolina, this team is capable of making another run towards a playoff spot.

#20- Los Angeles Kings

Peter Laviolette is their head coach; it feels about as mediocre as it gets. Panarin didn't love Laviolette as a head coach in the Big Apple, so it will be interesting to see how that impacts his play in LA. They have good top-six scoring to go along with Panarin, and I think Adrian Kempe could be in for a sneaky good year, but the main focus of LA’s offseason was the retirement of longtime captain and leader Anze Kopitar, who spent 20 seasons with the franchise. Panarin will have to step up as a voice of reason in that locker room.

#19- Anaheim Ducks

At the end of the Ducks' season following a second-round exit to the Western Conference Champion Golden Knights, fans were hopeful that they would be able to build on that in the offseason and into the new season. Unfortunately for the Ducks, they lost 4 of their top 6 defenseman. Jacob Trouba went out to the bay to join the Sharks, John Carlson went to the sunshine state, along with Radko Gudas who returned to the Panthers, and in a puzzling move the Ducks traded Olen Zellweger to the Sabres. They were able to retain Leo Carlson on a lucrative offer sheet match, but did part ways with Mason McTavish, who they shipped to St. Louis. One positive of all the movement on the back end is that it does set up Jack Lacombe to be the number one defenseman for many years to come, but this team is lacking in the depth department in all facets. The one thing keeping me from ranking them lower is their stability at the goaltending position with Lukas Dostal.

#18- Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pens surprised a lot of people by making it to the postseason after having little to no

expectations to do so. In the offseason, Pittsburgh lost a 40-goal scorer in Anthony Mantha, which will reduce some offensive output, but they did make some good depth moves by acquiring Nick Robertson for a 4th-round pick from the Maple Leafs, and former Flyer Andrei Kuzmenko on a 1-year deal. The concerns for Pittsburgh are largely from a goaltending standpoint, as Arturs Silovs will be a full-time starter for the first time in his NHL career after Stuart Skinner went to the Jets, and the Pens backup Sergei Murashov has never played a regular-season game at the NHL level. If their goaltending is even slightly above average, Pittsburgh could be playing postseason hockey again, but if the tandem struggles and veterans Crosby and Malkin take steps back, this team's floor is lower than some of the teams ranked lower than them, but they do have a higher ceiling than New Jersey or Ottawa.

#17- Toronto Maple Leafs

John Chayka takes over as GM, and the Leafs brought in the number 1 pick, Gavin McKenna, to add some serious star power to the offensive game. The Leafs also brought in skilled veterans Darren Raddysh, Nick Paul, and 2 time Vezina winner Sergei Bobrovsky. It is clear that the offensive game will get stronger for Auston Matthews and company, but the key is for this group to stay healthy. Matthews has not had a fully healthy season in 2 years, and Chris Tanev has a history of struggling to stay on the ice for a full season. The other concern is that the Leafs spent too much money on Darren Raddysh, who had his breakout season as he turned 30, so it is concerning that it could be a flop, but John Chayka is taking a gamble to try and send the Leafs back to the postseason and set them up to break the nearly 70-year Cup drought sometime in the near future.

#16- Dallas Stars

No, this is not a typo. Dallas has a lot of players getting up there in age and struggling to stay on the ice, with the two main examples being fan favorites Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. While they do have a great top six headlined by Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz seems to always struggle to stay healthy, and the bottom six lacks anything to be excited about, not to mention the teams out west that Dallas will have to play regularly, with the Avalanche, Wild, and Mammoth likely blocking their sight of a division spot.

#15- New York Islanders

The Isles are yet to name a captain to lead this young core, but it should without a doubt be Matthew Schaefer. Last year's Calder winner will look to build on that season. You could argue Matthew is already a top 5-7 defenseman in the NHL, and they have a top 5 goaltender in Ilya Sorokin between the pipes. This team will be in contention for a wild card spot, and could even finish third in the Metropolitan Division.

#14-Boston Bruins-

Boston unexpectedly snuck into the postseason before losing to the Sabres in the first round. Boston added JJ Peterka from Utah to be their number 1 left winger, and he brings speed, size, and grit to a forward core that is looking to take the next step. Peterka did not have the season he was hoping for last year in his lone season with the Mammoth, with 25 goals and 22 assists for 47 points over a full season. He will look to build on that season in his first campaign in Boston, and the Bruins could be expecting him to score 30 goals this year to take some of the load off of David Pastrnak. Another big key for Boston this year is Morgan Geekie returning the production he put up last year. He started in the bottom six last year, and ended up having a career year with 39 goals. Frazer Minten is also hoping to play more of a top-six role on his new deal. We know what Jeremy Swayman is capable of; if he is solid this year, Boston could be

scary.

#13- Utah Mammoth

Utah enters the new season after making the playoffs for the first time since the full relocation to Utah from Arizona. Karel Vejmelka has established himself as an upper-half goaltender in the NHL and will have his sights set on becoming one of the top goalies in the NHL. He has gotten better every year as the team around him has, and his defense is deep and hungry to make a run. Utah added bruiser Andrew Peeke in the offseason to play next to Dmitry Simashev, who will have his first full role in the defensive room after the departure of Sean Durzi. The big adds for Utah were in the forward department, as they brought in season veterans Vincent Trocheck and Anders Lee to create a well-balanced top six alongside Logan Cooley, Clayton Keller, and Dylan Guenther.

#12- San Jose Sharks

Macklin Celibrini is a superstar; there is no denying that after his 115-point production in just his second season. Outside of McDavid, he is one of the best young talents we have seen in the NHL in years, and will be the poster boy for the Sharks for years to come, who are finally out of the dark rebuild. The team chemistry that the Sharks have created is undeniable, and that can help a team succeed. Will Smith and Celibrini are best buds, and that will build their play on the ice. On top of that, the Sharks will get a fully healthy Michael Misa going into his second season, and have a budding star in net with Yaroslov Askarov, not to mention the great offseason adds in Trouba and Nurse on the back end.

#11- Vegas Golden Knights

Yes, this team made it to the Stanley Cup Final last year, but they had a different head coach, and the goaltending throughout was lackluster at best from Carter Hart. Ryan Craig slots in as the head man for Vegas, after coaching the Henderson Silver Knights. It was surprising that Vegas hired within, but they were also running out of options after deciding not to retain John Toterella following their cup run. Vegas was the last team this offseason to hire a head coach, and will run back pretty much the same team this year as they had last year. Realistically, this team should be able to make it back to the Final again, but there are too many question marks with the aging core, goaltending struggles, and first-year head coach.

#10- Minnesota Wild

I have the Wild slotted in at 10, as Quinn Hughes and Kirill Kaprizov alone make Minnesota one of the most dangerous teams in the league, not to mention a young stud goaltender in Jesper Wallstedt. They have stars in all 3 parts of the game with Kaprizov, Hughes, and Wallstedt, but they also have a very strong supporting cast. Matthew Boldy is a star in his own right, and Joel Eriksson Ek can score you a goal in the moments when the team desperately needs one. Defensively, the top two pairs are as good as any in the NHL, with Hughes and Faber, who both made the US Olympic team, playing next to each other, and veterans Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon, the team's captain, playing side by side. The key for Minnesota is Hughes staying healthy and continuing to play as a yearly Norris candidate. This team is too talented for me to rank them anywhere outside of the top 10, but they need to stay healthy as a unit.

#9- Philadelphia Flyers

This team has all of the talent to take the next step to one of the top contenders in the East, and Rick Tocchet is a fantastic head coach. This group will play physically and continue to build a strong culture of playing together as a unit and physically wearing down their opponents. Porter Martone has all of the tools to score 30, maybe even 40 goals this season for the Flyers, and Trevor Zegras will look to build off of his first season in Philly. The Flyers also added Joseph Woll to their goalie room, who provides depth and upside behind Dan Vladar. The main problem last year for the Flyers when they got down to playoff hockey was depth, and they added veteran Noel Acciari as a fourth-line scoring booster, and Simon Benoit on the backend as the other piece of the Woll trade, providing this group with insurance if someone were to unexpectedly go down. Martone and company will look to be a threat to the Canes and Caps in the Metro Division standings.

#8-Tampa Bay Lightning

While Tampa lost a lot of depth in the offseason, it is hard for me to put them outside of the top ten as long as Nikita Kucherov and superstar goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy exist. Last year's MVP will no doubt have another terrific season, as he is one of the most consistently healthy players in all of hockey. Kucherov tallied 130 points and 44 goals last season en route to winning the Hart Trophy as the best player in hockey. The driving factor for Tampa this season is the health of Brayden Point. There is no questioning how skilled he is, but he missed 19 games last year and only scored 18 goals. If he can stay healthy this year, Point could have another 40- 50-goal season as he did in 2024. The concerns for the Lightning come in the bottom six and the 3rd defensive pair. Tampa lost Nick Paul and Darren Raddysh to the Leafs and did acquire John Carlson, but I don’t believe he will make as big of an impact as some think he may. Carlson is 36 years old and will most likely be on the third pairing for the Lightning, but I don't think he can fully replicate the impact that Raddysh had last season. That, to go along with Point’s health, is why I don’t feel good about putting this group anywhere higher than 8.

#7-Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo shocked the entire hockey world last season by ending a 16-year playoff drought and finishing as the top team in a deep Atlantic Division. I would not be shocked if the Sabres won the division again, but I also wouldn't be shocked if the Sabres took a slight step back to a wild card team. Zach Benson is one of the most underrated young talents in the NHL, with 40 points in the regular season last year, and 9 points in 13 postseason games. Tage Thompson is a bonafide leader and will have his guys rallied around him all year long. The question marks surrounding the goaltending position are why I have them ranked here at number 7. Buffalo will run back a tandem of Ukko-Pekka-Luukkonen and Alex Lyon, who will most likely have a 50/50 split for the first 15 to 20 games of the season. The scoring upside and depth are there just as it was last year for Buffalo, and I think the addition of Olen Zellweger is a great one to replace Bowen Byram, but the goaltending could hold them back from being a true Cup contender.

#6-Edmonton Oilers

Connor McDavid is the best talent we have ever seen in the NHL, and I fully expect him and his running mate Leon Draisaitl to both put up 100-plus-point seasons, with Connor potentially playing his final year as an Oiler. The Oilers are going to try to do whatever they can to win the Cup this year to ensure McDavid sticks around. Devon Levi has a ton of upside as a goaltender, and one of the better goaltender talents Edmonton has had in years. He will have the chance to learn from a Stanley Cup Champ in Freddie Anderson, which does give the Oilers the most comfort they have had at that position in the McDavid era. If Levi can play up to his potential, and the defense can be solid without Darnell Nurse and get another great year from star D man Evan Bouchard, this team can for sure win the Lord Stanley.

#5-Florida Panthers

There is no question that the Tkachuk brothers together can be deadly, but I have concerns about them getting in each other's way. They could both have the need to be that alpha fighter player, and it gets to a point where it could cause them problems in the locker room if the brothers distance themselves from the rest of the group. The odds of that happening are low, with Aleksander Barkov as their captain being widely known as a respected leader, but it has to be considered that this team will deal with a culture shift and will have a lot of their cornerstones coming off of injuries. I love the addition of Markstrom to replace Bobrovsky, but we have never seen him play up to the level Bobrovsky does when it comes time for a playoff run. All of that being said, I have no doubt Paul Maurice will have his guys ready and hungry for a third cup in 4 seasons.

#4-Washington Capitals

Washington narrowly missed out on the final wildcard spot last season, and the front office was not content with going with the same group for the new year. Washington had one of the most active offseasons, and the best one in my eyes. Washington added Jordan Kyrou from the Blues as their big splash, and made another strong move by adding Alex Tuch from Buffalo. Both additions add a much-needed boost to a group that struggled offensively in comparison to the season prior. Tuch scored 33 goals last season for a contender, and Kyrou scored 36 goals in the 24-25 campaign when the Blues made the playoffs. Washington also added longtime Blue Jackets and former captain Boone Jenner as a bottom-six veteran presence to round out the

group around Alex Ovechkin, who will no longer need to carry the load alone offensively for the Capitals. Logan Thompson is a sneakily underrated goaltender, and he will look to have a career year in front of the best team on paper that the Caps have had since winning it all in 2018. Jacob Chychrun and Cole Hutson are marquee defensemen for this group, and this team is so well-rounded with no real weakness if Kyrou and Thompson can stay healthy for a full season.

#3-Jakub Dobes will win the Vezina Trophy this season, and the Canadiens will make a run in the postseason as they did last year, led by young stars Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky. Ivan Demidov was a calder trophy contender last year, and will take that next step to a 30 goal soccer along with being an above average defensive forward as he was last year. Caulfield will also score 30 goals, and Montreal will be an offensive force on top of a stellar season from Dobes.

#2- Colorado Avalanche

If MacKinnon and Makar have a healthy postseason unlike last year and the goaltending

tandem of Blackwood and Wedgewood can have some sort of consistency, this team will no doubt be a favorite to win the Cup. Even with Brock Nelson and Josh Manson aging, this team has enough star power to get back to the top.

#1-Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes will look to defend their Stanley Cup title, and they only lost one player who was key to their success last year, and that was Freddie Anderson. Brandon Bussi is more than ready for the challenge of being a full-time starter, and Pyotr Kochetkov is serviceable as a backup if he stays healthy. If Bussi is good in net, the Canes are running back the best defense in the NHL, a top 5 scoring offense, and have the best coach in the NHL in Rod Brind'Amour. I don't think anyone would be shocked if the Canes went back-to-back and ran the East again after getting the conference finals monkey off their back last year and lifting the Cup.

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