Canadiens | The Canadiens are a fascinating team in 2025-26 because they just made the playoffs with a minus-20 goal differential. That tells me they were fortunate to be in that position. On the other hand, Montreal is an exciting group. Lane Hutson is coming off a Calder Trophy win, and the team just swung a blockbuster trade for Noah Dobson. | -- | 0-0-0 | |
16 |
Kings | Missing out on Mitch Marner. Trading Jordan Spence. Signing Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin to big contracts. It's hard to see the Kings as anything other than one of the offseason's biggest losers so far. Los Angeles is probably still a playoff team, but a fifth straight loss to the Oilers is coming down the tracks. | 12 | 0-0-0 |
17 |
Blues | St. Louis has upgraded its center depth with Pius Suter and Nick Bjugstad, and there are still things to like elsewhere. The Blues just seem to lack enough high-end scorers to compete with the top teams in its own division. Perhaps Jim Montgomery's defensive acumen can get this team to the postseason again. | 4 | 0-0-0 |
18 |
Rangers | The Rangers essentially swapped K'Andre Miller for Vladislav Gavrikov. They got rid of a veteran player on a pricey deal in Chris Kreider. Mike Sullivan takes over behind the bench. It's been a mixed bag for New York, a team that seems destined for the playoff fringes next season. | 4 | 0-0-0 |
19 |
Canucks | Pius Suter is gone. Evander Kane has arrived. Brock Boeser has returned. All of those things feel surprising to different degrees, and it's hard to evaluate these Canucks. Will they be closer to the 2023-24 squad that nearly went to the conference finals, or will it be a repeat of last year when they missed the playoffs by six points? The latter seems more likely. | 1 | 0-0-0 |
20 |
Red Wings | The Red Wings went out and got the top goalie available on the trade market in John Gibson. They also added defensive specialist Mason Appleton to the forward group. Is that enough to end Detroit's lengthy playoff drought? I'm pretty skeptical, so Steve Yzerman may need to take a big swing on the trade market over the next few months (see: Jason Robertson). | 1 | 0-0-0 |
21 |
Ducks | Despite the addition of some veterans (Mikael Granlund and Chris Kreider), any meaningful improvements will have to be made internally. Anaheim needs players like Mason McTavish, Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier and Pavel Mintyukov to take big steps forward under new coach Joel Quenneville. | 4 | 0-0-0 |
22 |
Sabres | I'm of two minds about the Buffalo Sabres. For one, they have some fun players in their forward group, and their young core of defensemen is quite impressive. Having said that, it's also the Sabres. There are still big holes further down the lineup that I do not expect them to plug. This team can't get out of its own way, so I won't be predicting playoffs until I see it with my own eyes. | 1 | 0-0-0 |
23 |
Bruins | Putting the Bruins at No. 23 feels a little generous. Outside of David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy, how many players are there to get excited about? Maybe Hampus Lindholm. Maybe Jeremy Swayman. Boston may be in for a very long 2025-26 season. | 6 | 0-0-0 |
24 |
Predators | The Predators have tinkered with their defense a bit, but it's been uneventful outside of that. Positive regression alone should make Nashville better next season, but that would still put the team well out of a playoff spot. The Preds' front office might be better served to set its sights on the 2026 offseason. | 7 | 0-0-0 |
25 |
Blue Jackets | This may seem low for a team that just missed the playoffs by two points last season, but the Blue Jackets played well above expectations. A lot went right for Columbus, and the team still missed the playoffs. The acquisition of Charlie Coyle was a head-scratcher, and the Ivan Provorov extension might have caused some bald spots among the fan base. | 6 | 0-0-0 |
26 |
Flyers | The Trevor Zegras trade was a smart move from the Flyers. Bet on a very talented young player whose value has never been lower. If Zegras hits in Philly, the team will have a star. If not, he's in the last year of his current contract, so no harm done. Despite that, I still think the Flyers need at least one more year before they are back in the playoff conversation. | -- | 0-0-0 |
27 |
Islanders | Times are finally changing on Long Island. Lou Lamoriello is out, and the roster has been shaken up. Most notably, star defenseman Noah Dobson is a Canadien, and No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer will theoretically take his place. The change of direction might mean a tough year for the Islanders, but the future already looks pretty bright. | 3 | 0-0-0 |
28 |
Flames | The Flames are another team that narrowly missed out on the playoffs, but they have taken a tumble in the postseason power rankings. Calgary was the beneficiary of some good puck luck, and the roster remains quite underwhelming. That's especially the case if Rasmus Andersson gets traded in the coming weeks. | 10 | 0-0-0 |
29 |
Kraken | Seattle has done stuff this summer, but how much of it has been good? Lane Lambert is now the coach, but his resume with the Islanders was very underwhelming. Mason Marchment is a good player, but how much does he move the needle? Ryan Lindgren struggled last year, and now he will play a big role on the Kraken's blue line. | 2 | 0-0-0 |
30 |
Penguins | One of the few teams clearly not trying to get any better for next season, the Penguins are very much playing the long game. Pittsburgh hasn't made many major additions, and GM Kyle Dubas is surely dangling trade chips like Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust. The Pens will be quite bad, but that's by design. | 2 | 0-0-0 |
31 |
Sharks | The Sharks are still going to be bad. But they might not be quite as bad. They have a trio of very exciting young forwards, and they added some veterans on the blue line. San Jose won't be within spitting distance of the playoffs, but there should be competent hockey on most nights. | 1 | 0-0-0 |
32 |
Blackhawks | Last year made it very evident that the Blackhawks' rebuild still has a very long way to go. Even Connor Bedard struggled as Chicago cratered. Expect more young prospects to play bigger roles in 2025-26, and it will be interesting to see how many of them rise to the occasion and stick with the NHL club for most of the year. | 2 | 0-0-0 |