NHL Power Rankings: Every team ranked by Stanley Cup chances and their 2026-27 tier

(Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post) | Denver Post via Getty Images The puck is about to drop on another NHL season, and the 2026-27 season is about to begin. Free agency and the draft are in the rearview; training camp and preseason are done — now we see if those moves paid off. It was a relatively quiet offseason, all things being equal. A soft free agent market meant that there weren’t a lot of established veterans available to improve teams, which led to the majority of the NHL either trusting their internal systems, or finding themselves out of luck for improvement. As we await the beginning of the season, these are our opening night power rankings, as well as which tier each team slots into as it pertains to their chances to hoist Lord Stanley at the end of the season. RankTeamTier 1Colorado Avalanche1 2Carolina Hurricanes1 3Vegas Golden Knights1 4Montreal Canadiens2 5Dallas Stars2 6Buffalo Sabres2 7Tampa Bay Lightning2 8Minnesota Wild2 9Florida Panthers2 10Utah Mammoth2 11San Jose Sharks3 12Anaheim Ducks3 13Boston Bruins3 14Washington Capitals3 15Edmonton Oilers3 16Philadelphia Flyers3 17Pittsburgh Penguins3 18New Jersey Devils3 19Ottawa Senators3 20Los Angeles Kings3 21Toronto Maple Leafs4 22New York Islanders4 23New York Rangers4 24St. Louis Blues4 25Nashville Predators4 26Columbus Blue Jackets4 27Detroit Red Wings5 28Chicago Blackhawks5 29Winnipeg Jets5 30Seattle Kraken5 31Calgary Flames5 32Vancouver Canucks5 Tier 1: Avalanche, Hurricanes, Golden Knights These are the teams that we call the Stanley Cup Favorites. They are organizations that have almost no discernible weaknesses, and only a significant injury or bad fortune would lead to them missing the playoffs. All these teams should make it into the postseason, and at least win one series — or it would be considered both a shock, and a failure of a year. Tier 2: Canadiens, Stars, Sabres, Lightning, Wild, Panthers, Mammoth We classify these, along with Tier 1, as the elite of the NHL. The key difference between this group and the three in the top rank is that there are a few issues with their roster construction or experience that mean we can’t define them as favorites quite yet. This is also the tier of teams who could be the most active at the NHL trade deadline, with a key acquisition or two pushing them into contention. There are similar playoff expectations, but winning a series or two would be defined as a successful campaign. Tier 3: Sharks, Ducks, Bruins, Capitals, Oilers, Flyers, Penguins, Devils, Senators, Kings Another step down we have teams that we could call “Dark Horses.” These are organizations who are better than fighting for a Wild Card spot, but could find themselves in that position. All of these teams have some really great qualities, but either lack the depth or the top-end talent to really favor them in a series against anyone above them. Still, what this tier has is ample potential to shock the hockey world. A player breakout, or a shift in fortunes coul easily make one of these teams into an organization that makes a Cinderella run in the playoffs. Tier 4: Maple Leafs, Islanders, Rangers, Blues, Predators, Blue Jackets Earning a Wild Card would be a successful campaign for a team in Tier 4. All are in some stage of flux or are so unproven it’s difficult to see them making a significant impact on the year. Never say never, but as the season begins we can expect these teams to simply work on improving their on-ice play, integrate new players, or implement a new locker room culture. The goal is to build, not complete — not yet. Tier 5: Red Wings, Blackhawks, Jets, Kraken, Flames, Canucks It is what it is. These organizations are all in a state of building or rebuilding which makes it unlikely they’ll really threaten the playoffs. It would take wide scale problems for numerous teams above them to enable a path forward, and the goal this season is improvement. If they can even fight for a Wild Card spot it would be a small miracle, and these are likely the teams that will be looking ahead to the 2027 NHL Draft in February.

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