NHL power rankings: Wild leading the way after red-hot start to 2026-27 season
With Scott Maxwell
We’ve officially made it through the first week of the 2026-27 NHL regular season.
While there’s still a lot of hockey left to be played, there’s also nothing quite like a strong first impression — good or bad. Each of the NHL’s 32 teams has had at least one chance to show what it can do, and some have undoubtedly been more successful than others.
As you may recall, Scott and I sorted the league’s teams into nine categories last week in our final pre-season rankings. This time around, we’re back to ranking them all from No. 1 to 32 based on what we’ve seen from them on the ice. Fair warning: Scott’s newfangled analytical model has a tendency to overreact to small sample sizes, so get ready for some wild takes!
Hey, speaking of “wild” …
1. Minnesota Wild
Record: 2-0-0, +5
Mike’s Rank: 2nd
Scott’s Rank: 3rd
Mike: I consider the Wild one of the leading contenders to come out of the Central Division, and they’re certainly off to a good start. I was a big fan of the Blake Coleman addition for them, and Olli Maatta should be an upgrade over Jake Middleton in terms of skating and puck possession. But so far, it’s been all about their stars: Kirill Kaprizov has three goals in two games, Quinn Hughes is eating a ton of minutes, and Jesper Wallstedt’s numbers are as good as any. I think they’ll be a wagon.
2. Colorado Avalanche
Record: 2-0-0, +9
Mike’s Rank: 1st
Scott’s Rank: 5th
Mike: Sure, they’ve beaten a couple weaker teams in the Kings and Blues, but I’m a little surprised Scott doesn’t have the Avs right at the top of the pile. I just love the depth of this team. Obviously, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar are two of the very best players in the league, but even after moving out Val Nichushkin, Ross Colton and Jack Drury, Colorado still just has so many good players. I can’t wait to see how many points Gabriel Landeskog puts up this year — he only keeps getting better and better in his comeback era.
Scott: Their 5v5 offense is as much of a wagon as they’ve always been, and I expect the rest of their game to pick up in the coming weeks. The only blemish on their record so far is middling results defensively and on the power play from the early sample size, hence why they were dinged a few spots.
3. Pittsburgh Penguins
Record: 2-0-0, +8
Mike’s Rank: 8th
Scott’s Rank: 2nd
Scott: Every statement made about every team right now should obviously be prefaced with “this is an extremely small sample size,” but in that sample size, the Penguins have picked up right where they left off. Their offense is gelling well through two games, and they’ve been backing that up with elite play driving and defending. The new additions in particular (Declan Carlile, Kaedan Korczak, Hendrix Lapierre, Nick Robertson) have looked great as well thus far. A lot of this is carried from the blowout win over the Flyers (which speaks more to Philly than it does to Pittsburgh), but even the win over the Habs was great until score effects occurred.
Mike: I think it’s super cool that Filip Hallander finally appears to be emerging as an NHL regular more than eight years after being drafted. Remember when the Leafs traded him for Jared McCann?
Scott: Yeah, but Justin Holl had to be protected, so it was fine. At least Kyle Dubas is benefitting from his own mistake with Hallander.
4. Utah Mammoth
Record: 2-1-0, +7
Mike’s Rank: 10th
Scott’s Rank: 1st
Scott: I’m sure Mike will disagree with my high ranking of the Mammoth, but don’t take it as me anointing them as early Stanley Cup favorites. At this point in time, Utah has just been solid across the board, even in their Sunday loss to the Rangers. In the first week of the season, that’s all you can ask from a team. Maybe they build off this going forward, but for now, this is the level they’re playing at.
Mike: I don’t necessarily disagree — I’m just tempering my expectations. Utah’s forward group has been great, with Nick Schmaltz, Clayton Keller, and Dylan Guenther leading the charge. I’m just not sold on MacKenzie Weegar and Vincent Trocheck as key secondary pieces for this team, particularly considering what Utah gave up to get them. I don’t love their depth. We’ll see.
5. Vegas Golden Knights
Record: 2-1-0, +3
Mike’s Rank: 4th
Scott’s Rank: 7th
Mike: The Knights have beaten two terrible teams and lost to a decent one in the first week of the season, but hey, you’ve gotta play the schedule you’re given, right? After everything he went through last year, it was neat to see Adin Hill stop 18 of 20 in Vegas’ win over the Canucks on Sunday. Hill is a talented goalie who just needs to stay healthy and get into a good rhythm. Also, Brayden McNabb continues his improbable run of piling up points — the rugged, stay-at-home vet has four assists through three games in 2026-27 after ranking second among all Knights defenders with 10 points in 21 playoff games in the spring.
6. Florida Panthers
Record: 1-0-2, -1
Mike’s Rank: 6th
Scott’s Rank: 9th
Mike: The Panthers have pushed three consecutive games to overtime to start the season, winning a 1-0 barn burner over Carolina on opening day before falling to San Jose and Anaheim. To my mild surprise, Jacob Markstrom has looked pretty darn solid in the early stages of his second Panthers tenure. Unfortunately, they’ve already lost Aleksander Barkov to another scary-looking injury, and Brady Tkachuk has yet to record a point through his first three games. I like Florida’s chances to contend again this year, but they’re being forced to overcome some early adversity, too.
Scott: Yeah, nothing has made me think they need to hit the panic button yet, especially if Barkov isn’t out for the season (although ideally he’ll have more than two games in two years before a Stanley Cup run). But it has been a sluggish start for a team many expected to be a juggernaut after a full offseason of rest.
7. Edmonton Oilers
Record: 2-0-1, +3
Mike’s Rank: 14th
Scott’s Rank: 4th
Scott: I was expecting the Oilers to be around Mike’s placement for myself considering how chaotic their first week has been, but after looking at their numbers, it’s incredible how much their problems continue to be just goaltending. The only metric of theirs not in the top 10 was 5v5 expected goals for, not against, with the latter stat being eighth. They just still can’t get saves, and I definitely see why Mike baked that into his ranking. For Edmonton’s sake, hopefully Saturday’s 3-1 win over the Kraken is a building point for Devon Levi, who has the best chance of his career to cement his place in the NHL.
Also, is Evan Bouchard’s plan this season to just break every scoring record to finally get voters to realize he should get more Norris Trophy consideration? Because if so, I’m here for it.
Mike: Bouchard probably should win the Norris at some point. He’s scary good, and I don’t feel bad about saying it.
8. Carolina Hurricanes
Record: 1-1-1, -3
Mike’s Rank: 3rd
Scott’s Rank: 15th
Mike: I get it, they’ve only won one out of their first three games, and their underlyings aren’t amazing, but the Hurricanes are still the reigning champs. I find it poetic every time Shayne Gostisbehere scores against the Flyers, as he did in overtime on Saturday. The ‘Canes outshot Philly 40-18 in that game. They’ll be fine.
Scott: Yeah, my ranking is merely going off the stats that they’ve rolled out thus far. I have full faith that this is just a Cup hangover and they’ll be back in form in short order.
9. New York Rangers
Record: 3-1-0, +5
Mike’s Rank: 9th
Scott’s Rank: 11th
Mike: I’ve been bullish on these Rangers all summer, particularly after they reshaped their defense and shed Vincent Trocheck, whom I’m not particularly keen on at this point. Well, wouldn’t you know it, the Rangers are 3-1-0 and just beat the suddenly-pretty-good Utah Mammoth. I think Rangers fans are really going to like Sean Durzi, who is a breath of fresh air compared to many of his slower, less skilled predecessors on Broadway. And good for Eeli Tolvanen, who went unsigned for much of the summer but now has three goals in his first four games with the Rangers.
10. Anaheim Ducks
Record: 2-0-0, +2
Mike’s Rank: 13th
Scott’s Rank: 8th
Scott: Aside from Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier picking up right where they left off, I wouldn’t say there’s anything about the Ducks’ game that really jumps out to me thus far. But considering the offseason they just had, to play a solid game and win both of your first two games is about all you could ask for.
Mike: I don’t know whether the Ducks can truly make a go of it with this shallow of a supporting cast, but I’ve been wrong many times before. It’s been wild to see Tristan Luneau play more than 26 minutes in each of his first two games this season — and look good doing it — after spending virtually all of last year in the AHL. That contract might end up aging just fine.
Scott: It almost feels like the Ducks are playing him that much out of spite after everyone said “who?” when his contract extension was announced.
11. Ottawa Senators
Record: 1-0-0, +1
Mike’s Rank: 16th
Scott’s Rank: 6th
Scott: The Senators have the mother of all small sample sizes for the first rankings, as they played their one and only game on Saturday against the Leafs, a well-rounded 3-2 win. They gave up a few too many chances the other way, but Linus Ullmark was up to the task, a great sign after how chaotic last season was for him. All in all, it was a great first game in the post-Brady Tkachuk era.
Mike: I have a feeling the Sens won’t really miss Brady at all.
12. Montreal Canadiens
Record: 1-0-1, 0
Mike’s Rank: 5th
Scott’s Rank: 18th
Scott: I’m doing a great job of getting in Habs fans’ good graces so far this season, so I’ll start off with a good nugget: for the first time in Martin St. Louis’ tenure as head coach, the Canadiens have some semblance of a defensive game. It’s not elite, but it’s far better than how they’ve performed over the last five seasons. For now, it’s coming at the expense of their chance creation, but I’m sure that will work itself out in the coming weeks. Or they’ll return to the offense-only club they’ve usually been. Who knows, it’s the first week of the season.
Mike: They’ll be fine. Especially once David Reinbacher finally becomes a true top-four stalwart … any day now.
13. Tampa Bay Lightning
Record: 1-1-0, -2
Mike’s Rank: 7th
Scott’s Rank: 17th
Scott: Jon Cooper had very harsh words for his team after their 5-1 loss to the Rangers to open the season, and in his defense, they were earned words. They just looked off to start the year, which isn’t a great sign for a team that hasn’t even performed in the playoffs in recent years. They did manage to turn it around for Saturday’s 3-1 win over the Capitals, so perhaps the team listened and woke up. Only time will tell.
14. Washington Capitals
Record: 1-1-0, +1
Mike’s Rank: 11th
Scott’s Rank: 16th
Scott: Speaking of the Capitals, they’ve been the “no weak link” team everyone thought they’d be. Their depth overwhelmed the defending Stanley Cup champs to open their season, and then they fought a tight game against the Lightning, even if it resulted in a loss. There’s still a few holes in Washington’s game, but their depth isn’t one of them.
15. Buffalo Sabres
Record: 1-1-0, -2
Mike’s Rank: 15th
Scott’s Rank: 13th
Mike: Long live the Sabres! I was so thrilled to see Jiri Kulich cap off Buffalo’s come-from-behind 4-3 win over Chicago on Saturday with the deciding goal late in regulation time. Kulich is an uber-talented young forward who missed most of last season with a scary, career-threatening blood clot issue. If Kulich and the rest of this forward group can take another step forward, these Sabres will start to look even more like a leading Stanley Cup contender in the East.
16. New York Islanders
Record: 1-1-0, +5
Mike’s Rank: 19th
Scott’s Rank: 10th
Mike: The Islanders’ 6-0 shutout victory over the Devils on Saturday was a textbook example of how this team can find success going forward. Ilya Sorokin shut the door on all 37 shots he faced, Matthew Schaefer picked up a couple assists, and six different forwards scored goals — including 2025 first-round pick Victor Eklund. I like these Islanders more than my ranking might suggest, and I hope they can string together a bunch of wins to start the season.
Scott: I thought they were lifeless when I watched them on Wednesday against the Leafs, but they still played a solid game, and then ramped it up to 100% against the Devils. I’m interested to see how they look when Mathew Barzal returns — they have been missing his creativity even with their success.
17. Seattle Kraken
Record: 2-1-0, +8
Mike’s Rank: 22nd
Scott’s Rank: 12th
Scott: On one hand, a 2-1-0 start to the season is great news for the Kraken, who have long suffered in mediocrity in their franchise’s existence. The problem is that the underlying numbers continue to look mediocre, and a quick look at their competition indicates they benefitted a lot from two blowout wins over a poor Flames team. Their other game, a 3-1 loss to the Oilers, could also be looked at as a negative, considering the Kraken could only muster one goal on the team who had allowed 13 in two games prior to that.
Mike: Beating the Flames 6-1 is kind of like beating an average team 1-0. Still, I really liked Mackie Samoskevich for Seattle on Sunday. He’s got great wheels.
18. San Jose Sharks
Record: 2-0-0, +2
Mike’s Rank: 12th
Scott’s Rank: 23rd
Scott: I’m not going to sit here and tell you the Sharks had an incredible start to their season, even with a 2-0-0 record. They have some significant holes in their game to fix, and to no one’s surprise, Darnell Nurse and Jacob Trouba haven’t helped that cause. But at the very least, bringing in players like Nurse and Trouba haven’t zapped the fun out of San Jose yet. They’ll be playing must-watch hockey all season long.
19. Boston Bruins
Record: 2-1-0, +1
Mike’s Rank: 17th
Scott’s Rank: 20th
Scott: The Bruins have picked up right where they left off last season, playing mediocre hockey but being propped up by their star players (although so far that’s mostly been Jeremy Swayman), to churn out a winning record. At the very least, JJ Peterka has fit well in Boston after a disappointing season with the Mammoth. I’m curious to see how Charlie McAvoy’s return impacts the Bruins, but so far my opinion of them hasn’t changed.
20. Winnipeg Jets
Record: 1-0-1, 0
Mike’s Rank: 24th
Scott’s Rank: 14th
Mike: It would be so cool for Winnipeg to show Connor Hellebuyck who’s boss by making a surprise run at a playoff spot this year. Stuart Skinner picked up his first win as a Jet on Sunday, stopping 33 of 35 in a 3-2 victory in Detroit. If the Jets can start strong without Hellebuyck, it might cause Kevin Cheveldayoff to re-evaluate how he approaches future trade talks. I’m skeptical that the Jets truly have what it takes to make any noise in the Central, but they’re certainly not devoid of talent.
21. Dallas Stars
Record: 0-2-0, -5
Mike’s Rank: 18th
Scott’s Rank: 22nd
Scott: I feel like the Stars have had the same start for the past few seasons. They’ll have a horrendous first week, but everyone will get mad at us for ranking them in the 20s. And then they’ll slowly improve and creep upwards, and then suddenly they’re a top-five team again. All that is to say, I wouldn’t worry about the Stars… yet. That said, this is a Stars team whose depth has been depleted over a couple seasons now, so maybe this is the new reality?
22. Columbus Blue Jackets
Record: 1-1-0, 0
Mike’s Rank: 20th
Scott’s Rank: 24th
Mike: I’m pulling for these Blue Jackets, and it’s been great to see Matthew Knies leading the way for them early on. Their upcoming schedule isn’t all that intimidating, and while they didn’t put up much of a fight against Utah on Saturday, they did a much better job against the Sabres in their season opener. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this group hang around in the Metro for most of the year — they might even steal Philadelphia’s playoff spot.
23. New Jersey Devils
Record: 1-1-0, -5
Mike’s Rank: 26th
Scott’s Rank: 19th
Mike: I think Sunny Mehta is a smart and likeable GM, but I don’t think this Devils team has a ton of upside. They’re still sitting on three goals through two games, having been held off the scoresheet entirely in their 6-0 loss to the Islanders on Saturday. I’m just not sold that the Devils have enough star power to make a real go of it in the Metro — like, can you really even say their core group is better than the Blue Jackets’, for instance?
Scott: On the contrary, I do actually like the Devils’ forward group, especially on paper. That said, it relies on their core players of Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier to be leading the charge, and they haven’t thus far. Instead, Jack is worried about people making bubble wrap jokes. To be fair, that joke was a tad out of line, but also, A.J. Mleczko wasn’t exactly wrong either…
24. Toronto Maple Leafs
Record: 1-2-0, -1
Mike’s Rank: 23rd
Scott’s Rank: 25th
Mike: We haven’t seen these Leafs live up to their full potential just yet, and if they don’t beat Nashville on Tuesday, their next three games after that are on the road against Vegas, Colorado, and Utah. Good luck. It’s been a bit of a slog to start out for Gavin McKenna, but it’s also incredibly difficult to play in the NHL at age 18. He’ll come around — I predict he scores his first NHL point in Denver on Oct. 10.
Scott: I was a fan of playing McKenna with John Tavares and William Nylander to start the season, but that line has been caved in so far this year. It almost makes sense to play him with Auston Matthews and Kirill Marchenko already, since neither of them is a true playmaker. Plus, it means they can play Marchenko at his natural position with *checks notes* Jack Roslovic out of the way. Yeah, it’s been a weird start. Sergei Bobrovsky’s play hasn’t exactly made me feel any better about his signing, but he hasn’t been horrible either.
25. St. Louis Blues
Record: 1-1-0, -1
Mike’s Rank: 21st
Scott’s Rank: 28th
Scott: I don’t really have a lot to say about the Blues right now. Their play on the ice hasn’t looked all that sharp so far, and their 4-0 win over the Stars only looked as prominent as it was because Joel Hofer was excellent in it, saving 3.14 goals above expected. We’ll see how the season plays out for them, but nothing in their game so far makes me think the offseason did anything to improve them to a playoff team.
26. Los Angeles Kings
Record: 0-1-1, -5
Mike’s Rank: 28th
Scott’s Rank: 21st
Mike: I also don’t have much to say about these Kings, who have dropped back-to-back games to start the season. Artemi Panarin is pretty good, I guess? But their goaltending has been … uh, real bad. I don’t particularly like their chances against Florida, Vegas, and Edmonton in their next three games.
27. Nashville Predators
Record: 1-1-0, -1
Mike’s Rank: 25th
Scott’s Rank: 30th
Mike: Nashville has scored just three goals in two games, but they still managed to pick up a win against the alarmingly inert Stars on Saturday. I can’t help but wonder if Nils Höglander might end up becoming a quasi-Luke Evangelista replacement for these Predators, especially after he scored the winning goal against Dallas. The Canucks surely regret trading away Vasily Podkolzin for a mere fourth-round pick, and I think they might come to feel the same about dealing Höglander for a third-rounder.
28. Detroit Red Wings
Record: 0-2-0, -3
Mike’s Rank: 30th
Scott’s Rank: 26th
Mike: Goodness, what a horrible start it’s been for these Red Wings. They’ve been one of the worst-managed teams in the league for a while, but their ineptitude has reached another level over the past six months. I’ve long felt it would be prudent for Detroit to explore moving Dylan Larkin, who never quite fit the bill for them as a bona fide No. 1 center, but the way this Red Wings management group has handled the Simon Edvinsson situation is beyond perplexing. Heck, the way they’ve handled their own GM position is downright bizarre, too. Mike Ilitch would never.
Scott: I always think back to the message from an executive Jeff Marek keeps repeating on The Sheet about the Red Wings: “Chris isn’t Mike.” And yeah, no duh, Mike would have handled this much better than Chris. Then again, Mike had to deal with Ken Holland, which isn’t much of an improvement, but Ken was at least competent back in the day.
29. Vancouver Canucks
Record: 2-2-0, +1
Mike’s Rank: 29th
Scott’s Rank: 29th
Scott: After how last season went for the Canucks, a 2-2-0 start is a miracle for this team. They haven’t played anything close to good hockey, but Paul Cotter and Marco Rossi shooting benders have propelled them to some high-octane games. At least they look like they’ll be fun to watch this year.
Also, don’t look now but Elias Pettersson (the forward) has two goals and six points in four games so far this season. And 16 hits?!? I’m not going to be ringing the “Pettersson is back” bell yet, but I’m at least looking for the key to unlock it from the safe. It’s a promising start to say the least.
Mike: Pettersson has looked like a totally different player so far. It looks like he’s actually enjoying himself out there, and he’s been making a huge impact. Gotta love it.
30. Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 0-1-2, -9
Mike’s Rank: 27th
Scott’s Rank: 31st
Scott: It took us less than a week for Rick Tocchet to get back up to his shenanigans, and it has created an ugly start for the Flyers thus far. He’s far from the problem, but as they’re getting outplayed SIGNIFICANTLY, he’s decided the problem is the young guys again and not just the entire team. To be fair, the Trevor Zegrases and Porter Martones and Matvei Michkovs haven’t been great either, but if the team is losing horrendously anyways, why not let them roam free? They’re last in both 5v5 xGF/60 AND xGA/60, can it really get much worse than that?
Mike: Martone has averaged just 12:31 of ice time across the first three games of the season. Eeeeeyikes.
Scott: I’m so glad I faded him in fantasy drafts.
31. Calgary Flames
Record: 0-3-0, -13
Mike’s Rank: 32nd
Scott’s Rank: 27th
Mike: This Flames team is an absolute catastrophe in motion. They’ve been run out of the rink in each of their first three games, losing 6-1 to Seattle — twice! — and 4-1 to the lowly Canucks. Dustin Wolf has struggled enormously in the early stages, but he hasn’t gotten much help from the guys in front of him. Matt Coronato has been one of the only bright spots up front (and that’s a relative term), while Zayne Parekh has merely shown flashes of brilliance. Meanwhile, offseason additions Jake Middleton and Maxim Tsyplakov have been nearly unplayable, and Simon Nemec has yet to show exactly what compelled Craig Conroy to part with two first-round picks to acquire him. The Flames aren’t this bad, because nobody is this bad, but they have to be considered the leading contenders to win the Landon DuPont lottery in the spring. Even if they don’t get him, they’ll probably land the top center prospect they sorely need.
32. Chicago Blackhawks
Record: 0-3-0, -10
Mike’s Rank: 31st
Scott’s Rank: 32nd
Scott: Will the Blackhawks ever escape the depths of our power rankings? Not today, apparently. I’ll cut them a bit of slack because they’re clearly missing Connor Bedard, but one player shouldn’t be this important in the NHL, not even Connor McDavid or Connor Hellebuyck. At bare minimum, Bedard will make this team look not as lifeless as they are right now, but I don’t have a ton of hope for improvement based on the makeup of their roster and them performing as expected to start the year. So how long does it take for Chicago to fire Kyle Davidson? End of October? November? Or are they truly masochists and want to let the season play out before moving on?
Mike: Flames fans everywhere should hope their team turns out like the Sharks — and they should be terrified of them turning into the Blackhawks.
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