The five most improved NHL teams heading into 2026-27

Aug 18, 2026, 08:31 EDT

Credit: Apr 8, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Washington Capitals defenceman Cole Hutson (44) battles along the boards with Toronto Maple Leafs right wing William Nylander (88) during the third period at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

The dog days are almost over. The NHL’s 84-game 2026-27 regular season begins Sept. 29, meaning training camps will start in mere weeks. We don’t necessarily have to plant our flags on full predictions yet, but we’re starting to understand how the league’s power structure maps out with most teams almost done their offseason roster tinkering.

Which franchises have improved the most on paper? These five stand out to me most. Last season, I named the Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Montreal Canadiens, Utah Mammoth and Vegas Golden Knights for the ‘most improved’ story. Let’s see if I can bat 1,000 two years in a row.

Florida Panthers

In: Brady Tkachuk, Jacob Markstrom, Radko Gudas, Garnet Hathaway, Akira Schmid, Lars Eller, Sam Lafferty

Out: Sergei Bobrovsky, Mackie Samoskevich, Evan Rodrigues, A.J. Greer, Jesper Boqvist, Daniil Tarasov, Tomas Nosek, Vinnie Hinostroza

The fruit here is so low that we’re scooping it off the ground. The Panthers’ departures are significant on paper, sure, but what about all their players returning from the infirmary? They were more impacted by injury than any other team last season, and it started right when training camp opened, with captain Aleksander Barkov blowing his ACL and MCL in the first practice. Only one Panther played 80 games, and only eight played 70, with first-line center and top two-way forward Barkov missing the entire season, top right winger Matthew Tkachuk playing just 31 games and top-four blueliner Seth Jones logging 52. The Panthers still managed almost an even expected goal differential in 5-on-5 play last season regardless.

They will open 2026-27 with their core players all healthy with the potential brief exception of Brad Marchand – and power forward Brady Tkachuk added to the mixture. The idea of a top nine featuring Barkov, the Tkachuks, Marchand, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Bennett, Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen missing the playoffs again would be ludicrous. The Panthers had to trim some depth from their roster, but the ice-tilting Brady Tkachuk will offset that, while Markstrom’s impact should be close enough to the outgoing Bobrovsky’s in goal, and Schmid is an intriguing fallback. The Panthers are a tap-in to improve significantly in the standings.

Nashville Predators

In: Mavrik Bourque, Jack Drury, Ross Colton, Nils Hoglander, Ilya Lyubushkin, Alexander Kerfoot, president of hockey ops & GM Chris MacFarland

Out: Erik Haula, Fedor Svechkov, Zachary L’Heureux, Tyson Jost

The Predators epitomize the concept of a team that probably shouldn’t have improved but did so anyway. They’ve finished between fourth and seventh in the Central Division seven seasons in a row. They’re the lords of the Murky Middle, stuck with a skill group that mixes past-their-prime players in their 30s with lower-ceiling, pre-prime youngsters. Nashville badly lacks go-to, prime-year contributors in the 23-27 age range.

Nevertheless, new president of hockey operations and GM MacFarland evidently decided he could turn chicken you-know-what into chicken salad. In stealing RFA Bourque from the cap-crunched Dallas Stars, Nashville landed exactly the type of player it was missing: a 24-year-old scoring-line forward maturing into his peak years, fresh off a season in which he had 26 points in his final 34 games, albeit he was playing with Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston. The Preds also fortified their depth with solid defensive forward Drury, experienced and physical bottom-sixer Ross Colton and reclamation project Nils Hoglanger, among others. I personally believe the Preds are only prolonging their mediocrity with moves like these, but are they better than last year’s 86-point outfit? Probably. If Steven Stamkos’ resurgence continues, if Roman Josi stays healthy and if youngsters like Matthew Wood and Luke Evangelista build on last season’s breakouts, the Preds could elbow their way into the Western Conference Wildcard hunt.

Toronto Maple Leafs

In: Gavin McKenna, Sergei Bobrovsky, Darren Raddysh, Jack Roslovic, Colton Sissons, Nick Paul, Emil Andrae, Teddy Blueger, Brandon Duhaime, GM John Chayka, coach Jim Hiller

Out: Joseph Woll, Simon Benoit, Brandon Carlo, Nick Robertson, Dennis Hildeby, Matias Maccelli, coach Craig Berube

Holy moly, look at the size of that transaction list. Chayka pretty much built a new team.

Operation ‘Appease Auston Matthews’ is in full swing. Signing Raddysh, arguably the top UFA defenseman on the market, through a June sign-and-trade that paid him for eight seasons beginning at age 30 erased any doubt that Toronto wanted to stay competitive as long as Matthews remains with the team, and that move set the tone for Chayka’s wildly aggressive offseason. Bobrovsky represents their highest-profile goalie gambit since Ed Belfour more than 20 years ago; it remains to be seen what future Hall of Famer ‘Bob’ has left, turning 38 in September, but he’s only a year removed from back-to-back Stanley Cup wins, and the three-year contract term isn’t too prohibitive. Adding Jack Roslovic, a.k.a. Matthews’ old linemate at USA Hockey’s National Team Development program, and Colton Sissons, a versatile bottom-six center who wore many hats in the lineup for the Vegas Golden Knights during their run to the 2025-26 Stanley Cup Final, along with checking pivot Teddy Blueger and speedy Brandon Duhaime deepens the forward group. Once you factor in the trade for analytics darling defenseman Emil Andrae last month, dealing goalie and surplus asset Dennis Hildeby for third-line center Nick Paul and, of course, picking Gavin McKenna first overall in the 2026 Draft: the Leafs are an improved team year over year, most notably in their foot speed.

Will Toronto’s current path prove to the be the wrong one? Perhaps, as their contention window may have closed already, and this team is so radically different now that chemistry won’t necessarily come easily. But on the other hand, Chayka may have cranked the window back open, which he had no choice to do with Matthews and fellow veterans such William Nylander, John Tavares and Chris Tanev, along with a young Matthew Knies, under contract. The time to rebuild is if and when Matthews walks away, whether that’s in 2028 when he’s a UFA or a year from now when he’s extension eligible. But the time is not now, and the Leafs deserve credit for taking extremely decisive steps to reload and reinvent. You have to go all in as long as you have No. 34, and it’s worth noting most of the deals Chayka handed out were short-term, Raddysh’s excepted.

Utah Mammoth

In: Vincent Trocheck, Anders Lee, Sebastian Cossa, Zac Jones, Andrew Peeke

Out: JJ Peterka, Sean Durzi, Ian Cole, Alexander Kerfoot, Vitek Vanecek, Cole Beaudoin, Kevin Rooney

The Mammoth’s steady upward trajectory continues. They secured a potential long-term starting goalie with the Cossa trade, they got deeper up the middle with the Trocheck acquisition and, on the UFA side of things, they complemented an already-deep forward group with Lee, whose play-driving metrics remain fantastic even in his mid-30s.

The Mammoth have some exciting prospects still coming down the pipeline at forward in Tij Iginla and Caleb Desnoyers but are loaded enough up front that those players will earn their way onto the team when ready rather than be forced into the lineup too soon, which is ideal. If they do this coming season? It’s gravy for an already improved roster. The Mammoth became a playoff team this past season and appear to be evolving into a full-fledged Stanley Cup contender before our eyes. They’re already improved from 77 to 89 to 92 points in consecutive seasons, and we should see them hit triple digits this time, especially if rising star center Logan Cooley plays a full season.

Washington Capitals

In: Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou, Boone Jenner, Vincent Desharnais, Justin Holl

Out: Connor McMichael, Brandon Duhaime, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Sonny Milano, David Kampf, Hendrix Lapierre, Declan Chisholm, Brett Leason

Before we even factor in the Caps’ dream offseason: this team had 10 more regulation wins than the Philadelphia Flyers yet missed the postseason. Washington had the same point total as the Golden Knights, who won the Pacific and reached the Cup Final. So even status quo would make the Caps a competitive team for 2026-27.

But then we factor in the splashy additions of Tuch, Kyrou and Jenner at forward…plus the underrated Desharnais signing for their third defensive pair…plus getting full seasons from promising rookies Cole Hutson on defense and Ilya Protas up front…plus continued progression from the rough and tumble Ryan Leonard…and, my goodness, the Capitals aren’t just a playoff team. They are pretty clearly the second best team in the Metro already and are legitimate Stanley Cup contender for what could be Alex Ovechkin’s actual final season. No team improved more this summer. If we hand out an unofficial “won the offseason” crown, it clearly goes to Washington.

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POST SPONSORED BY bet365

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