Which teams are under the most pressure in 2026-27?
The 2026-27 NHL season is underway, and it might already be feeling like doomsday for some teams, while others enjoy perfect starts to the campaign.
While every team’s locker room will have its eyes on the Stanley Cup come spring, only a handful face massive expectations to win this season. From the ticking clock on Connor McDavid’s deal in Edmonton to the demand on the Buffalo Sabres to take the next step forward, the new season is brimming with tension for some of the sport’s most passionate markets.
On a recent episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, co-hosts Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton dove into which teams are facing the most pressure in the early stages of the campaign.
Tyler Yaremchuk: The Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche– they’re right up there as No. 1 and No. 2 in terms of the Stanley Cup contenders in the West, along with the Edmonton Oilers, and what we saw after their first game is…man, if things don’t go well for the Edmonton Oilers, everyone’s talking about it. Everyone will be pointing fingers at the goaltending, Mike Babcock and the structure. I’m going to say there is no team in the NHL facing more pressure to get off to a strong start than the Edmonton Oilers.
Carter Hutton: I think that is the team that’s under the most pressure. I’m going to totally agree with that. There are a few other teams that I put in that window of a lot of pressure. I think the Buffalo Sabres are one, without Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram. They didn’t really add a lot to beef that up.
Then the other team that I’m going to add to a lot of pressure, in my opinion, are the Anaheim Ducks because of the way that the summer went down, because of the offer sheets, Cutter Gauthier, the big contracts, Jacob Trouba is gone, Radko Gudas is gone. What does that team look like? I think they’re under pressure in the Pacific Division, as other teams seem to be beefing up.
You can catch the rest of the Daily Faceoff LIVE discussion from earlier this week right here…
