Our NHL power rankings order all 32 teams by how well they are actually playing, not just by where they sit in the standings. This is the pre-season edition, built on the 2025-26 finishing table. From the opening Saturday of 2026-27 it is re-ranked every week.
The two are not the same thing. Points reward outcomes, and overtime losses still pay one. Performance is a separate question, and the gap between the two is where most of the useful information sits.
NHL power rankings going into 2026-27
Ordered by the 2025-26 final table, with goal difference and special teams alongside. Colorado sat eight points clear at the top. Carolina finished second and won the Cup.
| # | Team | Division | 2025-26 record | Pts | GD | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colorado Avalanche | Central | 55-16-11 | 121 | +99 | 17.1% | 84.6% |
| 2 | Carolina Hurricanes | Metropolitan | 53-22-7 | 113 | +56 | 24.9% | 80.5% |
| 3 | Dallas Stars | Central | 50-20-12 | 112 | +53 | 28.6% | 80.3% |
| 4 | Buffalo Sabres | Atlantic | 50-23-9 | 109 | +47 | 19.5% | 81.9% |
| 5 | Tampa Bay Lightning | Atlantic | 50-26-6 | 106 | +59 | 20.7% | 82.6% |
| 6 | Montréal Canadiens | Atlantic | 48-24-10 | 106 | +27 | 23.1% | 78.2% |
| 7 | Minnesota Wild | Central | 46-24-12 | 104 | +32 | 25.2% | 79.8% |
| 8 | Boston Bruins | Atlantic | 45-27-10 | 100 | +22 | 23.4% | 77.0% |
| 9 | Ottawa Senators | Atlantic | 44-27-11 | 99 | +32 | 24.0% | 75.7% |
| 10 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Metropolitan | 41-25-16 | 98 | +25 | 24.1% | 81.4% |
| 11 | Philadelphia Flyers | Metropolitan | 43-27-12 | 98 | +7 | 15.7% | 77.6% |
| 12 | Washington Capitals | Metropolitan | 43-30-9 | 95 | +19 | 17.8% | 80.1% |
| 13 | Vegas Golden Knights | Pacific | 39-26-17 | 95 | +15 | 24.6% | 81.4% |
| 14 | Edmonton Oilers | Pacific | 41-30-11 | 93 | +13 | 30.6% | 77.8% |
| 15 | Utah Mammoth | Central | 43-33-6 | 92 | +28 | 20.0% | 78.1% |
| 16 | Detroit Red Wings | Atlantic | 41-31-10 | 92 | -17 | 22.6% | 77.1% |
| 17 | Columbus Blue Jackets | Metropolitan | 40-30-12 | 92 | +0 | 18.9% | 76.0% |
| 18 | Anaheim Ducks | Pacific | 43-33-6 | 92 | -15 | 18.6% | 76.4% |
| 19 | New York Islanders | Metropolitan | 43-34-5 | 91 | -8 | 16.5% | 80.8% |
| 20 | Los Angeles Kings | Pacific | 35-27-20 | 90 | -22 | 17.0% | 74.6% |
| 21 | New Jersey Devils | Metropolitan | 42-37-3 | 87 | -24 | 22.0% | 79.3% |
| 22 | St. Louis Blues | Central | 37-33-12 | 86 | -27 | 17.6% | 76.7% |
| 23 | Nashville Predators | Central | 38-34-10 | 86 | -22 | 23.1% | 81.7% |
| 24 | San Jose Sharks | Pacific | 39-35-8 | 86 | -41 | 21.2% | 76.4% |
| 25 | Florida Panthers | Atlantic | 40-38-4 | 84 | -25 | 19.5% | 81.0% |
| 26 | Winnipeg Jets | Central | 35-35-12 | 82 | -29 | 18.5% | 77.6% |
| 27 | Seattle Kraken | Pacific | 34-37-11 | 79 | -37 | 19.5% | 72.2% |
| 28 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Atlantic | 32-36-14 | 78 | -46 | 21.3% | 81.2% |
| 29 | Calgary Flames | Pacific | 34-39-9 | 77 | -47 | 16.2% | 80.4% |
| 30 | New York Rangers | Metropolitan | 34-39-9 | 77 | -12 | 24.7% | 79.9% |
| 31 | Chicago Blackhawks | Central | 29-39-14 | 72 | -62 | 16.9% | 83.6% |
| 32 | Vancouver Canucks | Pacific | 25-49-8 | 58 | -100 | 21.8% | 71.5% |
The 2026-27 season opens on 29 September and runs to 84 games per team, up from 82. That is 1,344 regular-season games, roughly seven a night, rising to as many as 16 on the busiest Saturdays.
What goal difference says that the points did not
Eight teams banked 86 points or more while being outscored across the season. Los Angeles shows the mechanism most clearly: 90 points on a goal difference of minus 22, with 20 overtime losses. That is 20 single points collected in games they lost.
| Team | Pts | GD | OT losses |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose Sharks | 86 | -41 | 8 |
| St. Louis Blues | 86 | -27 | 12 |
| New Jersey Devils | 87 | -24 | 3 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 90 | -22 | 20 |
| Nashville Predators | 86 | -22 | 10 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 92 | -17 | 10 |
| Anaheim Ducks | 92 | -15 | 6 |
| New York Islanders | 91 | -8 | 5 |
San Jose is the starkest of the group, reaching 86 points at minus 41. Read those records at face value and you overrate every team on this list.
The reverse happens too. New York Rangers finished 30th on 77 points but only minus 12, while Calgary tied them on points at minus 47. Same total, very different seasons underneath. Tampa Bay had the best goal difference in the Eastern Conference at plus 59, better than the Cup-winning Hurricanes, and finished seven points behind them.
The seven Canadian teams
Only three reached the playoffs. It was a poor year for the Canadian clubs by any measure, and three of them finished in the bottom five.
| # | Team | 2025-26 record | Pts | GD | PP% | PK% | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Montréal Canadiens | 48-24-10 | 106 | +27 | 23.1% | 78.2% | Yes |
| 9 | Ottawa Senators | 44-27-11 | 99 | +32 | 24.0% | 75.7% | Yes |
| 14 | Edmonton Oilers | 41-30-11 | 93 | +13 | 30.6% | 77.8% | Yes |
| 26 | Winnipeg Jets | 35-35-12 | 82 | -29 | 18.5% | 77.6% | No |
| 28 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 32-36-14 | 78 | -46 | 21.3% | 81.2% | No |
| 29 | Calgary Flames | 34-39-9 | 77 | -47 | 16.2% | 80.4% | No |
| 32 | Vancouver Canucks | 25-49-8 | 58 | -100 | 21.8% | 71.5% | No |
Edmonton is the oddity. The Oilers ran the best power play in the league at 30.6 per cent and still finished 14th, because they conceded 269 goals. Vancouver had the worst penalty kill at 71.5 per cent and the worst goal difference in hockey at minus 100, which is 38 goals worse than any other team.
Toronto’s minus 46 came with a penalty kill of 81.2 per cent, which was top ten. The problem was not special teams. They allowed 299 goals, second most in the league.
Special teams: where the edges were
Power play and penalty kill separate the top of this table more cleanly than shot totals do.
Power play
Edmonton led at 30.6 per cent, then Dallas at 28.6 and Minnesota at 25.2. Philadelphia was last at 15.7 per cent yet still made 98 points, which tells you how much of their season came at even strength.
Penalty kill
Colorado topped it at 84.6 per cent, with Chicago second at 83.6 despite finishing 31st overall. Vancouver was last at 71.5.
One number to treat carefully: these rates come from a different source than the win-loss records, so we quote them as supporting detail rather than headline figures.
How this page changes once the season starts
From the opening weekend the order stops being a reflection of last season. Each Saturday the rankings are rebuilt on current record, goal difference, the last ten games and special teams, with the same table format so week-to-week movement is easy to follow.
For futures prices on the teams at the top of this table, see our Stanley Cup odds page. For every champion since 1927, see Stanley Cup winners. Our NHL betting hub covers markets, provinces and where to bet.
Frequently asked questions
A weekly ordering of all 32 teams by how well they are playing, rather than by points alone. Standings reward results. Power rankings weigh the performance behind those results, which is why a team can sit higher in the table than in the rankings.
Weekly through the regular season, published after the Saturday slate. This edition is the pre-season baseline, ordered by how the 2025-26 season finished.
Colorado. The Avalanche won the Presidents’ Trophy with 121 points and a goal difference of plus 99, eight points clear of Carolina, who went on to win the Stanley Cup.
Three of seven. Montreal finished sixth overall, Ottawa ninth and Edmonton fourteenth. Winnipeg, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver were all eliminated.
Because overtime losses still pay a point. A team can bank a respectable total while being outscored across the season, and goal difference exposes that gap.
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