Power Rankings for Every Team Not in the 2026 Stanley Cup Final
Not everybody can be a champion.
After all, somebody has to clap as they skate by.
That's the situation for 30 teams left watching the Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights engage in a back-and-forth classic for the Stanley Cup.
None will play a meaningful game before late September, but that doesn't mean the organizational types aren't hard at work setting the stage for what they hope will be a deep playoff run of their own come this time next spring.
B/R's hockey staff seized on that forecasting mojo and busied itself ranking the leftover teams based on their momentum (or lack thereof) from 2025-26 and impending moves both on the free-agent and trade markets this summer.
Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought in the app comments.
30. Vancouver Canucks
1 of 30
British Columbia is a lovely place to visit. But as for the resident hockey team, it's terrible.
The latest hope, after Adam Foote was sacked after one season, is that AHL coaching whiz Manny Malhotra will translate his magic to the NHL level.
29. Calgary Flames
2 of 30
He didn't land the Gavin McKenna fish but GM Craig Conroy will have plenty to do at the upcoming NHL draft given the Flames' two picks in the first round and four more in the second.
The cadre of picks allows Conroy to continue a rebuild from within or perhaps dangle some of the choices to acquire bona fide talent.
28. Seattle Kraken
3 of 30
The Kraken slid through another desultory season under the Western radar, finishing 13th among its 16 teams and missing the playoffs by 11 points.
But the news in the offseason is the power duo of Samantha Holloway and Melinda French Gates now serving as majority owner and minority investor, respectively.
.png?w=256)
27. Chicago Blackhawks
4 of 30
GM Kyle Davidson is saying all the right things about wanting to improve on the back end after the Blackhawks surrendered the second-most shots and the sixth-most goals per game last season.
But let's face it, the whispers in the background are about getting pending RFA Connor Bedard signed long term.
26. New York Rangers
5 of 30
Only a fool would argue that the Rangers couldn't use a guy like Dylan Larkin, the disgruntled captain who's reportedly seeking an exit from Detroit.
However, the word on the street is that his destination wish list does not include New York, meaning GM Chris Drury will have to bolster via other routes.
25. St. Louis Blues
6 of 30
Maybe the asking price was too high or maybe they've had a change of heart, but either way it appears forward Robert Thomas will be staying with the Blues after he'd been the subject of trade rumors for several months.
The 27-year-old is signed through the 2030-31 season with an annual price tag of $8.125 million.
24. Nashville Predators
7 of 30
Two straight playoff misses after a flurry of free-agent activity will apparently prompt more roster work by incoming GM Chris MacFarland.
MacFarland had served in the same role in Colorado since 2022 and arrives in Tennessee to replace Barry Trotz, who announced months ago that he'd transition to an advisory role.
23. Toronto Maple Leafs
8 of 30
The 2025-26 season was a colossal failure in hockey-mad Toronto, so it's no real surprise that the brass might consider going outside the box to interview novice Joe Pavelski for the vacant head coaching job.
The veteran of 1,332 games as an NHL player has never coached above the junior level.
22. New Jersey Devils
9 of 30
Can analytics help jolt the Devils? That's the question asked when Sunny Mehta was hired to replace Tom Fitzgerald, who was fired following the team's second playoff miss in three seasons.
Mehta arrives from Florida, where he won two Stanley Cups as assistant GM and head of analytics.
21. New York Islanders
10 of 30
Maybe the Islanders are shopping Mathew Barzal. Maybe they're not. It apparently depends on who you believe and how closely you parse the words.
The Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch reported earlier this month that the team was exploring the trade market for the 29-year-old who's signed through 2031.
20. Winnipeg Jets
11 of 30
Could the Jets possibly ponder a future—a winning one, that is—without goalie Connor Hellebuyck between the pipes?
The 33-year-old is signed through 2030-31 at $8.5 million per season but got nary a Vezina vote after going 23-23-11 with an .895 save percentage in 2025-26.
19. Detroit Red Wings
12 of 30
The final destination is unclear, but if the rumors are true the days of Larkin wearing the No. 71 winged wheel sweater are nearing an end.
Elliotte Friedman reported last week that the 29-year-old had asked out after spending 11 seasons in Motown. Larkin played five playoff games as a rookie and none since.
18. Los Angeles Kings
13 of 30
Anze Kopitar is gone as a player but the Kings returned to the veteran well to hire their next coach, reportedly settling on 61-year-old Peter Laviolette.
It'll be his sixth NHL coaching stop after previously working in Washington, Philadelphia, New York (Islanders), Carolina and Florida. He won a Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006.
17. Columbus Blue Jackets
14 of 30
Oh, to be a fly on the wall for the first training camp session including Rick Bowness and the veteran players ripped as too comfortable with losing during the coach's season-ending rant in April.
Bowness said last month that he "wanted them to go home and be uncomfortable." Stay tuned.
16. Washington Capitals
15 of 30
There's not been a puff of white smoke over the Capital One Arena, so there's no certainty as to whether goal-scoring Alex Ovechkin will return for a 22nd season.
The Athletic reported that the 40-year-old (who'll be 41 at the start of next season) is pondering a final one-year deal or calling it quits.
15. San Jose Sharks
16 of 30
The Sharks may use the second overall pick for a defenseman or they may package the pick with the No. 20 selection to acquire a veteran player.
There's already ample star power up front after the 2025-26 breakout by Macklin Celebrini, who was a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award after racking up 115 points in 82 games.
14. Pittsburgh Penguins
17 of 30
Following a surprise 100-point regular season and a first-round playoff loss, GM Kyle Dubas has some decisions to make.
He re-upped Evgeni Malkin for a 39-year-old swan song at $5 million, but retains more than $37 million in cap space and first-round picks in each of the next four drafts. All-in now or stockpile for later?
13. Ottawa Senators
18 of 30
Buckle up, Ottawa fans. Another person who knows what he's looking at is suggesting Brady Tkachuk won't be a Senator for the long term.
The 26-year-old is signed for two more seasons, but The Athletic's Michael Russo doesn't buy for one second that Tkachuk plans to extend with the team when eligible next summer.
12. Boston Bruins
19 of 30
Club president Cam Neely got an extra bonus with Boston's 100-point regular season and gritty first-round playoff series with Buffalo, so he's eager to reward the roster with improvements.
"We know where our core group is," he told The Athletic. "We'd certainly like to add and give them another opportunity to kick at the can."
11. Edmonton Oilers
20 of 30
Will they ever get a reliable goalie? Will they finally trade Darnell Nurse? Will they really consider hiring Mike Babcock for what could be Connor McDavid's last run at the Stanley Cup in a blue-and-orange sweater?
Tune in to the next episode of "As The Oil Turns" to find out.
10. Philadelphia Flyers
21 of 30
The Rick Tocchet/Matvei Michkov dynamic will be a fascinating watch going forward.
Tocchet benched Michkov for what became Philadelphia's playoff elimination game against Carolina, and the player wasn't exactly ebullient about his coach afterward, describing their bond as a "very simple work relationship."
9. Florida Panthers
22 of 30
What better way to get back to title contention—after they followed two Cups with a playoff miss this spring—than acquiring Larkin?
The Detroit captain reportedly included Florida along with Minnesota and Vegas on his accepted destinations list, but does GM Bill Zito have the trade package to entice Steve Yzerman?
8. Utah Mammoth
23 of 30
The Mammoth have players who've experienced success below the NHL tier. But even with that pedigree in hand, the playoffs were a different animal on the way to a six-game loss to Vegas.
"It takes every shift, every game," forward Logan Cooley said. "You can't take a shift off. So that's definitely eye-opening for me."
7. Anaheim Ducks
24 of 30
No team in the West broke through any more in 2025-26 than the Ducks, who reached the playoffs for the first time since 2018 and then bounced the two-time defending conference champs in the first round.
Among the items coveted by GM Pat Verbeek going forward? A second-line center and a right-shot defenseman.
6. Tampa Bay Lightning
25 of 30
A 106-point season followed by a first-round playoff bounce wasn't exactly what the doctor ordered on Florida's gulf coast, but the Lightning got some solace when it came to postseason awards.
Andrei Vasilevskiy copped his second career Vezina as the NHL's top goalie and Jon Cooper was a first-time coach of the year.
5. Minnesota Wild
26 of 30
There's little doubt the Wild would reciprocate Larkin's apparent interest in them, but what exactly would Bill Guerin be willing (or able) to give up to get him?
It doesn't hurt the GM's cause that Larkin is pals with several Minnesota players, including Quinn Hughes, and is represented by the same agent.
4. Buffalo Sabres
27 of 30
Once we dispense with rationalizing how Lindy Ruff wasn't the coach of the year ahead of Tampa Bay's Cooper, we can look over the summertime agenda for the Sabres, topped by Alex Tuch's imminent UFA status.
He'll expect a big raise over the $4.75 million he made last season, but is he worth it to Buffalo?
3. Dallas Stars
28 of 30
The good news? Dallas didn't lose in the Western final for a fourth straight season. The bad news? That's because they got bounced in one round by Minnesota.
Oh well, at least Stars fans have a brand-new $3 billion arena and entertainment complex to consider, now that development plans have cleared an early hurdle.
2. Montreal Canadiens
29 of 30
The Canadiens reached the playoffs for the first time in a while last season, but played like they belonged this spring in reaching the Eastern final.
"It was a hell of a run, a lot of learning, a lot of excitement, a lot of fun," captain Nick Suzuki said. "Hopefully we're in these situations a lot more in the future."
1. Colorado Avalanche
30 of 30
Wondering how a Presidents' Trophy and a run to the Western final can be considered a flop? Look no farther than Colorado. The Avs bested the NHL field by eight points in the regular season and won eight of nine games through two rounds.
But a sweep by Vegas left a bad taste.
"Humility is certainly a word you use for it," coach Jared Bednar said. "I think that's sports in general. I think you're going to run into that a lot on any given day on any given year, and especially in the playoffs, right?"
.png?w=480)
.png?w=600 "Ranking Best Players at World Cup 🤩")
.png?w=600 "Mike Brown Calls Out Refs 😠")
.jpg?w=600 "Landing Spots for Potential Cap Cuts ✂️")
