2026-27 NHL Season Preview (East)

With the NHL's new CBA fully going into effect this season, there are some pretty big changes that have the potential to make a real impact.  The biggest of which is the two additional games.  With every team playing 84 games now, they moved the start of the season up a week to the end of September.  It also resulted in a condensed preseason of only four games, in which veterans can play only two.  We'll see how much of a bearing that has, especially early.  Will only two preseason games be enough to get in shape for a season that will (hopefully) run into mid-June.

Speaking of running into mid-June, the Carolina Hurricanes finally broke through and won the Stanley Cup last season.  It was a just reward after being one of the most consistent regular season teams in the league for several years.  And, with most of their major personnel returning, there's no reason to think they won't be in the mix again.  Although, one big name who isn't on the 2026-27 Hurricanes roster is Frederik Andersen, who's now in Edmonton.  Which puts the spotlight on Brandon Bussi as Carolina's new No. 1 goalie.

Andersen wasn't the only goalie on the move this offseason.  In fact, those shakeups represent some of the biggest moves in the offseason.  After winning two Cups in Florida, Sergei Bobrovsky signed with the Maple Leafs.  Is he the missing piece that will finally bring the Cup to Toronto after 60 years?  Replacing him in Florida is the tandem of former Golden Knight Akira Schmid and former Devil Jacob Markstrom.

All of that goalie movement is jarring, especially since these are teams with playoff aspirations.  So, I'm really curious to see if the new goalie was in fact the missing piece or if not having their former netminder turned the position into a major weakness.  There's also something to be said about consistency, which favors teams like Boston (Jeremy Swayman), Montreal (Sam Montambeault), Tampa Bay (Andrei Vasilevskiy) and even the Rangers (Igor Shesterkin).

I'm also really curious to see how last year's playoff newcomers follow up their 2025-26 campaigns.  Ditto about the teams who had become playoff fixtures, but didn't make it last season.  Was 2025-26 the changing of the guard?  Was it the start of something big in places like Montreal and Buffalo?  Or will teams like Toronto and Boston be back?

While I'm on the topic of being back, Alex Ovechkin didn't retire after all!  And, why not come back for another season?  He played in all 82 games last year!  Ovechkin is 71 goals away from 1,000, so I'd actually love to see him play two more years and reach the milestone.  The Capitals made some big moves in the offseason, too, bringing in reinforcements in the form of Jordan Kyrou and Boone Jenner.  They could definitely challenge Carolina for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division.

Another team that I think could make some noise is the Rangers.  It's been two difficult years watching Chris Drury dismantle a President's Trophy-winning team for essentially no reason.  The end of last season was especially painful.  But, they went out and made the massive Pavel Dorofeyev trade, then locked him up long-term.  And they drafted Alberts Smits, who could further solidify the defense in front of Shesterkin.  And just imagine how much worse they would've been last season without an All-World goalie!

It might be a stretch to say the Rangers will go back to being a playoff team.  They may still be a year away from that.  But they'll be in the mix, which is more than we can say about the team last season.  And the Metropolitan Division is wide open behind Carolina (and Washington), so the opportunity to sneak into the field is definitely there.  The Atlantic is so much stronger that I can see five playoff teams coming out of that division and only the required three out of the Met.

In the Met, I have to rank Carolina and Washington as the top two.  The Hurricanes won the Cup last year.  That's easy.  And I think the Capitals' very good offseason will pay dividends.  They're a tick above the rest of the division.  Meanwhile, I'm curious to see what the Flyers have in store for us.  They snuck into the playoffs last year thanks to the format, but still have a huge question mark in goal (where they got former Leaf Joseph Woll in the goalie merry-go-round).

Third place in the Met really could come down to the three teams in the New York Metropolitan area.  Because there isn't really much separating the Rangers, Islanders and Devils.  I could see any or all of them making the playoffs.  Which is more than I can say for Pittsburgh and Columbus.  The Penguins finished second in the division last season, but I just don't see it happening again.  And the Blue Jackets are just bad.

But the Atlantic Division is where all the fun in the East will be.  The Toronto-Boston-Florida-Tampa Bay stranglehold was finally broken last year, with only the Lightning making the playoffs.  And they continue to be the team to beat.  Which they will be as long as Jon Cooper is the coach.  What he's built in Tampa truly is remarkable, and that core group is back, so I don't see that changing anytime soon.

You know who I think could be the team who challenges the Lightning?  Montreal.  The Canadiens made the Eastern Conference Final last season, and that was just the beginning.  Montreal got better and really could be one of the top teams in the league this season.  I see a bounce back in Toronto, too.  The Maple Leafs have too much talent and significantly improved their goalie situation by going from the Woll/Stolarz combo to the Cup winner Bobrovsky.

Now that the Sabres have broken through and ended their playoff drought, you know they'll be hungry for more.  Although, Montreal exposed Buffalo's flaws in that second-round playoff series, and the Sabres need to fix those if they want last season's success to continue.  Boston still has Jeremy Swayman, but this division is just too good right now.  And we all know how good the Panthers can be if they stay healthy.  This season, they've added another Tkachuk brother.  I don't know how good the Senators will be without Brady, but in this division, I don't think they have nearly enough.  Neither does Detroit, especially if Dylan Larkin gets his trade.  (Which reminds me, when and if Connor Hellebuyck gets traded, that can change the fortunes in an instant for whatever team lands him.)

There are so many teams in the Eastern Conference that I think are capable of making the playoffs, it's hard to limit it to the eight.  In the Atlantic, I have Tampa Bay winning the division, with Montreal facing Toronto in the 2-3 series.  Carolina wins the Metro, with Washington meeting the Islanders, who just edge out Philadelphia and the Rangers for the last spot.  And the wild cards both come from the Atlantic.  Buffalo and Florida.  As for who wins (but doesn't touch) the Prince of Wales Trophy, it finally left its Florida retirement last season.  This season, I think it goes back to Canada for the first time in 20 years.  Yeah, I'm that high on Montreal.