NHL preseason power rankings

The 2025-26 NHL campaign is less than two weeks away, and with every team taking care of their offseason business, it’s time for some preseason power rankings.

No. 1: Florida Panthers

Panthers GM Bill Zito continued to work his magic after winning his second straight Stanley Cup. Aaron Ekblad, Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand are still donning the Panthers sweater.

It’s either magic or just the ability to win when it counts most.

The news of Aleksander Barkov’s knee injury might throw a wrench in Florida’s plans and without Matt Tkachuk until at least December, the Cats may not come out of the gates hot.

But for right now, there are the back-to-back champs; they slot in at number one.

No. 2: Vegas Golden Knights

I don’t think it comes as a surprise that Vegas ended up with the biggest prize on the market this offseason, Mitch Marner.

Marner will play alongside superstar Jack Eichel to form a lethal duo, with all the other weapons already there.

There aren’t many holes in this lineup; the Knights are number two.

No. 3: Carolina Hurricanes

I like the moves Carolina made in the offseason.

Bringing in K’Andre Miller, Nikolaj Ehlers and signing Logan Stankoven to a very team-friendly contract.

Obviously, the Canes will be at the top of the Metro and make the playoffs and with the moves made, they’re doing their best to close the gap on Florida.

No. 4: Dallas Stars

Dallas has had some salary cap issues this past summer, and rumors were swirling that Jason Robertson may be on the move.

The Stars will be without captain Jamie Benn for a while but guys like Robertson and Mikko Rantanen will carry the load for the time being.

Stars rank fourth.

No. 5: Colorado Avalanche

It wasn’t a crazy summer for the Avs, but it was a smooth one.

Colorado re-signed Brock Nelson and bolstered up the blue line bringing in veteran Brent Burns on a cheap one-year deal.

The star power is still there with MacKinnon, Makar and the Avalanche will once again be a favorite to hoist Lord Stanley.

No. 6: Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers have yet to re-up superstar Connor McDavid's contract and rumors continue to swirl.

Edmonton did re-sign Trent Frederic for almost $4 million to play solid bottom-six minutes and brought in Andrew Mangiapane to provide some depth scoring.

Goaltending remains the biggest question, and we’ll see what happens when the season kicks off. For now, the Oilers are number six.

No. 7: Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa didn’t really make a splash in the offseason, but the team is still very good.

The Bolts are coached well and have the guys to execute at the end of the day.

No. 8: Toronto Maple Leafs

Even with losing Mitch Marner, the Leafs still have a talented lineup.

Three members of Toronto’s core four remain and youngster Matthew Knies looks to take another step forward after a great season last year.

A sneaky move this offseason was bringing in Matias Maccelli from Utah. I think he is going to have a breakout year.

Toronto still lost a 100-point scorer and got a tad bit worse, but still good enough to crack the top ten.

No. 9: Ottawa Senators

After a playoff appearance last season, Ottawa is primed to take that next step forward.

The Sens acquired young defenceman Jordan Spence from the Kings and have good forward depth entering the season.

Sens are coming for the top dogs in the Atlantic, and this might be the year they take it.

No. 10: Utah Mammoth

I am extremely high on this team coming into the season.

You saw the talent start to come through two years ago in Arizona and now it’s 100% there.

The move to get JJ Peterka from Buffalo was a good one for a potential 40 goal scorer. It hurts to get rid of a good young D-man in Michael Kesselring, but the offense just got a major boost.

Utah ranks tenth.

No. 11: Washington Capitals

The Caps practically have the same team they had a season ago, and that’s not a bad thing.

Spencer Carbery is a great coach and led the team to 111 points last season, though expecting a small regression, Washington will still be in the mix in the Metro.

No. 12: Winnipeg Jets

Winnipeg lost Nikolaj Ehlers to free agency and got older in the process by signing Gustav Nyquist and Jonathan Toews.

I feel like a big step back is coming for last year's Presidents’ Trophy Winners.

No. 13: New Jersey Devils

There is lots of talk going into this season about the New Jersey Devils.

The Luke Hughes contract situation, Jack Hughes’ ability to play a full 82 continue to be story lines two weeks out from puck drop.

I don’t really know where they’ll finish, but for now they’re middle of the pack.

No. 14: Montreal Canadiens

The Habs are one of the league's best, up-and-coming teams for 2025-26, coming off their first playoff appearance since 2021’s cup final loss.

They have an exciting group with Lane Hutson coming off a Calder Trophy win, the emergence of Ivan Demidov, who I think is going to be a star and newly acquired Noah Dobson.

Watch out for the Canadiens this year.

No. 15: Minnesota Wild

Minnesota has had an interesting last couple weeks with talks about Kirill Kaprizov’s time in Minny.

For now, he’s still on the squad and is clearly one of the league's best players, but I can see another first-round exit coming for this team.

No. 16: Los Angeles Kings

New general manager Ken Holland was very active this offseason with deals that brought in veterans Joel Armia, Corey Perry, Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin.

It’s still hard to say that the Kings will be better than the teams that have lost to the Oilers in each of the last four seasons.

No. 17: St. Louis Blues

The Blues enter this season after a seven-game thriller against the Winnipeg Jets in round one last year.

There weren't any big moves made this summer other than releasing some sick new unis.

No. 18: Vancouver Canucks

Only time will tell with this Canucks team in the new year.

Vancouver retained Conor Garland, Brock Boeser and netminder Thatcher Demko, while also acquiring Evander Kane from Edmonton.

Will those moves be enough for new head coach, Adam Foote?

No. 19: New York Rangers

Vladislav Gavrikov was the big name that made a splash for New York in free agency, signing a deal that will pay him $49 million over the next seven years.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Rangers fare this upcoming season without Chris Kreider and new head coach Mike Sullivan.

No. 20: Calgary Flames

The Flames didn’t really do anything in the summer outside of rumors that Nazem Kadri could be on the move.

Calgary is in a weird spot; they can shock us and be a very solid team, or it could go south quickly.

No. 21: Columbus Blue Jackets

The Jackets have a chance to make some noise after last season’s feel-good story of almost making the playoffs.

I think they can be a threat in the East for years to come.

No. 22: Anaheim Ducks

It’s time for the Joel Quenneville era to begin in Orange County. The guy is a proven winner and has the opportunity to turn around the Ducks.

The additions of Chris Kreider and Mikael Granlund will look to boost the offense.

No. 23: Detroit Red Wings

Detroit brought in goaltender John Gibson from the Ducks this past offseason.

Time is ticking for the Yzerplan to come into fruition as the Wings haven’t made the playoffs in nine years.

No. 24: New York Islanders

The Islanders were provided a much-needed jolt when landing the number one overall pick and selecting defenceman Matthew Schaefer.

New general manager Mathieu Darche has restored hope and a direction in which talented youth are involved.

No. 25: Boston Bruins

Boston enters this season after missing the postseason for the first time in nine years.

Newly hired head coach Marco Sturm has a lot to turn around and I don’t think it’ll happen this season.

The Bruins will be at the bottom of the barrel.

No. 26: Seattle Kraken

New general manager Jason Botterill says the Kraken will be battling for a postseason spot after two straight misses.

They could surprise us but only time will tell.

No. 27: Philadelphia Flyers

The youngsters are going to have to shine for new head coach Rick Tocchet in Philly.

Matvei Michkov, who led rookies in goals with 26, and Tyson Foerster will both take the next step.

Still too early for the Flyers.

No. 28: Buffalo Sabres

Fans in Buffalo are starving for a playoff appearance after 14 years of nothing.

They have some pieces but I still don’t think we’ll be seeing the Sabres in the postseason.

Buffalo will once again be towards the bottom of the league.

No. 29: Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh is in a prime position to land a top pick in the upcoming draft.

Three straight playoff misses have eyeballs on the core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.

The defense and goaltending will be a major factor in why the Pens won’t be in contention for a playoff spot.

No. 30: Nashville Predators

The Preds are counting on Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault to boost them out of the basement of the NHL now that they have one full season in the Music City.

GM Barry Trotz says his squad will prove the critics wrong for the third season in a row.

I don’t think they have the team; Nashville will be poor again.

No. 31: San Jose Sharks

I am a big fan of what general manager Mike Grier is building in San Jose.

All the young talent combined with some experience will be lethal in the years to come, but for now, the Sharks will be drafting high in next year's entry draft.

No. 32: Chicago Blackhawks

I think the biggest challenge for the Blackhawks this year is to just show signs that the rebuild is making progress.

There will still be growing pains in Chicago, but it has invested in its young guys and wants to see where they can take them this year.

Many things need to be done to get this team back in contention, and once again, this organization will be in the hunt for the number one pick.

Austin Moran is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email acm6506@psu.edu.