ClutchPoints’ NHL Playoff Power Rankings: Who will be new Stanley Cup champion in 2026?

After 1,312 games, the 2025-26 NHL regular season has finally reached its conclusion. And served its primary purpose: cutting the 32-team field down to 16. After nearly seven months of hockey, it’s time for the greatest postseason in all of sports to begin. And what better way to kick off the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs than with ClutchPoints’ third annual NHL Playoff Power Rankings.

Although there are always favorites and underdogs at this time of year, anything can happen in a seven-game series, and all storylines will be out the window when the Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes commence the chase for Lord Stanley on Saturday afternoon. Only one team can be left standing come the middle of June, but more than a dozen have legitimate aspirations. And that’s why we love the game.

With no Florida Panthers involved this time around — props to you if you saw that coming back in October — the Eastern Conference is as wide open as it’s ever been. And the marquee series of Round 1 has got to be the Battle of Pennsylvania; the return of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the Pittsburgh Penguins against the upstart Philadelphia Flyers, who surged down the stretch, is going to be electric.

Of course, the Buffalo Sabres winning the Atlantic Division is a massive storyline in itself, with playoff puck back in Western New York on Sunday for the first time in 14 long years. We’ve also got a couple of clubs who were probably just happy to get in last time now fully expecting to make some noise: we’re looking at you, Montreal and Ottawa.

In the Western Conference, the Colorado Avalanche are the team to beat after running the table and winning the President’s Trophy. They are a powerhouse, built for nothing less than world domination — and an NHL championship. But the Edmonton Oilers are going to have something to say about that after winning the West in back-to-back years; nobody wants to finish the job more than Connor McDavid. But so are the Vegas Golden Knights — who are hoping to get back to the Finals after winning it all in 2023 — along with a couple other Central Division behemoths in the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild, one of which will be out in Round 1.

It truly has been one of the most memorable seasons in recent memory. From an incredible Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina that concluded with a Jack Hughes Golden Goal for Team USA, to a stunning Quinn Hughes blockbuster, to swan songs for Jonathan Quick, Anze Kopitar and Alex Ovechkin (potentially), to the Utah Mammoth bringing playoff hockey to Salt Lake City for the first time, it’s just been a terrific campaign once again.

If the postseason brings that same level of energy, it’s going to be absolutely phenomenal. And why shouldn’t it be? It’s the best time in the world to be a hockey fan. Here’s where all 16 franchises rank ahead of Game 1 of Round 1 on Saturday. As always, thanks for reading ClutchPoints’ NHL Power Rankings this season, and enjoy the madness.

ClutchPoints’ full regular season 2025-26 NHL Power Rankings: Week 25 | Week 24 | Week 23 | Week 22 | Week 21 | Week 20 | Week 19 | Week 18 |  Week 17 | Week 16 | Week 15 | Week 14 | Week 13 | Week 12 | Week 11 | Week 10 | Week 9 | Week 8 | Week 7 | Week 6 | Week 5 | Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1

1. Colorado Avalanche

Stanley Cup champion turned ESPN analyst TJ Oshie said it best: “The Avalanche are an absolute wagon from top to bottom.” And the stats back it up. Colorado ranks first in both goals per game (3.65) and goals-against per game (2.43); they’re just the fourth team since the league’s 1967 expansion to achieve the feat, joining the 1976-77 and 1977-78 Montreal Canadiens, as well as the 2010-11 Vancouver Canucks. Both of those Habs teams won the Stanley Cup, while the Nucks notoriously fell short in Game 7 of the SCF at home.

The Avs will be looking for similar fortune after winning 55 games and putting together an almost unbelievable plus-99 goal differential. They were first place in overall league standings for the final 143 days of the regular season, and if you read the NHL Power Rankings this year, they were almost always in the No. 1 slot. This club hasn’t been past the second round since winning it all in 2022, but with Nazem Kadri back in the fold, and a full season of a (mostly) healthy Gabriel Landeskog, we’re not betting against Jared Bednar’s group this time around. It’s Stanley Cup or bust for Rocket Richard Trophy winner Nathan MacKinnon and company, and they’ll be the toughest out of any squad this spring. Let’s see if they can prove a lot of people right.

2. Carolina Hurricanes

No Panthers in the playoffs is music to the ears of the Carolina Hurricanes, who are fresh off winning the Eastern Conference for the first time in franchise history. The Canes have been terrific down the stretch despite resting a plethora of top players, finishing the season with 11 wins in 15 tries. They’ve made multiple deep runs since Rod Brind’Amour took over behind the bench in 2018, but haven’t been back to the Stanley Cup Final since winning it all in 2006.

But the parallels are there. Rookie goaltender Cam Ward took Carolina to the promised land exactly two decades ago, and now, it’s Brandon Bussi’s turn. The youngster is a ridiculous 31-6-2 in 2025-26, and should be between the pipes for Game 1 against the Senators on Saturday afternoon. It’s not an easy matchup by any means, but this is a team built to go deep in the postseason, and this could be the best chance they’ve had with their superstar core. The top line of Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis is deadly. But the supporting cast has also improved drastically, with guys like Nikolaj Ehlers, Logan Stankoven, K’Andre Miller and Alexander Nikishin making an already deep roster even better. The East is wide open, and you’ve got to like the Hurricanes’ chances to come out of it after a phenomenal 53-22-7 campaign.

3. Tampa Bay Lightning

The Hurricanes may have had a better regular season, but executives across the National Hockey League are expecting the Lightning to be the ones representing the Eastern Conference in the 2026 Finals. After marching to the championship three straight times between 2020-22 — and winning two of them — it’s not hard to see why. The Bolts haven’t been past the first round in three years, but a lot of that has to do with the other team from The Sunshine State.

For the first time in years, they don’t have Florida in their way. And the Panthers are the team that have knocked Tampa Bay out in each of the last two years before going on to win it all. This time around, it’s the Canadiens, the Sabres and the Bruins, and the Lightning have much more experience than any of those three Atlantic Division hopefuls. They also have the best player in the East in Nikita Kucherov, who is fresh off another ridiculous season that saw him record 130 points in just 76 games. Add one of the greatest playoff goalies in history in fellow Russian Andrei Vasilevskiy, who looks to be back to form between the pipes and will be a favourite to win the Vezina Trophy this summer. This team is going to go as far as the two superstars take them, but the supporting cast is excellent, and that will be critical. If they can get out of Round 1 and past a tricky Canadiens team, no one would be surprised to see them back in the Finals for a fourth time in seven seasons.

4. Edmonton Oilers

Last year, we had the Oilers ranked 11th in our NHL Playoff Power Rankings. And we aren’t making that mistake again. Edmonton has exceeded expectations in back-to-back seasons, beating multiple powerhouses in the Golden Knights and Stars en route to two consecutive Western Conference championships. If it weren’t for the Panthers — we seem to be saying that a lot — Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl might already have two Stanley Cups under their belt.

That’s not the case, but the Oil have a much easier route than any of the teams in the Central Division. They’ll play a Ducks club in Round 1 that has been abysmal over the last month, and wouldn’t have even got in if they were in the East. They’ve also proven they can beat Vegas, which they did in just five games last year. No trouble has been had against Dallas either; they’ve knocked them out in two straight West Finals. Barring an upset, only the Avalanche figure to give them significant problems, and that’s a long way away. It’s hard to find an answer for McDavid and Draisaitl — the latter is on the verge of full health — who are going to be laser-focused on dragging this team back to the Finals after coming oh-so-close in 2024 and 2025. Count them out at your own peril.

5. Dallas Stars

The Stars have consistently been one of the best teams in the National over the last half decade, but they’ve been unable to get the job done despite a Finals trip in 2020, and a couple other Final Four appearances. They’re a wagon again in 2025-26, and will enter the postseason on a five-game winning streak. The problem is, Dallas just isn’t healthy — and they have one of the toughest Round 1 matchups. They’re going to be missing Roope Hintz for at least Games 1 and 2 against Minnesota, and could also be without Miro Heiskanen for the beginning of the series.

Perennial GM of the Year finalist Jim Nill made a few more savvy moves this year, adding Michael Bunting and Tyler Myers. And Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston just had absolutely terrific years, giving the squad even more offense along with proven playoff performers in Mikko Rantanen and Matt Duchene. The Stars also have home-ice advantage against the Wild, which counts for something. But it’s going to be tough sledding getting back to the West Final for a third straight time considering the level of competition standing in their way. If they can get through Minnesota, it’ll almost certainly be Colorado next. The Stars have had the Avalanche’s number over the last few years, but it’s still the hardest path of any NHL team. They have the talent and the experience, but the execution is a different matter entirely.

6. Buffalo Sabres

A Stanley Cup Playoff game will be played in Buffalo for the first time since April 24, 2011, when the Sabres lost 5-4 to the Flyers in overtime of Game 6 of Round 1. Fast forward a full 15 years, and Lindy Ruff’s team is, finally, back. After firing GM Kevyn Adams back in December, this club has been on a heater that no one could extinguish over the last three months of the campaign. It’s hard to believe that, at the beginning of December, the Sabres were 11-14-4 and last place in the Eastern Conference.

But that was then and this is now. And despite how great of a story it is, Buffalo is not just happy to be back in the dance. They have their sights set on getting back to the Final for the first time since 1999. They have the pieces, with a young, skilled and deep forward core, an excellent blue line led by a couple of No. 1 picks in captain Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power, and a steady goaltender in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who has been terrific down the stretch. A first-round series against the Bruins is difficult, but could have been a lot worse if they didn’t win the division and had to play a team like the Lightning. It’s impossible to know how things are going to go in Western New York — this roster is very green, after all — but with home-ice advantage for at least the first two rounds, and a deep understanding of how hard it was to get back here, we are expecting nothing short of the Sabres’ best this spring.

7. Minnesota Wild

It’s hard to believe that the Wild have missed the playoffs just twice in the last 10 years — but have not won a single round. Eight postseason appearances, zero series wins. They are hoping to reverse that trend in 2026, and they have the missing piece, the X-factor, the superstar, in Quinn Hughes. Unfortunately, the path runs through the Stars and Avalanche, two of the NHL’s three best regular season teams. Still, Minnesota had a fantastic campaign, finishing 46-24-12 and seventh place overall. And they could certainly beat Dallas, which wouldn’t be too much of an upset.

Along with Hughes, Bill Guerin has put together an excellent, and importantly, healthy roster, adding Marcus Foligno and Jeff Petry at the deadline to join a couple other fresh faces from last summer. The big question mark in the State of Hockey is the goaltending; Filip Gustavsson has struggled down the stretch, while rookie Jesper Wallstedt has also cooled off after a historic start to his campaign. We still don’t know who is starting Game 1, but whichever Swede it is, he’ll have to be at his absolute best if the Wild hope to go on a little bit of a run. Of course, the usual suspects (Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek) will need to be otherworldly to get this club through the gauntlet.

8. Montreal Canadiens

In 2024-25, the NHL’s most storied franchise returned to the dance, but went out with a whimper in five games to the Washington Capitals. This time around, the Canadiens are even better, with Nick Suzuki reaching 101 points and Cole Caufield scoring 51 goals. Montreal was oh-so-close to winning the Atlantic Division, but instead finished third, and have a brutal Round 1 matchup against Tampa Bay that will begin in Florida.

Unlike last year, when there weren’t any expectations after the rebuild officially ended, that’s just not the case this time around. The Canadiens just racked up 48 wins and 106 points, and showed the world it’s time for them to be taken seriously. The Bell Centre is going to be absolutely rocking late next week, but Montreal needs to find a way to steal a game in Tampa Bay. It’s going to be even more difficult without prized offseason acquisition Noah Dobson, who will likely miss the entire series. But there is a ton of star power all around here, led by Suzuki and Caufield but also featuring Lane Hutson (78 points) Juraj Slafkovsky (73 points) and presumed Calder Trophy finalist Ivan Demidov (62 points). The difference-maker is going to be the goaltending; if inexperienced 24-year-old Jakub Dobes and/or 21-year-old Jacob Fowler can match up with Andrei Vasilevskiy, this will be a great series. But that is a tall, tall task.

9. Pittsburgh Penguins

After missing the playoffs in back-to-back-to-back years, hockey fans were finally starting to grapple with the reality that Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang had played their final postseason contests. But under the terrific tutelage of first-year coach Dan Muse, along with a few excellent additions by GM Kyle Dubas (Anthony Mantha and Egor Chinakhov most notably), the Pens are back. Following a 41-win campaign, Pittsburgh is ready to give its big three at least one more dance. And one thing you can never do is count this trio out when it counts the most.

They’ve won three Stanley Cups together over 20 seasons — in 2009, 2016 and 2017 — and have a solid path through the Metropolitan Division in 2026. The Flyers have been great, but will certainly be the underdogs. That’s especially true considering how the top guys on Pittsburgh have torched Philly in their careers. Crosby has 36 points in 23 postseason games against the Flyers; Malkin, 27 in 22; Letang, 15 in 22. And Erik Karlsson has turned back the clock and looked like one of the NHL’s best offensive defensemen in 2025-26. They aren’t getting any younger, and we expect the Pens to be an extremely difficult out this spring.

10. Vegas Golden Knights

The Golden Knights were far and away the trickiest team to rank in the NHL Playoff Power Rankings in 2026. They’ve looked just brutal for long stretches this season, but under John Tortorella, are rejuvenated, going 7-0-1 to end the year. That took them from a wildcard berth to the top of the Pacific Division and a Round 1 date with the Mammoth. The team had fashions on getting back to the Finals after winning it all in 2023, but were ousted in the first-round by the Stars in 2024 and second-round by the Oilers in 2025.

After a couple of early exits, Vegas is laser-focused on returning to hockey’s peak, and they have a favorable Round 1 matchup against a Utah team that is skilled but has very little playoff experience. While the offense isn’t quite as potent as it once was, Jack Eichel and Mark Stone are still superstars, and Mitch Marner will make a difference despite a slightly underwhelming first season on the strip. The blue line is healthy and remains absolutely elite, and Carter Hart was excellent down the stretch and will be given every opportunity under Torts — who coached him in Philly. But most importantly, this core and this coach have been here before, and knows exactly what it takes to win.

11. Boston Bruins

The Bruins should be commended for how well they were able to turn things around in the span of a year. After finishing 33-39-10 and dead last in the Eastern Conference in 2024-25, Boston bounced back tremendously this season, winning 45 games and securing the top wildcard in an ultra-competitive Atlantic Division. What the B’s have going for them is a plethora of experience, both in the NHL postseason and in international play.

A couple key factors got this club back to legitimate contention in 2025-26: top defenders Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm returning to near full health, Jeremy Swayman providing steady and at times excellent goaltending, and a couple of breakout seasons from Morgan Geekie, Pavel Zacha and Viktor Arvidsson. Superstar David Pastrnak hitting 100 points for the fourth consecutive year certainly didn’t hurt. A Round 1 matchup against the Sabres truly feels like a 50/50 proposition, and whoever wins could certainly see the run continue deep into May.

12. Ottawa Senators

For the first time in eight seasons, the Senators slid back into the postseason in 2024-25. Back in 2016-17, Ottawa came within one goal of a trip to the Stanley Cup Final, losing in a heartbreaking Game 7 to Crosby and the Penguins in the East Final. The return last year was disappointing, as the Sens fell into an 0-3 hole in the Battle of Ontario and eventually lost in six games to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The road doesn’t get any easier this year, and once again, they’re a wildcard team. The Hurricanes are well-rested and a good argument can be made that they’re the squad to beat in the Eastern Conference. Ottawa is deep offensively and is led by a bonafide superstar in Jake Sanderson on the back end, but Linus Ullmark is a huge question mark. It wasn’t so long ago he was part of one of the best tandems ever with the Bruins in 2022-23, but his tenure in Canada’s capital has been tumultuous. The upset potential is there, but the Swede will need to turn back the clock between the pipes, and that’s no guarantee the way he’s fared this season.

13. Philadelphia Flyers

Between January 8-31, the Flyers won two games, and lost 11. That reason alone makes it truly miraculous that they not only found a way into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but secured the No. 3 seed in the Metro. There were a couple of factors that led to the turnaround after the Olympic break, and it starts with Dan Vladar. The 28-year-old signed as a free agent from the Flames over the summer, and started nearly every game down the stretch. He was excellent, finishing with a 2.42 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage.

You also can’t say enough about 2025 sixth overall pick Porter Martone, who made his NHL debut at the end of March and proceeded to score 10 points in his first nine games in the big leagues. Rick Tocchet did an excellent job behind the bench, mentoring a very young team and bringing playoff hockey back to the City of Brotherly Love for the first time since 2019-20. No one in Philly will admit it, but this club is just happy to be back. They aren’t the favorite in the Battle of Pennsylvania, but very well could pull off the upset if the young skill overpowers the veteran experience on the Penguins.

14. Utah Mammoth

For the first time ever, playoff hockey is headed to the Delta Center. It’s incredibly impressive considering this is just the second year of professional puck in Salt Lake City. GM Bill Armstrong deserves a ton of credit, not being afraid to make splashes over the last two seasons that resulted in Mikhail Sergachev and MacKenzie Weegar coming to town.

And the top-end skill up front is unreal; Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz and Dylan Guenther all finished with over 70 points, while Logan Cooley racked up 43 in just 54 games. The Mammoth are going to go as far as the aforementioned players take them, but it won’t be a long run if Karel Vejmelka can’t find his game. The Czech netminder has really struggled down the stretch, leading to an under .900 save percentage. That won’t hold up well against a Knights team that is not only experienced, but can match Utah’s high-end skill player for player. This is a remarkable success story — especially as the Arizona Coyotes spent their last four seasons on the outside looking in — but we aren’t expecting too much from them in Year 1 in the dance. We wouldn’t hate being proven wrong, though.

15. Los Angeles Kings

The Kings deserve a ton of credit for going from the mushy middle to a playoff spot in the span of less than a month. Los Angeles won five games in a row when it mattered most — and seven of nine between the end of March and beginning of  April  — to secure their spot in the dance. Unfortunately, they have the single hardest first-round matchup, with backup-turned-starter Anton Forsberg staring down the almighty Avalanche in Round 1.

This team is experienced, and will have a fire lit under them knowing this is the last dance for Anze Kopitar. Having Artemi Panarin in the fold is also a huge help. It’s also nice for everyone that we don’t have a Kings-Oilers first round series for the fifth straight year. All that being said, LA is heavy underdogs against Colorado, and it’s hard to see them keeping this series close considering the significant misappropriation of talent. They were mere points away from getting away from the President’s Trophy winners, but considering how most of this campaign went, they should just be happy they made it. A couple Western Conference hopefuls battled right to the end, but instead will be getting a head start on golf season. Anything can happen in the postseason, but no, this roster is probably not going on another magical 2012 run — if you know, you know.

16. Anaheim Ducks

Pulling up the rear in the NHL Playoff Power Rankings are the Ducks, who are returning to the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons. And barring nothing short of a miracle, it’s not shaping up to be a very long run. Anaheim has been just terrible, limping into the playoffs with two wins in their final 10 regular season games. Even the addition of John Carlson on the blue line wasn’t enough to stop the bleeding.

The Ducks have some great young players, highlighted by two huge breakout seasons from Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier. But the Oilers know exactly how to shut down top talent, as they’ve shown time and time again en route to consecutive Western Conference titles. The main problem is Lukas Dostal, who wasn’t great at the Olympics and has been much, much worse down the stretch. There probably isn’t a goalie in the postseason Edmonton would rather play, and it’s just hard to see him stealing a game against Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, etc. By all accounts, it’s been a terrific season in California, and this is a roster that has finally shed the rebuild label. Still, we are expecting absolutely nothing in their first taste of playoff hockey in nearly a decade.

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