- Pro Hockey Rumors put the Hurricanes first in its early top 10 for 2026-27, with Colorado and Florida right behind
- Edmonton, Toronto, Winnipeg and the Rangers all missed the list entirely
- Read below for the full top 10 and where the Capitals and Mammoth landed
The Edmonton Oilers do not appear anywhere on Pro Hockey Rumors’ early top 10 for 2026-27.
Marcus Antonelli ran through the ten best rosters on paper heading into the new season, and a team with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on it did not crack the list. Neither did Toronto, Winnipeg, New Jersey or the Rangers.
Carolina got the top spot, which is tough to argue with after June:
The Taylor Hall, Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake trio carries much of that argument, along with the eight Hurricanes who finished inside the league’s top 10 in even-strength offensive zone time. Losing Frederik Andersen stings, but Brandon Bussi and Pyotr Kochetkov are in the crease and Carolina still has roughly $9MM to get Alexander Nikishin signed.
Colorado slots in second off an NHL-low 197 goals against and a league-best 3.63 goals per game. Florida sits third with Aleksander Barkov healthy again and Brady Tkachuk folded into the top nine.
| # | Team | The case |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carolina Hurricanes | Defending champs, led the NHL in offensive zone time |
| 2 | Colorado Avalanche | Fewest goals against, most goals per game |
| 3 | Florida Panthers | Barkov back, Brady Tkachuk added up front |
| 4 | Tampa Bay Lightning | John Carlson in, second in high-danger goals |
| 5 | Dallas Stars | Robertson back on a one-year, $12MM deal |
| 6 | Washington Capitals | Ovechkin, Tuch, Kyrou and Jenner in one lineup |
| 7 | Montreal Canadiens | Suzuki at 100 points, Caufield at 50 goals |
| 8 | Minnesota Wild | Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber for a full year |
| 9 | Vegas Golden Knights | Marner, Eichel and Stone, $8MM over the cap |
| 10 | Utah Mammoth | Keller, Cooley and Guenther, plus Lee and Trocheck |
Washington at No. 6 is the placement that jumps out. Alex Ovechkin is back, Alex Tuch signed for eight years and $84MM, Jordan Kyrou projects as a third-line right winger, and Boone Jenner is in the bottom six. That is a ridiculous forward group for a club that missed the playoffs last spring.
Utah closed out the list at No. 10, and Anders Lee is part of why:
Lee has finished in the 88th percentile or better in high-danger goals every season since 2020, and the Mammoth ranked 18th in slot scoring a year ago. Vincent Trocheck came over from the Rangers to add more of the same.
Edmonton’s absence is not much of a mystery. The Oilers went 41-30-11 and lost to the Ducks in six games in the first round, then handed the bench to Mike Babcock in June.
Ten teams made this list. McDavid’s is not one of them.
