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<\/a><\/p>\nWhile the NHL may run on star power, that can only go for so long. A lot depends on how bright the stars can shine, how long that lasts, and whether there\u2019s a succession plan ready to take over.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Our usual guess: The better a player is, the longer they last. That helps with bridging timelines between the current stars within the Player Tiers and the future stars within the Prospect Tiers. That\u2019s crucial for each team\u2019s Future Rating in particular; it\u2019s not just about their prospects, but about how their current star-level players are expected to age.<\/p>\n
Of course, this exercise isn\u2019t everything. Many other factors matter: the front office and coach, the salary cap, the rest of the roster and the team\u2019s depth of prospects. But when we\u2019re talking about a team\u2019s ultimate ceiling, it\u2019s still the strength of the core that matters most, making the other factors easier to manage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s not set in stone. That\u2019s the whole point: Teams move within the cycle and how they chart their path is part of the intrigue. This is a snapshot as we enter the 2026-27 season, something that can be altered with stronger players, better drafting and roster movement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With that in mind, we\u2019ve separated each team into nine tiers based on their spot in the Contention Cycle. Here\u2019s where they land now and in the future, which players get them there, and what their path to contention is.<\/p>\n
You can find the methodology behind Present Rating and Future Rating at the bottom of this post.<\/p>\n
Tier Limited Ceiling Rebuild Time Rebuilding Win Later Win Now Window Closed Window Closing Window Open Window Opening<\/p>\n
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Try changing or resetting your filters to see more.<\/p>\n
Window Open<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 8.4)<\/p>\n
After a run to the conference final, it\u2019s clear the window to contend has just opened wide for the Canadiens on the back of the team\u2019s star-studded core. Suzuki and Hutson both entered franchise status and there\u2019s enough star support beyond them to be a firm top-10 team with regards to pure star power. The upward mobility of everyone involved is what\u2019s most alluring, but it\u2019s the fact that this group already stands so tall that\u2019s most tantalizing. They\u2019re only going to get better.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 9.9)<\/p>\n
The Habs really have it all, with premium young players at every position, including a top-end center, a top-end D, multiple top-end wingers and two of the league’s top young goalies. The eldest of that core is captain Nick Suzuki, who is still just 27. Ivan Demidov’s next step feels like it could be an organizational elevator and if one of Alexander Zharovsky, Michael Hage or David Reinbacher can become another core piece (or close), that could make a difference too. <\/p>\n
It’s safe to expect that Demidov and Jacob Fowler have another level they’re going to reach. Lane Hutson and Juraj Slafkovsk\u00fd could conceivably do the same. If Zharovsky can develop into a legit top-six wing option, and Hage into the 2C of the future they need, they’ll be as well-positioned as any team in the league for sustained success. There’s such a volume of quantity and quality in Montreal that they should be well-positioned even if some of those things don’t happen, too. Their test will be to build around them with better depth. Hage, Zharovsky and potentially Reinbacher could help to that end but incorporating them as you’re trying to get better is a delicate balancing act for teams in the stage the Habs now find themselves in.<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Nick Suzuki, Lane Hutson<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Cole Caufield<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Noah Dobson, Juraj Slafkovsky<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Ivan Demidov, Jakub Dobes<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Lane Hutson<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Ivan Demidov, Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki, Jakub Dobes, Jacob Fowler, Cole Caufield<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Alexander Zharovsky, Michael Hage<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Noah Dobson, David Reinbacher<\/p>\n
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Present Outlook (Rating: 9.6)<\/p>\n
Only the Lightning have a stronger current rating than the Stars and only the Lightning have more tiers representation than Dallas\u2019 eight. The Stars\u2019 big four is the key selling point, featuring three franchise-caliber players and 23-year-old Wyatt Johnston sitting on the cusp. That\u2019s augmented by one of the best second layers in the league featuring three 4A studs and one of the league\u2019s best defensive stoppers. It hasn\u2019t worked yet, but there\u2019s still time with a group that\u2019s well-situated to make it happen.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 7.7)<\/p>\n
The Stars’ future score is propped up by the relative youth of their established core. They bridged from one generation to the next and should now have some runway before this group hits any kind of noticeable wall, which is captured in their Future Value. That next bridge isn’t coming though, as their prospect pool is as bare as any in the league \u2014 which is already contributing to their Future Rank being seven spots lower than their Present Rank, even if they’re both in the top 10.<\/p>\n
No team has threaded the needle of merging timelines better than the Stars over the last few years and it\u2019s led to one of the best current outlooks in hockey. Dallas is one of the few teams with three franchise stars and has to do everything in its power to make that surplus of talent count. The clock isn\u2019t exactly ticking for the Stars as they rank top 10 in both present and future rating, but the time is clearly now to make things happen. Their best players are in their prime and franchise-worthy, something that likely won\u2019t be true in five years’ time as they age out of that level.<\/p>\n
The Robertson situation is the biggest wrench in all that as the Stars were only able to sign him for one season. If he walks at year’s end, the whole path to contention changes and it would leave the Stars on the outside of the contenders\u2019 circle. On top of adding some more depth around the edges of the team\u2019s core, Dallas needs to ensure Robertson sticks around. As good as the current situation is, the loss of a true franchise guy would be difficult to rebound from.<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Miro Heiskanen, Jason Robertson, Mikko Rantanen<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Wyatt Johnston<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Thomas Harley, Roope Hintz, Jake Oettinger, Esa Lindell<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Miro Heiskanen, Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Mikko Rantanen, Thomas Harley, Jake Oettinger<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Roope Hintz, Lian Bischel<\/p>\n
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Present Outlook (Rating: 9.2)<\/p>\n
Quinn Hughes changes everything. He gives the Wild a bona fide Tier 1 star, the exact caliber of player Minnesota needed to get over the top at one of the positions where the team separately needed help: offense from the back end. Boldy\u2019s ascent to franchise status now gives the Wild one of the league\u2019s best trifectas and there\u2019s strong support elsewhere to bolster that. Minnesota does have the issue that of not having a true contending 1C, but the rest of the star core makes up for it.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 6.9)<\/p>\n
The Wild mortaged significant future assets to acquire Hughes but the soon-to-be 27-year-old represents massive future value if they can retain him, and Brock Faber, Boldy, Kirill Kaprizov and Jesper Wallstedt are all on the right side of 30 with him. There isn’t another Hughes, Faber, Boldy or Kapriozov coming, though (with all due respect to Danila Yurov or Charlie Stramel, who should be strong pieces of the puzzle but aren’t expected to be needle-movers). Their future feels volatile right now, but that could change with pen to paper on one guy.<\/p>\n
Priority No. 1 is sign Hughes. As long as they do that \u2014 even if the term is short \u2014 the Wild\u2019s window stays wide open. They\u2019ll need to add a legit top-six center at some point if they want to be serious, but the team\u2019s current level of star-power is among the best in the league. Losing Hughes, though, would not be ideal. Without him, the team\u2019s future rating drops from 9.2 to 7.3, pushing Minnesota outside the contender\u2019s circle. <\/p>\n
Hughes is the reason the Wild are a team to watch, but even with him there are a lot of holes that need to be filled relative to other contenders. And they don\u2019t really have the money or assets to fill them, either. The Wild have a contender-worthy core, one of the league\u2019s finest and one worth being all-in for. The future is now, especially with Hughes\u2019 future in Minnesota being short-term at best.<\/p>\n
Tier 1: Quinn Hughes<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Brock Faber, Joel Eriksson Ek<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Jonas Brodin, Jesper Wallstedt<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Quinn Hughes<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Matt Boldy, Jesper Wallstedt, Kirill Kaprizov<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Brock Faber<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Danila Yurov<\/p>\n
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Present Outlook (Rating: 9)<\/p>\n
The defending Stanley Cup champions are well-known for their different approach to winning it all: depth over pure star power. While it\u2019s true the Hurricanes don\u2019t have an undeniable superstar, they have enough great players to make it work with Jaccob Slavin, Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis all towing the franchise line. It\u2019s recent work that really put the team over the top with the additions of Nikolaj Ehlers and K’Andre Miller to give the team just enough oomph to go with all the depth not listed in this exercise. Add the consolation prize from their failed superstar quest, Logan Stankoven, and the Hurricanes are in a great spot to repeat as champions.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 6.6)<\/p>\n
The Hurricanes have taken a volume approach at the draft with mixed results. Jackson Blake and Logan Stankoven (albeit a Dallas pick) represent sleuth finds that can make a big difference without needing to select at the top of a draft, helping to lengthen a contention window without requiring a rebuild to get from one to the next. Their pool has quantity that isn’t fully captured here, but if they can find another Blake\/Stankoven hit in any of Bradly Nadeau, Felix Unger S\u00f6rum or Ivan Ryabkin (one of the league’s most polarizing prospects), there’s potential for another player to join Prospect Tiers in the coming years. They don’t have a franchise guy coming but they’ve proven they don’t need them if they can amass guys in the support, star and All-Star tiers.<\/p>\n
The defending champions are on the perfect course to stay competitive for a long time and perhaps even win again. While the Hurricanes lack the kind of game-breaker most champions can boast, they proved last spring they don\u2019t need one; their depth of stars was more than enough. While it is worth noting that three of the team\u2019s best players \u2014 Slavin, Aho and Ehlers \u2014 are around 30, Carolina\u2019s cap picture is currently the envy of the league which limits the damage of those three aging out. The foresight to lock up key contributors before this summer\u2019s cap boom has proved very fortunate as it makes Carolina a real player for a big-time addition. The Hurricanes are always on the hunt for big names and after a Cup win have become a much more desirable landing spot. That, plus the core Carolina already possesses, cements the franchise as one of the league\u2019s strongest powers both now and in the future. They\u2019re set, but still hungry for more; that\u2019s a dangerous combo.<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Jaccob Slavin<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Nikolaj Ehlers, Andrei Svechnikov, K’Andre Miller, Logan Stankoven<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Jackson Blake<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Seth Jarvis, Jaccob Slavin<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Sebastian Aho, Logan Stankoven, K’Andre Miller<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Bradly Nadeau, Jackson Blake, Andrei Svechnikov<\/p>\n
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Window Closing<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 9.8)<\/p>\n
No team had more representation within this year\u2019s tiers than the Lightning with nine players, and they almost had 10 with the way Ryan McDonagh continues to hold the fort defensively. Everything starts with the team\u2019s two franchise pillars of Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy, and that they\u2019re still playing at such a high level in their 30s is the main reason the Lightning\u2019s window has extended so long. It\u2019s also what\u2019s made the last four years of first-round losses so disappointing. The high-end talent and depth is there; they just need to figure it out when it matters.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 3.9)<\/p>\n
Years of contending and aging has taken a toll on the Bolts’ core and the state of their pool. There are people around the league who seem to think Conor Geekie is ready to take a step into everyday guy, Sam O’Reilly is coming off as successful a season as you can have in the CHL (the league favors him over Ike Howard, so job well done at the moment on that move), and Benjamin Rautiainen is coming off a historic season in Finland and looks like he could be a find in the fourth round. Those are pieces, though: not the next Kucherov, or Point, or Stamkos, or Hedman.<\/p>\n
The Lightning may have lost four straight first-round series, but their star power is still undeniable. As long as Kucherov and Vasilevskiy continue to cook, this team can contend. The timeline on that given they\u2019re 33 and 32 respectively is limited; this team needs to be all-in every season. Last year\u2019s slippage from Brayden Point and Victor Hedman exacerbate that and there\u2019s no major help on the way. It\u2019s now or never for the Lightning, and every year it gets tougher and tougher to stay at this level. Kucherov\u2019s UFA status next summer also looms large.<\/p>\n
Tier 1: Nikita Kucherov<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Andrei Vasilevskiy<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Jake Guentzel, Brandon Hagel, Brayden Point<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Anthony Cirelli, J.J. Moser<\/p>\n
Tier 5: John Carlson, Victor Hedman<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Nikita Kucherov<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Brandon Hagel<\/p>\n
Tier 5: J.J. Moser, Sam O’Reilly, Brayden Point, Benjamin Rautiainen, Conor Geekie<\/p>\n
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Present Outlook (Rating: 8.3)<\/p>\n
The Oilers are one of two teams with two Tier 1 players, one of them being the league\u2019s best one. Add Evan Bouchard as a franchise defenseman and it\u2019s one of the league\u2019s most feared trios creating a helluva starting point. The problem comes with the rest of the roster, where age has dragged some former top-150 stalwarts off the list, leaving only Zach Hyman as capable high-end support. The Oilers landing in the top 10 with just four players is impressive, but that leaves a clear separator between them and other contenders with seven or more.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 5.9)<\/p>\n
Matt Savoie looked like a piece late last season and Ike Howard’s going to be given a chance to show he can be one this year, but the cupboards are otherwise empty. The Oilers traded their first-round pick in 2026, 2025, and 2023 and moved the players they took in the first round in 2024 (Sam O’Reilly) and 2019-2022 (Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway, Xavier Bourgault, Reid Schaefer). That’s eight straight years of mortgaging the future in pursuit of a Stanley Cup they’ve yet to attain. That debt will come due sooner than later if they can’t get the job done. Thankfully, they’ve still got three of the best players in the world!<\/p>\n
The most important thing the Oilers can do is re-sign McDavid. Otherwise, the team\u2019s window becomes a lot shorter very quickly. McDavid and Draisaitl still expect to be franchise-worthy in five years’ time and it\u2019s up to management to properly build around them. What\u2019s missing now is a second layer, and the prospects to fill that void \u2014 Savoie and Howard \u2014 aren\u2019t quite high-end enough. The Oilers are right there as is thanks to the brilliance of their big three, but their secondary depth is lacking relative to other contenders. Fix that and their chances to win it all rise.<\/p>\n
Tier 1: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Evan Bouchard<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Zach Hyman<\/p>\n
Tier 1: Connor McDavid<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Leon Draisaitl<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Evan Bouchard<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Matthew Savoie, Ike Howard<\/p>\n
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Present Outlook (Rating: 9.1)<\/p>\n
The Cats are back with a vengeance after a one-year hiatus from the playoffs. And while they may not look as potent as they did post-Cup after a year of injuries, the Panthers still boast one of the league\u2019s scariest collections of high-end talent. Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart and Gustav Forsling have always been at the center of that; now they\u2019ve added Matthew\u2019s little brother Brady to make the top six even more terrifying. While age and uncertainty meant a few players stepped back compared to last year, Florida still has more than enough high-end talent to win its third Cup in four years with this group.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 4.6)<\/p>\n
The Panthers were one of the only teams not to feature a single player among the 145 in Prospect Tiers. We all know where they are and what their ambitions are, but… tick tock. They haven’t made a first-round pick in five years so this score is exclusively about projecting out their current core (accounting for some unfriendly aging curves).<\/p>\n
After an off-year the Panthers are ready to return to contention. The swing on Brady Tkachuk was vital to maintaining their present value; now they have to make it count while their window to win remains open. Over the next five years it\u2019s likely their high-end talent slips a fair bit down the top 150 given Barkov, Reinhart, Forsling, Seth Jones and Sam Bennett are all entering their 30s. A lot will depend on the staying power of those players, and there isn\u2019t any help coming on the horizon. The Panthers aren\u2019t shy about making trades or big signings and have the entire core locked up for years, which should make it easy to augment the existing core without losing much of a step in the future. If there\u2019s a big fish, count the Panthers in as players for their services to keep this run alive.<\/p>\n
Tier 1: Aleksander Barkov<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Matthew Tkachuk<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Sam Reinhart, Gustav Forsling, Brady Tkachuk<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Seth Jones<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Sam Bennett<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Sam Reinhart<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Brady Tkachuk, Gustav Forsling, Anton Lundell<\/p>\n
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Window Opening<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 5.1)<\/p>\n
The Ducks made a statement last season with a run to the second round and got a lot of love in the Player Tiers for it. Cutter Gauthier and Beckett Sennecke made their debut while both Leo Carlsson and Jackson LaCombe turned enough heads last year to start knocking on the franchise door. There\u2019s enough star power here to be a mid-caliber wild-card team, but given the team\u2019s depth issues the Ducks will need their current crop of young stars to keep climbing up the ranks.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 9.2)<\/p>\n
Carlsson, Gauthier and Sennecke are going to cost the Ducks dearly but all three could still be on a bit of a rocket ship together. (Carlsson and Sennecke in particular likely hit another level entirely in the next couple of years.) They’ve got three young D they need to take steps (Pavel Mintyukov, Tristan Luneau and Stian Solberg) to insulate around LaCombe, a top young goalie and some interesting wild cards in Nikita Klepov and Marcus Nordmark. Klepov hitting could give an already potent offense another real weapon in particular.<\/p>\n
It feels like the fate of the Ducks rests now entirely in their ability to thread the cap needle. The good news: They’ve got an enviable young core and the cap is rising. The bad news: They’re already on the back foot salary-wise. Their path to contention would have felt as clear as any team’s in the league had they locked up Carlsson earlier and to a friendly number. Now it feels trickier. The talent is there though and if their three big dogs up front all become superstars (which doesn’t feel out of the question) and decide to commit long-term, the Ducks will have opportunities in playoff series to go on a run with good goaltending. The big question: Are they headed to where the Leafs were with Matthews, Marner and Nylander and the cap constraints that made it hard for Toronto to get over the hump, or will this trio have a different sauce? With guys like LaCombe, Luk\u00e1\u0161 Dost\u00e1l and Klepov, maybe they’ll have a better chance.<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Leo Carlsson, Jackson LaCombe<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Cutter Gauthier, Beckett Sennecke<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Lukas Dostal<\/p>\n
Tier 1: Leo Carlsson<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Beckett Sennecke, Cutter Gauthier, Jackson LaCombe<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Lukas Dostal, Pavel Mintyukov, Roger McQueen, Nikita Klepov<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Stian Solberg, Marcus Nordmark, Tristan Luneau<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 5.4)<\/p>\n
The Red Wings are an interesting place given the current malaise around the franchise, right next to the Sabres where the vibes couldn\u2019t be better. What their placement says is that the team\u2019s core is good enough to be playoff-worthy, especially with the leap Moritz Seider took last season. The potential growth of Lucas Raymond and Simon Edvinsson can cement that further. It\u2019s everything else that\u2019s become an issue, a testament to Detroit\u2019s poor draft record during the Yzerman era. Is this the year they start seeing results?<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 8.2)<\/p>\n
The Red Wings have studs in Seider, Raymond and Edvinsson and significant quanity in Prospect Tiers with nine players (!). They’re missing a true superstar up front, though and that’s the difference between a good score here and one that looks like San Jose’s or Anaheim’s.<\/p>\n
The challenge with the Red Wings’ mix is that if one of those Tier 4\/5 players doesn’t get to Tier 3, you end up with a playoff baseline and not a true contention window. And both I and the league aren’t sure which of those players we’d bet on to exceed their projection. If all of them hit but none of them are home runs, you have to count on a St. Louis Blues miracle where you’re a capital-T Team and everything comes together in some kind of perfect storm.<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Moritz Seider<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Lucas Raymond<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, Simon Edvinsson<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Moritz Seider<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Lucas Raymond<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Trey Augustine, Simon Edvinsson, Axel Sandin-Pellikka<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Marco Kasper, Carter Bear, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, JP Hurlbert, Max Plante, Alex Debrincat, Nate Danielson, Emmitt Finnie<\/p>\n
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Present Outlook (Rating: 5.7)<\/p>\n
The Sabres were unfairly maligned in last year\u2019s tiers due to the general sentiment around the franchise being so rancid. Alex Tuch was our most egregious omission, but that\u2019s since been rectified this season with six Sabres on the list. Rasmus Dahlin leads the way as a franchise-altering defenseman, but in order for the Sabres to start rubbing elbows with the legit contenders, they\u2019ll need someone from their forward group to raise the bar. Tage Thompson in 3B and four Tier 5 guys isn\u2019t going to cut it at the highest level; Buffalo needs someone to prove they\u2019re franchise-worthy.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 7.8)<\/p>\n
Even after moving on from Tuch and Bowen Byram, the Sabres have one of the deeper young cores in the league, with six players featured in Player Tiers and five more in Prospect Tiers who could soon join them (Daxon Rudolph, Ji\u0159\u00ed Kulich, Konsta Helenius, Radim Mrtka and Noah \u00d6stlund). You can safely couch in upward movement fo guys like Zach Benson and Owen Power as well. Those two taking the steps they’re capable of taking, and Helenius realizing the potential he showed in the spring, could make a big difference. Rudolph is the wild card, though. He’s capable of giving them a three-headed monster on the back end.<\/p>\n
If the NHL is a copycat league, the Sabres should look at the Canes for motivation now. They lack that MVP or franchise-caliber guy up front, but could they build three first-line-caliber lines and support them with pillars on the back end? That very much feels like it could be in the cards for this group with continued development.<\/p>\n
Tier 1: Rasmus Dahlin<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Tage Thompson<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Zach Benson, Josh Doan, Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Rasmus Dahlin<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Zach Benson, Daxon Rudolph<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Jiri Kulich, Konsta Helenius<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Tage Thompson, Radim Mrtka, Noah Ostlund, Owen Power, Josh Doan<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 4.3)<\/p>\n
We\u2019re still waiting for the big jump from Utah\u2019s young guns. Clayton Keller in 3C as the team\u2019s best forward doesn\u2019t exactly inspire much optimism for the team\u2019s current ceiling. It all depends on what Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther, both 23 or younger in 4A, can start showing. If they can play at a franchise level, the Mammoth\u2019s immediate upside looks a lot brighter. Until then, the present still looks kind of mid.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 7.8)<\/p>\n
The Mammoth have one of the most eclectic and interesting collection of young talent in the league. They’ve got drivers at center (Cooley, Caleb Desnoyers), finishers (Guenther, Tij Iginla), complementary size (Ethan Belchetz, Danill But, Dmitri Simashev, etc.) and two of the top young goalies in the game in Sebastian Cossa and Michael Hrabal, plus still-relevant veterans around them like Clayton Keller and Mikhail Sergachev. <\/p>\n
The Mammoth are well-positioned to have a good team for a long time. If Desnoyers and Iginla both hit and one of Cossa or Hrabal becomes the goalie of the future, they’ll be in a great spot. The biggest question, though, remains: Is Cooley a No. 1 player on a contending team, or can they attract or acquire that player at the right time to play with their exciting group in Salt Lake City?<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Clayton Keller<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, Mikhail Sergachev<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Nick Schmaltz<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Logan Cooley, Tij Iginla, Caleb Desnoyers<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Dylan Guenther, Michael Hrabel, Clayton Keller, Ethan Belchetz, Dmitri Simashev<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Mikahil Sergachev, Daniil But<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Win Now<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 8.2)<\/p>\n
The Avalanche are a bit of a paradox. Everyone recognizes the team is among the league\u2019s best; few want to give credit to the players on the team for getting there. The tiers exercise kind of confirms that, with just five representatives from Colorado. No love for Artturi Lehkonen, Sam Malinski or a goalie tandem that has had back-to-back strong seasons, we suppose. That colors Colorado\u2019s lower-than-expected rating, but make no mistake \u2014 the Avalanche expect to be one of the league\u2019s best teams this season once again. Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar are a helluva starting point.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 3.1)<\/p>\n
Not a single Avalanche prospect got any love from our panel of scouts for Prospect Tiers this year. Hopefully they get another Cup, but they’ll always have 2022 if they don’t!<\/p>\n
The Avalanche are firmly in their contention window right now and will be as long as MacKinnon and Makar stay at a high level. Five years from now, both players are still expected to land in Tier 2 or higher; in between, it\u2019ll be about adding enough pieces around them. What separates Colorado from the other contenders is star depth. Another elite attacker outside of Ne\u010das would be a strong start, as would a succession plan for Toews (though that could justifiably be Malinski). The Avalanche are close to another Cup in this era \u2014 they just need to keep adding to find the right mix.<\/p>\n
Tier 1: Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Martin Necas<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Devon Toews<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Brock Nelson<\/p>\n
Tier 1: Cale Makar<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Nathan MacKinnon<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Martin Necas<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 7.7)<\/p>\n
Vegas has been in a holding pattern in this exact spot of the \u201cwin now\u201d quadrant for three years now. The team\u2019s stars are aging well and they keep sacrificing the future to add new ones. At some point the bottom will fall out, especially given the fragility of some of the team\u2019s core, but for now the Golden Knights remain a powerhouse on the back of their big four.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 2.8)<\/p>\n
The Golden Knights have made a habit of not hanging onto their picks and prospects, and Trevor Connelly is their only one with the potential to play high in their lineup, put up points and potentially feature on a PP1 someday. <\/p>\n
The Golden Knights were two wins away from winning it all last season so it\u2019s clear they need to stick with what\u2019s already working. That means keep going all-in on star power every chance they get and to keep trading first-round picks for immediate help. To get over the top, though, they\u2019ll need to find their next franchise star to add to Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner as they age out of that group \u2014 especially with Mark Stone\u2019s health perennially in question. That won\u2019t come from within, but Vegas has an extra first this year for a big deadline swing and is in good shape financially to add the big-ticket UFA. The Golden Knights have time until things start crashing, but every new star added helps reset the clock.<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Mark Stone, Shea Theodore<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Noah Hanifin, Tomas Hertl<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Shea Theodore<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Trevor Connelly, Mark Stone<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Win Later<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 1.7)<\/p>\n
The time is coming for the Sharks to be a perennial tiers favorite, but that time isn\u2019t now. Macklin Celebrini has shot up to Tier 1 already, but the rest of the team has some catching up to do. Will Smith made his debut this year, but it\u2019s worth noting he was one of the final additions to the list. If the Sharks have playoff aspirations this season, they\u2019ll need a few others to make that jump into the top 150.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 9.8)<\/p>\n
The Sharks’ young group hasn’t shown proof of concept in the way the Habs’ young group has quite yet, but they’re a few years behind age-wise and there’s more runway and hope for this core than any other in the league. In Celebrini they’ve got a potential Hart Trophy winner who gives them a leg up on everyone else to start any talent race. But as much as Celebrini rules, it’s what Smith, Igor Chernyshov, Michael Misa, Ivar Stenberg, Sam Dickinson, Keaton Verhoeff, Ryan Lin and Joshua Ravensbergen could become with him that’s truly cause for excitement.<\/p>\n
There’s only one PP1 and one puck so not everyone will reach their point production ceiling, but the Sharks could have supercharged secondary pieces around bona fide frontline guys. Celebrini, Smith, Misa and Stenberg come with an innevitability about them, and the league thinks Chernyshov could be an X-factor. Turning one of Dickinson or Verhoeff into a No. 1 will be crucial and there is some doubt about both, but the rest is right in front of them.<\/p>\n
Tier 1: Macklin Celebrini<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Will Smith<\/p>\n
Tier 1: Macklin Celebrini<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Ivar Stenberg<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Will Smith, Michael Misa, Keaton Verhoeff, Sam Dickinson, Joshua Ravensbergen<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Ryan Lin, Igor Chernyshov<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 1.5)<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a testament to how weak the rest of the Blackhawks are that the team remains this poor despite three representatives on this year\u2019s top 150. Time will tell if Bowen Byram is the real deal and whether Connor Bedard can put together a full franchise-worthy season (and he was there before he got injured). Either way, the Blackhawks need more of their young players to take a meaningful step towards the top of the league if they\u2019re serious about taking a team-wide step this season. From this vantage point, the playoffs will be a tall ask.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 9.1)<\/p>\n
In Bedard, Spencer Knight, Byram, Anton Frondell, Roman Kantserov, Artyom Levshunov and Frank Nazar, the pieces of the puzzle for a potential core are now there for Chicago to try to fit together. In Sam Rinzel, V\u00e1clav Nestra\u0161il, Nick Lardis, Oliver Moore and wild cards like Xavier Villeneuve, they should find enough complementary pieces too.<\/p>\n
The Blackhawks’ ceiling as a team starts and ends with Bedard becoming a 100-point guy and staying healthy. Kantserov, Nazar, Knight and Byram should all be important pieces, too. But even if Bedard becomes one of the league’s annual leading scorers, the X-factors in Chicago are going to be Levshunov and Frondell. Levshunov’s very much still a boom-or-bust projection and they need him to figure out the decision-making piece and realize his talent to become a stud. Frondell’s shot and size give him a higher floor, but he can’t just become a secondary scorer and two-way guy, he needs to become a top-line version of those two things. If all of those things happen, the Blackhawks’ window will open up, but they have more ifs than their counterparts in the Sharks.<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Connor Bedard<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Spencer Knight, Bowen Byram<\/p>\n
Tier 1: Connor Bedard<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Spencer Knight<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Anton Frondell<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Artyom Levshunov, Roman Kantserov, Frank Nazar<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Sam Rinzel, Nick Lardis, Bowen Byram, Xavier Villeneuve, Kevin Korchinski, Oliver Moore, Vaclav Nestrasil<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Limited Ceiling<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 4.3)<\/p>\n
Zach Werenski\u2019s Norris Trophy win solidified him as one of the best defensemen in the world. That alone creates some upside, but he needs some serious help in order for the Blue Jackets to be relevant this season. Adam Fantilli needs to take a leap into Tier 3, Jet Greaves needs to prove he\u2019s the real deal and someone else outside the core group needs to show they\u2019re worthy of being a top 150 player. Maybe that\u2019s enough to convince Kirill Marchenko to stick around; if not, the future starts looking a lot murkier thanks to a present that\u2019s still far from good enough.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 6.8)<\/p>\n
Werenski is Werenski, but the Blue Jackets really have something in Greaves and Denton Mateychuk, who the league thinks hockey fans are sleeping on a little. Oscar Hemming and Pyotr Andreyanov are both a ways away but represent something intriguing as well. It’s Fantilli everybody is waiting to see take the next step from 60-point guy to bona fide point-per-game type. He’s got the tools, it’s now about the consistency and the IQ components coming together with them across 84 games. A little ironically, Jackson Smith also has the tools and will need the consistency and IQ pieces to come together for him as well. <\/p>\n
Cayden Lindstrom falling out of Prospect Tiers altogether and Kent Johnson’s struggles could prove devasting and represent significant sunk cost if they can’t turn it around. Those around the league have doubts about both and serious ones about Lindstrom. If he busts in particular, the Blue Jackets will likely need Fantilli to become a franchise guy, Werenski and Marchenko to hold and stay, one of Greaves or Andreyanov to become a Vezina type, and all of Smith, Hemming and Mateychuk to really hit in order to have enough to open any kind of window.<\/p>\n
Tier 1: Zach Werenski<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Kirill Marchenko<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Adam Fantilli, Jet Greaves<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Zach Werenski<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Adam Fantilli, Jet Greaves<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Denton Meteychuk, Kirill Marchenko, Pyotr Andreyanov<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Jackson Smith, Oscar Hemming<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 6.1)<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the Rangers in a nutshell: they have two franchise players that demand building a contender around … and little else of note. Four Tier 5 forwards creating the core around two players as strong as Igor Shesterkin and Adam Fox feels very unserious. The Rangers made some strong moves this summer in service of being a win-now team and the presence of Shesterkin and Fox as franchise-worthy guys points to why they mortgaged the future to do so. But the ceiling is still low because the immediate help isn\u2019t quite up to par.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 4.5)<\/p>\n
Between Fox, Alexis Lafreni\u00e8re, J.T. Miller, Pavel Dorofeyev, Gabe Perreault and Liam Greentree, the Rangers have a number of players the league is divided on \u2014 and who are probably of more value internally than externally. The result is a middling group. There’s an outcome for Perreault where he becomes one of the league’s top offensive wingers and that would change the dynamic, but if he doesn’t reach that ceiling because of either the limitations some think he has or because the Rangers can’t get him there, they may not have a premium guy coming up front. In Fox and Alberts \u0160mits, they’ll have that on the back end. In Shesterkin they obviously have it in net. But there are questions up front about a lot of their guys \u2014 some big, some small.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to see why the Rangers were so aggressive this summer given their franchise duo, neither of whom are exactly young. But it\u2019s also easy to see the risk; there\u2019s a real chance those future firsts will come back to haunt a team that still isn\u2019t close to contention after their remodelling.<\/p>\n
So how exactly do the Rangers get back? It\u2019s going to require a massive step forward for Lafreni\u00e8re, who is still only 24 and has shown in the past he\u2019s capable of a lot more. If he stays at Tier 5 as we\u2019re projecting, the Rangers are cooked. On top of that, they\u2019ll also need \u0160mits to be the real deal and Perreault to leap past his upside. <\/p>\n
If they can marry that with Shesterkin and Fox aging well in their 30s, plus add a significant piece via UFA over the next few years, the Rangers have a shot of making it work. But doing that while Miller and Zibanejad, both 33, remain relevant will be a difficult needle to thread. There\u2019s a path forward, but the Rangers don\u2019t have much margin for error; they need everything to go right.<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Igor Shesterkin, Adam Fox<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Pavel Dorofeyev, J.T. Miller, Mika Zibanejad, Alexis Lafreni\u00e8re<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Adam Fox<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Alberts Smits<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Gabe Perreault<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Igor Shesterkin, Pavel Dorofeyev, Alexis Lafreni\u00e8re, Liam Greentree<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 6.3)<\/p>\n
The Capitals appear to be successfully fighting the current after yet another strong offseason retooling. It was just two years ago that the window felt closed and we\u2019ve been rightfully scolded ever since as Washington has steadily moved opposite the current thanks to a string of successful moves. Logan Thompson, Jakob Chychrun, Jordan Kyrou, Alex Tuch and Pierre-Luc Dubois have all been acquired in that time, creating a deep core that places the team firmly in dark-horse territory. There is a gap between Washington and the other contenders, though, that leaves questions regarding the team\u2019s ultimate ceiling. Tom Wilson, despite his tremendous growth, is a tough sell as a contender\u2019s best skater, leaving the team\u2019s star power wanting.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 3.1)<\/p>\n
The Caps have done well to find value where others didn’t in Chychrun, PLD and Dylan Strome. They’ll hope to do the same with Kyrou. And they’ve drafted well (see: Protas brothers, Cole Hutson, Ryan Leonard, etc.). I like wing prospects Andrew Cristall and Lynden Lakovic as well, though there probably won’t be room for both on a future Caps team given their depth on the wing; Lakovic would be the better trade chip from a league perspective. They’re going to have a lot of very good forwards and should have three good forward lines long after Ovechkin is gone. The Protas brothers are unique and every winning team has a Leonard who can score and energize. If Cole Hutson can be something close to Lane? Game changer. If he’s more Shayne Gostisbehere? Different story. Their future rating is dragged down by the lack of a definite franchise guy. They’ll need Hutson to hit and one or two of the forwards to separate from a strong pack.<\/p>\n
Despite the low ratings here, it is imperative to mention the Capitals will start the year as a contender. Our internal model gives them a strong Stanley Cup chance, as does the betting market. The total value is there thanks to one of the league\u2019s deepest teams and there\u2019s some proof of concept of a superstar-less team winning thanks to last year\u2019s Hurricanes. Washington is just an extreme example of that.<\/p>\n
In that sense, maybe it\u2019ll work and this exercise is moot. But there\u2019s still a difference between where the Capitals land here and where the Hurricanes do. The Hurricanes have at least one franchise player, the Capitals don\u2019t. The Hurricanes have seven players in Tier 4 or higher, the Capitals have three. To increase the team\u2019s ceiling, Washington needs a legit high-end piece to raise it.<\/p>\n
Can that come from within? It\u2019s possible. Leonard, Hutson and Ilya Protas all project to be Tier 4 guys who can extend this window as the others age out, but the Capitals will need one of them to pop higher than that. Otherwise, it\u2019ll have to come from outside. Washington is in a good spot in terms of cap space and assets to make it happen within the next five years and have proven that most things they touch turn to gold. We wouldn\u2019t bet against them, but for now there\u2019s still work to do at the top of the roster.<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Logan Thompson, Tom Wilson<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Jakob Chychrun<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Jordan Kyrou, Alex Tuch, Aliaksei Protas, Pierre-Luc Dubois<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Logan Thompson<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Ryan Leonard, Ilya Protas, Cole Hutson, Jakob Chychrun<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Andrew Cristall, Lynden Lakovic<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 5)<\/p>\n
After a stunning lottery draft win, there is no team whose future is more interesting than Toronto\u2019s. The Leafs are at the center of no man\u2019s land, but they have a lot more mobility thanks to their current franchise star and the future potential franchise star they just drafted. For this season, it\u2019s those two who will dictate what direction comes next. <\/p>\n
If Auston Matthews can return to Tier 1 form, that\u2019s a big step. If Gavin McKenna can have a Tiers-worthy debut like Macklin Celebrini or Connor Bedard before him (Tier 3), that\u2019s another big step. Factor in some bounce-backs under a new coach and the possibility that Darren Raddysh is as legit as last season looked, and there\u2019s potential to re-open the window. The age of nearly everyone involved, however, also raises the possibility of the window slamming shut if Matthews falls further, John Tavares ages out and Raddysh turns into a pumpkin. <\/p>\n
Toronto\u2019s present rating stands at a perfectly mid 5.0, but the range of possible outcomes feels wider than any other team in this range. <\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 4.4)<\/p>\n
The Leafs’ 2026 draft class, headlined by McKenna, changes everything for an organization whose future looked bleak after Matthews, William Nylander and Tavares even with the emergence of Matthew Knies. McKenna gives them options and while the league placed him as a low-end franchise guy to start in Prospect Tiers, if he can become a 2A player instead of a 2C it opens up all kinds of possibilities for a team that had its back up against the wall before lottery night.<\/p>\n
The Leafs have gone from all-in contender without much of a vision to a middling team that at least has a clear path, albeit with an upcoming fork in the road that hinges on Matthews\u2019 future.<\/p>\n
With Matthews\u2019 contract up in two years and the team without their first-rounder in each of those seasons, the team has an obvious mandate to go for it during that time. What happens during that stretch will dictate Toronto\u2019s fate: Do the Leafs re-sign Matthews and continue building or trade him to reset around McKenna?<\/p>\n
Matthews\u2019 own play can dictate part of that; if he gets back to Tier 1 status, Toronto\u2019s chance of being a playoff team again goes up. And if he stays and maintains that level for the next five years, the growth of McKenna alongside him could breathe new life into a build that wasn\u2019t working. Add some more pieces \u2014 specifically the elusive true No. 1 defenseman \u2014 and there\u2019s a path forward after a brief blip. Lucking into McKenna is a big part of that. If Matthews\u2019 play continues to decline or he decides to leave, however, the luck of adding McKenna creates an easy pivot point to reset. <\/p>\n
The current situation is very murky, but there is a path back to contention. Whether it\u2019s the short way (Matthews returns to form and stays) or the long way (a full rebuild around McKenna), Toronto\u2019s future doesn\u2019t look nearly as bleak as it did half a year ago.<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Auston Matthews<\/p>\n
Tier 3: William Nylander<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Matthew Knies, Darren Raddysh, John Tavares<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Gavin McKenna<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Auston Matthews<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Matthew Knies, William Nylander, Easton Cowan, Darren Raddysh<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 4)<\/p>\n
Boston\u2019s three representatives are exactly who you\u2019d expect and that trio is the reason the Bruins were a surprise playoff team last season. It\u2019s hard to be bad with that starting point. It\u2019s the next layer that limits the team\u2019s ability to contend and keeps Boston stuck in no man\u2019s land. David Pastr\u0148\u00e1k, Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman need some serious help around them.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 4.4)<\/p>\n
James Hagens and Dean Letourneau give the Bruins something they haven’t had for a long time: actual prospects. Fraser Minten gives them a young support piece as well. But almost every team in the league has those guys and the Bruins have simply gone from being one of the few without them to one of the many with them. A Will Zellers or a Cooper Simpson could conceivably play their way into a Tier 5 projection with another good season, but much of the Bruins’ future rests on Hagens’ shoulders. He needs to become for them what Logan Cooley is becoming for the Mammoth.<\/p>\n
The Bruins made the right choice when they committed to moving guys out so they could begin to prioritize the future a little more than they had for a long time. But in a tough Atlantic Division, that may not be far enough. They have to be careful not to tell themselves they’ve done enough because they’ve got a few good young pieces to work with now. It’s hard to move on from a core as strong as Pastr\u0148\u00e1k, McAvoy and Swayman, but that discussion may not be over \u2014 and shouldn’t be, in our view.<\/p>\n
Tier 1: David Pastrnak<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Charlie McAvoy, Jeremy Swayman<\/p>\n
Tier 2: David Pastrnak<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Jeremy Swayman, Charlie McAvoy, James Hagens<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Fraser Minten, Dean Letourneau<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 4.8)<\/p>\n
The Islanders are in a very interesting spot thanks to the immediate impact of Matthew Schaefer. He gives the team two franchise-caliber players, a feat only boasted by nine other teams \u2014 eight of which are legit contenders (and the Rangers are the other). Mat Barzal and Bo Horvat are a decent enough forward duo on top of that. That\u2019s enough for an average core. The problem is there isn\u2019t enough outside of that. The team\u2019s stars are good enough to be playoff-worthy and can carry the Islanders to heights they probably have no business reaching. The question is whether that\u2019s the direction they should go after being given the gift of Schaefer.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 3.4)<\/p>\n
Schaefer puts you on a different path but every great player needs a supporting cast and the Islanders will need Calum Ritchie, Victor Eklund, Kashawn Aitcheson, Malte Gustafsson, Cole Eiserman and co. to either meet or exceed expectations virtually across the board. Those first four are safe bets. Eiserman is the boom-or-bust one-shot scorer who could give them something different, but has longer odds of doing so. Him proving some people wrong would go a long way for the Islanders.<\/p>\n
Schaefer changed everything for the Islanders. There are only six future Tier 1 players and Schaefer is one of them; that\u2019s a massive edge for future contention. The problem is the Islanders currently have three very strong players around age 30 who are holding them back from truly bottoming out while also likely not having star-level upside in five years’ time. In a sense, the Islanders are a little stuck between an obvious future and a current core that isn\u2019t bad enough to give up on.<\/p>\n
The Islanders have a swath of low-tier prospects who can make noise and it\u2019s possible they can compliment the current core to bridge timelines. If one of them can surpass their current ceiling, all the better. It\u2019s just a little dicey to bet on and may be a misstep given the gift they have in Schaefer.<\/p>\n
The Islanders\u2019 top priority towards contention needs to be building a franchise-level nucleus around their future MVP-caliber player. Everything might work out that way if they bottom out this year in a tough East and come back stronger a year later while Sorokin, Barzal and Horvat remain strong. But it\u2019s possible the timing might be off, the Islanders are never bad enough to add a franchise player to fit alongside Schaefer, and they stay in league purgatory throughout his prime as Ilya Sorokin, Barzal and Horvat age out. <\/p>\n
Unless the Islanders can land a young franchise piece via other means, the best path forward might be downward. The Islanders don\u2019t have to go scorched earth, but they could use some more lottery picks.<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Matthew Schaefer, Ilya Sorokin<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Mathew Barzal, Bo Horvat<\/p>\n
Tier 1: Matthew Schaefer<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Malte Gustafsson<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Victor Eklund, Calum Ritchie, Kashawn Aitcheson, Cole Eiserman, Mathew Barzal<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 3.8)<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been an incredible fall from grace for the Devils, who had six players on last year\u2019s list. This year they have three, two of whom \u2014 Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt \u2014 dropped a sub-tier. Only four teams have less representation than the Devils after another lackluster season and that puts major questions on the team\u2019s upside for the upcoming season. Can Dougie Hamilton or Timo Meier return to tier form? Can Luke Hughes finally take a Tiers-worthy leap? Was last year\u2019s breakthrough from newcomer Luke Evangelista for real? The answers to those questions will dictate how serious the Devils can be this season. Their big three are a nice start, but they desperately need that second layer behind them to heat up \u2014 and for a true No. 1 defenseman to emerge.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 4.2)<\/p>\n
All of Luke Hughes, Anton Silaev and Mikhail Yegorov are talents but all have also had an up-and-down couple of years (Silaev in particular). Subtracting \u0160imon Nemec has an impact too, even with his warts and the practical challenges his place within the organization represented. And while you won’t find a scout who doesn’t like Alexander Command, the league doesn’t view him as a high-end skill guy and he’ll fit in as an excellent support piece. The result is a murkier future score than over the last couple of years.<\/p>\n
There’s a third Hughes who could change everything, but pretty quickly the Devils have begun to feel like they’re a ways away in an Eastern Conference that looks more and more like a bear. If key players and prospects can return to form, they should be able to move out of no man’s land, but Sunny Mehta will have to be creative and execute if they want to open the window back up. <\/p>\n
Tier 2: Jack Hughes<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Jack Hughes<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Nico Hischier, Mikhail Yegorov<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Anton Silayev, Jesper Bratt, Luke Hughes, Alexander Command<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 4.6)<\/p>\n
Ottawa\u2019s strength is in its depth; any chance of contention will rely on a similar approach to Carolina\u2019s in being deeper than its opponents. But that job gets harder if the group\u2019s stars fall below average. Losing Brady Tkachuk is a big part of that, but even with him in the lineup the team\u2019s star power was already in question. Jake Sanderson took the leap and that\u2019s great. Now they need a big season from Tim St\u00fctzle to do the same, plus some players outside the top 150 to make noise. Carolina has eight representatives on the list, three more than Ottawa; can Dylan Cozens, William Eklund, Artem Zub or Jordan Spence prove worthy this season?<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 2.9)<\/p>\n
The Sens’ three best players are still young and Shane Pinto’s emergence as a Selke-caliber player makes a difference, but their pool is mediocre. Carter Yakemchuk has some Evan Bouchard in him but the league worries about his feet and brain at the NHL level, so some proof of concept will go a long way there after he showed positive signs in his brief time in the league last year. After Yakemchuk, guys like Logan Hensler and 2026 first-rounders Jonas Lagerberg Hoen and Jaxon Cover come with intrigue but a lot of questions marks. The latter two are capable of playing their way into Prospect Tiers next year with a big post-draft season.<\/p>\n
The biggest problem for Ottawa is that help is not on the way. Yakemchuk and Hensler are the lone prospects ready to add to the core, but they land in Tier 4 and 5. If those two only replace Thomas Chabot and Drake Batherson in the next five years, the Senators are sort of stuck where they currently are.<\/p>\n
The biggest thing that can change everything is St\u00fctzle taking another step forward. Right now he sits on the cusp of the 10 best centers in the world; he needs to enter that realm for Ottawa to have a legit shot. That would create a lethal one-two punch with Sanderson for the next five years and perhaps make Ottawa a more desirable locale. Especially if it leads to some immediate playoff success on the back of the team\u2019s depth.<\/p>\n
Still, even that won\u2019t solve all the team\u2019s problems. The Tkachuk-sized hole still needs to be filled and the Senators need a high-end forward to pair with St\u00fctzle. That was already true with Tkachuk around, which points to the significant mountain Ottawa has to climb with regards to star-level talent.<\/p>\n
The market making it difficult to find that externally is a challenge, and that\u2019s where smart buy-low bets on young players with star-level upside (and no trade protection) is the way to go. Eklund certainly fits that bill and if the current era is to see success, the Senators are going to have to continue making those bets. It might not work, but with Sanderson and St\u00fctzle around in their prime, starting over isn\u2019t an ideal option.<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Jake Sanderson<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Tim St\u00fctzle<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Shane Pinto<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Thomas Chabot, Drake Batherson<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Jake Sanderson<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Tim St\u00fctzle<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Carter Yakemchuk<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Shane Pinto, Logan Hensler<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 2.6)<\/p>\n
Are we underrating the Blues? It\u2019s certainly possible with the impact Robert Thomas, Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg have all created over the last few seasons. But even if that trio gets bumped up a notch, it\u2019s still not enough to be overly thrilled with St. Louis\u2019 current level of star power. There\u2019s no true franchise guy and not enough high-end support around the top guys they do have \u2014 especially after dealing Jordan Kyrou and with Colton Parayko close to falling off the list. As long as St. Louis\u2019 core is a work in progress, the immediate upside will be seriously lacking; the team is dangerously close to the rebuild zone.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 3.4)<\/p>\n
Holloway and Broberg have already proven to be huge wins. Justin Carbonneau and Jimmy Snuggerud can score. Dalibor Dvorsk\u00fd and Tynan Lawrence represent two-third of the Blues’ top-nine centers of the future. The Blues have a number of good young D. But their current pool feels a lot like their previous core: a collection of good players without a truly great one.<\/p>\n
The Blues have amassed quantity that should give Alex Steen’s team a good floor as he takes over. They need a ceiling-changer, though, and you don’t want to end up as a middle-of-the-pack team with three second lines and three second pairings. Those teams risk winning enough games to miss the playoffs and being just good enough to never find the one thing they need most in the draft or free agency: a superstar.<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Robert Thomas<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Philip Broberg, Dylan Holloway<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Colton Parayko<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Jimmy Snuggerud, Robert Thomas, Philip Broberg, Tynan Lawrence<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Dylan Holloway, Dalibor Dvorsky, Justin Carbonneau, Adam Jiricek<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Rebuilding<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 0.5)<\/p>\n
It\u2019s difficult to think of a more barren crew of skaters in recent memory than what the Flames plan to trot out next season. It\u2019s not that Calgary didn\u2019t have anyone to make the cut, it\u2019s that no player was anywhere close. It\u2019s going to be a long season, but at least Dustin Wolf is around to keep the Flames somewhat competitive during all the losses this team needs to endure in order to get out of this current mess.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 5.6)<\/p>\n
Aside from Seattle, no team had fewer players (1) in Player Tiers this year than the Flames. They’ve got the makings of a future blue line that could have 3-4 guys who do though, and Cole Reschny and Matvei Gridin are looking like they could be top-six players on a future Flames team that contends. The emergence of Ethan Wyttenbach, last year’s leading scorer in college hockey, dangles another one in front of them even if the league isn’t fully sold yet as well. If he’s the real deal, that’s a big deal. Now they need to get their Landon DuPont or Maddox Schultz in one of the next two drafts.<\/p>\n
May the lottery odds be ever in their favor.<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Dustin Wolf<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Carson Carels, Zayne Parekh<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Simon Nemec, Matvei Gridin<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Cole Reschny, Hunter Brzustewicz, Cullen Potter, Ethan Wyttenbach, Tobias Trejbal<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Rebuild Time<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 3.2)<\/p>\n
Without Connor Hellebuyck in the fold \u2014 and we excluded him under the assumption he wouldn\u2019t report to camp if still untraded \u2014 this exercise makes it even more painfully obvious where the Jets are heading. And arguably why Hellebuyck wants out in the first place. The Jets have three very good core pieces, but none at a franchise level with Hellebuyck gone. The lack of depth around what few high-end pieces the team has is another problem on top of that, putting an exclamation point on Winnipeg\u2019s chances next season: not great.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 0.6)<\/p>\n
Several Jets prospects have so far underperformed their draft slot and while Cole Perfetti has become a good player, they need him to find that next level. Elias Salomonsson represents a positive story and Jets fans are going to love Viggo Bj\u00f6rck, but they’ll have work to do in the post-Scheifele\/Hellebuyck era even if Perfetti takes that step and Bj\u00f6rck’s the real deal.<\/p>\n
The unfortunate reality with the Hellebuyck situation is that it\u2019s over. They couldn\u2019t win with him; they definitely won\u2019t win without him.<\/p>\n
Start over. Blow it up. And do not stop with Hellebuyck, because the aging core is too strong to let Winnipeg bottom out completely. Josh Morrissey, whose contract is up in two years, should be the first domino to fall, but the entire top line should be on the table. At their ages, a loss in value as they age and the team falls down the standings is a risk not worth taking; only Morrissey still has a spot in the future tiers. The time to act is now, especially with Landon DuPont available this summer.<\/p>\n
Look, we understand the unfortunate market realities of Winnipeg, but the biggest thing that can demoralize a fanbase is apathy and complacency toward a status quo that isn\u2019t working. Fans hate losing when it\u2019s meaningless; they\u2019ll show up for a clear vision with the promise of future winning. Right now, there\u2019s no future promise of anything with an aging roster that already wasn\u2019t good enough before their franchise star wanted out.<\/p>\n
The Hellebuyck news was hard, but it might be a blessing in disguise because it can signal a reset for a team that desperately needs one. Winnipeg\u2019s spot in the Contention Cycle should be a flashing alarm. We\u2019ll see if the Jets take the appropriate steps.<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Josh Morrissey, Mark Scheifele<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Kyle Connor<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Gabriel Vilardi<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Viggo Bjorck<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Josh Morrissey<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Elias Salomonsson<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 2.8)<\/p>\n
In the wake of An\u017ee Kopitar\u2019s retirement, it\u2019s clear Los Angeles\u2019 attempt to merge timelines has been a failure. The Kings have nothing to show for their mini rebuild with only Quinton Byfield and Brandt Clarke as tier-worthy players. Last year\u2019s acquisition of Artemi Panarin makes things a little interesting for the upcoming season, but it\u2019s crystal clear that even at its very best, this team doesn\u2019t have the requisite star power to go the distance. With the Sharks and Ducks on the rise, it’s time to face the music in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 0.4)<\/p>\n
Clarke and Elton Hermansson are both extremely skilled and capable of surprising people and exceeding their projections. But they aren’t enough to form a contender’s core even if they do that, especially if Byfield is just the 50-something point player he has now been for three straight years without taking that next step.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what the Kings have to show from their rebuild: Byfield and Clarke as Tier 4 stars and Hermansson as a support guy. That\u2019s it, and boy is it not good enough. It\u2019s time for a proper rebuild in Los Angeles because we\u2019re not sure how many more first-round losses this fanbase can take. The roster is good enough to make the playoffs in a weak Pacific, but that shouldn\u2019t be the goal. The Kings\u2019 ceiling is extremely limited with its current star power and until that\u2019s fixed, they\u2019ll be going nowhere fast. They tried to take a shortcut, and this is where they ended up: back to where they were around five years ago. <\/p>\n
Tier 3: Artemi Panarin<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Adrian Kempe, Quinton Byfield<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Brandt Clarke<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Quinton Byfield, Brandt Clarke<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Elton Hermansson<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Window Closed<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 2)<\/p>\n
This was always going to be the problem with Philadelphia\u2019s half-in, half-out rebuild: a lack of high-end talent. The vision to rectify that was there this summer with a massive offer sheet for Leo Carlsson, but it not working leaves the Flyers with four good players, but no truly great ones. Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim can\u2019t be the best players on a serious team.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 2)<\/p>\n
Porter Martone is the real deal and the Flyers have a number of players who should support him as he pursues becoming a Matthew Tkachuk\/Mikko Rantanen-level player in his prime. But so much of the future of the Flyers depends on Matvei Michkov giving the Flyers two wingers who could be among the most productive at their position in the league. Michkov’s 2025-26 hurt his standing in the Prospect Tiers and the Flyers’ rating as a result. His 2026-27 can help restore it.<\/p>\n
For many Flyers fans, this is probably a very confusing spot. They have a deep team, they just made the playoffs and they have two high-end talents on the horizon in Martone and Michkov. So what gives?<\/p>\n
The problem is what they have now is not good enough to contend, what they have later is not good enough to contend, and in between it doesn\u2019t appear like there will be a marriage of the two timelines. Konecny and Sanheim are currently the team\u2019s two best players, but at 29 and 30, it\u2019s hard to see them with staying power within the top 150. Tippett, 27, is already on the cusp and should fall off too. That just leaves Zegras in 5B and while it\u2019s possible, we\u2019re not betting on it just yet.<\/p>\n
What that means is the Flyers\u2019 future fully depends on their U23 core and it\u2019s worth noting their prospect base within the tiers does rank fourth. But there\u2019s a lot more uncertainty in the unknown quantities of the prospect realm; without an established base to add it to, it could leave the Flyers spinning their wheels in mediocrity. <\/p>\n
All of that is a fancy way of saying what many fans already fear: We\u2019re worried about the team\u2019s ceiling. The Flyers may end up a good team with what they have, but until they somehow add more high-end pieces, it\u2019s hard to see a truly great team capable of contention come out the other side.<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Trevor Zegras, Owen Tippett<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Porter Martone<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Matvei Michkov<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Yegor Zavragin, David Jiricek, Denver Barkey, Oliver Bonk<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 2.3)<\/p>\n
Sidney Crosby is still Sidney Crosby and last season Erik Karlsson and Evgeni Malkin proved they had some clock-turning abilities of their own. It was enough to make a spirited and surprising run to the playoffs, followed by a meek first-round exit. Another year older for three players in their late 30s is a hard thing to believe in, and while the depth around them may be enough to push for another playoff spot, anything more is a pipe dream.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 1)<\/p>\n
The Penguins have added significant quantity to their pool in a short period, prioritizing the future without the added benefit of extracting future value from their franchise icons. They’ve done an admirable job considering the unique factors and context within their organziation. Ben Kindel and Harrison Brunicke look like good picks. Bill Zonnon finished strong. Will Horcoff had a strong year. The Rucks are fascinating. They need more, though.<\/p>\n
The challenge for the Penguins is that they won’t be good enough around their current core and despite progress made within their pool for the first time in forever, there isn’t an heir apparent as the next face of the Penguins, let alone three or four. And you can’t find the next Crosby-Malkin-Fleury-Letang quartet without really committing to spending some time in the basement. That feels like something they’re inevitably going to have to commit to doing. So long as Sid is Sid, that’s easier said than done. It’s a complicated spot to be.<\/p>\n
Tier 2: Sidney Crosby<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Erik Karlsson<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Evgeni Malkin<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Sergei Murashov, Ben Kindel<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Liam Ruck, Harrison Brunicke, Rutger McGroarty, Bill Zonnon, Will Horcoff<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 1.6)<\/p>\n
There was a time when Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi and Juuse Saros was a franchise-level trio capable of leading the Predators to the playoffs; it was everything else that couldn\u2019t get it done. These days Saros isn\u2019t even worthy of consideration while both Forsberg and Josi have slipped to Tier 4. Look at the teams ahead and it\u2019s clear how difficult it\u2019s going to be for Nashville to compete with Forsberg and Josi as the team\u2019s two best players. Ryan O\u2019Reilly helps, sure, but all three being 32 and over and still not being good enough is a bad sign for the upcoming season.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 1.3)<\/p>\n
The Preds have invested a lot into their future in recent years, making 13 first-round picks in the last eight drafts. That has positioned their pool as top 10 in the league. But just two of those 13 first-round picks have come in the top 10 (Wyatt Cullen and Brady Martin the last two years). The result is a team that had eight of the 145 prospects in Prospect Tiers this year plus a few more who were considered, but nobody above the Star tier projection. Cullen (Tier 4) and Ryker Lee (Tier 5) are the most purely skilled of the bunch and represent their best hope at a top-of-the-lineup point producer. Martin will be a central piece even if he doesn’t become a top-line player, and they’ve got some talented young D to work with. But their NHL roster and pool is missing a true franchise-level guy.<\/p>\n
Preds fans are going to see a lot of youth come into the organzation over the next few years and a few of them could become quite good, but they still run the risk of repeating this last era where a Forsberg type was the top dog. That’s not enough in today’s NHL. We don’t want to rub salt in the wound, but it’s hard not to wonder how different the outlook might have been had they taken Porter Martone instead of Brady Martin at No. 5 in 2025. <\/p>\n
Tier 4: Filip Forsberg, Roman Josi<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Ryan O’Reilly<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Wyatt Cullen<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Brady Martin, Tommy Bleyl, Cameron Reid, Yegor Surin, Ryker Lee, Matthew Wood, Jack Ivankovic<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 0.6)<\/p>\n
The Canucks are firmly in rebuild mode and are left with just two players worth mentioning: Filip Hronek and Elias Pettersson. It\u2019s the latter that offers the most intrigue given his once-lofty perch as a franchise player. If he can get back to that, the Canucks can climb this list a little bit, but there\u2019s just not enough elsewhere for that to even matter in the short term. It\u2019s going to be a very rough season.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 1.6)<\/p>\n
Caleb Malhotra and Zeev Buium are the core pieces. Liam \u00d6hgren, Adam Novotn\u00fd, Braeden Cootes and co. should be pieces. But that’s just a start. Even if Malhotra becomes an excellent two-way top-six C who’s a leader and a winning type, and even if Buium lives up to his new contract, and even if all of those other guys become middle-six contributors, the Canucks will still be a long way away.<\/p>\n
Buckle in and get comfortable for long enough that there’s such an accumulation of young talent that you’re promised to come out the other side. Hope the ping pong balls show your four-digit code, and then hope again the next year and maybe the year after that too. This is the way.<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Filip Hronek, Elias Pettersson<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Zeev Buium, Caleb Malhotra<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Tom Willander, Adam Novotny, Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Braeden Cootes, Liam Ohgren<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Present Outlook (Rating: 0.2)<\/p>\n
The Kraken are the only team without a player represented in this year\u2019s top 150 and not a single panelist noticed or cared. It\u2019s looking bleak going into next season as Seattle just doesn\u2019t have any relevant enough players to make its upcoming season competitive.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook (Rating: 1.4)<\/p>\n
Chase Reid was a huge win for the Kraken, who finally got their first stud D prospect this year. The challenge they face is that while their pool is deep, and Berkly Catton and Jake O’Brien are talented young players who’ve been top players in their age groups, both are not promised to be that in the NHL and neither now is Shane Wright. If Catton and O’Brien just become second-liners, and Wright doesn’t take a step or is traded below his value, what will they have to show for these past six years? Promise is one thing, realizing it is something else.<\/p>\n
Reid’s going to be a stud. They need Catton and O’Brien to be too. The hard truth, though, is even if all of that happens and some of their other pieces become good support-type guys, the Kraken still need to commit to sitting in the basement and play the long game, which is what they should have done on Day 1.<\/p>\n
Tier 3: Chase Reid<\/p>\n
Tier 4: Berkly Catton, Jake O’Brien, Shane Wright<\/p>\n
Tier 5: Matty Beniers<\/p>\n
Methodology<\/p>\n
Similar to this exercise<\/a>, we compared each player\u2019s final placement in the Player Tiers project with his projected Net Rating. That led to the following valuations for each position, depending on their tier placement \u2014 their \u201cTier Rating.\u201d<\/p>\nThose values were then added up for each team and normalized with percentiles to a scale of 0-to-10 to create their \u201cPresent Rating.\u201d<\/p>\n
To get each team\u2019s \u201cFuture Rating,\u201d we looked at how each player from the Player Tiers (and some young players\/goalies outside it) is projected to age over the next five seasons and applied that figure to their Tier Rating. We compared that number to the value for each Tier, and put each player in their corresponding future tier.<\/p>\n
That process left us with 86 names.<\/p>\n
With that in mind, we did the same exercise with the Prospect Tiers. To get the 113 prospects outside the NHL to fit into the remaining top 150 \u2014 and to account for prospect uncertainty \u2014 we applied a sliding probability scale to each tier.<\/p>\n
Their Tier Ratings were added to the age-adjusted Tier Ratings of the remaining players for each team. That collective value, normalized to percentiles on a scale of 0-10, gave us our Future Rating.<\/p>\n
Each team\u2019s Present Rating and Future Rating were then plotted together (as seen in the introduction), informing their place in the Contention Cycle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome back to another year of the NHL Contention Cycle, our annual exercise that shows where each team…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":897769,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[766,740,741,49,762,48,748,756,758,755,757,742,453,747,763,761,743,760,749,750,751,448,744,752,753,764,768,82,759,745,746,765,452,767,754,449],"class_list":["post-897768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-anaheim-ducks","tag-boston-bruins","tag-buffalo-sabres","tag-ca","tag-calgary-flames","tag-canada","tag-carolina-hurricanes","tag-chicago-blackhawks","tag-colorado-avalanche","tag-columbus-blue-jackets","tag-dallas-stars","tag-detroit-red-wings","tag-edmonton-oilers","tag-florida-panthers","tag-los-angeles-kings","tag-minnesota-wild","tag-montreal-canadiens","tag-nashville-predators","tag-new-jersey-devils","tag-new-york-islanders","tag-new-york-rangers","tag-nhl","tag-ottawa-senators","tag-philadelphia-flyers","tag-pittsburgh-penguins","tag-san-jose-sharks","tag-seattle-kraken","tag-sports","tag-st-louis-blues","tag-tampa-bay-lightning","tag-toronto-maple-leafs","tag-utah-mammoth","tag-vancouver-canucks","tag-vegas-golden-knights","tag-washington-capitals","tag-winnipeg-jets"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=897768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/897769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=897768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=897768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=897768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}