![\"Real](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SNPodcast_RealKyperBourne_1280x720-640x360.jpg\")
Real Kyper & Bourne<\/p>\nUsually by the time we get to Christmas, it starts to feel like whichever direction teams are headed in should always have been obvious. <\/p>\n
Of course Team X is better! Of course Team Y is worse!\u00a0<\/p>\n
We forget how many questions loomed before the season really started, so I thought it would be fun to document how we we’re feeling (OK, how\u00a0I was feeling) about teams right before the puck actually dropped to kick off the 2026-27 NHL season.<\/p>\n
To do so, I\u2019m going to use my trademarked two-sentence format.<\/p>\n
So without further ado, let\u2019s talk vibes. What are we expecting from every NHL team this season? I’ve listed them in the order they finished last season.<\/p>\n
Real Kyper & Bourne<\/p>\n
Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne talk all things hockey with some of the biggest names in the game. Watch live every weekday on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ \u2014 or listen live on Sportsnet 590 The FAN \u2014 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n
All episodes<\/a><\/p>\n Has there ever been a division with zero bad teams? You definitely don\u2019t want to trip and fall at the opening gun this season, because making up ground in this group is going to be impossible.\u00a0<\/p>\n Buffalo Sabres: These guys put up 109 points and won the Atlantic last year built on an elite D-corps and good forward depth. They’ll probably come back to the pack a bit without Bowen Byram<\/a> and Alex Tuch<\/a>, which puts real pressure on the goaltending, Rasmus Dahlin, and Tage Thompson.<\/p>\n Tampa Bay Lightning: After a quiet 106-point season (if that\u2019s possible) they brought back a host of elite names at the top of the roster, and are still coached by Jon Cooper. They\u2019re just always going to be pretty good until that core ages out, so it\u2019s fair to expect another top-three finish in a tough division.<\/p>\n Montreal Canadiens: The Canadiens could do nothing to their roster or game plan and sleepwalk back into the playoffs, but with assets and cap space, I don\u2019t think this team is done improving. Fresh off a great learning experience in last year’s playoffs (conference final!), expectations have gone from \u201cgetting better\u201d to \u201cthe time is now.\u201d<\/p>\n Boston Bruins: A solid team that\u2019s coming off a 100-point season, but feels like it\u2019s caught between an older core and some of the next wave. If their top guys are healthy and they get elite goaltending from Jeremy Swayman<\/a>, they could have a great year, but if either of those things don\u2019t happen, it could go the other way.<\/p>\n Ottawa Senators:\u00a0One of the best D-corps in the league for my money, and every line has a home-grown talent who\u2019s become a legit NHL difference-maker. Still, they need saves (looking at you, Linus), and in Brady Tkachuk<\/a>‘s absence they feel short at least one or two top-end forwards to move from \u201cfringe playoff team\u201d to division contender.<\/p>\n Detroit Red Wings: Ten straight years of missing the playoffs and outside of Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson, there\u2019s not exactly a young star to be found to fix it, all while Dylan Larkin<\/a> asks out and Alex DeBrincat<\/a> is appearing on early trade boards. The roster doesn\u2019t even look bad, but they seem destined to hit 90 points and pick 14th.<\/p>\n Florida Panthers: Guess who\u2019s back, back again, etc, etc. I\u2019ve never seen a team come off an 84-point-season and have so many people picking them to win the Stanley Cup (Aleksander Barkov<\/a> is healthy!), but the universal opinion seems to be that last year was a blip and they\u2019re going to be better than ever (however, I am less sold).\u00a0<\/p>\n Toronto Maple Leafs: There\u2019s a renewed excitement about the team (Gavin McKenna<\/a>!) and they should definitely be better, but they could improve a full 20 standings points and still miss the playoffs. They need a lot to go right to go from \u201clottery team\u201d to back in the playoffs in a brutal division, but at least hope exists this season.<\/p>\n Last year Carolina won the division by 15 points, while the next five teams finished in a tight pack between 91 and 98 points. Almost every team looks better, making the East a gauntlet this year.<\/p>\n Carolina Hurricanes: They had 113 points and then won the Cup, so they opted to change very little, which feels like a smart thing to do. Only seven teams currently have a lower payroll and the Canes have five first-round picks the next four years, so they might just be OK.<\/p>\n Pittsburgh Penguins: Last season felt like an \u201cabsolutely everything goes right\u201d year, and they hit 98 points. They\u2019re starting the season with injuries, and with an older core facing a tough schedule, the Penguins are going to be challenged to get back to last season\u2019s relative success.<\/p>\n Philadelphia Flyers: I don\u2019t love the Flyers at the top-end of the roster (they don\u2019t either, hence the Leo Carlsson<\/a> swing), but there are few teams that have better depth guys. Porter Martone<\/a>, Matvei Michkov<\/a>, Tyson Foerster<\/a> — there are internal gains to be had for a team that feels destined to be in the wild card race all year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Washington Capitals: I\u2019ve been very impressed at how the Caps have stayed relevant after their 2018 Stanley Cup win, and after a lull, it feels like they\u2019re ready to push back up the standings. They look like a team with three good second lines (this is a compliment, if a backhanded one), so if their defence can prevent enough against, I could see them getting back to the 100-point plateau.<\/p>\n Columbus Blue Jackets: I want to preface these thoughts by saying I am wholly rooting for Columbus, but the East is brutal this year, the Blue Jackets are thin on talent, and some of that talent seems very willing to leave (not Adam Fantilli<\/a> though!). They\u2019re far too solid to be outright bad, but I\u2019d be surprised by any end-of-season point total that isn\u2019t between 84-95.<\/p>\n New York Islanders: The Isles are a team that seem best constructed to win a best-of-seven playoff series rather than accumulate 100 points and make the playoffs. Elite goaltending and solid vets (plus Matthew Schaefer<\/a>!) are a nice foundation for the wave of young talent on the way, but \u201cplayoffs\u201d feels like the ceiling in a year that would need a lot of player movement for it to be more than a transition season.<\/p>\n New Jersey Devils: When New Jersey has been healthy in recent years, they\u2019ve actually been formidable (particularly the defence), but that hasn\u2019t happened very often. Armed with a healthy Jack Hughes, a new GM, picks, and cap space, they should be a fun, dynamic team that hovers around the playoff picture all year.<\/p>\n New York Rangers: Probably the team with the widest range of potential outcomes for me, it\u2019s not hard to see how they could win games (goaltending, a step from Alexis Lafreniere, Pavel Dorofeyev<\/a>, Alberts Smits is good). But if a thing or two goes wrong (health?) I\u2019m not sure they\u2019re deep enough to sustain it and still make the playoffs.<\/p>\n Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.<\/p>\n Latest episode<\/a><\/p>\n It seems likely this group is closer than ever as opposed to \u201cthe best three teams in the conference, plus everyone else.\u201d Some good hockey is coming from these divisional games.<\/p>\n Colorado Avalanche: Coming off a 121-point season, the Avs are obviously all-in on another Cup run. If healthy they\u2019re just too elite at the top-end to not be in the mix among the league\u2019s best all year long.<\/p>\n Dallas Stars: Any time you\u2019ve got Miro Heiskanen<\/a> and Thomas Harley<\/a>, plus Jake Oettinger in net, you\u2019re going to be a 100-plus point team — I barely care who else you\u2019re rolling out. Tack on Wyatt Johnston and Mikko Rantanen and Jason Robertson<\/a>, and you\u2019re a no-brainer playoff team with an awfully high ceiling.<\/p>\n Minnesota Wild: I love how Bill Guerin has handled a team that toiled in the mushy middle forever:\u00a0keep Kirill Kaprizov<\/a>, trade for Quinn Hughes<\/a>, let\u2019s try to win the Cup here. Who knows how the Hughes saga will play out this season, but with him their D-corps is great, plus Matt Boldy<\/a> is a legit star in the league, and they should walk into the playoffs without any problems (the problem is getting better than the teams mentioned above.)<\/p>\n Utah Mammoth: OK Mammoth, it\u2019s time to go from \u201cyeah, geez they\u2019re getting better\u201d to being right there with the teams listed above in the Central. Logan Cooley could be one of the league\u2019s best forwards, and additions like Anders Lee and Vincent Trocheck<\/a> should help them take that step towards 100 points this season.<\/p>\n St. Louis Blues: The Blues sum up the state of the NHL today, where even average players are very good, but so many of the players and teams look the same. I like some of their off-season dealings (Mason McTavish<\/a>, Connor McMichael<\/a>), but the question remains: how do you get\u00a0better\u00a0than all these other teams?\u00a0<\/p>\n Nashville Predators: The Preds have a roster full of sneaky-old but proven veteran players, which would be cool if they had already been established as a great team and not one fresh off 86 points. With a new GM in Chris MacFarland, if they aren\u2019t in the mix after Christmas, their lineup reads like a menu of deadline additions for Cup contenders while they instead try and turn things around.<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets: Obviously the Connor Hellebuyck<\/a> situation hangs over everything, and even the name \u201cMark Scheifele<\/a>\u201d showed up on Nick Kypreos\u2019 first trade board<\/a> of the year. It could be a transition year for the Jets, who shouldn\u2019t be bad by any stretch, but are in a tough division and have to be realistic about how to get back to their very-recent levels of success.<\/p>\n Chicago Blackhawks: I think we\u2019ve all officially seen enough tank time from the Blackhawks, whose past four divisional finishes are eighth, eighth, eighth and eighth. Connor Bedard and the cast of young risers improved by nine points two years ago, and another 11 points last year, but could still improve 20 points and miss the playoffs, so I\u2019d like to see them turn their three first-round picks in 2027 into some additional present day talent when it becomes available this year.<\/p>\n Last season it took 99 points to make the playoffs in the East, while Vegas won the Pacific Division with 95. This group looks weak again, but should be better at the top-end.<\/p>\n Vegas Golden Knights: Fresh off another trip to the Stanley Cup Final, it\u2019s tough to see how Vegas expects to be better than last season (losing Dorofeyev was their only big change), until they inevitably make some big trade for an elite talent. That said, there is still piles of talent on the roster, and even though they’re older, they should glide to a top-two finish in the Pacific, have an easier first-round draw, and find themselves right back in the thick of things in the playoffs.<\/p>\n Edmonton Oilers:\u00a0It\u2019s hard not to feel like the Oilers are kind of the same as they\u2019ve always been \u2013 Connor McDavid<\/a>, Leon Draisaitl<\/a>, Evan Bouchard<\/a>, and then everyone else \u2013 but that\u2019s not necessarily bad (the Capitals did this before breaking through). Mike Babcock should grind them for every last percentage of improvement possible, so I expect a better regular season, an easier first round draw, and another deep playoff run on the horizon.<\/p>\n Anaheim Ducks: I\u2019m not sure I can recall a team having an off-season quite as bad as the Ducks just did (the in vs. out list isn\u2019t pretty), which is a shame considering the step they finally took last season. I love their core of young talent in Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier<\/a>, and Beckett Sennecke<\/a> (plus Jackson LaCombe<\/a> on the back-end), but they lost a pile of veteran experience, and badly need the above listed names to be so elite that everyone else only has to be OK.<\/p>\n Los Angeles Kings: After five first-round losses in a row, and with teams around them improving, I\u2019m struggling to find reasons why the Kings might be better. Anze Kopitar is gone, Artemi Panarin<\/a> is in for two years, and all told they just seem destined for a pretty unremarkable 90-point season.<\/p>\n San Jose Sharks: The NHL\u2019s biggest wild card in that I could totally see them becoming a 100-point competitor that adds at the deadline is relevant, or staying stuck as a mushy-middle team. Macklin Celebrini<\/a> could win the Hart Trophy, but after him there are a lot of \u201care they ready yet\u201d names, from Will Smith<\/a> to Michael Misa to Ivar Stenberg<\/a>, all while their defence is full of good-but-flawed veterans (Darnell Nurse<\/a>, Jacob Trouba<\/a>, Dmitry Orlov<\/a>) who could go either way.<\/p>\n Seattle Kraken: The Kraken are the Wild of old, in that every year you can\u2019t help but think \u201cthey just don\u2019t have the top-end guys to be relevant.\u201d I appreciate them throwing the bag at guys like Jason Robertson in the off-season, because at least they know they\u2019re plenty of elite talent short of being truly competitive.<\/p>\n Calgary Flames: The Flames are openly building towards their new arena, which is logical considering their most exciting forward this season might be Matvei Gridin<\/a>. That said, Zayne Parekh<\/a> is must-see-TV, and the addition of Simon Nemec<\/a> should be fun, so here\u2019s hoping they can develop some internal talent all while aiming towards a top-three pick at the next draft.<\/p>\n Vancouver Canucks: It should be a long year of figuring out who\u2019s a part of the long-term solution for the Canucks while they work towards a top-pick in the draft. It\u2019s all about internal development and the future here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Usually by the time we get to Christmas, it starts to feel like whichever direction teams are headed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":909440,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":["post-909439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909439","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=909439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/909440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=909439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=909439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=909439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"32](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790362572_853_32-Thoughts-podcast-Elliotte-Friedman-Kyle-Bukauskas-640x360.jpg\")
32 Thoughts: The Podcast<\/p>\n