10-6: Sabres, Canadiens, Capitals, Stars, and Wild 1 of 6

Honorable mention: Tampa Bay Lightning: We’ve been saying this for years, but it truly might be time for this Lightning core to make one last push. Thirty-three-year-old Nikita Kucherov is coming off a Hart Trophy season, 31-year-old Andrei Vasilevskiy is coming off a Vezina Trophy season, and while these players showed how much they’ve still got it last season, time is running out.

Will Victor Hedman’s return and the John Carlson acquisition boost the defense? Are prime-ish Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point enough to energize the aging but somehow still elite-level core, or is this the year we see true regression?

10. Buffalo Sabres: The question of the offseason is the move that could take the Sabres to contender status: Will they end up winning the Connor Hellebuyck sweepstakes, if there even is a Hellebuyck sweepstakes?

If they do, much of the anxiety around their offseason losses (Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram) goes away. If they don’t, they’ve still got some solid bones to work with here as they look to make the playoffs for a second straight season.

The young, promising players on the team took big steps and gained experience last year, so even though the Sabres haven’t yet made some huge external swing this offseason, they’re going to improve internally. We’ll see how far that will get them.

9. Montreal Canadiens: Even if Montreal isn’t right there yet, you’ve gotta love the direction this team is headed. The core is entering its prime, Nick Suzuki has only gotten better with more leadership and responsibilities, and the fast-paced play combined with high-end talent has made for electric playoff hockey.

This team has gone from rebuilding to the youngest team in the conference finals in three seasons, and it only seems to be up from here as Lane Hutson emerges as a top NHL defenseman.

8. Washington Capitals: The Capitals missed the playoffs last year, sure, but they had the same point total as the Vegas Golden Knights, who went all the way to the Cup Final. Go figure.

The Capitals had bad luck beyond residing in the 2025-26 Eastern Conference; they dealt with injuries to crucial players at the worst times, plus Alex Ovechkin had some slumps. Ovechkin is back for at least one more season to correct that, though, and management acted accordingly.

Washington has been a big winner this offseason, snagging Alex Tuch and Jordan Kyrou for an attempt to win the Cup one more time with Ovechkin.

The Caps are a great blend of veterans, primes, and up-and-comers, and Logan Thompson in net tops it all off. They’ll be back this season.

7. Dallas Stars: It’s hard to be too enthusiastic about the Stars after years of blown opportunities, and now some offseason drama regarding star forward Jason Robertson.

The Stars made three Western Conference Finals in a row before a first-round exit to the Wild last season, so their stock has fallen from that top five tier of contenders. Still, they’ve got the bones of a contender headed into next season and getting Robertson signed for the 2026-27 season will be a relief for now.

6. Minnesota Wild: Speaking of the gauntlet that is the Central, the Wild prevailed over the Stars in that raucous first-round showdown. They’ve got Kirill Kaprizov locked down, and they’ve still got Quinn Hughes under contract.

Now is the time for the Wild to acquire a Dylan Larkin-sized second-line center and go all-in. GM Bill Guerin seems up to the task of doing so.