Reason for concern: For all of the talent at forward, there\u2019s a soft spot in the middle of the second line. Jesperi Kotkaniemi would fit perfectly as a third-line center on a contending club, but he\u2019ll likely be the second-line center in Carolina. Does he have the offensive chops to hang with his wingers?<\/p>\n
The other problem area is nothing new. For years, the Hurricanes have banked on average to below-average goaltending from Fredrik Andersen and others, and here we are again. At times, Pyotr Kochetkov has looked like the answer, but then other times not. Cayden Primeau\u2019s .884 save percentage in 55 NHL games is not reassuring. This won\u2019t bite them in the regular season, of course.<\/p>\n
Bold prediction: This may be something less than bold, but Bradly Nadeau, the Canes\u2019 first-round pick (No. 30 overall) in 2023, seems ready for an NHL spot. He lit up the AHL last season with 32 goals and 58 points as a 19-year-old pro. It won\u2019t be an easy top six to crack, but Nadeau will carve out a role. \u2014Aaron Portzline<\/p>\n
2. New Jersey Devils (55 points, 2 first-place votes)<\/p>\n
Who\u2019s new?: F Connor Brown, F Evgenii Dadonov, F Arseniy Gritsyuk, F Juho Lammikko, F Thomas Bordeleau<\/p>\n
Who\u2019s gone?:\u00a0F Erik Haula, F Tom\u00e1\u0161 Tatar, F Nathan Bastian, F Justin Dowling, F Curtis Lazar, F Daniel Sprong, D Brian Dumoulin<\/p>\n
Reason for optimism: Jack Hughes is healthy, and so is Luke Hughes. And though Luke Hughes is still a restricted free agent, that should get resolved before the season. With the Hughes brothers, Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier and captain Nico Hischier, New Jersey has a young core capable of contention. GM Tom Fitzgerald has bolstered the supporting cast the past two summers, acquiring the likes of Brett Pesce, Stefan Noesen and Connor Brown. Goaltender Jacob Markstr\u00f6m had a solid first season with the club, most notably in the playoffs, and coach Sheldon Keefe has young talent to foster. \u0160imon Nemec will look to take a step, and rookie Arseniy Gritsyuk should contribute right away. When not depleted by injuries, as was the case in the 2025 playoffs, this is a legitimate roster. And surely that amount of injuries won\u2019t happen again this year, right?<\/p>\n
Reason for concern: There\u2019s no guarantee injuries won\u2019t derail another season. They\u2019ve been the team\u2019s downfall each of the past two seasons. Jack Hughes has suffered season-ending shoulder injuries both years. Those might be freak accidents more than a chronic concern, but the Devils can\u2019t afford another. Markstr\u00f6m will turn 36 in the middle of the season, and the team is relying heavily on him. Will he be able to carry the load through a long season and a potential deep playoff run? If not, the Devils will be in trouble. Jake Allen is a solid No. 2, but the Devils didn\u2019t acquire him to be the main backstop. And, like with most rosters in the league, it could probably use another top-nine forward option.<\/p>\n
Bold prediction: Jack Hughes will play more than 75 games, score 100 points and finish higher in Hart Trophy voting than he did in 2022-23 (eighth). The reasoning is simple: He\u2019s really, really good and is 24, a feasible age for him to have a huge season. He\u2019s due for a healthy year and when he\u2019s healthy, there\u2019s not much to dislike. \u2014Peter Baugh<\/p>\n
3. Washington Capitals (46)<\/p>\n
Who\u2019s new?:\u00a0F Justin Sourdif, D Declan Chisholm<\/p>\n
Who\u2019s gone?:\u00a0LW Andrew Mangiapane, C Lars Eller, RW Taylor Raddysh, F Ethen Frank, D Alexander Alexeyev<\/p>\n
Reason for optimism: The Caps are bringing back virtually every relevant piece from last season\u2019s Metro Division champion, for one. That\u2019s a good baseline reason to believe in them for 2025-26. They can run back one of the very best blue lines in the NHL and continue to rely on a productive group of forwards, led by the greatest goal scorer of all time in Alex Ovechkin. Also, in two seasons as head coach, Spencer Carbery has shown a knack for putting his players in a position to succeed. He knows how to get the most of his rosters, and there\u2019s every reason to believe he\u2019ll continue being a difference-maker. \u201cHow are the Caps so successful?\u201d has turned into a standard question, and Carbery is an enormous part of the answer.<\/p>\n
Reason for concern: Ovechkin is a year older, which never helps. Beyond that, there should be some level of concern that too many individual Caps hit their peaks last season. How much more can they expect from Tom Wilson? Is it fair to imagine Pierre-Luc Dubois, already an impressive reclamation project, turning into a legit 1C? Does Aliaksei Protas have another 30-goal season in him? Can Dylan Strome continue producing enough points to wallpaper issues with his own game and Ovechkin\u2019s? Who is the real Logan Thompson? Washington loved the answers to all those questions in 2025-26, but running it all back is a tough ask.<\/p>\n
Bold prediction: To that end, nothing would be bolder than saying that the Caps do, indeed, mount a successful follow-up. Connor McMichael anchoring a productive, substantive third line would help, as would someone such as Ryan Leonard or Andrew Cristall filling McMichael\u2019s previous role on the Dubois-Wilson line. So too would a top-10 goaltending season, front to back, for Thompson. Let\u2019s go with that. \u2014Sean Gentille<\/p>\n
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Will Alex Ovechkin be all smiles again this season? (Scott Taetsch \/ Imagn Images)4. Columbus Blue Jackets (40)<\/p>\n
Who\u2019s new?:\u00a0F Charlie Coyle, F Miles Wood, F Isac Lundestrom, G Ivan Fedotov<\/p>\n
Who\u2019s gone?:\u00a0F Sean Kuraly, F James van Riemsdyk, F Justin Danforth, D Jack Johnson, D Jordan Harris, G Daniil Tarasov<\/p>\n
Reason for optimism:\u00a0The tremendous growth shown by the Blue Jackets\u2019 swell of young players last season \u2014 Adam Fantilli, Kirill Marchenko, Kent Johnson, Dmitry Voronkov, etc. \u2014 has boosted confidence in a room that is now stocked with productive and revered veterans such as Zach Werenski, Sean Monahan and Boone Jenner. The Blue Jackets finished seventh in the NHL in scoring last season, despite long-term injuries to Jenner, Monahan and others. There were nights when they outscored their own defensive lapses and goaltending. After surprising the league last season and missing the playoffs by two points, the Jackets feel like their five-year postseason drought (the second-longest in franchise history) will end this season.<\/p>\n
Reason for concern:\u00a0The Blue Jackets have been one of the NHL\u2019s worst defensive clubs for five seasons now, and the offseason upgrades many had hoped for \u2014 especially in goal, but also on the blue line \u2014 never came to fruition for GM Don Waddell. Remarkably, goaltender Elvis Merzlikins is back for another season, despite three straight seasons with a sub-.900 save percentage. There\u2019s a strong chance Jet Greaves, finally an NHLer after consistent improvement in the AHL, will push Merzlikins<\/a> for starts and even the No. 1 role. The Blue Jackets gave Ivan Provorov a massive contract (seven years, $59.5 million) to keep him from free agency, so the blue line has barely changed.<\/p>\n Bold prediction:\u00a0Yegor Chinakhov made quite possibly the least effective trade request in hockey history this summer. Waddell didn\u2019t hear any offers that made him consider moving the 24-year-old winger, and the two sides \u2014 Chinakhov and coach Dean Evason \u2014 had a clear-the-air meeting before camp started. Chinakhov was the only member of their young, skilled core who hasn\u2019t yet popped, but that\u2019s coming this year. Look for Chinakhov to have 20-plus goals and 50-plus points. \u2014Aaron Portzline<\/p>\n 5. New York Rangers (37)<\/p>\n Who\u2019s new?:\u00a0D Vladislav Gavrikov, F Taylor Raddysh, D Scott Morrow<\/p>\n Who\u2019s gone?:\u00a0F Chris Kreider, D K\u2019Andre Miller, D Zac Jones<\/p>\n Reason for optimism: It can\u2019t get worse, can it? Seemingly everything that could have gone wrong for the Rangers last season did, but they believe a full season with new captain J.T. Miller, the addition of Gavrikov to stabilize the defense and bounce-back performances from a core that\u2019s only a year removed from winning a Presidents\u2019 Trophy will propel them back into playoff contention. They\u2019re also banking a first-year-coach bump from Mike Sullivan, whom team president Chris Drury has coveted for years and finally lured to New York in May. These Rangers have responded well to changes behind the bench, posting a combined 107-47-10 record (.683 points percentage) in their first seasons under previous coaches Gerard Gallant (2021-22) and Peter Laviolette (2023-24). Did I mention they still have Igor Shesterkin in net?<\/p>\n Reason for concern: On second thought, maybe it can get worse. The Rangers will rely heavily on a group of veteran forwards who are all coming off down statistical seasons and will enter the season age 32 or older: Miller, Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Mika Zibanejad. They\u2019ve struggled to develop young, affordable players to ease their burden, and their defensive corps has major questions beyond an expected top pair of Gavrikov and Adam Fox. Team defense is of particular concern. Shesterkin has masked their deficiencies for years, but the walls came crumbling down around him last season. New York ranked 29th with an average of 12.2 high-danger scoring chances against per 60, according to Natural Stat Trick, which was exacerbated by a penchant for senseless turnovers, poor net-front protection and issues breaking pucks out of their own zone. Sullivan wants to run a system that\u2019s predicated on a swarming forecheck, but the Rangers are short on effective defensive players and may not have the horses to pull it off.<\/p>\n
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