Avalanche Top Sportsnet's First 2026-27 Power Rankings
Colorado lands at No. 1 ahead of Dallas and Washington, with the defending champion Hurricanes fourth as camps open across the league.
The Colorado Avalanche open the 2026-27 season at the top of Sportsnet's first power ranking of the year, with Dallas second and Washington third.
The reasoning on Colorado: a team that finished first overall last season, then lost the Western Conference Final in four games to Vegas. Nathan MacKinnon just turned 31, Cale Makar has been extended and is dealing with a minor lower-body issue, and Nazem Kadri is in the fold for a full season.
Defending champion Carolina slots in fourth, with the caveat that a long spring takes a toll and Seth Jarvis is out for a chunk of the season. Tampa Bay is fifth on continuity, Minnesota sixth despite uncertainty around Quinn Hughes' future, and Montreal seventh after adding veteran Chris Kreider on the eve of camp.
Buffalo checks in at eighth, and the note attached is the biggest open file in the league: the Sabres have been linked to Connor Hellebuyck more than any other club. The Jets suspended the goaltender on Wednesday for failing to report to training camp, according to tsn.ca, which noted general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff would address reporters Thursday morning. Hellebuyck went public with his trade request last month, per tsn.ca.
Further down: Edmonton ninth under new coach Mike Babcock, Florida tenth with Jacob Markstrom taking over for Sergei Bobrovsky, Vegas 11th, Utah 12th, Anaheim 13th after the Leo Carlsson offer sheet drama and the drawn-out Cutter Gauthier negotiation, Ottawa 14th in its first season without Brady Tkachuk, and Toronto 15th.
The list is explicitly not a Cup-odds exercise. Florida, the write-up concedes, would sit much higher if it were.
The weekly version starts once games do.
