NHL Team Rankings 2026-27: My Free Fan Tier List
My personal NHL team rankings for 2026-27, tier by tier from Cup favorites to rebuild mode, plus the free tool I used to turn it into a shareable graphic.
Felix 6.5 min read
Carolina's Banner Raise Kicks Off a Loaded Season
Carolina beating Vegas in six games back in June was one of the wildest Cup Finals I've watched in years — overtime thrillers, a four-goal Game 3 comeback that still didn't hold, and a Game 6 shutout on the road to finish it. That series is a big part of why my top tier looks the way it does this year. Add in the league jumping to 84 games, the return of the All-Star Game after a two-year break, and three outdoor games on the calendar, and there's a lot to be excited about before puck drop.
My NHL Team Rankings, Tier by Tier
- S Tier: Carolina Hurricanes, Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche
- A Tier: Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, New York Islanders, Winnipeg Jets, Tampa Bay Lightning
- B Tier: Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals, Minnesota Wild, Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, Utah Mammoth
- C Tier: Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Seattle Kraken, Nashville Predators
- D Tier: Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Montréal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks
S Tier — the teams I genuinely can't stop thinking about
Carolina Hurricanes. Watching them go down 4-0 in the third period of Game 3 and still push that series to overtime told me everything about this roster's compete level. Then they closed it out 3-0 on the road in Game 6 with Jordan Staal grinding out a Conn Smythe. That's a team that doesn't blink, and they get to run it back with the banner already hanging.
Vegas Golden Knights. Losing in six stings, but Mitch Marner leading the entire playoffs in scoring on a new team says the fit works. That double-overtime Game 3 comeback from four goals down is the kind of game I'll bring up in arguments for years. This roster isn't done.
Colorado Avalanche. The Presidents' Trophy winner with the best record in hockey, and they're opening the Winter Classic outdoors against Utah on New Year's Eve. With Nathan MacKinnon still playing at an MVP level, I have a hard time betting against them going deep.
A Tier — contenders with something to prove
Edmonton's still built to win now, Florida and Tampa are perennial playoff locks I trust every October, and Dallas gets a home Stadium Series game against the exact team that just beat their conference rival. The Islanders are here mostly because Matthew Schaefer, last year's Calder winner, is entering year two, and I think he takes a leap. Winnipeg hosts the Heritage Classic against Montreal in October, which always seems to spark a hot stretch. And then there's Toronto — an aggressive offseason bringing in Sergei Bobrovsky, plus the most-hyped rookie debut in years, has me curious rather than skeptical for once.
B Tier — solid, but I need to see more
The Kings, Devils, Capitals, and Wild are all playoff-caliber on paper but have felt one round short the last couple springs. Ottawa and Vancouver both took real steps forward last season. Buffalo finally snapped a 14-year playoff drought, and I want to see if that was a breakthrough or a one-off. Utah gets a bump for hosting their first outdoor game as a franchise — that kind of spotlight can galvanize a young roster.
C Tier — talented, but something's missing
Boston and the Rangers are Original Six names I still respect, but both are in the middle of retools. Pittsburgh is running out the clock on a great core. St. Louis, Calgary, Seattle, and Nashville all have pieces I like individually, but none of them scream "team to fear" to me yet.
D Tier — rebuild mode, and that's okay
Anaheim, Chicago, Columbus, Montreal, Philadelphia, and San Jose are all stocked with prospects worth watching, just not roster enough yet to compete for a playoff spot. Chicago and Montreal especially have young cores I'd keep an eye on for 2027-28.
A Storyline I'm Watching Closely
Beyond the tiers, the thing I keep coming back to is Gavin McKenna in Toronto. He put up video-game numbers at Penn State and in junior, and the Leafs surrounded him with veterans this summer specifically to win now. Whether he can produce immediately in a pressure market like Toronto is going to be one of the more talked-about stories of the first half of the season. Buffalo's playoff drought ending is the other one — I want to see if that roster can build on it instead of sliding back.
How I Turned This Into an Actual Graphic
Once I had my tiers sorted in my head, I wanted something I could actually post instead of just a wall of text, so I used TierMakerPro to build it out. It's a free tier list maker with a ready-made NHL team rankings template — no sign-up, you just drag each team logo into a tier, rename or recolor the rows if you want, and export it as a PNG when you're done. Took me maybe ten minutes to turn this list into something shareable.
My Final Word Before Puck Drop
These are the teams I'm genuinely backing this season — Carolina, Vegas, and Colorado at the top, with Toronto and the Islanders as the ones I'm most curious to watch prove themselves. Now it's your turn: rank the teams you love, or the ones you think are actually the strongest, and see where your list matches mine — or completely blows it up.
FAQ
How many teams make up the current NHL, and how long is the 2026-27 season? The NHL has 32 teams. The 2026-27 season is the first 84-game regular season the league has played since the early 1990s, running from September 29 through April 10, with 1,344 total games league-wide.
Who's better right now, Carolina or Vegas? It's close. Carolina has the Cup and the banner, but Vegas pushed them to six games and has a scoring leader in Mitch Marner who's proven he fits the system. My gut says Carolina, but I wouldn't argue hard with someone who picks Vegas.
What's the biggest storyline going into this season? Gavin McKenna's rookie debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs is probably the most talked-about storyline, alongside the league's expanded 84-game schedule and the return of the All-Star Game at UBS Arena in February.
Is TierMakerPro actually free to use for something like this? Yes — it's free, doesn't require creating an account, and lets you drag and drop teams, edit tier labels and colors, upload your own images if you want custom logos, and export the finished tier list as a PNG.