We are just one day away from the start of the NHL regular season, which means it’s time for the Daily Faceoff power rankings to return. Another fun year of arguments and petty insults awaits us, and that’s before we even start reading the comments!

While the second spot for these rankings has seen as frequent of a rotation as the second seat next to Max Verstappen with Red bull, do not fret: Hunter Crowther will be my regular partner for the 2025-26 season. However, he was unavailable for the preseason rankings, so my former power rankings sparring mate in Mike gould will be filling in for this week.

As the preseason ends and the regular season begins, we will stick to the same tier-based process for the first power rankings of the year. Mike and I tiered teams into five different categories (Cup Contenders, Playoff Contenders, In the Bubble, Longshots and Lottery Contenders), and for the teams we didn’t agree on, we split our disagreements down the middle into four sub-tiers between those main five (Cup hopefuls, Playoff Hopefuls, Fringe Playoff Teams and Too Bad to be Good, Too Good to be Bad). come next week,we’ll return to the standard process of ranking teams from 1st to 32nd.

Cup Contenders

Edmonton Oilers

Scott: Provided that Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and even Evan Bouchard are on the Oilers and healthy, this team will be a Cup contender. McDavid’s looming contract extension may change that beyond this season, but this year, they’re still one of the teams to beat. Edmonton hasn’t upgraded their goaltending, but I’m intrigued to see if the upside to players like Ike Howard and Matt Savoie can give the team a mini-youth boost like what Matthew Knies has given the Leafs.

Mike: Howard is getting more than a little overrated – guys who win the Hobey Baker as juniors almost never turn into impact NHLers – but I do think Savoie has a decent chance to help out. The Oilers really need Mattias Ekholm to get back to his previous form after his shaky, injury-hampered performance in last year’s playoffs. He’s not getting any younger.

Scott: Yeah, the “if” is carrying a lot of weight for me for Howard and Savoie. If Ekholm is Ekholm next season, I think their blueline is the best it’s ever been for the Oilers during McDavid’s tenure.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Mike: I don’t think there are any true powerhouse teams in the league right now,but the Lightning look really good. Jake Guentzel had an awesome first year in Tampa and I think Conor Geekie

Colorado Avalanche

Mike: I still have the Avs in my top tier but onyl because nobody else truly stands out. They’re good,and getting Gabriel Landeskog back is huge,but this ain’t the same team that won the Cup in 2022 and they know it. Swapping Mikko Rantanen for Martin Necas hurts a ton.I’m not convinced they’re going to be able to keep Cale Makar, not as they can’t afford him but because he’s going to look at this group in two years and say they don’t have as much of a window to win. Make no mistake, they’re still a great team and could go on a huge run, but the picture isn’t as rosy as it onc was.

Scott: I nearly moved them up because, much like the Oilers, they should be in contention every year they have Nathan MacKinnon and Makar, but there are a few more question marks surrounding the group that made me hesitate. How Landeskog, Necas and Brock Nelson can fill in the offensive gap that Rantanen leaves over a full season will ultimately decide how they fare.

Florida Panthers

scott: If you told anyone in the beginning of July after the Panthers re-signed their entire team that you could conceivably say they aren’t a Cup contender, you’d probably be the laughing stock of the hockey world for the day. But now, Cup hopefuls may be the best label for them because their chances cling on the hope that Aleksander Barkov will be back sometime in the playoffs. Florida has the depth to be a strong playoff team, and maybe win a round or two depending on the opponent, but if Barkov is out the entire year, his impact will be felt, especially with a group that will have had only six months off in a 44-month span. If Barkov is back, they’ll be a top contender, and Sam Bennett and Anton Lundell can hold down the fort until then, but it’s hard to see them winning a third consecutive Cup without their captain on the ice.

Mike: Losing barkov is a killer. I think this group has unbelievable fortitude and can withstand his absence in the regular season, but if he’s gone for the playoffs, they’re cooked. We’ll see.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Mike: I don’t know if Mitch Marner gets enough credit for being a truly dominant player in the regular season, but I do know he’s consistently atrocious in the playoffs, and if his departure gives Matthew Knies more of a chance to shine under the spotlight in toronto, all the better for it. Some players are built for the pressure cooker – looking good, Trey Yesavage – and others need to go play in front of a bunch of snowbirds.And there’s nothing wrong with that! But the Leafs need guys who can step up when the time is right, and I think their current group gives them a good chance to make noise in the spring.

## Atlantic Division Outlook: Bruins, Red Wings, and More

boston Bruins

Scott: I think the Bruins are going to be good, but I don’t think they’re going to be *that* good. Last year was a bit of a unicorn season, and while they’ve added some pieces, I don’t think they’re going to replicate that level of success. They’re still going to be a consistent playoff qualifier once they actually got there. They got there last year,and it was off of legitimate progression from the team rather of relying on luck,so I think this is who they are now. Linus Ullmark continuing to play like Linus Ullmark will be a huge factor in that, but they have a solid top six up front and top four on their blueline, as well as an owner that will actually spend money, so I think we’ll see this team in the hunt more often.

Mike: I have a ton of time for these Sens. They actually remind me of the Hurricanes, what with their long playoff drought after losing in the ECF to the Cup-bound Penguins, plus a few high draft picks, a homegrown top-line center who falls just short of the truly elite, a scoring power winger from a hockey family, a veteran starting goalie who’s a bit of a mercenary, and an underrated defense.

Scott: If I have one concern with the Sens, it’s that their way of generating chances offensively is very reminiscent of the Kings’ during their current stretch of playoff appearances, and that’s not a compliment. I could see a lot of their top players’ offensive growth get stunted if this continues. Their defensive play is fantastic, though, and it’s going to be even better now that Josh Norris isn’t playing for them.

Washington Capitals

Scott: I feel like most hockey fans expect the Capitals to take a step back after finishing first in the Eastern Conference. Even with the series win, their time in the playoffs still showed this team was a step behind the true Cup contenders once they faced a strong playoff team in the Canes. There’s going to be a lot of regression after so many players on the Caps had career highs, and while I think they’re still in the playoff hunt, I’d be surprised if they’re first in the East again.

Mike: I hope Ovechkin sticks around to score 1,000 goals. That’s the extent of my takes on the Capitals.

## Playoff Hopefuls

Minnesota Wild

mike: Look, I’m glad they were able to keep Kirill Kaprizov, mainly as it would’ve been really boring if he’d bolted for New York like a billion other players have in the past, but the Wild need to do a lot more before I can take them seriously. Poor Marian Gaborik never had a true No. 1 center to play with when he was in Minnesota, and Kaprizov looks to be destined for the same fate. The Wild could win a round and I wouldn’t be all that surprised, but I just can’t see them making the WCF anytime soon.

Scott: I still think their floor is a Wildcard team, but they definitely aren’t sniffing a Cup with their current group.

## On the Bubble

### Buffalo Sabres

Scott: I know it’s Buffalo and last year went very poorly for them, but I really like their blueline improvements this summer and think that at least puts them in the fringe playoff team conversation. Yes, JJ Peterka is gone, but it feels like a breakout from one of Zach Benson, Jiri Kulich, or Jack Quinn replaces that production, and Michael Kesselring gives them a sneaky good top four defense corps. My biggest concern is their goaltending, both with how the injury to Ukko-Pekka Luukonen affects them but also whether Luukonen is even the real deal. I kind of like them as a dark-horse playoff candidate. Something something this year is our year.

Mike: The Peterka deal was low-key a win for Buffalo and I’m tired of pretending it wasn’t. Get ready for a big year from Josh Doan.

### Los Angeles kings

Scott: In the span of about two years, the Kings went from a blueline of Mikey Anderson, Drew Doughty, Sean Durzi, vladislav Gavrikov, Matt Roy and Sean Walker, with jordan Spence and Brandt Clarke in the pipeline, to only Anderson, Doughty and Clarke remaining with Cody Ceci, Brian Dumoulin and Joel Edmundson filling out the rest of the lineup. That has to be one of the most impressive dismantlings of a blueline in such short order that I’ve ever seen. For a team whose biggest strength in the past few seasons was defense,that is alarming,and I don’t think the Kings’ offense is good enough to make up for that. In a Western Conference that keeps getting better, it’s easy to see them being one of the playoff teams that falls out of the picture.

Mike: Ken Holland had such a bad summer that I was tempted to rank the Kings even lower than I did. They’re going nowhere fast.

Scott: Holland seems to have one infamously horrible summer with his team (2016 with Detroit, 2021 with Edmonton), and it’s impressive he’s already done that after just months on the job in Los Angeles.

### Montreal canadiens

Scott: remember when I said Ottawa’s run to the playoffs was based on legitimate progress and not luck? That was not the case for the Canadiens. They were an atrocious defensive team last year, even after adding Alex Carrier, and really only covered that up as of the stellar play of Sam Montembeault. It also helped that the other teams they were fighting with for a spot also fell apart down the stretch. They have a very high ceiling to improve, especially after trading for Noah Dobson, but I need to see it before I’m all in on the Habs.

Mike:

NHL Team Previews: Atlantic Division – Early Takes

Carolina Hurricanes

Scott: I’m still not sold on this team. They’ve been good for a while, but they haven’t been able to get over the hump. I think they’ll be fine, but I don’t see them as a true contender.

Mike: I agree with Scott. They’re a good team, but I don’t think they’re great. I’m also concerned about their goaltending. Freddie Andersen is a good goalie, but he’s getting older and has a history of injuries. I think they’ll be in the playoffs, but I don’t see them making a deep run. I’m also skeptical of their additions. I think they overpaid for a few players, and I don’t think they’re going to be worth the price. I too am more bearish than most on their offseason adds, but I think they were close last season and the internal upgrades plus the Joel Quenneville hiring will boost them enough to be in the conversation.

Mike: I need to see it on the ice from those three. Based on pedigree alone, I think they project more as second-line guys across the board. Carlsson is the best bet to truly pop from that group.

Boston Bruins

mike: I don’t think it’s far-fetched for the Bruins to return to the playoffs this year, but they aren’t particularly compelling beyond their two superstars. At least they stole James hagens at the draft this year. Now, they’ll need Jeremy Swayman to start stealing some wins (and prove he didn’t steal his contract). It says a lot about the Bruins at this point that Buffalo is basically a consensus pick to finish above them next year.

Scott: Their blueline is solid and their goaltending is great on their good days, but man is that forward group bleak.If they make the playoffs, David Pastrnak should be the runaway Hart favourite.

columbus Blue Jackets

Scott: The Blue Jackets were the story of the year, overcoming adversity to miss the playoffs by a single win. But that magic will probably wear off a bit, and after career years from a few key players, there will always be the question of whether they can repeat that. A lot of those players, like Kirill Marchenko, Kent Johnson and Adam Fantill, are young enough that those seasons were clearly breakouts, but it doesn’t feel like they made significant enough improvements in the offseason to say they can make up the difference if they take a step back. If they can get consistent goaltending, though, I like their chances a lot more.

detroit Red Wings

Mike: I’ll give them credit: Detroit had a great pre-season. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard looks NHL-ready, and that Emmitt Finnie kid might just be a player. but that defense is still absolutely putrid, and while John Gibson is coming off a year in which he put up some of his best numbers in ages, he also appeared in just 29 games while essentially ceding the reins to Dostal. The Wings need Gibson to fully revert to 2017 form if they want to stop their playoff drought from reaching a decade.

Scott: I at least think that a tandem of Gibson and cam Talbot will be solid enough if one of them can’t take the full-time reins.But yeah, the difference between the Red Wings making and missing the playoffs is if they give Ben Chiarot, Travis Hamonic and Justin Holl as little ice time as possible. A bounce-back year from Erik Gustafsson could be a game changer for their defense.

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NHL Tier List: Teams on the Bubble

Not Quite Playoff Contenders

Chicago Blackhawks

Scott: The Blackhawks are still rebuilding, but they’ve added some exciting young talent. Connor Bedard is a legitimate superstar, and players like Lukas Reichel and Kevin Korchinski are developing nicely. However,they still lack the overall depth and experience to compete with the top teams in the Western Conference. Expect growing pains, but also glimpses of a brighter future.

Mike: Bedard changes everything. He’s a generational talent, and his presence alone will make the Blackhawks more competitive. But let’s be realistic – they’re still a few years away from being a true playoff threat.This season is about development and building a foundation for long-term success.

San Jose Sharks

Scott: The Sharks are in a full-blown rebuild, and it’s going to be a long process. They’ve shed a lot of veteran contracts and are now focused on accumulating draft picks and developing young players.They don’t have a lot of high-end talent,and their goaltending is a major concern. Don’t expect them to be competitive anytime soon.

Mike: San Jose is at the bottom for a reason.They’re lacking in almost every area, and their future is uncertain. The good news is they have a lot of cap space and draft capital, but it will take time to turn things around.Patience is key for Sharks fans.

Philadelphia Flyers

Scott: The Flyers’ goaltending alone is reason enough to say they aren’t a playoff team. Dan Vladar was one of the weaker backups in the league last season, and he’s still an upgrade on the three goalies they had last season.They have a lot of good pieces for the future starting to make their way into the lineup, and Trevor Zegras could have an impact if the change of scenery works, but I’m anticipating they’ll be closer to last year’s team than the 2023-24 team that fell a few points short of the playoffs.

Too Bad to be Good, Too good to be Bad

Seattle Kraken

Scott: The Kraken may be the definition of this tier, so it’s fitting that they stand alone this year. They are now in year five of relying on their depth to do well instead of having any star power, and that depth is good enough that they aren’t as bad as the Blackhawks and the Sharks, but the lack of star power gives them too low of a ceiling to make any noise. Until they pick a lane, this is were they will be.

Mike: Berkly Catton might already be seattle’s best