Six NHL teams to watch in 2026-27: the champion, the Panthers' rebuild, and four teams that changed their coach or their core

This is not a power ranking. BetMetrics has selected six teams to watch: Carolina, Florida, Vegas, Edmonton, Toronto and Buffalo. The reporting below draws on NHL.com's team previews and roster reports. [S1]

Carolina Hurricanes

The champions went 53-22-7, won the Metropolitan Division and have not missed the playoffs since Rod Brind'Amour took over in 2018. NHL.com's Sept. 14 preview calls the biggest challenge the "Stanley Cup hangover" and the absence of Seth Jarvis, who had shoulder surgery in June with a four-to-six-month recovery. In goal, Brandon Bussi, claimed off waivers from Florida, went 31-6-2 in the regular season and 3-1 in the Final after Frederik Andersen was injured; Pyotr Kochetkov played nine games last season after surgery. [S1]

General manager Eric Tulsky said he is "still making calls every day"; the one addition attempted, John Carlson, signed in Tampa Bay instead. Restricted free agent defenseman Alexander Nikishin remained unsigned as of Aug. 5, and Tulsky acknowledged trade interest in him. [S2]

Florida Panthers

The 2024 and 2025 champions went 40-38-4 and finished seventh in the Atlantic after Aleksander Barkov's knee surgery cost him the whole season and Matthew Tkachuk missed the first 47 games. The response was to acquire Brady Tkachuk from Ottawa for the No. 9 and No. 25 picks, a conditional 2029 first and a 2027 second, plus Jacob Markstrom from New Jersey to replace Sergei Bobrovsky, Radko Gudas, Lars Eller, Garnet Hathaway and Akira Schmid. NHL.com projects Brady Tkachuk, Barkov and Sam Reinhart as the top line. What the Panthers still need, in that preview's words, is health. [S3]

Vegas Golden Knights

The Western Conference champion went 39-26-17 and won the Pacific, but much has changed. John Tortorella, who replaced Bruce Cassidy on March 29 and went 7-0-1 before the run to the Final, did not return; Ryan Craig was hired June 17 after three seasons coaching Henderson of the AHL. Pavel Dorofeyev, the team's goal leader two straight seasons with 37 last year, was traded to the Rangers on June 26 for the No. 26 and No. 92 picks and a conditional 2028 first. Victor Olofsson and Parker Wotherspoon came in; Keegan Kolesar, Schmid and Colton Sissons went out. Alex Pietrangelo, out all of last season with a hip injury, is still listed as injured. [S4]

The two open questions NHL.com poses are whether the players respond to a first-time NHL head coach and what happens in goal, where Carter Hart was the only goalie used in the playoffs and Adin Hill went 10-9-6 with an .871 save percentage. General manager Kelly McCrimmon said the goalie decisions "will be left to Craig and goaltending coach Sean Burke." [S5]

Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton went 41-30-11, finished second in the Pacific and lost in the first round to Anaheim after two straight trips to the Final. Connor McDavid called last season's group "an average team with high expectations." The Oilers fired Kris Knoblauch on May 14, were denied permission to speak with Cassidy while he was under contract to Vegas, and hired Mike Babcock on June 23 after an NHL investigation cleared him. They traded Darnell Nurse to San Jose on July 1 and used the space to re-sign Kasperi Kapanen and add Ryan Shea, Andersen and Devon Levi. McDavid's contract runs two seasons at a $12.5 million average and he can become an unrestricted free agent after 2027-28, which is why NHL.com frames the season as a clock. [S6][S9]

Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto's reset started at the top: John Chayka was hired as general manager on May 3 with Mats Sundin as senior adviser, Jim Hiller replaced Craig Berube behind the bench, and the club won the draft lottery and took Gavin McKenna first overall. Bobrovsky signed a three-year contract July 1, Darren Raddysh arrived from Tampa Bay in a sign-and-trade with an eight-year deal after a 70-point season, and Nick Paul headlines the forward additions. The stated priority is defense: Toronto was 31st in goals against last season at 295, while Hiller's Kings were tied for seventh at 238. [S7]

Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo went 50-23-9, won the Atlantic and ended an NHL-record 14-season playoff drought before losing a seven-game second-round series to Montreal. The offseason cost them Bowen Byram, traded to Chicago on June 23 for the No. 4 pick, and Alex Tuch, moved to Washington in a sign-and-trade, a combined 108 points. Olen Zellweger, acquired from Anaheim on June 26, is the projected top-four replacement. NHL.com also flags the goaltending of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alex Lyon, who allowed 27 goals in the seven games against Montreal. [S8]

Our view, stated as a view: Carolina and Florida are the easiest to read because each returns a known core and the variable is health. Vegas, Edmonton and Toronto depend on a new coach's fit, Buffalo on replacing two scorers, and we would rather wait for October results than guess from a depth chart. [S1]