The Stanley Cup Playoffs never look the same twice in a row.
Since the NHL moved to a 16-team playoff format in 1979-1980 – excluding the 2019-20 COVID-shortened season – we’ve never seen the same 16 teams that made the Stanley Cup Playoffs the previous season, make it again the following year.
Talk about a league with parity.
Of course, there will be playoff teams from 2025-26 that will take a step back. The Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators, just to name a few potential candidates.
But more importantly, there are always organizations that bounce back after one rough season or young teams emerging into the playoff mix. Plus, every year we usually get one team that shocks everyone and makes the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
So, here are the top 10 teams we think could make the playoffs in 2026-2027 that didn’t in 2025-26.
For an organization that finished with 91 points last season, discovered a potential superstar defenceman with rookie Matthew Schaefer, got Vezina Trophy worthy goaltending from Ilya Sorokin and jumped the market to hire arguably the best coach available in Pete DeBoer, you would think they would be higher on this list.
Let's face it, last season the New York Islanders over achieved with an aging core (outside of Calum Ritchie and Schaefer) finishing eight points out of a playoff spot. Considering the Islanders finished tied for 25th in goals for with 2.79 per game and 30th on the power play, which operated at 16.5 per cent, it’s safe to say they relied a lot on Sorokin to bail them out, which he did most of the time.
Unfortunately for Sorokin, it seems that will be the strategy again for the Islanders this year.
With only $6.18 million in cap space heading into free agency this past summer, the team made no notable signings and lost Carson Soucy along with their former captain Anders Lee. While other teams on this list in the Eastern Conference, more specifically the Metropolitan Division, made moves to get better.
With Chris MacFarland now at the helm as president and general manager of the Nashville Predators, it’s clear he wants this team to compete, and compete now.
Unlike the Islanders, the Predators in 2025-26 couldn’t get a save, finishing with a 3.26 goals-against average, 26th in the league. Despite that, they only finished four points out of the last wild card spot in the Western Conference thanks to big rebound seasons from Ryan O’Reilly, Steven Stamkos and Roman Josi.
While MacFarland is definitely hoping for the same type of rebound season from Juuse Saros in 2026-27, he also made a lot of changes in just his first off-season trying to make the playoffs again. He traded for Mavrik Bourque, Ross Colton, Jack Drury and Ilya Lyubushkin, while signing Alexander Kerfoot to help bolster their lineup.
Even with all those moves, the Predators aren’t a slam dunk to make the playoffs. But, in a weaker conference, they could be a team to just sneak in.
Talking about sneaky good, next up are the St. Louis Blues, who also finished tied with the Predators in 2025-26 with 86 points.
The Blues' off-season might be one of the more underrated ones. Sure, they shipped out Jordan Kyrou, but in return they got Connor McMichael, who has recorded 45 points or more in the past two seasons, Milton Gastrin and Maddox Dagenais.
They also picked up 2021 third overall pick Mason McTavish and Brandon Carlo in two trades during the NHL Draft.
With core forward pieces Jimmy Snuggerud, Dylan Holloway and Jake Neighbours expected to keep growing, the Blues could be in line to take a step forward this season. However, success will depend on what version of Jordan Binnington we see.
There is no sugar coating it, this ranking totally depends on whether or not Connor Hellebuyck is on the Winnipeg Jets roster come opening night for the 2026-27 season.
As we now know, the three-time Vezina Trophy winner recently made his private trade request public as NHL training camps are set to begin in a couple weeks, leaving the Jets in a unique spot.
If the Jets are to grant his request and trade him, it’s been reported that he’s willing to waive his no-move clause to more teams than other trade requests we’ve seen in the past few months. This would help the Jets out in making a good deal for the organization, but it’s unclear whether the team values picks and prospects or roster players in return – making it hard to rank them on this list.
However, If the Jets decide they’re not getting enough value for him and want to keep him since he’s only entering year three of a seven-year extension, this team could make some noise.
Last season was bad. But we’re just two years removed from this team winning the Presidents' Trophy and really the only notable player not on the roster from that team is Nikolaj Ehlers. The biggest factor for the Jets to make the playoffs (other than Hellebuyck) will be health. If this team can have a run of health they have a good chance of making the playoffs again.
We’re going to find out how much the Blue Jackets care about losing in 2026-27.
Even though it feels like a lifetime ago, Rick Bowness’ rant after the Blue Jackets final game of the 2025-26 regular season has to be front of mind coming into this season.
“If I'm back, I'm changing this culture,” Bowness, the interim head coach at the time, told reporters on April 14. “These guys don't care. Losing is not important enough to them; it doesn't bother them.”
Two days later, the Blues Jackets gave Bowness a one-year contract.
With all the off-season trade rumours surrounding Zach Werenski settled, the addition of Valeri Nichushkin and Ryan Lomberg, and expected bumps in play from Adam Fantilli, Denton Mateychuk and Jet Greaves, the Blue Jackets should be right in the mix to contend for a playoff spot.
We’re officially at the point in the list where if these teams don’t make the playoffs, it will be a disappointing season.
The New Jersey Devils in 2025-26 started so well, rolling out to a 16-7-1 record through 24 games, good for third in the league. Then, the injuries came. First and most importantly, it was Jack Hughes in a freak hand accident at a team dinner that kept him sidelined for six weeks. From there, things just unravelled for the Devils, who finished with just 87 points.
Looking at the roster additions for 2026-27 with Anthony Mantha and Evan Rodrigues, the Devils should be able to make the playoffs. All of that will depend on two things though: Health, obviously, and whether or not 36-year-old Jake Allen can hold up as a No. 1 goalie if they don’t trade for Hellebuyck.
Just like Gavin McKenna said, teams that usually have the first overall pick the previous year aren’t pushing for the playoffs the following year.
But thanks to some lottery luck and some big moves in the off-season to acquire talent like Sergei Bobrovsky and Darren Raddysh, the Toronto Maple Leafs look like an anomaly after just missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Just like other teams on this list, the Maple Leafs also need a good bill of health this season. Especially when it comes to their captain Auston Matthews, who has missed 37 games in the last two years.
Even if Matthews is only able to play around 60 games again this season though, the team is talented enough for new head coach Jim Hiller to make the playoffs.
Talk about a team entering the conversation.
The San Jose Sharks would’ve been high on this list even without making any off-season moves or getting some draft lottery luck because of the jump their young core, led by superstar Macklin Celebrini, made between the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons. The team went from 52 points in 2024-25 to 86 in 2025-26, missing the playoffs by four points along with the Blues and Predators.
But since they got some draft lottery luck, moving up to second and drafting Ivar Stenberg along with adding Mason Marchment, Jacob Trouba, Darnell Nurse and Michael Kesselring via free agency or trade, this team is primed to take another big step forward this season.
Whether Washington Capitals general manager Chris Patrick knew Alex Ovechkin wasn’t going to retire after last season or not, the moves he made this off-season certainly helped make the decision to come back easier.
After finishing last season with 95 points and missing out on the playoffs by three points, the Capitals made their forward group one of the best in the NHL by adding Alex Tuch and Kyrou, two elite wingers that will produce 60 points each at least. The Capitals also grabbed Boone Jenner from free agency, a perfect fit at centre on the third line.
Not to mention, in 2026-27, they will get full rookie seasons from Ilya Protas and Cole Hutson, who made their NHL debuts last year.
Sorry, but come on, this one is too obvious.
After reaching the Stanley Cup Final three straight years, including winning two in a row, the Florida Panthers' core either ran out of gas or got injured during last season. Before the season even began they lost their captain Aleksander Barkov to a torn ACL during a practice session. As a result, the team missed the playoffs.
But there’s always a silver lining, right? Well for the Panthers, they had two silver linings. First, everyone got a full off-season to recover. Second, they ended up with a top 10 pick in the draft.
And we all know who that pick helped bring to Florida — Brady Tkachuk, now paired with his brother Matthew. It’s not only Brady though, the Panthers also traded for Jacob Markstrom, Radko Gudas and Garnet Hathaway.
This team won’t just make the playoffs in 2026-27, the have the potential to win the Atlantic Division and the Prince of Wales Trophy, before capping it off with their third Stanley Cup in four years.
