NHL 2026-27 Starting Grid: Hurricanes and Avalanche Top Preseason Standings as Opening Night Looms

The ice is down, the waiver wire is flooded, and the 2026-27 National Hockey League starting grid is officially set. As training camps break across North America and 71 players hit the waiver wire this weekend to finalize opening night rosters, the league's competitive hierarchy is coming into sharp focus. The Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche are staring down the rest of the 32-team circuit, sitting atop the preseason Super 16 standings and carrying the heaviest championship expectations into October. For front offices and fanbases alike, the theoretical debates of the summer are over; the grueling reality of a new season has arrived.[1][2]

Carolina enters the new campaign as the undisputed team to beat, carrying the swagger of a reigning champion. Fresh off their 2026 Stanley Cup victory, the Hurricanes commanded 11 of the 15 first-place votes in the NHL's preseason power rankings, racking up a dominant 234 voting points from the panel. After steamrolling through a 53-22-7 run last year, they remain the consensus favorites to repeat. However, head coach Rod Brind'Amour will have to navigate the crucial early weeks of the schedule without standout forward Seth Jarvis, who remains sidelined while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, testing the team's vaunted forward depth immediately.[1][4]

Breathing right down Carolina's neck are the Colorado Avalanche, a roster built for absolute regular-season dominance. The Avs torched the league last season to the tune of a 55-16-11 record, capturing the Presidents' Trophy with a staggering 121 points. Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar remain the most terrifying offensive duo in hockey, and Colorado secured two first-place votes and 225 points in the Super 16 to slot in at number two. The gap between the defending Cup champions and the regular-season juggernauts is razor-thin, setting the stage for a potential heavyweight collision if both squads can survive their respective conference brackets.[1][4]

Behind the top two, the Western Conference looks like an absolute gauntlet of deep, experienced rosters. The Dallas Stars, who posted a formidable 50-20-12 record last year, sit third in the preseason ranks with 189 points, boasting a balanced attack led by Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen. The Vegas Golden Knights (169 points) round out the top five, bringing their trademark heavy, playoff-style hockey to the table. Meanwhile, the newly minted Utah Mammoth—coming off a highly respectable 43-33-6 campaign—are lurking just outside the elite tier, positioned as a dangerous dark horse capable of disrupting the established playoff picture.[1]

In the East, the Florida Panthers (173 points) and a rapidly surging Montreal Canadiens squad (167 points) are positioned to challenge Carolina's supremacy. Montreal's jump to sixth in the preseason rankings reflects a massive leap forward after a 48-win season, signaling that the Atlantic Division will be an absolute bloodbath this winter. At the other end of the spectrum, the Toronto Maple Leafs are desperately looking to bounce back from a dismal 78-point campaign. Armed with the first overall pick, Toronto drafted phenom Gavin McKenna to pair with Auston Matthews, hoping the injection of elite youth can reverse their recent slide down the standings.[1][3]

Leadership groups are also shifting dramatically as the stakes get real and the puck prepares to drop. The Boston Bruins made a massive organizational statement this week, officially naming 29-year-old superstar David Pastrnak as the 28th captain in franchise history. Taking over the 'C' from Brad Marchand, Pastrnak brings a towering resume of 933 points in 833 games and five 40-goal seasons to the role. "Yeah, obviously very grateful and humble. (It's) an honor to be the captain and recognize all the responsibility that comes with it," Pastrnak told reporters. "I can't wait, and my biggest goal is to be the best version (of myself) for the team and the Bruins organization."[2][5]

Meanwhile, front offices are making their final tactical gambles to optimize their salary cap structures. Sunday saw a massive influx of 71 players hit the waiver wire as all 32 clubs trimmed their rosters to the bone to meet the league's strict opening-night deadline. The New Jersey Devils claimed goaltender Remi Poirier while placing veteran David Rittich on waivers, and the St. Louis Blues snatched defenseman Justin Barron from the Nashville Predators. The New York Rangers also raised eyebrows across the league by waiving 24-year-old netminder Dylan Garand, a calculated risk that exposes a promising young goaltender to 31 rival general managers.[2][6]

Injuries are already reshaping the early standings picture before a single meaningful game has been played. The Pittsburgh Penguins were forced to place four players on injured reserve this week, including forward Blake Lizotte and defenseman Ryan Graves, severely depleting their depth. In Columbus, the Blue Jackets are navigating the indefinite absence of goaltender Elvis Merzlikins following offseason shoulder surgery. The crease has been handed over to Jet Greaves, who just stopped 31 shots in a 4-2 preseason finale victory over the Detroit Red Wings, proving he might be ready to carry the starter's workload.[2]

The margins in the modern NHL are notoriously unforgiving, and these late-September roster calibrations often dictate who survives the wild-card race in April. With the new 84-game regular-season schedule adding two highly physical divisional matchups per team, organizational depth will be tested like never before. As opening night puck drops approach—headlined by a marquee clash between the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues on October 2—the theoretical rankings are about to collide with live ammunition. The 84-game sprint for the 2027 Stanley Cup is officially underway, and every point banked in October will matter in the spring.[4]