NHL 2026-27 Season Preview: Hurricanes Lead Power Rankings Ahead of Opening Night

The 2026-27 NHL season begins Tuesday with a tripleheader featuring the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes against the Florida Panthers.

The 2026-27 NHL season begins Tuesday with a tripleheader on ESPN, headlined by the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes hosting the Florida Panthers at 5 p.m. ET for a banner-raising ceremony. The opening slate continues with the New York Rangers facing the Boston Bruins at 8 p.m. ET, followed by the Chicago Blackhawks visiting the Vegas Golden Knights at 10:30 p.m. ET. According to ESPN’s season preview rankings, Carolina holds the top spot after a 53-22-7 campaign, followed by the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars.

Carolina enters the season with +650 Stanley Cup odds and a projected 112.2 points. While the roster returns stars Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov, goaltender Frederik Andersen departed in free agency, leaving the crease to Brandon Bussi and Pyotr Kochetkov. Forward Seth Jarvis will miss the start of the season due to offseason surgery. Jaccob Slavin is cited as the most likely Lady Byng Trophy winner, while captain Jordan Staal is predicted to win the Selke Trophy.

The Colorado Avalanche rank second following a 121-point season and a conference finals appearance. The roster features Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, the latter of whom is a favorite for the Norris Trophy. Colorado added Stanley Cup winner Jaden Schwartz this summer but faces a salary cap restriction with only $400,000 in available space.

In the Eastern Conference, the Florida Panthers enter with +650 odds and a new goaltending tandem of Jacob Markstrom and Akira Schmid. The lineup features brothers Brady and Matthew Tkachuk alongside Aleksander Barkov, who missed all of last season with an ACL injury. The Dallas Stars, ranked third, return 20 players from a squad that featured the league's No. 2 power play but must navigate health concerns for veteran forwards Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin.