We’re still in the early stages of the 2026-27 NHL season, but some trends are emerging that are worth noting when it comes to the larger story of the season. Whether it’s gambles paying off in free agency, emerging prospects, or teams already suffering the throes of an offseason, there’s plenty to focus on moving forward.
The New York Rangers have been an early surprise to start the year. Currently ranked No. 1 in the Metropolitan Division, the team has a string of key wins, beating the Utah Mammoth, a playoff-caliber team in the West, and more surprisingly, a 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, who many believe has Stanley Cup potential outside of the East.
The Rangers have been fantastic defensively, allowing just eight goals so far – good for 3rd in the NHL. It certainly helps when you have Igor Shesterkin in goal, but other than that, the defensive unit is playing really solid hockey. The team grew offensively by trading Artemi Panarin, playing a more cohesive game involving more skaters. Alexis Lafrenière is starting to glimpse the potential that made him the No. 1 overall pick, Mika Zibanejad is as solid as ever, but the emergence of Gabriel Perreault is something to really watch out for. Perreault has been fantastic to start the season, and if the Rangers find themselves an elite wing, this team has the potential to be a huge surprise throughout the season.
Aside from the Rangers, there are a few other developments to watch.
The Dallas Stars are WEIRD
This team made the bold choice to keep the group together by re-signing Jason Robertson to a one-year deal in an attempt to make a run, sacrificing their already-weakening depth in the process. For now, it is impossible to know what this team actually is. They had convincing wins over the Sabers and Sharks, two solid teams that should have been in the mix — but also fell to the Predators and Blues, teams they should have beaten easily.
The key to the season will be whether those first two losses are rust on the field or indicative of the same inconsistency that has bedeviled the Stars the past few seasons.
The East is in turmoil
Surprisingly, already this season we see the Canadiens and Flyers at the bottom of the table. The Canadiens’ defense is atrocious, giving up 19 goals in four games – putting the team in positions where they can’t win even on productive scoring nights.
Things are even worse for the Flyers as they can’t hit anything. Boasting just six goals in five games, the Flyers are the worst scoring team in the league — a slide from last season, when they were already struggling. There hasn’t been the breakthrough offensively that many had hoped for Trevor Zegras or Matvei Mitchkov, and now the defense is also porous. If this continues, it will be a long season for the Flyers.
On the other side of the ledger, we have the aforementioned Rangers, while the Senators, Capitals and Islanders all took a step forward. It will be interesting to see if these teams can keep up.
Carolina’s goaltending woes continue
It’s still early, but the defending champions once again have a major goal-scoring problem. After trading for the iconic Brandon Bussey in the Stanley Cup Finals, hopes were high that the Canes would finally find someone who could make things happen in net.
Instead, it’s been an extremely ugly start to the year. Bussey has a save percentage of .851 with a 3.24 GAA despite having a defense that has allowed just 105 hits in five games. Backup Pyotr Kotchekov isn’t very good, but also has a sub-.900 save percentage. This team has been able to overcome their goaltending woes over the past few years, but it’s clear that they need a major overhaul if they hope to compete this season — because their hot streak won’t last forever.
The Flames might be the worst team…
No one expected Calgary to be good this year, but the Flames are a disaster to start the season. Not only are they 0-4, but they have a staggering -17 goal differential to start the year. Nothing is going right as the Flames can’t score, can’t defend, can’t stop shots – can’t really do anything.
If it extends into November, it will be time to start the “worst of all time” watch. That goes to the 1974-75 Washington Capitals, who went 8-67-5 with a -265 differential. The Flames are on pace for -349.
The maple leaves took a step forward
They’ve got plenty of time to knock it off, but right now things are looking pretty good for the Leafs *knock on wood*. They may only be 2-2-1, but they play close teams and look more cohesive at both ends of the ice.
Jim Hiller was a questionable hire, but so far the former LA Kings coach is playing more organized hockey in Toronto. Gavin McKenna is also well ahead of the chart with three points in five games and is playing with more confidence every time he hits the ice.
Realistically, we may still be a few years from this team competing, but they look pretty good.