Eight Eastern Conference clubs enter 2026-27 trying to turn last spring’s frustration into a longer run. Carolina’s Stanley Cup win set the standard, and the teams left outside the 2026 postseason have spent the summer changing coaches, reshaping rosters and, in several cases, reworking the crease.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus finished 40-30-12, seven points short of the second wild card, after a brutal finish erased its position near the top of the Metropolitan Division. The Blue Jackets were second in the division on March 24, then went 2-8-1 over their final 11 games and wound up six points behind third-place Philadelphia.
Coach Rick Bowness wanted a different look in the core, and that process included moving longtime captain Boone Jenner after his ice time fell from 16:46 under Dean Evason to 15:29 under Bowness. Jenner had played all 13 NHL seasons in Columbus and wore the captain’s C from 2021-22 onward.
Valeri Nichushkin is the major incoming piece. Columbus acquired the 31-year-old from Colorado on June 25 for second-, third- and fifth-round picks in the 2026, 2027 and 2028 drafts. Nichushkin posted 17 goals and 49 points in 72 games last season, brings 91 playoff games, and was part of Colorado’s 2022 championship club. Ryan Lomberg, a Cup winner with Florida in 2024, also joins the forward group.
The Blue Jackets can roll out a heavy collection of forwards in Kirill Marchenko, Charlie Coyle, Sean Monahan, Dmitri Voronkov and Nichushkin, with reigning Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski driving the back end. Jet Greaves may be the swing player in net. His .844 save percentage on high-danger chances ranked eighth in the NHL across 55 games, and he went 6-2 for Canada at the 2026 IIHF World Championship with a 1.88 goals-against average, .919 save percentage and one shutout. If the new pieces fit, Columbus has the personnel to chase a Metropolitan top-three spot or a wild card.
Detroit Red Wings
Detroit again found itself in the playoff mix before its late-season fade. The Red Wings were holding the second wild card on March 19 but closed 3-8-2, were eliminated April 11 and extended the NHL’s longest active playoff drought to 10 seasons. Their 41-31-10 record left them seven points out.
The larger question now sits in the front office. Steve Yzerman shifted from general manager and executive vice president to a senior advisory role for CEO Chris Ilitch on July 15. His successor will need to assess whether Detroit’s young group, led by Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond, is ready to contend or needs another rebuild. That decision also matters for captain Dylan Larkin, who asked for a trade after the season.
Detroit has occupied a wild-card berth on March 1 in each of the past three seasons, only to lose ground down the stretch. It dropped 15 of its last 22 games last year, going 7-11-4. John Gibson, now 33, remains capable of carrying a playoff-caliber club, while Seider, Simon Edvinsson and Axel Sandin-Pellikka give the defense real structure. Sandin-Pellikka projects as a potential top power-play quarterback.
Viktor Arvidsson should help fix five-on-five scoring after signing for two years on July 1. Detroit’s 142 goals at even strength were third fewest in the League. Arvidsson produced 1.31 goals and 3.06 points per 60 minutes at five-on-five for Boston, ahead of Detroit leader Alex DeBrincat at 0.89 goals and 2.36 points per 60. Development from Emmitt Finnie, Nate Danielson and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard would add support behind Larkin, DeBrincat and Raymond.
Florida Panthers
Florida’s three-year run to the Stanley Cup Final ended with no postseason at all. The Panthers went 40-38-4 and finished 15 points outside the second wild card, although injuries to Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and others did not knock them out of the race immediately. They were three points off a wild card on Jan. 25, then stumbled into the Olympic break with a 1-5-0 record and never found their push again. Their elimination came April 4.
The biggest change is in goal. Sergei Bobrovsky started all 47 playoff games during Florida’s championship runs in 2024 and 2025, but after seven seasons, 201 wins, six playoff trips and three Final appearances, the Panthers moved on. Jacob Markstrom arrived from New Jersey on June 30, returning to the organization that selected him No. 31 in the 2008 draft before dealing him to Vancouver for Roberto Luongo in 2013-14.
Markstrom, 36, is looking to rebound from an .883 save percentage in 44 games. He posted .900 in 49 outings during New Jersey’s 2024-25 playoff season, and Florida will need something nearer his .909 mark across 2015-25.
Barkov missed all of last season after a September knee injury, but his performance at the World Championship offered a strong sign. He captained Finland to gold and made the tournament All-Star team. Florida then got tougher and deeper through trades for Brady Tkachuk, Garnet Hathaway and Radko Gudas. Tkachuk joins his brother Matthew alongside Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe and Anton Lundell, while Gudas slots into a defense that also features Seth Jones, Gustav Forsling, Aaron Ekblad and Niko Mikkola. A healthier lineup and dependable Markstrom goaltending would put the Panthers back in the Atlantic Division race.
New Jersey Devils
New Jersey’s 42-37-3 season was defined by a hot start and a prolonged slide. The Devils won 16 of their first 24 games, held a one-point Metropolitan lead on Nov. 28, then went 5-10-1 over the next 16. They fell out of a playoff position Dec. 28 and never recovered, ending 12 points behind the second wild card and 11 behind third place in the division.
Sunny Mehta took over as general manager April 16 after six years in Florida, the last three as assistant GM and head of analytics. He immediately completed significant business with his former club, acquiring Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist and Ben Steeves for Jacob Markstrom and Angus Crookshank on June 30. New Jersey added Luke Evangelista from Nashville on Sept. 1. Evangelista, 24, set career highs with 44 assists and 56 points in 81 games and is positioned for a top-six role on a team that ranked 27th at 2.76 goals per game.
Mehta grew up attending Devils practices and previously served as the club’s director of analytics from 2014-18. His rebuilt forward group will be centered on Jack Hughes, whose post-Olympic surge was among the League’s best. After scoring Team USA’s Golden Goal at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Hughes had 15 goals and 41 points in 25 games, second only to Connor McDavid’s 42 points in 24 games.
Jesper Bratt recorded 30 points after the break, Nico Hischier had 24 and Connor Brown added 21 as the Devils averaged 3.32 goals per game after the Olympics. The concern is replacing Markstrom. Jake Allen owns a .905 save percentage over three New Jersey seasons but is 36 and has exceeded 40 games only once in the past seven years. David Rittich, signed for one year on July 3, posted an .894 mark in 30 games with the Islanders, while 25-year-old Nico Daws has spent most of the past two seasons in the AHL. Better than last season’s .889 team save percentage could make New Jersey a real divisional threat.
New York Islanders
The Islanders were second in the Metropolitan on March 28, then lost seven of their final eight games and watched their season unravel. Their 43-34-5 record left them eight points from the second wild card and seven from third place in the division.
Anders Lee’s departure closes a long chapter. The former captain signed a three-year, $16.2 million contract with Utah on July 1 after 14 Islanders seasons, the last eight as captain. Lee had 19 goals and 42 points in 82 games last year and leaves ranked fifth in franchise games played at 923 and fourth in goals with 308.
Matias Maccelli, signed to a one-year deal July 1 after posting 39 points in 71 games with Toronto, is one candidate to help fill out the top nine. Nineteen-year-old Victor Eklund is another. He had an assist in his NHL debut last season, then put up three goals and 10 points in nine AHL games after his Swedish season ended.
Peter DeBoer gets a full camp after arriving with only four games remaining last season. His early results with new teams have been notable: he took New Jersey to the 2012 Final and San Jose to the 2016 Final in his first seasons there, and guided Vegas to the Western Conference Final after taking over with 22 games left in 2019-20. DeBoer ranks 18th in NHL history with 663 wins and led Dallas to three straight Western Conference Finals before his 2025 dismissal.
He inherits Calder Trophy winner Matthew Schaefer on defense and Ilya Sorokin, runner-up in Vezina Trophy voting, in net. Full seasons from Brayden Schenn and Kyle Palmieri would matter, particularly after Palmieri missed the final five months with a torn left ACL. Those returns could cover much of Lee’s lost production and give DeBoer enough depth to push for a Metropolitan top-three finish.
New York Rangers
The Rangers’ 34-39-9 record masked how quickly their season collapsed. They were only two points out of third place in the Metropolitan at the Christmas break, then went 2-9-2 in the next 13 games and eventually finished 21 points behind third and 22 short of the second wild card.
Management responded with two major trades. Pavel Dorofeyev came from Vegas on June 26 for the No. 26 pick, the No. 92 selection and a conditional 2028 first-round choice. He then signed for seven years and $77 million, an $11 million annual cap hit. On July 1, Vincent Trocheck went to Utah for defenseman Sean Durzi, center prospect Cole Beaudoin and a 2027 third-round pick.
The deal keeps J.T. Miller at center full time, rather than moving him between the middle and wing. Miller won 61.5 percent of his faceoffs last season, including 59.5 percent in the defensive zone, compared with Trocheck’s 53.1 percent overall. Dorofeyev has reached at least 35 goals in each of the past two seasons and owns 33 power-play goals over that span, tied for second in the NHL. He adds to a Rangers power play that ranked fifth at 24.7 percent.
Durzi and Marcus Pettersson, acquired from Vancouver on July 1 for a conditional 2030 first-round pick, give New York more depth behind Adam Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov. Eighteen-year-old Alberts Smits, the No. 5 pick in the 2026 draft, has the size, skill and maturity to contend for NHL work on a third pair with Braden Schneider. Gabe Perreault, coming off 12 goals and 27 points in 49 rookie games, could open on Mika Zibanejad’s left side opposite Dorofeyev. With Carolina the defending Cup champion but the rest of the Metropolitan unsettled, the Rangers see a path back toward the top three.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto’s run of nine straight playoff appearances ended when it was eliminated April 2. The Maple Leafs were six points behind the second wild card at the Olympic break, then lost eight straight after play resumed, going 0-6-2. They finished 32-36-14, 21 points out.
The changes began above the ice. John Chayka became general manager May 3, replacing Brad Treliving after nearly six years away from the NHL. Hall of Famer Mats Sundin joined as senior executive adviser in hockey operations, and Jim Hiller was hired as coach June 17 in place of Craig Berube. Hiller had brought Los Angeles to the playoffs in each of his first two seasons before being fired March 1, though the Kings did not advance past the first round.
Toronto’s marquee roster addition was Darren Raddysh, acquired in a sign-and-trade with Tampa Bay and signed for eight years. Raddysh set career highs with 22 goals, 48 assists, 70 points, a plus-21 rating, 10 power-play goals, 26 power-play points, six game-winners, 212 shots and 22:42 of ice time in 73 games. The Leafs also won the draft lottery and selected Gavin McKenna first overall in 2026.
McKenna, 18, tied for fifth among NCAA players with 51 points, including 36 assists, in 35 games at Penn State. His vision and playmaking could fit naturally alongside Auston Matthews, who is recovered from the knee injury that ended his season on March 12. Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares and Matthew Knies provide the scoring base.
Toronto’s defensive record must change. It allowed an NHL-high 32.4 shots per game and 3.60 goals per game, second worst in the League, while returning five of last season’s six busiest defensemen. Hiller’s Kings allowed 2.74 goals and 27.2 shots per game during his tenure from July 2022 through March 2026. Sergei Bobrovsky, signed for three years on July 1, joins Anthony Stolarz in goal. The pair previously teamed up on Florida’s 2024 Cup winner, and Toronto will need the 37-year-old Bobrovsky’s conditioning and championship experience to steady the crease.
Washington Capitals
Washington came close, but its 43-30-9 season ended four points outside the second wild card. A 7-2-0 push from March 26 through April 12 brought the Capitals within one point of third place in the Metropolitan, but they were eliminated April 13 and finished three points behind that spot.
The Capitals attacked the problem by remaking their forward group. Alex Tuch arrived from Buffalo in a June 24 sign-and-trade after agreeing to an eight-year, $84 million deal carrying a $10.5 million cap hit. The 30-year-old scored 33 goals last season, his third 30-goal campaign in four years.
Jordan Kyrou came from St. Louis for Connor McMichael, prospect Milton Gastrin and the No. 16 selection in the 2026 draft. Kyrou scored 18 goals last season after three consecutive 30-goal years. Boone Jenner signed for four years and $23 million on July 1, giving Washington another established two-way presence and a four-time 20-goal scorer.
The move has echoes of Washington’s successful 2024 offseason, when Pierre-Luc Dubois, Andrew Mangiapane, Matt Roy, Jakob Chychrun and Logan Thompson arrived before the Capitals surged from a barely qualified playoff team to first in the conference in 2024-25. Tuch and Kyrou now join 30-goal scorer Tom Wilson and Aliaksei Protas, who scored 25 last season.
Alex Ovechkin is back for a 22nd NHL season after signing a one-year contract July 2. He led Washington with 32 goals and will turn 41 on Sept. 17. Chychrun led NHL defensemen with 26 goals, while 20-year-old Cole Hutson flashed his offensive upside with 10 points in 14 games. Thompson brings consecutive 31-win seasons and consecutive fourth-place Vezina finishes. With the bitterness of a missed playoff berth and more offense in the room, Washington has a credible case to return to the Metropolitan’s top three.
