Unveiled: The Surprising NHL Forward Rankings for 2025-26 That Could Shake Up the Entire League

Getting down to brass tacks, today we’re diving headfirst into the fascinating realm of NHL forwards — yes, the goal scorers, the playmakers, the game changers. After breaking down every team’s defense yesterday, it only felt right to turn the spotlight toward the forward lines. Now, sorting out the assets across all 32 teams wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. How do you weigh having one electrifying star with thin support versus a well-rounded group of reliable contributors? And should we give more credence to pure offensive firepower or value two-way players who might not light up the scoreboard but contribute in every zone? That’s the puzzle we wrestled with. Keep in mind, this is a fresh ranking — fluid line cuts, pesky injuries, and the reality of the 2025-26 season (yes, no undue brownie points for prospects still in the wings) all factored into this comprehensive evaluation. Stick with me as we break down who’s got the firepower and depth to dominate this season. LEARN MORE

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Yesterday, we ranked the defenses of every NHL team. Today, we turn our attention to the forwards.

Part of the challenge with analyzing all 32 groups of centers and wingers is figuring out what to prioritize. If a team has a lone superstar up front but not much support around him, is that better or worse than a team without a franchise face that nonetheless has key contributors on the second and third lines?

And how much do you prioritize evaluating goal production and offensive ability over considering two-way play, especially in cases where a team does only one of those things well?

This is the first time we’ve ranked forwards, so a few caveats with this list.

First, line combinations are obviously fluid, so we attempted to use the latest available as of our publishing deadline.

Second, injuries are a big factor, so we tried to account for how long a player will be out in determining how it will impact their team’s ranking.

And three, this is based entirely on the 2025-26 season, so a team heavy on prospects with upside wasn’t given an edge.

Tier 1: Best in class

Tampa Bay Lightning

Jake Guentzel – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel – Anthony Cirelli – Gage Goncalves
Oliver Bjorkstrand – Yanni Gourde – Mitchell Chaffee
Zemgus Girgensons – Jack Finley – Pontus Holmberg

Extras: Nick Paul (IR), Conor Geekie, Curtis Douglas

While the other Florida team appropriately gets plenty of credit for its deep forward cast, a run of injuries there allows the Lightning to sneak into top spot of this season’s rankings.

Part of what elevates this group is that they’re both offensively and defensively excellent, ranking second in both categories by our model and boasting four elite scorers (Kucherov, Guentzel, Hagel and Point) complemented by a regular Selke candidate in Cirelli.

A full season with deadline adds Gourde and Bjorkstrand — the latter of whom was a nearly 60-point player in Seattle — on the third line will give them better depth than a year ago once Paul is healthy, which is impressive given the team led the NHL in scoring and placed second in goal differential without them for much of the 2024-25 season.

The only real flag with this group is that they’re starting to get a little older, overall, and their last Cup win is now four years in the rearview. But a step forward for Geekie could inject some more youth into the top nine, and Goncalves and Finley add a little more under-25 upside, too. If the Panthers falter, this is a team to watch in the East.

Vegas Golden Knights

Ivan Barbashev – Jack Eichel – Mitch Marner
Reilly Smith – William Karlsson – Mark Stone
Brandon Saad – Tomas Hertl – Pavel Dorofeyev
Brett Howden – Colton Sissons – Keegan Kolesar

Extra: Cole Reinhardt, Alexander Holtz

Vegas’ forward group is ridiculously stacked from top to bottom. Eichel and Marner both finished among the NHL’s top 10 in scoring last year — they should form a deadly duo, giving the Golden Knights one of the best first lines in the league.

Between Eichel, Karlsson, Hertl and Sissons, Vegas has arguably the NHL’s best center depth. Stone is still an elite player when healthy, and what a luxury it is to have Dorofeyev, who led Vegas with 35 goals, currently penciled in on the third line.

Even Vegas’ fourth line is high-end — Howden scored 23 goals last year, Sissons would be a 3C on many teams, and Kolesar is a heavy, physical winger coming off a 30-point campaign.

Dallas Stars

Sam Steel – Roope Hintz – Mikko Rantanen
Jason Robertson – Wyatt Johnston – Mavrik Bourque
Colin Blackwell – Matt Duchene – Tyler Seguin
Adam Erne – Radek Faksa – Nathan Bastian

Extras: Jamie Benn (IR), Justin Hryckowian, Oskar Back

Dallas was already icing one of hockey’s deepest top-nine forward groups over the last couple of years. Now, with Rantanen in the fold for his first full season, they finally have a superstar who can singlehandedly take games over, too. Rantanen started slow in Dallas, but he erupted in the playoffs with nine goals and 22 points in 18 games.

Add Robertson, Johnston (who should take another step this year), and Hintz to the fold and you’ve got four high-end first-line caliber players. And that doesn’t even include Matt Duchene, who’s coming off an 82-point season.

The Stars lost some valuable secondary forwards in Mikael Granlund, Mason Marchment, and Evgenii Dadanov, but a healthy Tyler Seguin — he missed all but 20 regular-season games — should be a huge difference-maker in the middle six and Bourque, who is a year removed from leading the AHL in points, should break out with a consistent top-nine opportunity, too.

Too many of Dallas’ forwards went quiet in last year’s playoffs — Rantanen and Hintz were the only forwards to score 0.6 points-per-game during last year’s run, despite nine of their forwards producing at that rate or better in the regular season — but we’re betting that they’ll figure things out in the postseason.

How can a forward group topped by Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid fall outside Tier 1? (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)

Tier 2: Above-average

Edmonton Oilers

Leon Draisaitl – Connor McDavid – Trent Frederic
Andrew Mangiapane – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Matt Savoie
Vasily Podkolzin – Noah Philp – Kasperi Kapanen
Isaac Howard – Adam Henrique – David Tomasek

Extras: Zach Hyman (IR), Mattias Janmark, Curtis Lazar, James Hamblin

It feels strange to slot a forward group with McDavid and Draisaitl outside of Tier 1.

McDavid is the best player in the league, and Draisaitl, on the back of an impressive two-way glow-up, was the 2024-25 Hart Trophy runner-up. Those two are a cheat code in the playoffs — forget taking over games, these two can take over entire series. That, coupled with some timely bottom-six scoring, allowed them to comfortably eliminate Vegas and Dallas (for a second consecutive year) in the playoffs, two deeper teams on paper.

However, it was abundantly clear in the Stanley Cup Final that the Oilers, without Hyman because of injury, simply didn’t have enough high-end top-nine drivers to help McDavid and Draisaitl, especially compared to the Panthers’ embarrassment of riches.

Since then, Edmonton’s forward depth has only gotten worse, with Corey Perry, Connor Brown, and Evander Kane departing this offseason, and Mangiapane the only established top-nine replacement.

With McDavid and Draisaitl loaded together because of Hyman’s injury, you can see how lackluster the middle six looks on paper. Yes, there’s some upside if Savoie, Howard, and SHL scoring leader Tomasek break out. But there are way too many question marks outside of the McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman, and RNH foursome to justify having them in Tier 1.

Carolina Hurricanes

Nikolaj Ehlers – Sebastian Aho – Seth Jarvis
Andrei Svechnikov – Logan Stankoven – Jackson Blake
Jordan Martinook – Jordan Staal – William Carrier
Taylor Hall – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Eric Robinson

Extra: Mark Jankowski

With Mikko Rantanen saying “thanks but no thanks” to life in Raleigh, the Canes are once again a team with an incredibly deep forward cast but without a true superstar No. 1 option.

That said, Jarvis is on his way to getting there, after back-to-back 30-goal seasons and with a very impressive two-way game at just 23 years old.

You add in Ehlers as a UFA and what’s likely to be further growth from youngsters Stankoven and Blake, and this group should be able to produce more than last season’s 3.24 goals per game (ninth overall).

The fact that Staal, Hall and Kotkaniemi are likely their eighth, ninth and 10th most impactful forwards, respectively, says it all: Few cap-era teams can match that down the lineup.

Colorado Avalanche

Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Necas
Gabriel Landeskog – Brock Nelson – Valeri Nichushkin
Ross Colton – Jack Drury – Victor Olofsson
Joel Kiviranta – Parker Kelly – Gavin Brindley

Extras: Logan O’Connor (IR), Nikita Prishchepov, Ivan Ivan

In terms of pure talent, this is a deadly top six on paper, even without Rantanen.

MacKinnon is an undisputed top-five player and may be the best forward in the league not named McDavid. Necas is coming off a career-best 83-point season in which he and MacKinnon controlled a dominant 65 percent of expected goals and outscored opponents 16-9 over nearly 300 five-on-five minutes together. Landeskog is back, and Nichushkin, Lehkonen and Nelson are great pieces to round out the top two lines.

There are still some question marks, though.

Nichushkin’s availability has been a problem — he hasn’t hit 55 games played in three consecutive years and abruptly left the team in both the 2023 and 2024 playoffs. Necas can be a streaky player and has historically underperformed in the playoffs (35 points in 66 career games). We know Landeskog will be a difference-maker, but he turns 33 in November and hasn’t played a regular-season game since 2021-22 — will he still be a top-line caliber driver?

Colorado’s bottom six should be respectable once O’Connor returns, but it isn’t as deep as some of the other teams ahead of them.

Florida Panthers

Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Bennett – Sam Reinhart
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Brad Marchand
Jesper Boqvist – Evan Rodrigues – Mackie Samoskevich
Jonah Gadjovich – Luke Kunin – A.J. Greer

Extras: Matthew Tkachuk (LTIR), Aleksander Barkov (LTIR), Tomas Nosek, Cole Schwindt

This is a tough one to evaluate with Barkov out for, potentially, the entire season and with Tkachuk sidelined for close to half of it. It’ll be interesting to see how the two-time champs compensate, with the third line getting a chance to become the second to start.

That said, Reinhart is more than capable of being a contender’s top forward, and Tkachuk (when healthy) and Verhaeghe are a very dangerous 2-3.

Another step from both Lundell, who only just turned 24, and Samkoskevich (22) would go a long way to filling the gap. Rodrigues may also have more to give, as he’s flashed 50-point potential in the past.

Still, we have a hard time putting this group of 12 above the other contenders here, even with their playoff pedigree. But maybe GM Bill Zito finds a way to add using Barkov’s cap space?

Toronto Maple Leafs

Matthew Knies – Auston Matthews – Matias Maccelli
Bobby McMann – John Tavares – William Nylander
Steven Lorentz – Nicolas Roy – Calle Jarnkrok
Dakota Joshua – Max Domi – Nicholas Robertson

Extras: Scott Laughton (IR), Sammy Blais, Easton Cowan, David Kampf

With “You Know Who” off to Vegas, the big two questions will be 1) can this group replace his offensive contributions with better depth and 2) will Matthews be healthy enough to pile up 60 goals and get Hart votes again?

The emergence of Knies into a top-line and PP1 beast at just 22 last year gives this forward group a new-look Core Four (or is it Key Three). But the biggest shift will be getting more goals from a bottom-six group that includes more legitimate 40-ish points threats in Roy, Maccelli, Laughton and Cowan.

The Leafs have enough quality pieces here that they should still be a top offensive team; where they could take a step back as a forward group is by simply not being as strong defensively, as bigger top-six minutes for Domi and McMann aren’t ideal from that perspective.

Los Angeles Kings

Andrei Kuzmenko – Anze Kopitar – Adrian Kempe
Kevin Fiala – Quinton Byfield – Alex Laferriere
Warren Foegele – Phillip Danault – Trevor Moore
Jeff Malott – Alex Turcotte – Joel Armia

Extras: Corey Perry (IR), Samuel Helenius

L.A.’s forward group may not boast the most star power, but it’s very deep, and the top six has underrated upside.

The Kings’ first line, led by Kempe and Kopitar, was above-average last year, with those two driving a plus-25 goal differential at five-on-five. Kuzmenko was a perfect fit for them as a deadline acquisition — that trio controlled 56 percent of scoring chances and outscored opponents by a whopping 16-5 margin.

L.A. also found something special with Byfield and Fiala as a duo in the second half. Byfield scored 31 points in his last 32 games, while Fiala potted 19 goals in his final 33 games (a 47-goal pace); their underlying numbers were elite together. If that chemistry continues, Byfield will emerge as a star this season, and the Kings will have a true 1A/1B situation with their top-two lines.

L.A.’s third line is one of the league’s best on paper. Danault is still elite defensively, Foegele was top-20 in the NHL for five-on-five goals last year, and Moore is a year removed from a 31-goal campaign.

New Jersey Devils

Evgenii Dadonov – Jack Hughes – Jesper Bratt
Timo Meier – Nico Hischier – Dawson Mercer
Ondrej Palat – Cody Glass – Connor Brown
Paul Cotter – Luke Glendening – Arseny Gritsyuk

Extras: Stefan Noesen (IR), Juho Lammikko (IR), Thomas Bordeleau

Hughes, Hischier and Bratt are a terrific 1-2-3 punch, and Meier rounds out a top four that’s one of the best in the league.

The challenge for this group comes in terms of depth, as the Devils are outclassed in the middle of their forward group by the top-end contenders. New additions Dadonov and Brown offer some optimism, but New Jersey could really use a surprise showing from rookie Gritsyuk and a rebound to 50-point form from Mercer to give the big guns more help.

Palat’s bloated $6 million cap hit hurts right now, as this team is well-stocked on D and in net and could do some damage if the stars align this season.

St. Louis Blues

Pavel Buchnevich – Robert Thomas – Jimmy Snuggerud
Dylan Holloway – Brayden Schenn – Jordan Kyrou
Jake Neighbours – Pius Suter – Mathieu Joseph
Alexey Toropchenko – Nick Bjugstad – Alexandre Texier

Extras: Oskar Sundqvist (IR) Nathan Walker, Dalibor Dvorsky

St. Louis may not have the elite superstars that some of the league’s top contenders boast, but this is a dynamic, talented, deep top-nine forward group. They were excellent under Jim Montgomery last year, and there are strong reasons to believe that momentum will continue.

Thomas is one of the league’s most underrated No. 1 centers. Holloway and Kyrou were electric together — they were the backbone for one of the league’s best second lines, controlling more than 56 percent of scoring chances and 71 percent of goals.

Snuggerud, who was among the top NCAA scorers last year, is a new arrival and could be a Calder Trophy candidate. Suter is a savvy middle-six pickup as well; he and Schenn are interchangeable. It speaks to the Blues’ depth that they’ll be able to roll Neighbours, who’s coming off a 22-goal, 46-point season, and one of Schenn/Suter as the foundation for their third line.

Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy make up half of a nasty 1-2-3-4 combo atop the Wild’s depth chart up front. (Bailey Hillesheim / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Tier 3: Middle of the pack

Columbus Blue Jackets

Dmitri Voronkov – Sean Monahan – Kirill Marchenko
Boone Jenner – Adam Fantilli – Kent Johnson
Cole Sillinger – Charlie Coyle – Mathieu Olivier
Yegor Chinakhov – Isac Lundestrom – Miles Wood

Extra: Zach Aston-Reese

Quietly, this has become one of the most fun forward groups to watch in the league. Voronkov, Marchenko, Fantilli, Johnson, Sillinger and Chinakhov are all 25 and under and seemed to progress more and more as last year’s charmed season went on.

If that group can take another collective step, the Blue Jackets could really surprise. But what they need is a couple of players in that fivesome to become high-end, top-line-caliber contributors. As it stands, they’re outgunned at the top by the best teams in the league, and some of the newcomers further down don’t look like they’re going to help the cause.

We’re taking a bit of a leap of faith having them this high — the model ranks Columbus’ forward group all the way down in 22nd — but we’re believers in the kids after what unfolded last year.

Minnesota Wild

Kirill Kaprizov – Marco Rossi – Matt Boldy
Marcus Foligno – Joel Eriksson Ek – Vladimir Tarasenko
Yakov Trenin – Ryan Hartman – Marcus Johansson
Danila Yurov – Nico Sturm – Liam Ohgren

Extras: Mats Zuccarello (IR), Vincent Hinistroza

Kaprizov, Boldy, Eriksson Ek and Rossi form a pretty nasty 1-2-3-4 combo to anchor a top-six. Kaprizov was in the MVP conversation before getting hurt last year; Boldy is an underrated game-breaker; Eriksson Ek can be a two-way, 60-point stud; and Rossi, despite a diminished role in the playoffs, is coming off a 60-point sophomore campaign.

Right now, Minnesota’s lineup appears a bit top-heavy, but when Zuccarello returns from injury, it’ll allow Boldy to slide down to drive the second line, which is a huge weapon.

The Wild’s bottom-six is weak offensively, but they can hold their own because of their above-average defensive play, and there is some upside if Yurov and Ohgren, a pair of highly touted prospects, can take a step.

Washington Capitals

Alex Ovechkin – Dylan Strome – Aliaksei Protas
Connor McMichael – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Tom Wilson
Anthony Beauvillier – Hendrix Lapierre – Ryan Leonard
Brandon Duhaime – Nic Dowd – Justin Sourdif

Extras: Sonny Milano, Ivan Miroshnichenko

The second best offensive team in the league built around a 40-year-old sniper is something. But how can you bet against Ovechkin, even if this could be his final NHL season?

Washington had an incredibly charmed run last season en route to piling up 111 points in the standings. The big question is how many of the career years here are going to be repeated, and if the incoming youngsters like Leonard (and perhaps at some point Miroshnichenko) are immediate contributors.

By the numbers, this is a cast that’s slightly above average offensively and below average defensively, which adds up to a middle-of-the-pack ranking overall. Steps forward for Protas and McMichael were huge last year; they need that level again if they’re going to continue to surprise the Eastern Conference’s best.

Winnipeg Jets

Kyle Connor – Mark Scheifele – Gabriel Vilardi
Nikita Chibrikov – Jonathan Toews – Gustav Nyquist
Nino Niederreiter – Vladislav Namestnikov – Alex Iafallo
Tanner Pearson – Morgan Barron – Cole Koepke

Extras: Cole Perfetti (IR), Adam Lowry (IR)

Will the post-Nikolaj Ehlers Jets have enough top-six quality offensive drivers beyond their dynamic top-line?

The Connor, Scheifele, Vilardi trio decisively won its first-line matchups and led the NHL’s best power play last year. They’ll do a lot of heavy lifting offensively again, but behind them, the second line — even when Perfetti returns from injury — looks vulnerable.

Toews’ NHL return to his hometown Jets is a wonderful story, but at 37, and having not played in two full years, it’s highly unlikely that he can perform like a legitimate 2C. Perfetti would ideally take another step after a strong 50-point season, but his week-to-week injury is going to put him behind the eight ball.

We like a lot of Winnipeg’s bottom-six players — Lowry (when he returns from injury), Niederreiter, Iafallo, and Namestnikov are excellent, playoff-style defensive drivers — but the middle six is a little lacking in dynamic offensive pop.

New York Rangers

Will Cuylle – J.T. Miller – Mika Zibanejad
Artemi Panarin – Vincent Trocheck – Alexis Lafrenière
Conor Sheary – Noah Laba – Taylor Raddysh
Adam Edstrom – Sam Carrick – Matt Rempe

Extras: Juuso Parssinen, Jonny Brodzinski, Brett Berard

Chris Kreider is gone, and the Rangers didn’t airlift in any significant replacements up front. They’re also not ready to trust the kids like Gabe Perreault, so it’s mostly on the incumbents to improve.

This was a team, however, that managed to score quite a bit last year, finishing 12th in goals per game, despite the carnage in the standings. A full season with new captain J.T. Miller should only help on that front, as he remains an elite producer, but the Rangers desperately need more from the likes of Lafrenière and Zibanejad.

The bottom six, as currently constructed, appears as though it’s not going to give them a whole lot, which puts a lot of pressure on the top two lines to do pretty much everything offensively. And it’s a group short on defensive acumen overall, aside from someone like Trocheck.

Utah Mammoth

Dylan Guenther – Logan Cooley – JJ Peterka
Clayton Keller – Barrett Hayton – Nick Schmaltz
Lawson Crouse – Jack McBain – Kailer Yamamoto
Michael Carcone – Kevin Stenlund – Brandon Tanev

Extras: Alex Kerfoot (IR), Andrew Agozzino, Liam O’Brien, Daniil But, 

With Peterka arriving as a splashy new acquisition, the Mammoth’s top-six forward group is overflowing with electrifying speed and skill.

Keller is coming off a 90-point season. Cooley and Guenther could break out as point-per-game producers this year. Peterka racked up nearly 70 points last year. Schmaltz is a consistent bet for 60-plus points. And Hayton is an underrated two-way center.

If Peterka fits and if Cooley and Guenther pop, Utah will have one of the more dangerous top-six groups in the Western Conference.

With that said, we have some concerns about Utah’s bottom six. The Mammoth were often starved for secondary offense last year. This is a mediocre supporting cast even if you assume Crouse bounces back to 20-goal form. If he doesn’t rebound, the issues will only magnify.

Ottawa Senators

Brady Tkachuk – Tim Stützle – Claude Giroux
David Perron – Dylan Cozens – Fabian Zetterlund
Ridly Greig – Shane Pinto – Michael Amadio
Nick Cousins – Lars Eller – Kurtis MacDermid

Extras: Drake Batherson (IR), Arthur Kaliyev

Without any significant changes (sorry, Lars Eller), Ottawa is going to be hoping for growth from within from this group, although a full season with Cozens and Zetterlund could also pay dividends.

The Senators’ depth lines are fine for a playoff team, and Stutzle and Tkachuk are capable in the star roles, but this group could really use more from their second line in order to catch some of the better teams ahead of them.

The big questions for the front office are how do they take that next step from the middle of the pack to contention, and do they have the horses to do that organically? It doesn’t look like it, barring a big step from someone unexpected.

Elias Petterson is a massive X-factor for the Canucks’ forwards this season. (Brett Holmes / Getty Images)

Tier 4: Below average, but with some potential

Montreal Canadiens

Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Juraj Slafkovsky
Alex Newhook – Oliver Kapanen – Ivan Demidov
Zachary Bolduc – Kirby Dach – Brendan Gallagher
Patrik Laine – Jake Evans – Josh Anderson

Extra: Joe Veleno

We heard all offseason about the Canadiens’ search for another center, and you can see why looking at this depth chart. Another solid top-six forward would be a big boost, slotting Montreal’s depth into better position.

They’ve added Demidov, which could be huge, and Bolduc will be an important new minute-eater, too, given that this team doesn’t have a lot of defensive aces up front.

Overall, however, Montreal is asking an awful lot of Suzuki and Caufield, even with the upgrades on the back end.

Detroit Red Wings

Emmitt Finnie – Dylan Larkin – Lucas Raymond
Alex DeBrincat – Marco Kasper – Patrick Kane
Michael Rasmussen – Andrew Copp – Mason Appleton
James van Riemsdyk – J.T. Compher – Jonatan Berggren

Extras: Elmer Soderblom, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård

Another team looking for growth from within in order to take a step forward, as the additions (Appleton and JVR) were largely on the fringes.

In that sense, Kasper might be the most important name here, as the 21-year-old’s development into a second-line threat is absolutely vital this season. Whether Finnie or one of the organization’s other young players can provide an additional boost remains to be seen, as the fruits of this prolonged rebuild start to filter in more.

For now, they’re leaning heavily on Raymond and Larkin and hoping for something unexpected to push them out of the mushy middle.

Buffalo Sabres

Zach Benson – Joshua Norris – Tage Thompson
Jason Zucker – Ryan McLeod – Alex Tuch
Jack Quinn – Jiri Kulich – Josh Doan
Beck Malenstyn – Peyton Krebs – Justin Danforth

Extra: Jordan Greenway

Our 90-point projection for the hapless Sabres was more based on the strength of the defense over the offense, but there are some nice pieces here up front, too.

Where Buffalo is particularly strong is in its forward depth, especially if young players like Benson, Kulich, Quinn, Doan and Krebs — all 24 and under — can elevate with more experience. Doan, in particular, is a sneakily important addition, as he becomes one of the Sabres’ best defensive forwards and should have more to give offensively in more regular minutes than he saw in Utah.

Buffalo was 10th in scoring a year ago, but will need some new heroes with J.J. Peterka’s 27 goals out the door. There are plenty of candidates here, if fortune can finally shine on the Sabres for once.

Vancouver Canucks

Jake DeBrusk – Elias Pettersson – Brock Boeser
Arshdeep Bains – Filip Chytil – Conor Garland
Evander Kane – Braeden Cootes – Jonathan Lekkerimäki
Drew O’Connor – Aatu Räty – Kiefer Sherwood

Extras: Nils Höglander (IR), Teddy Blueger (day-to-day injury), Linus Karlsson

Pettersson is the obvious X-factor here. If he returns to being a 90-point No. 1 center, then Vancouver’s forward group should be fine enough to make the playoffs, provided that the team’s goaltending and blue line perform somewhere in the high-end-to-elite range.

But if Pettersson is the sub-60-point-pace center that he’s been since the 2023-24 All-Star break, then Vancouver’s offense could look a lot like last year, when not a single forward hit the 55-point mark.

Vancouver’s center depth is a weakness not only because of Pettersson’s uncertainty but also because of Chytil’s concussion history. The Canucks are one bad hit away from being forced to use one of Blueger, Räty, or 18-year-old Cootes as their 2C, which would be problematic.

DeBrusk, Boeser and Garland are decent wingers, and Lekkerimäki has breakout potential after scoring more than half a goal per game in the AHL as a 20-year-old and standing out in this year’s preseason. But there’s a clear lack of true first-line-caliber drivers, even if Pettersson bounces back.

Anaheim Ducks

Chris Kreider – Leo Carlsson – Troy Terry
Cutter Gauthier – Mason McTavish – Mikael Granlund
Frank Vatrano – Ryan Strome – Alex Killorn
Ross Johnston – Ryan Poehling – Beckett Sennecke

Extras: Sam Colangelo, Nikita Nesterenko

This could be the year that Anaheim’s young forwards take a massive step forward.

The Ducks’ young guns went on a tear down the stretch last year — Carlsson and McTavish were borderline point-per-game producers after the 4 Nations break and Gauthier was top-10 among all NHL players for five-on-five points in the final 27 games — and they should benefit enormously from the coaching change, as Greg Cronin’s ultra-demanding defensive style stifled the group’s offensive freedom and creativity.

Kreider’s elite net-front skill (along with the coaching change) should boost Anaheim’s 32nd-ranked power play. A Vatrano-Strome-Killorn trio is a surprisingly solid third line, too.

If everything breaks right, the Ducks could emerge as dark horses in the wild-card race, on the back of this up-and-coming forward group.

However, we have to balance potential and promise with recent results, and we couldn’t rate Anaheim’s forwards higher than Tier 4 when the team didn’t have a single 25-goal scorer last year.

Philadelphia Flyers

Owen Tippett – Trevor Zegras – Travis Konecny
Christian Dvorak – Sean Couturier – Matvei Michkov
Tyson Foerster – Noah Cates – Bobby Brink
Nicolas Deslauriers – Rodrigo Abols – Garnet Hathaway

Extras: Nikita Grebenkin

Trevor Zegras, first-line center, is quite a bet for this organization. But with middlemen in short supply and contention out of the question, taking a gamble on his talent for a low price makes a lot of sense.

The Flyers were 24th in goal production a year ago, something that doesn’t appear likely to change given this cast. But the group is also high on defensive acumen, something of which new coach Rick Tocchet is likely to take full advantage.

Maybe Philadelphia wins a lot of 2-1 games thanks to heroics from Michkov and Konecny, but given the roster’s other holes, the most likely outcome is another high pick and another step forward for a prospect pool that could use a few more high-end pieces.

New York Islanders

Jonathan Drouin – Bo Horvat – Emil Heineman
Anders Lee – Mathew Barzal – Kyle Palmieri
Maxim Shabanov – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Simon Holmstrom
Anthony Duclair – Casey Cizikas – Maxim Tsyplakov

Extras: Calum Ritchie (IR), Pierre Engvall (IR), Marc Gatcomb, Kyle MacLean

The Islanders had so many injuries last season, including Barzal playing just 30 games, that basing too much on those results feels foolish. This should be a group that can finish higher than 27th in goals per game, simply from bringing in Drouin, Heineman and Shabanov and losing not all that much up front.

This is a group of 12 NHL-caliber forwards, but where they’re overmatched by the teams above them is in that second-tier depth after Barzal and Horvat. Some of their forwards who will get big minutes are, frankly, just getting old, with Lee now 35 and a handful of others on the wrong side of 30.

There are a couple of wild cards here, however, including Ritchie, whom they landed in the Brock Nelson trade. If nothing else, the Islanders should be more interesting to watch now, and not just because of the new kid on D they took first overall.

San Jose Sharks

Philipp Kurashev – Macklin Celebrini – Will Smith
William Eklund – Michael Misa – Tyler Toffoli
Jeff Skinner – Alexander Wennberg – Collin Graff
Barclay Goodrow – Adam Gaudette – Ty Dellandrea

Extras: Ryan Reaves, Ethan Cardwell

San Jose’s top six could be a lot better than people expect this year.

Celebrini is already a two-way star. Would anyone be surprised if he takes another step and establishes himself as a top-10 NHL center by the end of this season?

Smith, who had 30 points in his last 34 games, should have a Logan Cooley-like sophomore breakout. Eklund, 22, is coming off a 58-point season, Toffoli scored 30 goals as a first-year Shark, and 18-year-old Michael Misa, who led the OHL with 134 points, could make some noise, too (assuming he sticks with the team)

The Sharks’ bottom-six is weak, and we should expect some overall ups and downs with such a young group. But the top two lines are loaded with dynamic, fun skill.

Sid the Old Kid could use some help. But with the Penguins rebuilding, is that for the best? (Justin Berl / Getty Images)

Tier 5: Rebuilding/needs improvement

Pittsburgh Penguins

Rickard Rakell – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Ville Koivunen – Evgeni Malkin – Anthony Mantha
Filip Hallander – Thomas Novak – Philip Tomasino
Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Justin Brazeau

Extras: Kevin Hayes (IR), Rutger McGroarty, Benjamin Kindel, Noel Acciari

You can sort of see why there are all those stories about Crosby finding a new home.

Sid The Old Kid singlehandedly elevates this group above the few teams behind them, but his few helpers (Rakell and Rust) provide Pittsburgh with a cromulent first-line option – at least until GM Kyle Dubas holds a pre-deadline firesale.

Where things get shaky is just about everywhere else, as Malkin’s game at 39 has dramatically fallen off, and the rest of the veterans are going to be underwater against most teams.

The Penguins will need some help from unexpected sources like Koivunen, Hallander and McGroarty if they’re going to be anything but a basement-dweller. Although, honestly, that would probably be for the best right now.

Seattle Kraken

Jared McCann – Matty Beniers – Jordan Eberle
Jaden Schwartz – Shane Wright – Eeli Tolvanen
Mason Marchment – Chandler Stephenson – Ryan Winterton
Tye Kartye – Frederick Gaudreau – Jani Nyman

Extras: Kaapo Kakko (IR), Berkly Catton, Oscar Fisker Molgaard

This Kraken forward group has a similar story to years past: A serious lack of star power, mixed in with above-average depth.

Seattle’s first line looks more like a second line, their second line looks more like a good third line, and the bottom-six is strong, but not enough to make up for the lack of offensive game-breakers. McCann is the only forward on this roster who’s had a 55-point-or-better season over the last two years.

There is an upside scenario where the Kraken could exceed expectations on the backs of their young talent  Wright — could take another step after breaking out last year, Beniers and Kakko (when he returns from injury) had intriguing chemistry last year, and maybe Catton, the No. 8 pick in 2024, becomes an instant difference-maker.

Overall, though, we feel pretty comfortable projecting that Seattle’s forward group will be a weakness relative to the rest of the teams in the West.

Calgary Flames

Joel Farabee – Nazem Kadri – Adam Klapka
Matvei Gridin – Morgan Frost – Matt Coronato
Connor Zary – Mikael Backlund – Blake Coleman
Ryan Lomberg – Justin Kirkland – Yegor Sharangovich

Extras: Jonathan Huberdeau (day-to-day), Samuel Honzek, Martin Pospisil

The Flames have a scrappy, hardworking forward group that delivers responsible defensive hockey.

All four lines can play; Zary, Backlund, and Coleman form an above-average third line, and it’s a luxury having Sharangovich on the fourth line. But similar to Seattle, Calgary desperately lacks dynamic star power in the top six.

Kadri and Huberdeau are coming off better-than-expected seasons; Coronato has 30-goal potential; and Gridin, 19, is an exciting piece of the future. But it’s hard to see the Flames forward crew scoring more than they did last year, when they were bottom-five in the league in goals scored per game.

Boston Bruins

Morgan Geekie – Elias Lindholm – David Pastrnak
Pavel Zacha – Casey Mittelstadt – Viktor Arvidsson
Tanner Jeannot – Fraser Minten – Marat Khusnutdinov
Michael Eyssimont – Sean Kuraly – Mark Kastelic

Extras: Matej Blumel, Matthew Poitras, John Beecher

How the mighty have fallen. Yikes.

We lamented above who Crosby had to play with, but pour one out here for Pastrnak, too, as he’s perhaps further behind — even with Geekie’s nice evolution into a 60-point threat. Lindholm and friends just haven’t shown the ability to slot where the Bruins have them in the top six, which likely means another lean year on offense.

This group is extremely grim further down the depth chart, with basically every player overmatched in the role they’re in right now — barring something unexpected from one of the kids

Is there any way Patrice Bergeron might want to make a comeback?

Nashville Predators

Filip Forsberg – Brady Martin – Ryan O’Reilly
Steven Stamkos – Fedor Svechkov – Luke Evangelista
Michael Bunting – Erik Haula – Jonathan Marchessault
Cole Smith – Michael McCarron – Ozzy Wiesblatt

Extras: Tyson Jost, Joakim Kemell, Matthew Wood, Zachary L’Heureux

Martin (or O’Reilly), Svechkov and Haula are the NHL’s least-established/threatening 1-2-3 center punch. That’s not meant to be a shot at Martin, the No. 5 pick from last summer’s draft who we expect to eventually become a franchise pillar, or at Svechkov, who also has a bright future. It’s likely just too early, however, to expect them to be bona fide top-six NHL centers.

Nashville’s veteran scorers underperformed last year in some part because they didn’t have speedy, dynamic, playmaking centers who could transport pucks through the neutral zone and make dangerous passes to set them up. Unless Martin or Svechkov exceed all reasonable expectations, that’s going to be a problem again.

There is obviously still some talent within Nashville’s forward ranks — Forsberg, Stamkos, O’Reilly, and Marchessault are big-name players and Evangelista is a fun, young winger — but the pieces fit in pretty awkwardly and they’re arguably less than the sum of their parts because of that.

Chicago Blackhawks

Andre Burakovsky – Connor Bedard – Ryan Donato
Tyler Bertuzzi – Frank Nazar – Teuvo Teräväinen
Ilya Mikheyev – Jason Dickinson – Colton Dach
Nick Foligno – Ryan Greene – Sam Lafferty

Extras: Lukas Reichel, Landon Slaggert (IR), Joey Anderson (IR)

Bedard is entering Year 3 and his projected wingers are Burakovsky, a sub-40-point producer, and Donato. It’s flat-out unacceptable — neither one of them would be first-line wingers on any other team in the NHL.

The good news is that Nazar should be primed for a monster breakout year, but he and Bedard are kind of on an island.

Yes, Donato unexpectedly broke out with 31 goals last year and Teräväinen is a serviceable second-line forward, but this team is desperately short on true, high-end, top-six drivers. It also doesn’t help, of course, that Bedard stagnated a bit as a sophomore last year.