2026-27 NHL Atlantic Division Prediction

Based on Fanduel’s Stanley Cup betting odds for the 2026-27 National Hockey League season, here’s the first of our division-by-divison standings prediction, beginning with the Atlantic Division:

1. Florida – Nevermind the Atlantic Division. Fanduel has the Panthers picked to win the Stanley Cup next spring. Missing the playoffs last season due to missing captain Aleksander Barkov all year and Matthew Tkachuk for half a season clearly was just a blip, according to the oddsmakers. Brady Tkachuk’s been acquired from Ottawa – which Cats fans had been longing for for years – and clearly GM Bill Zito feels Jacob Markstrom is an adequate replacement for Sergei Bobrovsky in goal. We’ll see!
2. Tampa Bay – The Lightning return the Coach of the Year in Jon Cooper, the league MVP in Nikita Kucherov, and the Vezina Trophy winner as top goaltender in Andrei Vasilevskiy. Bolts fans think they should be picked as the favorites, and they may be right.
3. Montreal – Ole! Ole! Ole! Les Habitents upset the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last spring before succumbing to the eventual Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes in a five-game Eastern Conference Final. Aging stars Brendan Gallagher and Patrik Laine are out, star goaltender Jakub Dobes (the next Ken Dryden) is locked up, and the Habs appear to only be getting stronger as we see the fruits of the best rebuild in history.
4. Buffalo – Without question, the Sabres were the surprise team of the 2025-26 season. The exact turning point was when GM Kevy Adams was replaced by Jarmo Kekalainen and they became one of the top teams in the NHL over the second half, including taking out Boston in Round 1. They should be even better this year, although their crease doesn’t seem entirely sound.
5. Toronto – Does it feel like they’re starting over again? They’ve got a new coach in Jim Hiller and finally a steady #1 goaltender in Sergei Bobrovsky, who clearly has a lot to prove after Florida showed him the door. The Leafs are picked to be on the cusp of the playoff cutoff line after missing out last season, and will be nip and tuck this year. However the addition of #1 overall pick Gavin Mckenna will make the must-see TV, as always.
6. Ottawa – The hockey people feel removing team captain Brady Tkachuk will be addition by subtraction. We’re not sure we agree although he had zero (0) points in the playoffs and was never going to live that down in the nation’s capital. Plus their goaltending situation seems unstable. #6 in the division seems like an accurate forecast.
7. Boston – They made the playoffs last season on a wing and prayer but didn’t put up much of a fight against Buffalo. Goaltender Jeremy Swayman never seems to live up to the hype and although it appeared like the club might’ve adequately replaced captain Brad Marchand, turns out it was a mirage. That hasn’t stopped the B’s from being featured on an NHL-leading 20 national TV broadcasts this season, along with the Penguins.
8. Detroit – It’s August and they still don’t have a General Manager to replace Steve Yzerman. Top player Dylan Larkin still sits in the Motor City despite asking for a trade. At an average age of 28.61, they were one of the oldest teams in the NHL last season and the situation hasn’t gotten better. We feel bad for Wings fans.