2026 Analysis
|
Team |
Average Ranking |
#1 Rankings |
Highest Ranking |
Lowest Ranking |
Standard Deviation |
Commentary |
|
The Favourites |
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| Colorado Avalanche | 2.93 | 12 | 1 | 12 | 2.56 | It's no surprise that the President's Trophy winners (by a wide margin) are fairly heavy favourites, topping more than a third of all entries... |
| Edmonton Oilers | 4.17 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 2.75 | Four entries feel that after reaching the finals the last two years, the third time will be the charm for the Oilers... |
|
The
Dark Horses |
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| Carolina Hurricanes | 5.07 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 4.37 | The Canes are the favourites to win the east, and have the second-most #1 rankings, but also have the highest standard deviation, so their fate will play a big role in the outcome of the pool... |
| Buffalo Sabres | 5.70 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 3.25 | The Sabres get two picks to win the Cup, despite not having even made the playoffs in fifteen years... |
| Vegas Golden Knights | 6.40 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 2.78 | Despite topping the Pacific division, the Golden Knights only rank fifth overall... |
| Montreal Canadiens | 6.73 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 3.11 | The Habs are the only consensus upset winner in the first round, and get two (Leclair) picks to win the Cup... |
| Dallas Stars | 6.77 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 3.15 | A year after making the conference finals, the Stars get two picks to win the Cup and a perfectly respectable average ranking... |
|
The
Longshots |
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| Tampa Bay Lightning | 7.63 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 3.56 | The Lightning get one pick to win the Cup, but are in the middle for average ranking... |
| Minnesota Wild | 8.80 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 3.94 | The third-highest standard deviation implies that the Wild will have an impact on the pool, especially if they can satisfy their one pick to win the Cup |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 9.23 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 3.12 | The Penguins are narrowly favoured over the Flyers, but as the lowest-ranked first round favourite, there's little confidence in them going further... |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 9.97 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 2.94 | The Flyers cluster largely in the third quartile of entries, as a team several entries are hedging with... |
|
The
Faint Hopes |
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| Ottawa Senators | 10.70 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 4.12 | With the second-highest standard deviation, and the Canes with the highest, it certainly appears that the Carolina-Ottawa first-round series is very important to the outcome of the pool... |
| Boston Bruins | 11.13 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 3.17 | The wild-card Bruins face the Sabres in the first round, and garner six picks to advance... |
| Utah Mammoth | 12.70 | 0 | 7 | 16 | 2.96 | The Mammoth don't seem to get much faith in their playoff debut... |
| Anaheim Ducks | 13.53 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 2.81 | Only one entry picked the Ducks to beat the Oilers, but it has them reaching the conference finals... |
| Los Angeles Kings | 14.53 | 0 | 7 | 16 | 2.01 | Finishing only 20th in the league, and facing the Avalanche in the first round, it's not too surprising that nearly half of all entries ranked the Kings dead last... |