2026–27 NHL Pacific Division Preview & Predictions
Updated September 27, 2026
Updated September 27, 2026
The Pacific Division could be considerably more competitive in 2026–27 than it was a year ago. Vegas and Edmonton remain the obvious names at the top, but neither enters the season without questions, while San Jose has legitimate reasons to believe they can close the gap.
Our biggest call is San Jose. The Sharks made significant progress last season and have continued adding talent around Macklin Celebrini, including another potential difference-maker in 2026 No. 2 pick Ivar Stenberg. We think this is the year San Jose returns to the playoffs.
Anaheim should also get back in, although the Ducks have lost enough pieces that a wild-card push feels more realistic than another push toward the top of the division. That leaves Los Angeles on the outside despite an intriguing collection of veteran additions. At the same time, Seattle remains a step behind the playoff contenders but has considerably more light at the end of the tunnel than Calgary or Vancouver.
Division Winner: Vegas Golden Knights
Breakout Team: San Jose Sharks
Biggest Wild Card: Los Angeles Kings
Biggest Concern: Vancouver Canucks
| Rank | Team | 2025–26 Points | Our Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vegas Golden Knights | 95 | Division winner |
| 2 | Edmonton Oilers | 93 | Playoff team |
| 3 | San Jose Sharks | 86 | Playoff team |
| 4 | Anaheim Ducks | 92 | Wild-card contender |
| 5 | Los Angeles Kings | 90 | Wild-card contender |
| 6 | Seattle Kraken | 79 | Outside looking in |
| 7 | Calgary Flames | 77 | Rebuilding |
| 8 | Vancouver Canucks | 58 | Rebuilding |
2025–26: 39-26-17, 95 points — Stanley Cup Final
Vegas still has the strongest overall roster in the Pacific, but this is not a No. 1 prediction I feel completely comfortable with.
The Golden Knights won the division last season, yet their regular-season performance was hardly dominant. At times, they looked nothing like a team that would eventually reach the Stanley Cup Final. That became especially noticeable before the Western Conference Final against Colorado. The Avalanche had won the Presidents' Trophy with 121 points, and the overwhelming consensus was that Colorado would advance. Vegas proceeded to flip the script and sweep them in four games.
That run was a reminder of how dangerous Vegas can be when everything comes together. Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, Tomas Hertl and Mark Stone still give the Golden Knights an elite veteran core, while Rasmus Andersson's arrival last season strengthened an already impressive defense alongside Shea Theodore and Noah Hanifin.
The concerns are real, though. Pavel Dorofeyev is gone after emerging as the team's leading goal scorer, while durability remains a major variable. Stone missed 22 games last season and William Karlsson missed 68. Both enter this season healthy, but Vegas has enough older players that another run of injuries could dramatically change the outlook.
I am also not completely sold on the goaltending. Carter Hart took over during the playoff run, while Adin Hill is trying to bounce back after a difficult regular season. That gives Vegas options, but compared with some of the NHL's elite teams, I would consider the position closer to average than a genuine strength.
Maybe that ultimately defines this version of Vegas. We may see fewer extreme highs and lows than we did last season. With Andersson settled into the defense and most of the core returning, this could simply be a more stable team that consistently collects points without always looking dominant.
That is enough to keep Vegas at No. 1, but the margin is much smaller than the ranking might suggest.
Prediction: 1st in the Pacific Division
2025–26: 41-30-11, 93 points — Western Conference First Round
Edmonton took a significant step backward last season. After reaching consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, the Oilers entered their first-round series against Anaheim as clear favorites, only to be eliminated in six games.
The response has been another round of changes. Mike Babcock takes over behind the bench, while Edmonton has once again tried to solve its goaltending problem. Frederik Andersen arrives after winning the Stanley Cup with Carolina, joining Tristan Jarry and Devon Levi, although Andersen will begin the season recovering from an undisclosed offseason injury.
I am not convinced Andersen alone solves much. Edmonton has cycled through goaltenders for years, but the problem has never entirely been about the player standing in the crease. This remains an offense-led team that can leave its goalies exposed, and the Oilers allowed 3.23 goals per game last season, ranking 25th in the NHL. Andersen, Jarry or Levi will need considerably more help from the team in front of them if Edmonton is going to become a serious Stanley Cup threat again.
Babcock is the other major variable. He has won at the highest level, but he has not coached an NHL game since 2019. Edmonton is betting that a different voice can reverse the trajectory of a team that never quite found consistency last season. Maybe it works, but I am skeptical that a coaching change by itself fixes the problems.
Ultimately, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard provide such an enormous talent advantage that it is difficult to see Edmonton missing the playoffs. Those three should be enough to get the Oilers there.
Beyond that? I am far less convinced.
Prediction: 2nd in the Pacific Division
2025–26: 39-35-8, 86 points — Missed Playoffs
All aboard the hype train. San Jose is our breakout pick in the Pacific.
The Sharks stayed around the playoff conversation much longer than most expected last season and finished only four points out of a wild-card spot. This no longer feels like a rebuilding team waiting for some distant future. Macklin Celebrini is already a superstar, Will Smith has established himself as another major part of the core, and Michael Misa, Sam Dickinson and Collin Graf give San Jose considerably more young talent than it had even a year ago.
Now add Ivar Stenberg.
The No. 2 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft has already signed his entry-level contract and is projected to begin the season in San Jose's lineup. The Sharks could eventually give him opportunities alongside Celebrini, but even if Stenberg starts further down the lineup, he adds another high-end offensive talent to what is suddenly one of the NHL's most exciting young groups.
San Jose has also done a much better job surrounding those players with established NHL talent. Darnell Nurse and Jacob Trouba add experience and physicality to the defense, while Mason Marchment provides another proven secondary scorer. This is a much more substantial roster than the one that began the rebuild.
Goaltending remains the concern. San Jose finished 25th in team save percentage last season, and Yaroslav Askarov still has to prove he can become a dependable No. 1. If he does, the Sharks have a realistic path to making one of the biggest jumps in the Western Conference.
We think they make it.
Prediction: 3rd in the Pacific Division
2025–26: 43-33-6, 92 points — Western Conference Second Round
Anaheim finally broke through last season and reached the second round of the playoffs. We think the Ducks return to the postseason, but doing so may be considerably more difficult this time.
The biggest concern is how much they lost. Mason McTavish was traded to St. Louis, while John Carlson, Jacob Trouba, Radko Gudas and Olen Zellweger are all gone from last season's defense. That is substantial turnover for a team that already ranked 29th in goals allowed per game.
Anaheim is essentially betting that its young core can absorb those losses. Cutter Gauthier is now secured on a long-term contract after leading the Ducks with 41 goals and 69 points last season, while Leo Carlsson and Beckett Sennecke give Anaheim plenty of offensive upside. Jackson LaCombe and Pavel Mintyukov will have to take much larger roles on defense, and Lukas Dostal remains an important part of the equation in goal.
There could also be a slow start, with Troy Terry expected to miss at least the opening month following hip surgery.
So yes, I think Anaheim is weaker than it was at the end of last season. But there is still enough talent here for internal improvement to offset some of the departures, and the Ducks' young stars are reaching the point where we should expect more rather than simply waiting for potential.
It could be very close between Anaheim and Los Angeles, but I give the Ducks the final playoff spot.
Prediction: 4th in the Pacific Division
2025–26: 35-27-20, 90 points — Western Conference First Round
The Kings might be the most interesting team in the Pacific.
They could actually be more dangerous offensively while becoming a worse overall team.
Artemi Panarin will get his first full season in Los Angeles after arriving during last season, and the Kings followed that by loading up on veterans. Mats Zuccarello, Erik Haula and Corey Perry were added up front, while Erik Gustafsson was brought in on defense. Peter Laviolette also takes over behind the bench.
There is real quality in that group. Zuccarello had 54 points in only 59 games last season, Panarin remains an elite offensive player, and Haula and Perry give Laviolette experienced options throughout the lineup. The Kings desperately needed more offense after finishing 29th in goals last season, and a full year of Panarin alongside players such as Adrian Kempe and Quinton Byfield should help.
But it is also an old roster trying to solve some very important problems with more veterans.
The biggest loss is Anze Kopitar. Los Angeles is entering its first season without Kopitar in two decades, and replacing everything he did at center is far more difficult than replacing his point total. The Kings are currently expected to lean on Byfield, Haula and Scott Laughton as their top three centers, making center depth one of the biggest questions entering the season.
That makes LA extremely difficult to project. Panarin, Zuccarello and the other additions could make the offense better, but the Kings are also asking a lot from players well into their 30s. There is not much room for injuries or age-related decline.
They are absolutely good enough to make the playoffs. I just think San Jose has passed them, and Anaheim ultimately does enough to squeeze them out.
Prediction: 5th in the Pacific Division
2025–26: 34-37-11, 79 points — Missed Playoffs
Seattle belongs in a different category from Calgary and Vancouver.
The Kraken still look like a team that could struggle this season, particularly offensively, but there is considerably more light at the end of the tunnel than there is for the two teams below them.
Seattle spent part of last season around the playoff picture before falling away late. The biggest issue was straightforward: the Kraken finished 28th in scoring at only 2.73 goals per game.
That is still the problem they have to solve. Bobby McMann was excellent after arriving from Toronto and Mackie Samoskevich adds another young offensive option, but Seattle needs much more from the players it has spent years developing. Matty Beniers, Shane Wright, Kaapo Kakko and Berkly Catton are all young enough to improve, and Catton in particular could earn a larger top-six role after getting his first full NHL season out of the way.
That is why I don't view Seattle the same way as Calgary or Vancouver. There is a young foundation here, and it is possible that two or three players take significant steps at the same time and suddenly change the direction of the team.
I just don't think they're there yet.
The Kraken could hang around the fringes of the wild-card race, but San Jose has more high-end talent, Anaheim is further along, and Los Angeles remains more established. Seattle misses out again, but this is not a hopeless situation.
Prediction: 6th in the Pacific Division
2025–26: 34-39-9, 77 points — Missed Playoffs
Calgary is now firmly in the process of building its next team rather than trying to patch together another playoff run.
The Flames finished dead last in the NHL in scoring at only 2.54 goals per game. Matt Coronato led the team with just 45 points, while Dustin Wolf also took a step backward after his impressive rookie season.
There are still reasons to pay attention. Simon Nemec gives Calgary another talented young defenseman after arriving from New Jersey, while Zayne Parekh should take on a full-time role. Coronato, Connor Zary and Matvei Gridin are also young enough to become important parts of whatever comes next.
The problem is that this roster simply does not have enough offense yet. Even if Wolf rebounds, Calgary will have trouble staying with teams like Vegas, Edmonton, San Jose and Anaheim if it spends most nights trying to win 2-1.
That doesn't necessarily make this a wasted season. Calgary needs to find out which young players belong in the long-term core, and there is enough talent here to make progress.
There just isn't enough to make the playoffs.
Prediction: 7th in the Pacific Division
2025–26: 25-49-8, 58 points — Missed Playoffs
Vancouver is starting over.
The Canucks finished last in the NHL, and the organization has since changed its front office, coaching staff and much of the identity of the roster. Manny Malhotra takes over behind the bench, while veterans such as Brendan Gallagher, Jamie Oleksiak and Luke Schenn have been brought in to add experience and stability.
Marco Rossi is one of the more interesting pieces after arriving in the Quinn Hughes trade last season, but the scale of the rebuild becomes obvious when looking at where Vancouver finished statistically. The Canucks were last in goals allowed and had the NHL's worst penalty kill, while the offense also finished near the bottom of the league.
That is simply too much to fix in one offseason.
Malhotra may be able to make Vancouver more structured and competitive, and the younger players should get opportunities that could benefit the organization over the long term. But this season should be judged by whether the Canucks begin establishing their next core rather than whether they challenge for a playoff spot.
For now, they remain at the bottom of the Pacific.
Prediction: 8th in the Pacific Division
Vegas remains my pick at the top, but not by a wide margin.
The Golden Knights still have one of the strongest cores in the division, and the addition of Rasmus Andersson gives them even more stability on defense. The concern is durability and goaltending. If Stone and Karlsson miss significant time again, this race could open up quickly.
Edmonton is the biggest threat, although I am less confident in the Oilers than I have been in recent years.
McDavid, Draisaitl and Bouchard should be enough to get them into the playoffs, but last season exposed some real weaknesses. Andersen gives them another option in goal and Babcock brings a new voice behind the bench, but I am not convinced either move completely changes the trajectory.
San Jose is my breakout team.
The Sharks already took a major step last season, and now the young core is even deeper. Celebrini and Will Smith are already established pieces, while Michael Misa, Sam Dickinson and Ivar Stenberg give San Jose another wave of high-end talent. If Askarov gives them steady goaltending, I think they are ready to return to the playoffs.
Anaheim takes the final playoff spot, although I think the Ducks are weaker than they were a year ago.
They lost a lot of experience, particularly on defense, and McTavish is gone. Still, Carlsson, Gauthier, Sennecke and Dostal give Anaheim enough young talent to remain competitive, and I think internal improvement keeps them ahead of Los Angeles.
The Kings are the hardest team in the division to project.
Panarin, Zuccarello, Haula and Perry make the offense much more interesting, but this is also an aging roster entering its first season without Kopitar. Los Angeles could absolutely make the playoffs, but I think San Jose has passed them and Anaheim ultimately does just enough to stay ahead.
Seattle should remain competitive, but I don't think the Kraken are ready to break through.
There is more reason for optimism here than in Calgary or Vancouver. Beniers, Wright, Catton and Kakko still have room to improve, and the younger core gives Seattle a path forward. For now, though, the offense remains too limited to put them comfortably into the playoff picture.
Calgary is still building around its younger players, while Vancouver is entering a much deeper reset.
Both teams should use this season to identify pieces for the future rather than chase a playoff spot.
