Eastern Conference Futures: Favorites, Contenders & Prediction

The Eastern Conference enters 2026-27 with two familiar teams at the top. Florida is healthy again after missing the playoffs, while Carolina returns most of the roster that won the Stanley Cup last season.

Washington and Tampa Bay make up the next group of contenders, with Montreal, New Jersey and several other teams capable of making the conference much more competitive.

Eastern Conference Futures Pricing

Florida and Carolina sit at the front of the Eastern Conference futures market, with relatively little separating the two teams.

Washington has moved into the next tier after an aggressive offseason, while Tampa Bay remains firmly among the conference contenders. Montreal, New Jersey, Buffalo, Ottawa and Toronto sit further down the board but give the East considerable depth.

As always, the market should change significantly as the season develops, particularly if injuries or goaltending questions emerge among the favorites.

Eastern Conference Favorites

Florida Panthers

Florida enters the season looking to bounce back after injuries contributed to the Panthers missing the playoffs in 2025-26.

Aleksander Barkov is healthy again, while Brady Tkachuk joins Matthew Tkachuk in a forward group that already includes Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett. Florida also made a major change in goal, with Jacob Markstrom replacing Sergei Bobrovsky.

The Panthers won consecutive Stanley Cups in 2024 and 2025, and the core of those championship teams remains largely intact.

Carolina Hurricanes

Carolina enters 2026-27 as the defending Stanley Cup champion after finishing first in the Metropolitan Division and producing a dominant postseason run.

Most of the roster returns, giving Carolina continuity that few contenders can match. Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis remain central to the offense, while the Hurricanes continue to have one of the deepest defensive groups in the conference.

Goaltending is the biggest question after Frederik Andersen's departure, with Pyotr Kochetkov and Brandon Bussi expected to handle the workload.

Washington Capitals

Washington has quickly become one of the most interesting teams in the Eastern Conference market.

The Capitals added Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou and Boone Jenner to a forward group that still includes Alex Ovechkin, giving Washington considerably more depth than it had last season.

After missing the playoffs at 43-30-9, the Capitals are betting heavily on their new-look roster being capable of immediately returning to contention.

Other Eastern Conference Contenders

Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay remains one of the strongest regular-season teams in the East and finished 50-26-6 last season.

Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Andrei Vasilevskiy continue to form the core, while veteran defenseman John Carlson was added during the offseason.

The concern is postseason performance. Tampa Bay has now been eliminated in the first round in four consecutive seasons, meaning the Lightning still have to prove they can turn regular-season success into another deep playoff run.

Montreal Canadiens

Montreal reached the Eastern Conference Final last season after finishing 48-24-10, continuing the rapid development of one of the NHL's most exciting young cores.

Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky give Montreal an established top line, while the Canadiens continue to build around a young defense.

The biggest questions are depth behind the top forwards and whether Montreal can get consistent enough goaltending to take another step.

New Jersey Devils

New Jersey remains one of the harder teams in the conference to evaluate.

A healthy Jack Hughes immediately changes the ceiling of the roster, while Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt and Luke Hughes give the Devils plenty of high-end talent. Anthony Mantha and Luke Evangelista also add more scoring depth.

Goaltending remains the biggest concern after Jacob Markstrom's departure. Jake Allen, Nico Daws and David Rittich give New Jersey options, but no clear long-term No. 1.

If the Devils stay healthy and get adequate goaltending, they have enough talent to move considerably higher in the Eastern Conference market.

Eastern Conference Prediction: Carolina Hurricanes

Florida may have the highest ceiling in the East, while Washington has made some of the most interesting offseason additions. Tampa Bay and Montreal are also capable of making deep playoff runs.

Carolina remains the team I trust most.

The Hurricanes return most of the roster that just won the Stanley Cup, have established stars throughout the lineup and continue to be one of the deepest teams in the conference.

There is some uncertainty in goal, but Carolina has fewer major questions elsewhere than most of its competitors. Until another Eastern Conference team proves otherwise, the defending champions remain my pick to reach the Stanley Cup Final.

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