6 NHL Teams That Have Improved the Most This Offseason

Earlier this week, we looked at NHL teams that have taken a step back this offseason. Today, we’ll look at six teams that have improved their stock heading into the 2026-27 campaign. If this offseason is any indication, the Eastern Conference could be a gauntlet.

New York Rangers

The New York Rangers were one of the NHL’s most disappointing teams last season. Most oddsmakers had them as a bubble team in the Eastern Conference, but they finished with 77 points and a top-five pick in the NHL Draft. That led to a busy offseason for general manager Chris Drury.

Pavel Dorofeyev, acquired in a draft-day trade with the Vegas Golden Knights, was the Rangers’ top addition this offseason. He then signed a seven-year, $11 million AAV extension with the Rangers. He’s coming off a year that saw him total 49 goals between the regular season and playoffs. He’s not a play-driver and needs the right skill set around him to thrive, which I’m not sure the Rangers have, but he should still add more scoring pop in their top six.

The Rangers also signed Oliver Bjorkstrand to add a bit more scoring punch up front and acquired Joonas Korpisalo to back up Igor Shesterkin. In addition to those moves, Drury overhauled the team’s defense, acquiring Marcus Pettersson and Sean Durzi in separate trades.

The Rangers’ only blemish this offseason was trading Vincent Trocheck and not replacing him. They will enter the season with weak center depth, barring another move. Even then, this Rangers team is about 1.2 wins better than they were at the end of last season. Had they not traded Trocheck, that number would have been around 2.5, so not replacing him could come back to bite them. But they’ve had a good offseason overall.

Nashville Predators

It’s a new era in Nashville, with Chris MacFarland taking over as the Predators’ GM and president of hockey ops. He was busy in his first offseason at the helm in Nashville. Among the Predators’ acquisitions were Ross Colton, Jack Drury, and Mavrik Bourque.

Bourque is the most interesting of the three. He’s coming off a 20-goal, 41-point season with the Dallas Stars and could be due for a breakout campaign in 2026-27. Meanwhile, Colton and Drury should strengthen the Predators’ bottom six. Both players are analytics darlings, so it’s no surprise that MacFarland acquired both from the Colorado Avalanche, where he was previously GM.

Overall, the Predators are about 2.4 wins better than they were at the end of last season. They barely missed the playoffs in 2025-26, and although they are in one of the toughest divisions, they have an opportunity to break through as a wild-card team in the West.

Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals were among the busiest teams this offseason, and they made some of the splashiest moves, too. Among their additions were Alex Tuch, who they acquired in a sign-and-trade with the Buffalo Sabres, and Jordan Kyrou, who heads to the nation’s capital after getting traded from the St. Louis Blues.

Tuch is showing some early signs of decline, but he’s still a highly productive top-six winger. He’s coming off a 33-goal, 66-point season with the Sabres and should give the Capitals more scoring punch. Kyrou is coming off a down year that saw him total just 18 goals and 46 points, but his underlying metrics were excellent. He’s a top bounce-back candidate for 2026-27.

That’s not where the Capitals’ offseason ended, though. They also signed long-time Blue Jacket Boone Jenner in free agency, as well as defenseman Vincent Desharnais. Overall, the Capitals are about 5.8 wins better than they were last season. They’re arguably the most-improved team this offseason and should be back in the playoff hunt in 2026-27.

New Jersey Devils

There’s a real Metropolitan Division theme to this article. The New Jersey Devils were also among the NHL’s most disappointing teams last season, but new GM Sunny Mehta has delivered in his first offseason at the helm.

Some of the Devils’ improvement is addition by subtraction. For example, Jacob Markström was worth a wins above replacement (WAR) of -1 last season. The Devils replaced him with David Rittich, who was worth a WAR of 1.4. I remain skeptical that Rittich will be nearly 2.5 wins better than Markström next season. But between Rittich, Jake Allen, and Nico Daws, the Devils’ goaltending should be at least marginally better than it was with Markström in net.

Mehta has also put in plenty of work to improve the Devils’ forward group. Anthony Mantha probably won’t repeat his 33-goal, 64-point season, but he’s one of the league’s more underrated finishers. Evan Rodrigues and Jesper Boqvist should also be marked improvements over the bottom-six forwards the team iced last season.

Overall, the Devils have added a net of about 4.6 wins to their roster. As long as Jack Hughes can stay healthy, this team looks like one of the three best in the Metro, and they still have assets and cap space to make another addition or two before next season starts.

Philadelphia Flyers

Oh, look, another Metropolitan Division team. The Flyers’ offseason has been quieter than that of other Metro teams, though it would have been a different story if the Anaheim Ducks had opted not to match the offer sheet the Flyers tendered to Leo Carlsson.

Most notably, the Flyers improved significantly in net. They parted ways with Sam Ersson and replaced him with Joseph Woll. That’s about a 2.5 win difference between the goalies. As long as Woll can stay healthy, which has been an issue for him, he should be a significant upgrade over Ersson.

The Flyers also signed Noel Acciari to give them a bit more bottom-six depth. Overall, they’ve added about two wins to their roster, but it’s mostly due to the change in net. The skater group still needs work. The issue for them is that they don’t have a 1C, and with other teams in the Metro improving, they’ll likely be on the playoff bubble.

Florida Panthers

Injuries were a significant reason the Florida Panthers missed the playoffs last season. Still, that didn’t stop GM Bill Zito from going out and making some improvements. The most notable addition Zito made was acquiring Brady Tkachuk from the Ottawa Senators, reuniting him with his brother Matthew.

Brady Tkachuk isn’t the player his brother is, but he’s still a high-end play-driving winger capable of nearly a point per game. Adding him to an already stacked top nine should help the Panthers bounce back and compete for a playoff spot in the Atlantic, which may be the most competitive division in the NHL.

The Panthers also redid their goaltending tandem, acquiring Markström from the Devils and Akira Schmid from the Vegas Golden Knights. Schmid had a solid 2025-26 season and was worth nearly 1.5 wins for the Golden Knights. We already mentioned Markström’s struggles with the Devils. He turns 37 in January, so he could be in decline, but the Panthers are hoping he still has some good hockey left in him. If he’s just league average (.895 SV%), he’ll be an upgrade over Sergei Bobrovsky.

Overall, the Panthers are about 1.1 wins better than they were last season. But having a healthy Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk could make a world of difference for them, especially if Schmid and Markstrǒm provide an upgrade in net.

The Eastern Conference, and specifically the Metropolitan Division, should be ultra-competitive next season. They hold the most improved teams in the NHL this offseason, and it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out once the 2026-27 campaign begins.

Advanced stats from Evolving Hockey