NHL’s Dark Horse Division Title Contenders for 2026-27

Hockey is finally back. The 2026-27 preseason officially wrapped up on Saturday, Sept. 26, and it won’t be long until the puck drops for regular-season action on Sept. 29.

Even before the season starts, most of us have a picture in our head of how we think things will turn out. The contenders, the pretenders, and the teams looking forward to the 2027 NHL Draft. Which four teams could defy those expectations, winning their respective divisions in 2026-27?

Atlantic Division: Ottawa Senators

The Atlantic Division was incredibly deep last season, with five of its members reaching 99 points compared to just four across the rest of the league. One team being overlooked for the division crown in 2026-27 is the Ottawa Senators.

Losing Brady Tkachuk stings, but the Senators have enough going for them to make up for his absence. William Eklund, acquired for the No. 9 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, was a terrific top-six winger for the San Jose Sharks. He seldom played with Macklin Celebrini at 5-on-5, so the 23-year-old is a breakout candidate with better linemates in Ottawa.

The Senators’ case for the top starts with their defense. Jake Sanderson has become a dependable No. 1, and at just 24 years old, he may have another gear. Thomas Chabot is a huge plus to the Ottawa lineup when healthy—staying on the ice is his only real area for improvement. But if Chabot misses time, Jordan Spence has proven to be reliable in a top-pairing role and should put minds at ease.

Meanwhile, Artem Zub is a solid shutdown defender for the top four, and rookie Carter Yakemchuk has plenty of upside. This is an enviable unit.

Ottawa’s well-roundedness at forward is a strength, too. A center corps of Tim Stützle, Dylan Cozens, and Shane Pinto is hard to beat, and there’s enough talent and two-way ability at the wing to be excited about the offense as a whole.

The biggest question mark, as has been the case with the Senators for a while, is goaltending. However, Linus Ullmark posted a career-worst .891 save percentage last season, so he’s due for positive regression, and new backup Samuel Ersson has a very low bar to clear: Leevi Merilainen’s .860 save percentage.

Even with Tkachuk out of the picture, the Senators may have a better season than they did in 2025-26. Winning a division title is a legitimate possibility.

Central Division: Utah Mammoth

The Central Division has three top dogs: the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, and Minnesota Wild. No team in the Western Conference came particularly close to matching the regular-season excellence of those clubs, so it’s a bit bold to say the Utah Mammoth could finish ahead of all three.

To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t even a particular fan of the Mammoth’s offseason. The prices they paid for 23-year-old goaltender Sebastian Cossa and 33-year-old forward Vincent Trocheck were steep, and I’m not convinced those moves will make them much better in 2026-27. With that said, Utah’s young stars could be on the verge of something special.

Logan Cooley showed strides last season, but it wasn’t the full-fledged breakout that some might have expected. Injuries can at least partially be blamed for that. Now that he has over 200 games of experience under his belt and is 22 years old, there’s a very real chance Cooley becomes the star top-line center he seems destined to be.

Dylan Guenther is another youngster to watch. He reached 40 goals for the first time last season, but he may have more to give, seeing as he’s only 23 years old. Keep an eye on Daniil But and Dmitri Simashev, too, as they look to establish themselves as household names in Utah.

The Mammoth have a nice blend of youth and proven talent (I haven’t even mentioned Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, or Mikhail Sergachev). With the Avalanche getting worse, the Stars getting older, and the Wild having some injury troubles in goal, it could be Utah’s time to shine.

Metropolitan Division: New Jersey Devils

The Carolina Hurricanes are the obvious pick to win the Metropolitan Division. They’re running back virtually the same team that hoisted the Stanley Cup three and a half months ago—one that put up a record-setting 16-3 record en route to glory.

But the New Jersey Devils have put together a scary roster. Their two biggest areas of concern entering the summer, in my opinion, were finishing and goaltending. New general manager Sunny Mehta added the best finisher on the market, Anthony Mantha, then traded draft picks for Luke Evangelista, who helped Steven Stamkos record the best shooting-percentage season of his legendary career. Between the pipes, it was addition by subtraction, dealing Jacob Markström and his .883 save percentage to the Florida Panthers.

I didn’t like the Devils’ depth last season, so adding Evangelista, Amadeus Lombardi, Mantha, and Evan Rodrigues makes me a lot more confident. It’s a big “if,” but if this team can stay just somewhat healthy, a division title is definitely within grasp.

Pacific Division: Los Angeles Kings

The Pacific Division was awful in 2025-26, so almost any answer would suffice here, really. But I think the Los Angeles Kings can return to 100-point form this season despite captain and franchise icon Anže Kopitar hanging up the skates in April.

For starters, while the Kings’ forward talent appears unassuming on paper, it’s a group that I like. Quinton Byfield is one of the most underrated players in the league, in my eyes—he averaged 20 minutes a night last season with a strong two-way impact. But he only had 49 points, so the 24-year-old isn’t making any headlines.

Speaking of underrated, Adrian Kempe fits that bill. He’s a high-skill player who doesn’t get much league-wide attention for it. Trevor Moore is another player who deserves more praise, even if he’s in a second-line role as opposed to a top-line one.

The Los Angeles defense should be the backbone of its success in 2026-27, though. It’s a unit that always seems to perform well, and that should remain the case as 23-year-old Brandt Clarke takes on a bigger role, potentially as the team’s No. 1.

In net, if Darcy Kuemper can play anywhere close to how he did in 2024-25, finishing third in Vezina Trophy voting, this Kings team could be a dark horse not just to win the division, but to do some damage in the playoffs.

Most would agree that these teams can make the playoffs this season. But do you think a division title is in the cards? Feel free to share your opinion in a comment below!