The continued dual use of The Forecaster and The Athletic’s Top 150 players list for predictions has never been more accurate (note: remember to check last year’s predictions before publishing) and so we’ll continue with it this year. The Forecaster continues to be schizophrenic, with their Total players going from 45 to 61 to 107 (?!?!) this year.
One important note for this year: trades have been flying around post-auction. The current predictions were based on the September 28th team lists. If you made a trade after that or even around that time, it might not be reflected in this list. If that’s the case, please understand that I do not care and don’t want to hear you cry about it. (If I fucked up something else, feel free to complain though I still might not care).
If you need it, a reminder of what the Tiers mean for each of the Athletic categories can be found at the very bottom of the page, but the quick summary is:
Tier 1: MVP
Tier 2: Franchise
Tier 3: All-Star
Tier 4: Top Line
Tier 5: Support
Avalanche
Forecaster:
Elite: Stutzle, Connor, Dahlin
On The Rise: Podkolzin, Ritchie, Dickinson, Faber, Nikishin, Askarov, Silovs
On The Rebound: Point, Michkov, Newhook, Reinhart, Fox
Buyer Beware: E. Lindholm, Saros
The Athletic:
Tier 1: Dahlin
Tier 2: Fox
Tier 3: Reinhart, Stutzle, Point
Tier 4: Connor, Faber, K. Miller
Tier 5:
Comments: The Avalanche enter year 1 of their 5 year rebuild, which is strange because last year they were also in year 1 of their 5 year rebuild. They’ve got a few elite players (who they are at times trying to trade) per the Forecaster and a good number of On the Rise players. Still, the Athletic ranks them fairly low with only 8 total players, so the rebuild goes on!
Blackhawks
Forecaster:
Elite: Bedard, Marner, Josi, Shesterkin
On The Rise: Carlsson, Slafkovsky, Buium, Byram
On The Rebound: Morrissey
Buyer Beware: Nelson, Marchand, Panarin, Seguin, Trouba
The Athletic:
Tier 1:
Tier 2: Marner, Shesterkin, Slavin
Tier 3: Bedard, Morrissey, Carlsson, Panarin
Tier 4: Ehlers, Hintz, Josi, Slafkovsky
Tier 5: Carlson, Nelson, Byram, Tippett
Comments: If I asked “who leads the league in Total Players per the Athletic?” would you have guessed the Blackhawks? Tied for 1st and lacking Tier 1 players, but quite the achievement none the less. The Forecaster has them with 4 Elite players, which also puts them near the top. Add it all up, and the Blackhawks might be your dark horse team this year.
Bruins
Forecaster:
Elite: Celebrini, Scheifele, Boldy, Heiskanen, L. Hutson
On The Rise: Stankoven, Guenther, Perfetti, Drysdale, Mateychuk, Bussi, Dostal, Knight, Wallstedt
On The Rebound:
Buyer Beware: Peterka, Andersson
The Athletic:
Tier 1: Celebrini
Tier 2: Heiskanen, Boldy, L Hutson
Tier 3: Bratt, Scheifele
Tier 4: Guenther, Larkin, Eriksson Ek, Konecny, Stankoven
Tier 5: Dostal, Batherson, Knight, Wallstedt
Comments: Some organizations build dynasties. The Bruins are not one of them. Rather, they’re in a constant cycle of rebuilding for a few year, contending for a few years, then tearing it all down and rebuilding again. The rebuild might again be nearly complete. 14 “Total Players” per the Forecaster (1st) and 15 total players per the Athletic (tied for 1st). No players being counted on to rebound, few Buyer Beware players. It might not be this season, but the 4th banner is surely on its way.
Canadiens
Forecaster:
Elite: Caufield, Keller, Sorokin, Swayman
On The Rise: Byfield, Misa, Benson, Blake, Demidov, Eklund, Perreault, Sennecke, Parekh
On The Rebound: M. Tkachuk
Buyer Beware: Lundell, McLeod, Wennberg, Ekholm
The Athletic:
Tier 1:
Tier 2: Sorokin, M. Tkachuk
Tier 3: Caufield, Swayman, Theodore, Keller
Tier 4: Barzal, Harley, Byfield, Edvinsson, Sennecke
Tier 5: Benson, Demidov, Blake
Comments: Some teams are top heavy (see the next entry) while others have top depth but lack the elite talent. That seem to be the case with the Canadiens, as their rebuild continues. They lack Tier 1 talent but are tied for 1st in both the Tier 3 and 4 categories for the Athletic. The Forecaster has them at 4 Elite players, but it’s in goaltending and on the wing, the two weakest positions to have in this category. Still, the Forecaster also has them with a wealth of On The Rise talent (9, tied for 2nd). Hope certainly isn’t lost with this rebuild, but they’re going to have to find a way to get that SuperStar player they lack, be it via trade, better drafting, or hoping one of their current players takes another step.
Devils
Forecaster:
Elite: Eichel, MacKinnon, McDavid, DeBrincat, Werenski, L. Thompson
On The Rise: Evangelista, LaCombe
On The Rebound: Toews, Hill
Buyer Beware: Bjorkstrand, DeBrusk, Eberle, Lehkonen, Nichushkin, Stone, Hedman, Hart
The Athletic:
Tier 1: McDavid, MacKinnon, Werenski
Tier 2: Eichel
Tier 3: Hagel, LaCombe, Stone, L. Thompson
Tier 4: Toews, DeBrincat
Tier 5: Zibanejad, Hedman, A. Protas
Comments: They continue to come agonizingly close, but can’t get over that final hurdle. This remains a top heavy team, tied for the most Elite players per the Forecaster and the most Tier 1 players per The Athletic. But it’s the depth that again remains a gamble – 8 “Buyer Beware” players per the Forecaster though The Athletic is more generous, tied for the top amount of Tier 3 players. With no Olympics, can everyone remain healthy and in peak shape for a playoff run? Time is starting to run out on this core.
Flyers
Forecaster:
Elite: Draisaitl, Kucherov
On The Rise: M. Wood, Chinakov, Doan, Gauthier, Lardis, Leonard
On The Rebound: Thomas, S. Jones, Blackwood, Kuemper, Woll
Buyer Beware: Duchene, Kadri, J.T. Miller, Doughty, E. Karlsson, Matheson, Raddysh, Wedgewood, Stolarz, Vladar
The Athletic:
Tier 1: Kucherov, Draisaitl
Tier 2: Bouchard
Tier 3: Thomas, E. Karlsson, B. Tkachuck
Tier 4: Gauthier, S. Jones
Tier 5: J.T. Miller, O’Reilly, Doan, Raddysh, Samuelsson
Comments: A once proud franchise finds itself in decline, gambling on the most Buyer Beware players (10!) and the second most On the Rebound player (5). Worse, almost all of these players are the teams’ defenders and goaltenders. The high end forwards are still there (2 for both Tier 1 and Elite) but if either gets injured it could be a predictable disaster for this aging team.
Golden Knights
Forecaster:
Elite: Kaprizov, Hellebuyck
On The Rise:
On The Rebound: Landeskog, Marchessault, Sharangovich, Wolf
Buyer Beware: Hertl, W. Karlsson, Nugent-Hopkins, Schmaltz, Tavares, Arvidsson, Huberdeau, Terry, Toffoli
The Athletic:
Tier 1:
Tier 2: Kaprizov, Hellebuyck
Tier 3: Marchenko
Tier 4: Kempe, Svechnikov, Sanheim
Tier 5: Chabot, Wolf, Schmaltz, Tavares, Hertl, Parayko
Comments: The Olympic curse (for contending teams) strikes again. Historians could spend the next few decades trying to figure out how the Golden Knights won the Cup last year, but here we are they don’t care. Flags Fly Forever, and all that. They enter the season with no Tier 1 players (per the Athletic), 2 Elite (per the Forecaster), and 9 Buyer Beware players (also per the Forecaster). They have no depth young players, having sacrificed them all (and their picks) to aggressively chase a Cup when other teams coward and got conservative. How happy are they that they finally won after over 30 years? So filled with joy that they seem to have forgiven Tavares, signing him on in an attempt to defend their championship.
Lightning
Forecaster:
Elite: Q. Hughes
On The Rise: Cooley, Cozens, Fantilli, Ohgren, Quinn, Clarke, Sandin-Pellikka
On The Rebound: Fiala, Daccord
Buyer Beware:Ullmark
The Athletic:
Tier 1: Q. Hughes
Tier 2: Rantanen
Tier 3: Raymond, Necas, Wilson
Tier 4: Chychrun, Cooley, Broberg, Cirelli, Horvat
Tier 5: Fantilli, Clarke, Dobes, Pettersson, Vilardi
Comments: From perennial contender to…not that. The Forecaster has them with the lowest number of Elite players with only 1, though a healthier number of On the Rise players. The Athletic shows a similar trend with a low number of higher tier players but quite a number of Tier 4 and 5 players, leading them to be tied for 1st with the Total number of players. They’re not bad, but don’t expect any hardware to becoming their way this year
Penguins
Forecaster:
Elite: Crosby, Johnston, Suzuki, T. Thompson, Sanderson, Vasilevskiy
On The Rise: Zegras, Knies, W. Smith, L. Hughes
On The Rebound: Boeser, Markstrom
Buyer Beware: Kreider, Mantha, Andersen, Demko
The Athletic:
Tier 1:
Tier 2: Crosby, Sanderson, Suzuki, Vasilevskiy
Tier 3: Johnston, T. Thompson
Tier 4: Dobson, Sergachev
Tier 5: Knies, Power, W. Smith
Comments: The Forecaster loves them – 6 Elite players leaves them tied for 1st in that category with the contending Devils. The Athletic is a bit more critical – no Tier 1 players, but the most Tier 2 players out of anyone. So they’ll follow the same pattern they do most years: easily good enough to make the playoffs, no one will want to face them, but they won’t have enough to go all the way either. But they’re also not afraid to make the big trade, and maybe they find something that pushes them there.
Red Wings
Forecaster:
Elite: Makar
On The Rise: Dorofeyev, Graf, Nemec
On The Rebound: Dubois, J. Hughes, Matthews, McTavish, Kyrou, Bobrovsky
Buyer Beware: Norris, Dach, Rust, Zuccarello
The Athletic:
Tier 1: Makar
Tier 2: J. Hughes, Matthews, Seider
Tier 3: Aho, McAvoy
Tier 4:
Tier 5: Bennett, Dorofeyev, Kyrou, Tuch, Dubois
Comments: The Red Wings are a team that’s a bit stuck – the talent is there (a Tier 1 and 3 Tier 2 players is a reasonable foundation) but it’s injury prone; 6 players listed On the Rebound has them at the top of that list. If everyone stays healthy and the Wings want to go for it, they might have the pieces to do so. But neither of those things is definitive.
Sharks
Forecaster:
Elite: Nylander, Pastrnak
On The Rise: Nazar, Bourque, Coronato, Cowan, Foerster, Gridin, Samoskevich, Savoie, Schaefer, Dobes, Hofer
On The Rebound: Barkov, Rossi, Rielly
Buyer Beware: Hyman, Binnington
The Athletic:
Tier 1: Barkov, Pastrnak
Tier 2: Schaefer
Tier 3: Hischier, Nylander
Tier 4: Hyman
Tier 5:
Comments: Drop the “Jaws” theme music in here. Are the Sharks back? Absolutely not. But with a staggering 11 On The Rise players, it won’t be long until they’re wreaking havoc on the league once again, even if the Athletic has them with the fewest “Total Players”.
Stars
Forecaster:
Elite: Robertson, Oettinger
On The Rise: Kapane, Minten, Pinto, Holloway, Lafreniere, Snuggerud, Greaves
On The Rebound: Hanifin
Buyer Beware: Orlov, Walman, Gustavsson
The Athletic:
Tier 1:
Tier 2: Robertson
Tier 3: Guentzel, Jarvis
Tier 4: Forsberg, Oettinger, Holloway, Pinto
Tier 5: Hanifin, Hronek, Greaves, Lafreniere, Malkin
Comments: Not bad enough for the 1st pick, not good enough to contend. The Stars have been perpetually in the middle since winning their Cup, and that trend will continue. Some quality players ensure they’ll contend for a playoff spot but they’ll be easy pickings in the first round if they make it.
Bonus content:
No Roster – Players listed in good categories but not on any team:
Forecaster:
On The Rise: L. Karlsson, Mailloux
The Athletic:
Tier 3: Forsling
Tier 4: Lindell, Moser
Tier 5: Brodin
Pre-Season Rankings
12) Avalanche
11) Sharks
10) Stars
9) Red Wings
8) Canadiens
7) Golden Knights
6) Bruins
5) Lightning
4) Blackhawks
3) Penguins
2) Flyers
1) Devils
2026-27 Stats:
| Forecaster: | |||||
| Team | Elite | OT Rise | Total Players | OT Rebound | Buyer Beware |
| Avalanche | 3 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 2 |
| Blackhawks | 4 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 5 |
| Bruins | 5 | 9 | 14 | 0 | 2 |
| Canadiens | 4 | 9 | 13 | 1 | 4 |
| Devils | 6 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 8 |
| Flyers | 2 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 10 |
| Golden Knights | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| Lightning | 1 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| Penguins | 6 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 4 |
| Red Wings | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
| Sharks | 2 | 11 | 13 | 3 | 2 |
| Stars | 2 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 3 |
| Total | 38 | 69 | 107 | 32 | 54 |
| The Athletic: | ||||||
| Team | Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | Tier 4 | Tier 5 | Total |
| Avalanche | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 |
| Blackhawks | 0 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 15 |
| Bruins | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 15 |
| Canadiens | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 14 |
| Devils | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 13 |
| Flyers | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 13 |
| Golden Knights | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| Lightning | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 15 |
| Penguins | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 11 |
| Red Wings | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 11 |
| Sharks | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Stars | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
| Total | 11 | 23 | 32 | 36 | 43 | 145 |
The Athletic Tier Descriptions:
Tier 1 — MVP
A top 10 skater. Someone who is very likely to get serious trophy consideration at season’s end and whom championship-caliber teams are built around. The best player on almost any team in the league.
Tier 2 — Franchise
A top 30 player. Someone who is the best player on a contending team or second best on a championship-caliber team. An unquestionably elite player.
Tier 3 — All-Star
A top 60 player. Someone who wouldn’t be the best player on a contender, but would be an important part of any contending or championship core. A strong top-line forward, above average No. 1 defenseman, or borderline top five goalie.
Tier 4 — Top Line
A top 100 player. Someone who would be a strong piece within a contending or championship core, but not a go-to option. An average top line forward, below average number one defenseman, or top 10 goalie.
Tier 5 – Support
A top 150 player. Someone who would offer strong support to a contending or championship core, but who wouldn’t be an integral piece within it. A below average top-line forward, a strong No. 2 defenseman, or an above average starter.
In general, I think the Forecaster and Athletic do two different things. The Forecaster is perhaps better at demonstrating what a team is doing (more On The Rise might indicate more of a rebuild) or how much risk their team is taking on (with the On the Rebound and Buyer Beware categories) but the Athletic does a better job of demonstrating how much depth a team has to contend this year.
From the league