Overview
- The 2026-27 regular season opened Tuesday with a five-game slate and the Carolina Hurricanes raising their 2025-26 Stanley Cup banner while active 23-man rosters were locked after Monday’s 5 p.m. ET deadline.
- Toronto completed a six-player trade with Columbus to acquire Kirill Marchenko and promptly signed him to a multi-year extension, altering the Maple Leafs’ forward mix going into the opener.
- Philadelphia announced its 23-man roster on Monday with Garrett Wilson an unexpected inclusion and Denver Barkey placed on season-opening injured reserve, which lets Barkey return as soon as he’s healthy.
- Edmonton entered the season carrying multiple injured players whose full cap hits limit short-term salary-cap flexibility, a reality compounded by the club’s controversial hiring of coach Mike Babcock.
- Early power rankings list Colorado, Carolina and Vegas as top favorites and analysts warn that compressed evaluation windows, waiver rules and SOIR/LTIR mechanisms will drive roster moves and trade-deadline plans this season.