The Carolina Hurricanes ended a 20-year championship drought last season.
Can they make it two in a row?
USA TODAY Sports' NHL experts believe the Hurricanes will win the Metropolitan Division again, but none expect the team to reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2026-27.
Two of the three picked a Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1993, going with the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens. The third picked a more recent champion, the Florida Panthers, who won back-to-back titles in 2024 and 2025 and have Aleksander Barkov back from an ACL injury.
Here are USA TODAY's predictions for division winners, Stanley Cup Final and champion, plus four major awards winners:
2026-27 NHL season predictions
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.
Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who will win the Stanley Cup? Expert predictions for 2026-27 NHL season
