BRHL2 2026-27 Pre-UFA and Preseason Preview

The BRHL this year is one of the most top-heavy leagues you'll find: the Pacific alone has four teams (Oilers, Kings, Kraken, Ducks) that could headline any other division, while the Metropolitan is nearly as deep (Devils, Penguins, Islanders all legitimate favorites). At the other end, Red Wings, Canadiens, and Wild look like clear lottery-bound clubs with thin top-end talent and shaky goaltending. Will the Oilers dominance continue this year? With RFA Matthews, Miller and Hedman UFA, can they make the moves to return them to lineup, or get quality replacements for! To put this analysis together, I have made presumptions about players in lineup who are UFA/RFA that similar quality players are likely to replace, so have just kept names as is.

Atlantic Division

1. Bruins — Elite. Kucherov, Pastrnak, DeBrincat, Caufield, and Jason Robertson give this team five bona fide scoring options up front, Seth Jones and Martin Fehervary anchor a steady blue line, and Jake Oettinger gives them true number-one goaltending. The most complete team in the division.

2. Panthers — Elite. Remarkably deep scoring group (Malkin, Kreider, Buchnevich, Raymond, Eberle, Wennberg, Granlund) even after accounting for pending departures, plus Josh Morrissey quarterbacking the power play and Juuse Saros in net.

3. Lightning — Strong. Ehlers, Fiala, and Boeser provide scoring punch, but the real strength is a loaded young blue line in Owen Power, Jake Sanderson, and Brock Faber.

4. MapleLeafs — Strong (Wildcard). Quinn Hughes is the best defenseman in the division by a wide margin, and Huberdeau or replacement/Hall/Dubois give enough scoring to matter, though Dobes/Gibson in net is a question mark.

5. Sabres — High variance. Erik Karlsson and Drew Doughty patrolling the same blue line is a remarkable luxury on paper, and Larkin/Zacha/Vilardi give real scoring depth, but the Lyon/Talbot/Murray goaltending trio is the shakiest of any contender in the league.

6. Senators — Bubble team. Toffoli, Zuccarello, and a breakout-caliber Matvei Michkov provide scoring, and two of the most hyped rookie defensemen in the league (Matthew Schaefer, Cole Hutson) suggest a bright future, but the group isn't quite deep enough yet.

7. Canadiens — Rebuilding. Thin at forward beyond Hayes and Farabee, thin on the blue line, and a weak goaltending group behind Nedeljkovic.

8. Red Wings — Weakest team in the league. Dougie Hamilton is a legitimate top-pair defenseman, but the forward group has almost no proven scoring, and the goaltending depth chart is dangerously thin.

Metropolitan Division

1. Devils — Elite. Depth everywhere: Stutzle and Bennett up front, Weegar and Lane Hutson on the back end, and — remarkably — three legitimate starting-caliber goalies in Markstrom, Lankinen, and Demko.

2. Penguins — Elite. Arguably the deepest center group in the league (Crosby, Hischier, Horvat, Byfield, Schmaltz), with Adam Fox and Jaccob Slavin giving the blue line both offense and shutdown ability, and Jeremy Swayman in net.

3. Islanders — Elite. Matthew Tkachuk and Kyle Connor headline the offense, but Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo make this the best defensive pairing in the conference, with Andrei Vasilevskiy behind them.

4. Flyers — Strong (Wildcard). Alex Ovechkin can still score at an elite level, Zach Werenski is a difference-maker on the blue line, and Ilya Sorokin gives them a true number-one in net.

5. Capitals — Strong. Seth Jarvis, Adrian Kempe, and Alex Tuch form a legitimately dangerous top line, and Ivan Provorov/Brandon Montour anchor a solid defense, but the DeSmith/Soderblom tandem is unproven.

6. Rangers — Carried by a superstar. Cale Makar is one of the best all-around defensemen in the league; the forward group around Slafkovsky and Rossi is solid but unspectacular.

7. Hurricanes — Middle of the pack. Solid, unspectacular scoring depth (Domi, Niederreiter, Duclair, Mangiapane) without a true top-line difference-maker.

8. BlueJackets — Lower tier. Morgan Rielly is a quality puck-mover, but the forward group and aging goaltending trio (Forsberg/Andersen/Reimer) hold this team back.

Central Division

1. Stars — Elite, arguably the league's best team on paper. Stamkos, Panarin, Nylander and Bratt give this team four legitimate 90+ overall scorers, and Igor Shesterkin is a true franchise goaltender.

2. Jets — Strong. Jack Eichel leads a genuinely deep top-nine (Cooley, Cozens, Cirelli, Hyman, Schwartz), and Thomas Harley/Ryan McDonagh/Aaron Ekblad give the blue line real stability. Can Knight and Woll be a solid enough tandem? Can rookies Snuggerud and Buium add enough to the lineup to take in contention?

3. Blues — Strong. Jake Guentzel and Filip Forsberg form an elite top pairing up front, Noah Dobson and Cam Fowler quarterback the power play, though goaltending (Kuemper/Jarry) is average.

4. Predators — Strong (Wildcard). Deep and well-balanced: Anze Kopitar, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Martin Necas up front, John Carlson and Jakob Chychrun on the back end.

5. Avalanche — Good, but unbalanced. Sebastian Aho, Roope Hintz, Nathan MacKinnon, and Mikko Rantanen make this arguably the single most dangerous forward group in the league, but the blue line behind Jacob Trouba is thin, capping the ceiling.

6. Mammoth — Good. Kirill Kaprizov and Nick Suzuki give this team two legitimate stars, with Sergei Bobrovsky adding stability in net.

7. Blackhawks — Middle. John Tavares and JJ Peterka lead a decent scoring group, and Linus Ullmark is a genuine difference-maker in goal, but the blue line is unspectacular.

8. Wild — Weakest in the division. No true top-line star, and the supporting cast doesn't do enough to make up for it.

Pacific Division

1. Oilers — The best team in the league. Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews on the same roster is close to unfair, Victor Hedman anchors the blue line, and Connor Hellebuyck gives them elite goaltending. The clear preseason Cup favorite.

2. Kings — Elite. Leon Draisaitl, Connor Bedard, Mitch Marner, and Patrick Kane give this team as much pure skill as any roster in the league; Dan Vladar and a deep goaltending group back them up.

3. Kraken — Elite, and the best defense corps in the league. Roman Josi, Rasmus Dahlin, and Miro Heiskanen would each be a number-one defenseman on most other teams; Brady Tkachuk, Jack Hughes, and Brad Marchand supply the scoring.

4. Ducks — Elite (Wildcard, and arguably a top-4 team in the whole league). Mika Zibanejad, Macklin Celebrini, Mathew Barzal, and Andrei Svechnikov lead the attack, with Mikhail Sergachev anchoring a strong blue line.

5. Golden Knights — Good, young, and improving. Matty Beniers and Adam Fantilli lead a promising young core, with Bowen Byram and Kaiden Guhle giving the blue line real upside — goaltending is the question mark.

6. Flames — Bubble team. Solid scoring depth (Pinto, Monahan, Tarasenko, Kulich) without a true top-end star, though Dustin Wolf gives them a quality young goaltender.

7. Canucks — Middle. Nazem Kadri and Matt Boldy lead a decent scoring group, with Vince Dunn and Rasmus Sandin providing depth on the back end.

8. Sharks — Lower tier. Brayden Point and Jordan Kyrou provide scoring, but the defense and goaltending are the thinnest in the division.

Predicted Playoff Field

Eastern Conference: Bruins, Panthers, Lightning (Atlantic 1-3), Devils, Penguins, Islanders (Metropolitan 1-3), plus wildcards MapleLeafs and Flyers. Western Conference: Stars, Jets, Blues (Central 1-3), Oilers, Kings, Kraken (Pacific 1-3), plus wildcards Ducks and Predators.

Round 1 (East): Bruins vs. MapleLeafs · Panthers vs. Lightning · Devils vs. Flyers · Penguins vs. Islanders Round 1 (West): Stars vs. Ducks · Jets vs. Blues · Oilers vs. Predators · Kings vs. Kraken

Predicted Conference Finals: Bruins over Panthers in the East; Oilers over Kraken in the West — Josi/Dahlin/Heiskanen give the Kraken the best shot at slowing McDavid and Matthews down, but not enough to finish the job.

Predicted Final: Oilers over Bruins in 6 games. McDavid's combination with Matthews is simply too much firepower for even Kucherov and Pastrnak to match over a seven-game set, and Hellebuyck outduels Oettinger in the crease. Connor McDavid wins the Conn Smythe.

Champion Predictions

Atlantic Division Champion: Bruins — the division's most complete roster top to bottom, and the safest bet of the four division favorites.

Metropolitan Division Champion: Devils — win a close race with Penguins and Islanders on the strength of having three legitimate starting goaltenders behind an already deep roster.

Central Division Champion: Stars — the most talent-loaded roster in the division, led by four 90+ overall scorers and a true franchise goaltender in Shesterkin.

Pacific Division Champion: Oilers — McDavid and Matthews on one roster, backed by Hedman and Hellebuyck, make Edmonton the clear favorite not just in the division but in the entire league.

Eastern Conference Champion: Bruins — edge the Panthers in the Conference Final behind Kucherov, Pastrnak, and Oettinger's superior playoff-caliber goaltending.

Western Conference Champion: Oilers — hold off the Kraken's elite defense corps to reach the Final, with McDavid and Matthews proving too much to contain over a seven-game series.

Stanley Cup Champion: Oilers — Oilers over Bruins in 6 games. McDavid's combination with Matthews if does not get moved is simply too much firepower for even Kucherov and Pastrnak to match, and Hellebuyck outduels Oettinger in the crease. Connor McDavid wins the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP.

Scoring Leaders (Predicted)

1. Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche) — the league's most complete offensive player, elite scoring and playmaking on a stacked line with Rantanen and Aho.

2. Connor McDavid (Oilers) — the league's best playmaker, but will he have Matthews and Reinhart to feed.

3. Nikita Kucherov (Bruins) — elite in every offensive category, the engine of Boston's top line.

4. Leon Draisaitl (Kings) — playing alongside Bedard and Marner, his finishing and playmaking are both elite.

5. Steven Stamkos (Stars) — still an elite finisher, set up by Panarin and Nylander.

6. Martin Necas (Predators) — the breakout candidate of the league, quietly elite in both scoring and passing.

7. William Nylander (Stars) — a legitimate 90+ scorer and passer in his own right on a loaded Dallas line.

8. David Pastrnak (Bruins) — elite shooting talent playing off Kucherov.

9. Wyatt Johnston (Panthers) — a star-level scorer anchoring Florida's top line.

10. Auston Matthews (Oilers) — elite goal-scoring instincts, now with even more support around him.

11. Connor Bedard (Kings) — dazzling skill on a line with two future Hall of Famers.

12. Sidney Crosby (Penguins) — still an elite two-way scoring threat even at this stage of his career.

13. Mitch Marner (Kings) — arguably the league's best pure passer.

14. Artemi Panarin (Stars) — elite playmaking from the wing.

15. Jack Eichel (Jets) — will he see enough ice time with a deep line up?

Goaltending Leaders — Factoring Team Defense (Predicted)

1. Connor Hellebuyck (Oilers) — elite on his own merits, and playing behind Victor Hedman and a stable Oilers blue line gives him the best combination of talent and support in the league.

2. Jeremy Swayman (Penguins) — an elite goaltender behind solid defense including Adam Fox and Jaccob Slavin.

3. Andrei Vasilevskiy (Islanders) — elite reflexes and positioning, protected by solid but not spectacular defense led by Charlie McAvoy. 

4. Ilya Sorokin (Flyers) — a true number-one behind a very steady Werenski/Sanheim/Seider defense corps.

5. Igor Shesterkin (Stars) — elite on talent alone; the Stars defense is solid without being spectacular, which caps him just outside the top tier.

6. Juuse Saros (Panthers) — strong fundamentals behind Josh Morrissey and a deep Florida defense.

7. Jake Oettinger (Bruins) — a true number-one, though he'll face more high-danger shots than the names above given Boston's offense-first identity.

8. Linus Ullmark (Blackhawks) — elite individual talent single-handedly elevating an otherwise middling Chicago defense.

Rookie of the Year Candidates (Predicted)

1. Matthew Schaefer (Senators, D) — arrived with a leadership letter as a rookie, which tells you everything about how highly this defenseman is regarded; a true two-way, top-pair-caliber rookie blueliner.

2. Cole Hutson (Senators, D) — the other half of Ottawa's remarkable rookie defensive tandem, an offense-first puck-mover who should rack up points from the back end all season.

3. Ivan Demidov (Kraken, RW) — the most electric offensive talent in this rookie class, capable of taking over a game on skill alone.

4. Zeev Buium (Jets, D) — a smooth, two-way rookie defenseman who projects as a top-four piece immediately.

5. Alexander Nikishin (Kraken, D) — a physical, well-rounded rookie blueliner adding depth to an already elite Seattle defense corps.

6. Dalibor Dvorsky (Mammoth, C) — a skilled young center who should see real middle-six minutes behind Suzuki and Kaprizov.

7. Jimmy Snuggerud (Jets, RW) — a scoring winger with a real chance to carve out a top-nine role in Winnipeg.

8. Emmitt Finnie (Flames, C/LW) — depth forward with a legitimate shot at full-time minutes and some scoring touch.