Pretenders or Contenders: Which 2026-27 NHL Teams Are For Real?

We've made it to the end of October, and the first month of the NHL season flew by.

The Hurricanes became the first team to reach 10 wins Tuesday with a heated 2-1 victory over the Bruins, who sit just behind them atop the Eastern Conference standings. The Wild are slowly but surely emerging as favorites in the West, and acquiring Dylan Larkin and extending Quinn Hughes are starting to look like realistic possibilities.

Meanwhile, Connor Hellebuyck is a New Jersey Devil, debuting in their net Tuesday with a confident 5-1 win over the Stars.

With about a month to go until Thanksgiving, the league's top, middle and bottom tiers are starting to take shape. Some of the teams exceeding expectations could be for real, while others will prove to be pretenders.

The Bruins may have dropped a close one with a 2-1 loss to the Hurricanes in an early battle for the East on Tuesday, but watching that game somehow just made you more confident in both teams.

Jeremy Swayman made 28 saves for a .933 save percentage in the loss. He's rocking a stellar .921 save percentage overall this season, and according to MoneyPuck.com , he's No. 4 among NHL goaltenders right now with 8.2 goals saved above expected.

The Bruins as a whole are looking solid on both ends of the ice, with a 9-3-1 record and the Atlantic Division lead to prove it. They're ranked fourth league-wide with 3.77 goals per game and second league-wide, averaging just 2.15 goals against per game.

New captain David Pastrňák has been doing his thing for seven goals and 18 points in 13 games, and young players like rookie James Hagens (4-5-9 in 13 GP) and 22-year-old Fraser Minten (5-5-10 in 13 games played) are stepping up.

It's hard to find a flaw on this team right now, and while the younger players might run into some scoring slumps, you can expect Swayman to hold it down throughout the season.

Pretender or Contender? Contenders, even in the gauntlet that is the Atlantic Division.

The Devils were surging after a rough start to the season, and everything was starting to fall into place—everything, that is, except goaltending.

While defense was shaping up and players started stepping up offensively, Jake Allen and Nico Daws had been splitting the net, and both were struggling in their own unique ways. Allen had a 3.15 GAA and an .883 save percentage through six games, while Daws had a 2.78 GAA and an .876 save percentage through four games.

In came three-time Vezina winner Connor Hellebuyck, who is arguably still the best goaltender in the league despite coming off a down season. The Devils didn't have to give away any of their consistent producers in the trade, so their scoring-by-committee approach won't be affected.

As for Hellebuyck, he shone in his 5-1 debut over the Stars Tuesday, with 17 saves and a .944 save percentage. The Devils have now strung together a four-game win streak, good for an 8-4-0 record and second place in the Metropolitan Division.

Pretender or Contender?: Contenders, especially if Jack Hughes can stay healthy this season.

The heartbreaking reality of the Igor Shesterkin injury is finally setting in for the Rangers.

They were off to a roaring start, including a goalie goal by Shesterkin and the consistent production they'd been seeking from the younger roster players. Then, Shesterkin went down with an early injury that will keep him out for the rest of the season. The Rangers were able to keep the momentum going for some time, but a 7-1 loss to the Devils on Oct. 15 was the first sign that it wouldn't be sustainable.

At this point, the wheels are coming off. The Rangers have slowly but surely dropped to third in the Metro amidst their current three-game losing streak, with a 7-6-1 record, a 4-5-1 record in their last 10, and a goal differential of plus-2.

They're still in a playoff spot, sure, but it's hard to ignore how directly the Shesterkin injury is starting to have an unfortunate impact on this roster.

Pretender or Contender? : The Rangers aren't pretenders per se, but an injury to one of the best goalies in the league and a lack of confidence make us feel like they are no longer contenders.

The Sharks have become an emerging favorite team for hockey fans new and old due to the rise of superstar Macklin Celebrini, but are they actually going to make the playoffs this year?

They've had an up-and-down start to the season, and the lows feel particularly low. This team has an extremely young core, and it shows, for better and often for worse.

Even strength has become an issue, and while it's great that the Sharks boast a top-10 power play in the league, they're relying on it too much. Lack of even-strength production is a good indicator of underlying struggles, and it tells the story of a fun-to-watch yet incomplete Sharks team.

Right now, San Jose sits at fourth in the Pacific with a 6-6-1 record and a minus-8 goal differential. While Celebrini has been solid with five goals and 15 points in 11 games, the structural issues team-wide are going to take some more experience to figure out.

Pretenders or Contenders?: For now, pretenders. The Sharks could overperform and sneak their way into the playoffs this season, but it will definitely feel more like sneaking in and less like contending if they do so.

Oh, Maple Leafs, what do we make of you one month into the season?

Gavin McKenna has had some rookie moments, but he's finding his groove with three goals and eight points in 14 games.

The stars around him have been shining: Auston Matthews looks invigorated with nine goals and 20 points in 14 games, and Kirill Marchenko was a great acquisition, as he's got six goals and 14 points in 14 games.

Unfortunately, Marchenko got hurt in Monday's game against the Flames and is listed as day-to-day, which would be a huge loss.

Sergei Bobrovsky has been decent enough in his new home, but he's got some room for improvement, with a save percentage below .900.

The Leafs as a whole are hanging in there in a four-way tie for second place in the Atlantic with a 7-5-2 record and a goal differential of six. As usual, though, they're one of the toughest teams to predict in the toughest division to predict.

Pretender or Contender?: Pretender. You'd like to see them capitalize on Matthews' hot start, and you'd like to see Bobrovsky with a sharper overall performance. Based on those two things and the chaos of the Atlantic Division, the Leafs are likely not yet contenders in the McKenna era.

The Mammoth had a great fight in them on their way to the playoffs last season, and that was with star Logan Cooley sidelined due to injury.

Cooley's impact has been growing and growing in this first month of the season; now he's heated up to four goals and 12 points in 13 games. Three Mammoth are operating above a point-per-game clip: Mikhail Sergachev (!), Clayton Keller, and Nick Schmaltz.

Goaltending remains an issue: Karel Vejmelka is the sixth-worst in the league with -4.6 goals saved above expected through 11 games, and his .881 save percentage doesn't help his case. But he's been above .900 in his last two starts, so we'll see if he can turn it around.

Utah has surprisingly emerged early for the No. 2 spot in the hyper-competitive Central with an 8-5-0 record, but it's a tight race.

Pretender or Contender? Contenders, but the competition is fierce, and they have to figure out a way to improve in net. If Vejmelka can turn it around, or if they can outsource to fix their goaltending problem, they've got a chance to contend. If not, the Stars are heating up, and the Avalanche and Predators are right behind them. The Mammoth should try to figure out a solution quickly to keep momentum here.

The Capitals are above .500 and hanging in there at 6-4-0, but sitting at fifth in the Metro, are they showing us what we need to see to deem them legit contenders in Alex Ovechkin's last season?

Although goalie Logan Thompson has returned to practice and is now deemed day-to-day, his lower-body injury sustained last week is still concerning. The team will struggle to make the necessary November divisional push if Thompson is anything but 100 percent.

Meanwhile, Ovechkin has had a rough start with one goal and four points in 10 games, and new acquisition Jordan Kyrou has had a rough time fitting in defensively so far.

Pretender or Contender?: Pretenders. It's early, but it doesn't seem like the Capitals have the juice to contend right now.