Where the Seven Canadian Teams Sit in Every August Ranking

Seven Canadian clubs, and the published rankings put them at both ends of the league with almost nothing in the middle. Here is where each one landed across the three offseason lists that matter, and where the sources disagree.

Montreal is the consensus pick

ESPN’s June panel ranked the Canadiens fourth overall, the highest any Canadian team has been placed this cycle, on the back of a conference final appearance. theScore, ranking on July 4 after the draft and free agency, had them fifth. The futures board is cooler at +2250 on BET99 in late July, which puts Montreal tenth on the odds.

The gap between fourth and tenth is the restricted free agent list. ESPN flagged deals still needed for Joseph Veleno, Kirby Dach, Zack Bolduc and Arber Xhekaj. The most significant piece is already locked down: Ivan Demidov signed an eight-year extension at $9.15 million per season, which the Associated Press treated as one of the summer’s genuine wins.

Edmonton had the quiet good summer

ESPN had the Oilers 13th in June, which read low. theScore moved them to ninth after free agency, and the market has them fourth at +900.

Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin filed Edmonton under winners, and the reasoning is about competence rather than splash. The Oilers re-signed Jason Dickinson and Connor Murphy at reasonable cap hits, added Ryan Shea, re-signed Kasperi Kapanen, moved Darnell Nurse to San Jose for Shakir Mukhamadullin, and signed Frederik Andersen away from Carolina to address the position that has cost them before.

Toronto is the hardest to place

The Maple Leafs sat 24th on ESPN’s June board. By July 2 both the AP and Daily Faceoff had them among the offseason’s winners, and the market prices them at +3500.

John Chayka’s first summer brought in Sergei Bobrovsky, Darren Raddysh on an eight-year sign-and-trade, Emil Andrae, Nick Paul, Jack Roslovic, Colton Sissons, Teddy Blueger and Brandon Duhaime, plus Gavin McKenna with the first overall pick. Whether that is a contender or an expensive reshuffle is the live argument, and nobody currently ranking the Leafs claims certainty.

Ottawa and Winnipeg sit in the gap

ESPN had the Senators 12th and the Jets 25th, and neither appeared in theScore’s published top ten. The market splits them hard, with Ottawa at +3500 and Winnipeg at +20000. Buffalo’s failed pursuit of Connor Hellebuyck, which the AP logged under the Sabres’ jury-out column, is a reminder of how much of Winnipeg’s rating rests on one player staying put.

Calgary and Vancouver are the floor

The Flames were 30th and the Canucks 32nd on ESPN’s June panel. Both are priced at +100000 for the 2027 Cup, which is a book saying it has no interest in a fine-grained opinion.

Calgary’s position is at least deliberate. ESPN described the Flames as leaning into a rebuild after trading key veterans, with two first-round picks in each of the next three drafts and eight total selections inside the first three rounds of the most recent one. A 30th-place ranking on a team executing that plan is not a failure signal.

Vancouver has no such explanation attached in any of the rankings reviewed, which is the more uncomfortable place to be.

Odds referenced were available in late July 2026 and will have moved.

Odds and market references describe the situation at the time of writing. You must meet the legal gambling age in your province or territory. See responsible gambling.