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Expectations are already building before the first puck of the new NHL season has even dropped.
Carolina Hurricanes fans believe last season’s Stanley Cup triumph could be the start of something bigger, while supporters in Tampa Bay and Colorado are also expecting serious title challenges. Elsewhere, confidence is much harder to find, with some fanbases preparing for another difficult season.
To measure the mood across the league, we surveyed 5,000 fans from all 32 NHL teams about their expected record, playoff prospects and confidence in their team, goaltending, head coach and offseason.
Their responses were combined to create the NHL Hope Index, which scores each fanbase’s optimism from 1 to 100.
Winning the Stanley Cup has only raised expectations in Carolina. After the Hurricanes defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in last season’s final, their supporters enter 2026-27 as the NHL’s most optimistic fanbase.
Nearly two-thirds of Hurricanes fans surveyed (64%) expect Carolina to reach the Stanley Cup Final, including 48% who predict the team will lift the trophy again. In terms of the regular season, 60% expect the Hurricanes to record at least 47 wins.
That belief goes beyond last season’s results. Hurricanes supporters gave their team an average confidence rating of 8.4/10, while faith in the head coach stands at 8.6/10.
The Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche are Carolina’s closest challengers in the index, with both fanbases expecting their teams to compete deep into the postseason.
Tampa Bay ranks second with a Hope Index score of 92/100. More than three in five Lightning fans (61%) expect at least 47 regular season wins, while just over one in four (27%) predict another Stanley Cup triumph.
Confidence in the people behind those expectations is particularly high. Tampa Bay fans gave their goaltending an average rating of 8.9/10, the highest in the NHL, while their head coach received a league leading 8.7/10.
Colorado follows closely in third with an index score of 91/100, backed by the NHL’s most ambitious regular season forecast. More than three-quarters of Avalanche fans (78%) expect at least 47 wins.
More than a third (37%) expect Colorado to reach the Stanley Cup Final, including 33% who believe the team will lift the trophy. Three in ten also say, “This is our year,” suggesting Avalanche fans expect a serious championship challenge.
The Florida Panthers rank fourth on the Hope Index with a score of 86/100. More than half of Panthers fans (53%) expect the team to reach the Stanley Cup Final, including 47% who predict another championship victory. In terms of the regular season, 60% expect Florida to record at least 47 wins.
Panthers fans also rated the team’s offseason 7.3/10, the highest rating in the survey. This suggests their optimism is driven by confidence in both the existing roster and the moves made during the offseason.
The Vegas Golden Knights and Montreal Canadiens are tied for fifth on the Hope Index, each scoring 85/100.
Despite losing to Carolina in last season’s Stanley Cup Final, Vegas fans expect their team to remain among the NHL’s leading contenders. More than two in five supporters (42%) predict another appearance in the final, including 36% who believe the Golden Knights will go one step further and lift the Stanley Cup.
Montreal fans have a different reason for feeling optimistic. Rather than expecting an immediate Stanley Cup challenge, their high ranking appears to reflect growing confidence in the direction the team is heading.
More than half of Canadiens fans (54%) feel more optimistic than they did a year ago, while 51% expect the team to record at least 47 wins.
Average confidence in the team stands at 7.6/10, while the head coach received 7.7/10. The results suggest Canadiens fans believe their team is moving closer to contention, even if their expectations remain more measured than those in Carolina or Colorado.
The Buffalo Sabres rank 11th with a Hope Index score of 72/100, narrowly missing the top 10.
However, no NHL fanbase has experienced a bigger change in mood. Almost two-thirds of Sabres supporters (64%) say they feel more optimistic than they did at the same point last year, the highest proportion in the league.
Buffalo may remain outside the leading group of expected championship contenders, but belief in the direction of the team is clearly growing.
The Philadelphia Flyers show a similar pattern, ranking 12th with 68/100 as 51% of supporters report feeling more optimistic than they did a year ago.
Few teams enter the new season under as much scrutiny as the Toronto Maple Leafs, and this is reflected in the results.
Toronto ranks 24th, with a Hope Index score of 49/100, placing the Maple Leafs among the NHL’s 10 least optimistic fanbases.
Only 15% of Toronto fans expect at least 47 wins, while 12% predict an appearance in the Stanley Cup Final, including just 8% who believe the team will win it.
Supporters gave both the team and head coach an average confidence rating of 5.9/10, placing each below the respective league average. The results suggest that regular season potential alone is no longer enough to inspire confidence among Maple Leafs fans.
No fanbase approaches the new season with less confidence than Vancouver.
Canucks supporters rank last with a Hope Index score of 3/100, a considerable distance behind every other NHL team. After Vancouver missed the playoffs for a second consecutive season, the survey suggests patience is wearing thin.
None of the Canucks’ fans surveyed expect the team to reach 47 wins. Only 6% predict an appearance in the Stanley Cup Final, with the same proportion backing Vancouver to win the championship.
Overall confidence in the team stands at just 4.0/10, the lowest rating in the NHL. Supporters rated the goaltending 5.2/10, the head coach 5.7/10 and the offseason 5.1/10.
Just 3% selected “this is our year,” while only 18% feel more optimistic than they did last season. Across almost every measure in the index, Vancouver fans appear to be preparing for further frustration.
The Calgary Flames rank 31st and therefore the 2nd least optimistic fanbase with a score of 30/100. None of the Flames fans surveyed expect at least 47 wins, although 17% believe the team could reach the Stanley Cup Final, including 11% who predict a championship victory.
That contrast suggests a small group of supporters still see the potential for an unexpected playoff run, even though confidence across the wider fanbase remains low. Not one respondent described the coming season as “our year.”
The Columbus Blue Jackets sit just above Calgary with 31/100 and 3rd least optimistic fanbase. Only 5% of their supporters expect at least 47 wins, with the same percentage predicting a place in the final or a Stanley Cup victory.
The Blue Jackets received an average team-confidence rating of 5.3/10, while just over a quarter of fans (26%) feel more optimistic than they did 12 months ago.
NHL fans have different reasons for feeling hopeful. For Carolina supporters, that optimism comes from recent success. For fans in Montreal and Buffalo, it comes from believing their teams are heading in the right direction.
Whether that confidence lasts will depend on what happens once the season begins. For now, the NHL Hope Index shows how every fanbase is feeling ahead of 2026–27.
We surveyed 5,000 NHL fans across all 32 teams to measure optimism heading into the 2026-27 season.
Respondents answered questions covering their expected regular season record, predicted postseason finish, confidence in their team, goaltending and head coach, satisfaction with offseason moves, expectations for the season and whether they felt more or less optimistic than a year ago.
Responses were converted into numerical values and weighted according to their contribution to overall fan optimism:
Each team’s weighted average was then rescaled to produce an NHL Hope Index score from 1 to 100.
