Puck drop is less than a week away, so here’s a glimpse at the eleven teams in the Plante Conference; what’s changed, what hasn’t, and a totally unscientific look at what they might expect this season. Changes are afoot in the Plante, where one team has new ownership, one completely blew it up, and a third is rising rapidly through the ranks with some bold moves.

Baltimore Crab

Last year’s finish: 46-30-6 (eliminated in first round)
Draft picks: F Easton Cowan (16), F Daniil But (38), D Drew Fortescue (60), F Arttu Hyry (81)
Key additions: F Easton Cowan
Key subtractions: F Tomas Tatar, F Curtis Lazar

The Baltimore Crab have long had the bones of a very strong roster, but have struggled to build the kind of depth needed to supply Mark Scheifele and Sidney Crosby with high-end firepower outside of Filip Forsberg. The team has spent most of its draft capital in recent years on high-end young defenseman (including the Simons, Edvinsson and Nemec) to go with Cale Makar, until this year with the Easton Cowan pick. Pavel Buchnevich and Jonathan Marchessault aren’t getting any younger, either. We may be about to see Vasily Podkolzin re-cast as a top-six contributor. All that said, that Makar-led defense still looks very solid, and the Karel Vejmelka/Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen tandem isn’t going to win any awards, but it isn’t likely to hurt the team either. All that said, the Crab were very solid last season so definitely will be in the hunt for a playoff spot.

Outlook: Playoff bubble

Charleston Chiefs

Last year’s finish: 33-38-11 (missed playoffs)
Draft picks: D Cole Hutson (11), F Brady Martin (13), F Stephen Halliday (67), G Nikita Tolopilo (75)
Key additions: F Barrett Hayton, F Max Sasson, F Stephen Halliday, D Albert Johansson, G Jordan Binnington
Key subtractions: F Kyle Connor, F Patrick Kane, F Viktor Arvidsson, F Miles Wood, G Philipp Grubauer

If the writing wasn’t on the wall before, it sure was after the Chiefs dealt Kyle Connor before the draft for a couple of firsts, never mind offloading Patrick Kane and Viktor Arvidsson weeks later. The rebuild is on. Despite the offseason fire sale, Charleston still has some high-end assets, notably Miro Heiskanen and Adam Fox, who form the nucleus of a strong defense corps. But up front, it’s a mess, and Brayden Point, Brock Boeser and Jared McCann will really have their work cut out for them, as will newly acquired Jordan Binnington, whose job as Tank Commander will be to absorb as many Ls as possible.

Outlook: The basement

Denver Spurs

Last year’s finish: 19-53-10 (missed playoffs)
Draft picks: D Alexander Nikishin (5), F Arseny Gritsyuk (24), F Braeden Bowman (46), D Matthew Robertson (68)
Key additions: F Viktor Arvidsson, F Arseny Gritsyuk, F Michael McCarron, F Nick Foligno, D Alexander Nikishin, G Brandon Bussi
Key subtractions: F Max Domi, F Warren Foegele, D Tyler Myers, D Jeremy Lauzon, G Jordan Binnington

Bad lottery luck aside, the Spurs’ 2026 draft class was full of players who project to join the roster right away, most notably Alexander Nikishin and Arseny Gritsyuk. Nikishin definitely solidifies the blueline alongside Erik Karlsson and Morgan Rielly, and Arvidsson gives the top six a badly needed infusion of offense not named Tom Wilson. The team signed Brandon Bussi and jettisoned Jordan Binnington, which is another likely upgrade at this point. The big question is whether the additions can keep up with the declines–in production and ice time–of veterans like Vladimir Tarasenko or Matt Duchene. Is Alex Laferriere this team’s #1 centre? A small step forward is likely but fans will have to be patient.

Outlook: The basement

El Dorado Lynx

Last year’s finish: 49-23-10 (lost in Atkinson Cup final)
Draft picks: F Nate Danielson (41), Lenni Hameenaho (63)
Key additions: F Lukas Reichel
Key subtractions: F Brandon Saad

The perennially contending El Dorado Lynx have been very effective at surrounding Alex Ovechkin with the right amount of talent over the years. Now, as his productivity wanes, more will be asked of Clayton Keller, William Nylander and Adrian Kempe. They should be up to the task, and are backed by excellent depth on the wings, including Luke Evangelista and Jordan Kyrou. Could the Lynx still use a marquee puck-moving defenseman? Absolutely. But a healthy Mattias Ekholm and John Marino should help somewhat. One area of concern is in net, where Sergei Bobrovsky and Lukas Dostal haven’t exactly been paragons of consistency. A down year for them could spell trouble for the team that took the eventual champs to seven games in an exciting Atkinson Cup final. Even then, it’s hard to imagine the Lynx not once again finishing near the top of the conference.

Outlook: True contender

Great Lakes Pilots

Last year’s finish: 39-36-7 (eliminated in second round)
Draft picks: Oscar Fisker Molgaard (57)
Key additions: F Kyle Connor, F Anze Kopitar, F Sean Couturier, F A.J. Greer
Key subtractions: F Fabian Zetterlund, F Barrett Hayton, F Jonathan Drouin, D Alex Pietrangelo

You’ve got to admire the confidence. After a very good regular season (highlighted by the bold midseason acquisition of Ilya Sorokin), the Pilots made two big swings that put the final nail in the long rebuild, adding superstar winger Kyle Connor for a couple of firsts and Barrett Hayton, as well as veteran centres Anze Kopitar and Sean Couturier. Connor gives Great Lakes the elite sniper it needed to play alongside Connor Bedard and Lucas Raymond, and the depth is filling out nicely around them: Cutter Gauthier, Jackson Blake, Kiefer Sherwood, and Mavrik Bourque can all contribute up and down the lineup, and it has a top three D to rival any in the league with Jackson LaCombe, Evan Bouchard, and Rasmus Sandin. Newcomer Philipp Grubauer will back up Sorokin, allowing the team to forget about Thatcher Demko’s injury woes. This team is going places.

Outlook: Playoff bound

Hershey Bears

Last year’s finish: 33-38-11 (missed playoffs)
Draft picks: F Ben Kindel (10), D Dmitry Simashev (31), F Sandis Vilmanis (53), F Jaroslav Chmelar (74)
Key additions: F Ben Kindel
Key subtractions: none

The Bears have been stuck in neutral for a while and this season isn’t likely going to be a lot better. The good: Amazing centre depth (Wyatt Johnston, Leo Carlson, Anton Lundell, Carter Stephenson, and newly drafted Ben Kindel), and Brandon Hagel is obviously a player to build around. Youngsters Ryan Leonard and Noah Ostlund seem poised to be regulars in the middle six, which is welcome news. Jet Greaves should be able to handle the lion’s share of starts, with Joey Daccord backing up. But that defense isn’t looking too promising. A mostly full season of Hampus Lindholm should help somewhat, but the right side is looking dire, with Jalen Chatfield, Cody Ceci, Dante Fabbro, and Kaeden Korczak. Dmitri Simashev is at least a season away. Don’t count on much improvement here, although there’s always a chance the Bears find themselves in the playoff mix late in the season.

Outlook: Playoff bubble

Orion Scorpions

Last year’s finish: 32-42-8 (missed playoffs)
Draft picks: D Zeev Buium (9), F Braeden Cootes (29), D Harrison Brunicke (43), G Colton Ellis (54)
Key additions: D F Bobby McMann, F Nicolas Roy, F Samuel Honzek, F Noel Acciari D Denton Mateychuk, D Adam Pelech, D Zeev Buium, G Devin Cooley
Key subtractions: F Mason McTavish, F Noah Cates, F Brandon Duhaime, F Jack McBain, F Martin Pospisil, D Vladislav Gavrikov, D Nikita Zadorov, D Emil Lilleberg

The Scorpions were open for business in the offseason, and while they didn’t make a ton of moves, the ex-Renegades finally addressed some of the team’s biggest problem areas. At the top of that list was a lack of puck movers on the blueline, an issue that’s plagued the team for years. Finally, Seth Jones will get some help in the form of young Denton Mateychuk and possibly even Zeev Buium. Otherwise, this team’s core stayed mostly intact. Bobby McMann joins Dylan Larkin, Trevor Zegras, Matthew Knies, Brady Tkachuk, and Nico Hischier in a very solid forward group (although it’s still lacking an elite RW) and both Devin Cooley and Colten Ellis could see starts if Connor Hellebuyck stumbles. With a new sense of direction and a more balanced roster on paper, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if Orion pushes for a playoff spot.

Outlook: Playoff bubble

Parry Sound Orrsmen

Last year’s finish: 57-22-3 (eliminated in third round)
Draft picks: G Artur Akhtyamov (65), Jacob Melanson (86)
Key additions: F Beck Malenstyn, F Blake Lizotte, D Jonathan Aspirot, D Vincent Desharnais
Key subtractions: F Alex Killorn, F Stefan Noesen D Uvis Balinskis, D Ben Chiarot, D Simon Benoit, D Johnathan Kovacevic, G Jake Allen

Even though the Orrsmen almost made it to the cup final before they were bounced by eventual runner-up El Dorado, last season was no doubt disappointing for a team that racked up nearly 60 regular season wins. Despite that, management didn’t make many big offseason moves, tweaking depth here and there and leaving the rest of the roster alone. And why not? When your team has Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, David Pastrnak, Matt Boldy and Tim Stutzle, plus productive depth like Morgan Geekie and Gabriel Vilardi, and has turned a once-weak blueline into a very solid group led by Lane Hutson and Brock Faber, you don’t go messing with a good thing. The team already made its big splash when it picked up Andrei Vasilevskiy last January. Gabe Perreault and Logan Mailloux might inject some fresh blood into the lineup, too. This is clearly one of the league’s best teams, with few weaknesses to speak of, and should be a scary opponent for anyone with Atkinson Cup aspirations.

Outlook: True contender

Pittsburgh Hornets

Last year’s finish: 26-47-9 (missed playoffs)
Draft picks: F Beckett Sennecke (2), Axel Sandin Pellikka (19), Sergei Murashov (21), Jack Devine (49), Kenny Connors (70)
Key additions: F Beckett Sennecke, F Bobby Brink, F Anders Lee D Axel Sandin Pellikka
Key subtractions: F Ryan Strome, F Aatu Raty, F Ty Dellandrea

If one team could absorb the loss of Victor Hedman for most of a season, it’s the Hornets. No Hedman? We’ve got Quinn Hughes, Noah Hanifin and Ivan Provorov to take care of the left side. The team is betting on Jeremy Swayman to bounce back, and parlayed some lottery luck into Beckett Sennecke, who’ll slot right into a top six that already boasts snipers Jason Robertson and Pavel Dorofeyev. They shored up their depth with Anders Lee and Bobby Brink, too. Down the middle, those questions about Evgeni Malkin’s durability linger, though. One of Charlie Coyle, Morgan Frost, Marco Rossi or Justin Dourif will need to show they can be The Guy at centre. Still, this team should be playoff-bound.

Outlook: Playoff bound

Salem Sabercats

Last year’s finish: 21-51-10 (missed playoffs)
Draft picks: F James Hagens (7), D Tom Willander (26), D Yan Kuznetsov (48), G Arsenii Sergeev (69)
Key additions: F Tim Washe, D Tom Willander, D Yan Kuznetsov
Key subtractions: F Anze Kopitar, F Trent Frederic, F Nils Hoglander, D Justin Barron

With Anze Kopitar dealt to a playoff-bound Great Lakes, it’s the end of an era in Salem. Just Juraj Slafkovsky and Bo Horvat stand at the top of this roster as blue-chip contributors, with Matvei Michkov and Jack Quinn potentially taking another step. After that, it’s a sea of Tommy Novaks and Erik Haulas up front, and the situation is even more dire on defense, where Brandon Montour is supported by… Nick Blankenburg? Oh, and the ‘Cats will be without netminder Pyotr Kochetkov for almost the entire season, too, leaving the net in the shaky hands of Kevin Lankinen and Frederik Andersen. It’s another year drifting in the rebuild doldrums for this team, but at least it can afford to wait patiently for James Hagens to arrive.

Outlook: The basement

Winnipeg Falcons

Last year’s finish: 37-35-10 (eliminated in first round)
Draft picks: G Jacob Fowler (12), Oliver Bonk (34), Adam Sykora (56), Cole Reinhardt (80)
Key additions: F Colin Blackwell, G Jacob Fowler, G Joonas Korpisalo
Key subtractions: F Frank Vatrano, F Keegan Kolesar, D Zach Bogosian, G Calvin Pickard

The Falcons have succeeded at building a very good (and steadily improving) blueline around Luke Hughes and Owen Power, and despite Elias Pettersson’s inconsistent offense, it has a nice group of centres behind Macklin Celebrini, including Fraser Minten and Jordan Staal. The team took a risk drafting Jacob Fowler at 12th overall, but they have reason to be confident he’ll play well in spot duty this season before potentially taking the starting spot from Darcy Kuemper (himself no model of consistency) next season. That’s the good. Things look less rosy on the wings, where Dylan Holloway is the team’s only solid offensive contributor. Behind him, it’s Connor Brown and Simon Holmstrom: good players, but not the kind you want leading your offense. It doesn’t seem too likely that Winnipeg will do better than last year’s results, but there are enough teams in a similar spot in the Plante, you never know.

Outlook: Playoff bubble