To navigate their way through the rigors of the regular-season, NHL teams need as much roster depth as they can build in the salary cap era. Here are the four teams with the best depth in the league after their summertime moves.
To be considered a true threat to compete for a Stanley Cup, depth at all three positions is essential in the NHL.
When you don't have it, you can’t afford to have players injured, nor can you generate real competition for roster spots. This is why teams prioritize depth to the best of their ability. But in the salary cap era, it’s rather difficult to have the cap space and assets to sustain teams in case of in-season troubles.
But what NHL teams have done the best job of building their depth? In no particular order, here are four teams with the best depth heading into the 2026-27 season:
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche were the NHL’s best regular-season team last year in no small part due to the depth assembled by former GM Chris MacFarland and franchise icon Joe Sakic. While MacFarland left the team this summer to join the Nashville Predators, there’s still a lot to like about Colorado’s depth.
The Avs did trade winger Valeri Nichushkin to the Columbus Blue Jackets, but they replaced him with veteran Jaden Schwartz. They also moved on from Jack Drury and Ross Colton, but still have three terrific forward lines, a defense corps to rival that of any team, and two goalies good enough to keep them in games night-in and night-out.
The Avalanche are going to be a handful once again this season, and they have the type of depth other teams would kill for.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Say what you will about the Maple Leafs’ sub-par performances this past season, when they fell to last place in the Atlantic Division and 15th place in the Eastern Conference. But new GM John Chayka earned a lot of praise this summer with the slew of changes he’s made to Toronto’s roster.
Certainly, landing 2026 No. 1 draft pick Gavin McKenna had a cascading effect on the Maple Leafs’ lineup. But Chayka not only completely remade his bottom-six forward group, he improved his goaltending with the acquisition of Sergei Bobrovsky, while improving the team's defensive depth with the sign-and-trade for former Tampa Bay Lightning blueliner Darren Raddysh.
The Maple Leafs are still going to face an uphill battle getting into the Stanley Cup playoffs, but Chayka has given his group the depth it needs to compete.
Washington Capitals
If you’d asked about Washington's depth prior to this off-season, there wouldn’t have been many good things to say. However, the Capitals re-stocked their shelves in an impressive way this summer, and now they look like one of the strongest teams in the Metropolitan Division.
By adding Alex Tuch, Boone Jenner and Jordan Kyrou, the Capitals now have the depth up front they’re going to need to bounce back from missing the playoffs this past season. Even defenseman Vincent Desharnais helps improve the Caps’ defense corps.
GM Chris Patrick has done yeoman’s work transforming his lineup, and there’s now no excuse for the Capitals to underachieve in 2026-27. The Caps are stacked, and they’ve got the horses to run with the best teams in the East next season.
Dallas Stars
With Wyatt Johnston, Roope Hintz and Matt Duchene, the Stars have depth at center, but that’s not the only area in which they have solid depth. Dallas’ defense also has talent throughout its pairings, while their goalie tandem of Jake Oettinger and Casey DeSmith have provided above-average play.
If there is an area where the Stars can improve, it’s on the wing. But even then, with Mikko Rantanen and Jason Robertson, Dallas has two of the most potent scoring flanks in the league.
GM Jim Nill remains one of the NHL’s best managers, and he’s only going to give the Stars more depth during the season. As it stands, though, they don't need much more help. The Stars will be a powerhouse in the West this season, and they project to be so in part because of the excellent depth Nill has built up for his team.
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