NHL Super 16 snapshot

NHL.com’s final regular-season Super 16 put the Colorado Avalanche at No. 1 on April 15, with all 16 ranked teams already locked into the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. (nhl.com) The list is a playoff-only snapshot, not a full-league ranking: the 15-voter panel assigned 16 points for a first-place vote, 15 for second and so on, and Colorado finished first with 239 points, ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes at 217 and the Dallas Stars at 210. (nhl.com) Colorado entered the final ranking at 54-16-11 after a 3-1 win at Calgary, with Cale Makar back from a seven-game absence and Nazem Kadri and Josh Manson still dealing with injuries. Carolina, ranked second at 53-22-7, carried the Eastern Conference’s home-ice edge but still had goaltending uncertainty around Frederik Andersen, Brandon Bussi and the possible return of Pyotr Kochetkov. (nhl.com) The ranking landed with the bracket only partly settled. NHL.com said on April 16 that all 16 playoff spots were filled, all four Eastern Conference first-round series were set, and two Western Conference matchups still depended on the last night of the regular season. (nhl.com) In the East, the “if the playoffs started today” bracket showed Buffalo against Boston, Tampa Bay against Montreal, Carolina against Ottawa, and Pittsburgh against Philadelphia. In the West, Vegas had already locked in a series with Utah, while Colorado, Edmonton, Anaheim and Los Angeles were still sorting out the final pairings. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) That made the Super 16 less about who was in and more about what could derail each team once the postseason opened. NHL.com framed the final edition around one question per club, including Colorado’s health, Carolina’s crease, and whether Los Angeles belonged after it replaced Columbus in the final 16. (nhl.com) The West still had the most moving parts on April 16. NHL.com said the Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings were separated by one point and could each finish as the Pacific Division’s No. 2 seed, No. 3 seed or second wild card. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) Vegas had already removed itself from that scramble. The Golden Knights clinched the Pacific Division on April 15, secured a first-round matchup with the Utah Mammoth, and did it after an in-season coaching change to John Tortorella on March 29. (nhl.com) The final Super 16 is the league’s last regular-season temperature check before games start to count differently. By Thursday night, the bracket was set to catch up with the rankings, and the questions NHL.com flagged were about to get answered on the ice. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2)