The Eastern Conference might be up for grabs as the Florida Panthers battle a slew of injuries to begin the 2025-2026 campaign. Several teams are making early claims, but four organizations have had surprising starts. The Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins are all winning way more than anyone predicted before the year began.
Which of these teams are worth buying into? That’s the million dollar question as the season progresses, but not all of these hot starts will sustain. Let’s dive into who to buy and who to sell in the Eastern Conference as the NHL’s first month of regular season action comes to a close.
The jostling, topsy-turvy life of the Buffalo Sabres continues again as they seek to end their NHL-leading playoff drought. Don’t expect that to happen in 2026, however, even after a 4-4-1 start to this campaign.
The Sabres look partially improved, especially compared to last year’s debacle of a season. However, the Atlantic Division is too tough. Unless the Sabres find another level to rise to, there’s little to buy in Buffalo.
The Red Wings showed life last year once Todd McLellan took over as head coach, and they’ve continued rising under his guidance.
That push is possibly paying off. Two straight bad losses before their win over the St. Louis Blues this weekend put that belief to the test early on, but Dylan Larkin is playing like a man possessed and rookie Emmitt Finnie looks like a diamond in the rough addition to their forward crew.
What makes their start believable is their veteran goaltending tandem. If they remain healthy, Cam Talbot and John Gibson could lead this talented, but young, team to a Wild Card spot in the East.
Islanders rookie defender Matthew Schaefer is doing things a teenager simply shouldn’t do at the NHL level. It’s giving the fans on Long Island some optimism that their new franchise anchor can lead them back to Stanley Cup prominence.
But that goaltending situation is scary, to say the least. Ilya Sorokin has been on a downward spiral for the past season and a half, and that play has continued to begin the new champion. If that doesn’t resolve, there’s little hope for the Islanders to take the next step in Schaefer’s rookie year.
Everyone and their mother counted the Penguins out of it before the season began, but here they are with a 6-2-1 record to begin the year. Their new head coach has them playing a balanced, yet aggressive style and they’ve beaten some impressive opponents to start the year.
Credit to head coach Dan Muse and captain Sidney Crosby for leading this charge.
Don’t be fooled by the hot start, however, the Penguins are on track to miss the postseason and stay on plan for the rebuild. The team is likely to be competitive for a bit longer and even into the holiday season, but this core has shown over the past three seasons that they don’t have what it takes anymore to sustain it for a full season. I’ll be surprised and happy to admit it if I’m proven wrong.