If there’s one storyline that’s defined the 2026 NHL off-season, it’s no doubt the chaos that circled Leo Carlsson.
Earlier this month, the young Anaheim Ducks pivot signed a five-year, $90-million offer sheet tendered by the Philadelphia Flyers — a deal that makes the 21-year-old the highest-paid player in the NHL next season. The Ducks countered by matching Philly’s high-stakes gamble, keeping their star centreman in California. And now we await the ripple effects, with Anaheim forced to navigate the rest of its summer business with its cap situation upended.
At first glance, it might’ve seemed a hefty swing for a player who’s yet to crack 70 points in the big-leagues. But the attempt to pry Carlsson out of Anaheim wasn’t about what he’s done in the league as much as what he’s capable of doing over the next decade. The 2023 second-overall pick seems on track to become one of the game’s premier centres, and has already led the Ducks back to the post-season, back to relevancy, in his first few NHL campaigns.
For Philly, the goal was clear: add one final piece to the young core it has been slowly, steadily building over the past half-decade. For Anaheim, the focus was holding on to the one it has built, at all costs. So, with Carlsson sticking around in the West, how do the two compare?
And zooming out further, how do they stack up against the other young, promising cores throughout the rest of the league?
We took a step back and took stock of the big-league landscape to get a sense of who leads the way on that front. To keep things simple, we focused on the most promising groups of players 25 or younger — not the best cores overall, not the best prospects in the system, but the best young stars contributing right now.
Here’s how it all shook out:
1. Montreal Canadiens
F: Cole Caufield (25), Juraj Slafkovsky (22), Ivan Demidov (20)
D: Lane Hutson (22), Kaiden Guhle (24)
G: Jakub Dobes (25), Jacob Fowler (21)
A quick refresher on the 2026 post-season should make clear why Montreal holds the throne here. A run to the conference final, which saw the Canadiens take down the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres before losing to the eventual Cup champs, made clear the potential of this still-young Habs team.
Putting aside the fact that Selke winner and Olympian Nick Suzuki is only 26 years old himself, and essentially part of this group, the rest of the Canadiens’ youth movement is in full flight, with promising talent dotted throughout the lineup. Up front, there's Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov — three elite, dynamic wingers, each bringing a different offensive approach to the Habs’ attack.
Behind them, there’s rearguard Lane Hutson, already among the most prolific blue-line talents in the league and a lock to win a Norris at some point down the line, as well as Kaiden Guhle, the Habs’ 16th-overall pick back in 2020, who’s still building toward his best. And backstopping that group, the club houses not one but two quality young netminders — Jakub Dobes and Jacob Fowler — to hold things down in the cage.
Throw in the up-and-coming talents that aren’t even on the squad yet — 20-year-old forward Michael Hage, who’s showing promise in the NCAA, and 21-year-old defenceman David Reinbacher, who continues to develop in the AHL — and the future is only getting brighter in Montreal.
F: Macklin Celebrini (20), Will Smith (21), Michael Misa (19), Ivar Stenberg (18)
D: Sam Dickinson (20)
G: Yaroslav Askarov (24)
The last three years have seen the Sharks advance in leaps and bounds as they’ve built out one of the most promising young squads in the game. And their exceptional 2026 draft only added more fuel to that fire.
Leading the group is Macklin Celebrini, who took the league by storm in his second NHL season, amassing 45 goals and 115 points and earning Hart Trophy votes along the way. But as dominant as Celebrini figures to be moving forward, it’s as much the talented group around him that makes the Sharks such an interesting organization to watch over the next decade.
Up front, the club’s attack is filled out by Celebrini’s uber-skilled linemate Will Smith, along with 2025 second-overall pick Michael Misa, who made headlines when he joined the select group granted exceptional status to play in the OHL as a 15-year-old. Now, Ivar Stenberg, tabbed with the No. 2 pick in this past draft, figures to add even more firepower to the Sharks’ offence.
Throw in 23-year-old Collin Graf, too, who broke through with the Sharks this past season and should remain a key secondary contributor.
Like Montreal, the Sharks’ young talent isn’t concentrated in the forward corps alone. San Jose's 2024 No. 11 pick, Sam Dickinson, has become a key piece on the back end, as has netminder Yaroslav Askarov. And the Sharks beefed up their future defence even further at the draft last month, tabbing promising blue-liners Keaton Verhoeff (18) and Ryan Lin (18) in the first round.
F: Leo Carlsson (21), Cutter Gauthier (22), Beckett Sennecke (20)
D: Jackson LaCombe (25), Pavel Mintyukov (22)
All the ink spilled over Carlsson’s situation should serve as a sign of how bright the future looks for him and the Ducks. The club still seems a step behind Montreal (which already appears on the cusp of contending) and San Jose (led by the next face of the league), but Anaheim's young stars proved this past season they’re ready to make some playoff noise, too.
Beyond Carlsson, Anaheim's offence also boasts 40-goal sniper Cutter Gauthier and creative winger Beckett Sennecke. Behind them, Jackson LaCombe has emerged as one of the league’s most promising blue-line stars, while Pavel Mintyukov has shown plenty of growth through three seasons in California.
Oddly, this Ducks core is thinner than it might’ve been if not for the franchise’s tumultuous run of negotiations with its young stars over the past decade. Three other promising top-10 picks have been ousted from the organization in recent seasons, with Trevor Zegras (25) and Jamie Drysdale (24) traded to Philly, and Mason McTavish (23) recently moved to St. Louis.
Still, there’s plenty of youth left to carry the Ducks forward, and recent first-round additions Roger McQueen (19) and Nikita Klepov (18) will bolster the group even further down the line.
F: Tim Stutzle (24), William Eklund (23), Dylan Cozens (25), Shane Pinto (25), Ridly Greig (23)
D: Jake Sanderson (24), Jordan Spence (24)
It’s been a rollercoaster off-season for the Senators as they navigate life after Brady Tkachuk. But while the departure of their former captain throws a wrench into the club’s long-term plans, the rest of the talent in place — and a draft-week trade that added more juice — leaves the franchise in good hands.
Key for the Sens is the club’s strength down the middle. At the head of that pack is Tim Stutzle, undoubtedly the gem of the Sens’ offence. Behind him are standout Dylan Cozens, acquired from Buffalo in 2025, and Shane Pinto, who’s become a reliable secondary contributor over the past half-decade.
Joining them up front in 2026-27 will be talented winger William Eklund, San Jose’s seventh-overall pick in 2021 — the dynamic Swede was traded to Ottawa last month as part of a swap that saw the Sens send the ninth-overall pick to the Sharks (which they used to select Verhoeff). Young agitator Ridly Greig continues to grow his game on the wing in Ottawa, too.
Still, forward corps aside, the most intriguing Sens star of them all may just be Jake Sanderson, the all-world blue-liner who’s earned Norris votes in each of the past two seasons. Add in the potential of young defender Carter Yakemchuk (20), the club’s seventh-overall pick in 2024, and the Tkachuk-less Sens have plenty to continue building around.
5. Philadelphia Flyers
F: Trevor Zegras (25), Porter Martone (19), Matvei Michkov (21), Tyson Foerster (24)
D: Jamie Drysdale (24), Cam York (25)
Philly might've struck out on snagging Carlsson, but the Flyers proved during the 2026 post-season that they're already a squad to watch in the East. A second-round shellacking at the hands of the eventual champs dampened things some, but Philadelphia's emotional Round 1 win over the rival Pittsburgh Penguins — the Flyers' first playoff series win in a half-decade — put the rest of the Metro on notice.
Leading the way up front is Trevor Zegras, who looked right at home in Flyers colours following the June 2025 trade sent him from California to Pennsylvania. Tyson Foerster, drafted 23rd overall by the Flyers in 2020, has grown into a solid contributor. There's also Matvei Michkov, added with the seventh-overall pick in 2023, who's shown his promise already and has the potential to become even more dominant over the next decade.
And then there's 2025 sixth-overall pick Porter Martone, who hit Philly like a franchise-altering comet late last season, and figures to be a foundational piece up front for years to come.
On the back end, blue-line partners Jamie Drysdale and Cam York showed their level during the 2026 post-season — each averaging more than 22 minutes per night, and authoring crucial offensive moments — making clear the future of the Flyers' blue line is in good hands, too.
Honourable mentions:
Chicago Blackhawks: Connor Bedard (21), Frank Nazar (22), Anton Frondell (19), Bowen Byram (25), Artyom Levshunov (20)
Carolina Hurricanes: Seth Jarvis (24), Logan Stankoven (23), Jackson Blake (22), Alexander Nikishin (24)
Minnesota Wild: Matt Boldy (25), Danila Yurov (22), Bobby Brink (25), Brock Faber (23), Jesper Wallstedt (23)