Teams
All 32 NHL 27 teams, arenas and divisions
Every club in the game, the building it plays in, and where it sits in the league. If you're about to start a Franchise save and can't decide who to run, read this first.
Every club and the building it plays in
The home page grid tells you who is in the game. This tells you where they play: the building, the city, how many it seats, and how many Cups the club has won. EA rebuilt all 32 of these arenas for NHL 27, down to the goal songs and pre-game routines, so the barn you pick now sounds like itself.
Boston Bruins
TD Garden · Boston, MA
6
Buffalo Sabres
KeyBank Center · Buffalo, NY
—
Detroit Red Wings
Little Caesars Arena · Detroit, MI
11
Florida Panthers
Amerant Bank Arena · Sunrise, FL
2
Montreal Canadiens
Bell Centre · Montreal, QC
24
Ottawa Senators
Canadian Tire Centre · Ottawa, ON
—
Tampa Bay Lightning
Benchmark International Arena · Tampa, FL
3
Toronto Maple Leafs
Scotiabank Arena · Toronto, ON
13
Carolina Hurricanes
Lenovo Center · Raleigh, NC
2
Columbus Blue Jackets
Nationwide Arena · Columbus, OH
—
New Jersey Devils
Prudential Center · Newark, NJ
3
New York Islanders
UBS Arena · Elmont, NY
4
New York Rangers
Madison Square Garden · New York, NY
4
Philadelphia Flyers
Xfinity Mobile Arena · Philadelphia, PA
2
Pittsburgh Penguins
PPG Paints Arena · Pittsburgh, PA
5
Washington Capitals
Capital One Arena · Washington, DC
1
Chicago Blackhawks
United Center · Chicago, IL
6
Colorado Avalanche
Ball Arena · Denver, CO
3
Dallas Stars
American Airlines Center · Dallas, TX
1
Minnesota Wild
Grand Casino Arena · Saint Paul, MN
—
Nashville Predators
Bridgestone Arena · Nashville, TN
—
St. Louis Blues
Enterprise Center · St. Louis, MO
1
Utah Mammoth
Delta Center · Salt Lake City, UT
—
Winnipeg Jets
Canada Life Centre · Winnipeg, MB
—
Anaheim Ducks
Honda Center · Anaheim, CA
1
Calgary Flames
Scotiabank Saddledome · Calgary, AB
1
Edmonton Oilers
Rogers Place · Edmonton, AB
5
Los Angeles Kings
Crypto.com Arena · Los Angeles, CA
2
San Jose Sharks
SAP Center · San Jose, CA
—
Seattle Kraken
Climate Pledge Arena · Seattle, WA
—
Vancouver Canucks
Rogers Arena · Vancouver, BC
—
Vegas Golden Knights
T-Mobile Arena · Paradise, NV
1
Arena names follow the 2025-26 season, the alignment NHL 27 ships with. Three buildings were renamed in 2025 and older guides still list the old names: Philadelphia is now Xfinity Mobile Arena, Minnesota is Grand Casino Arena, and Tampa Bay is Benchmark International Arena. Calgary is due to move into Scotia Place in 2027, so that one changes in a future game, not this one.
How the league is split, and why it changes your season
Sixteen clubs per conference, eight per division. That split decides who you play most often and who you have to get past in the spring, which is the part that bites around year three of a Franchise save.
Eastern
Atlantic
Metropolitan
Western
Central
Pacific
How a club reaches the Cup
Finish top three
The top three clubs in each division qualify outright. Miss that and you are fighting for a wild card instead.
Or take a wild card
Two wild cards per conference go to the best records left over, whatever division they came from. Sixteen teams get in, fourteen go home.
Play your neighbors
The first two rounds are bracketed inside your own division, so a stacked Atlantic can end a 100-point season in April.
Four rounds, best of seven
Conference final, then the Cup final. Sixteen wins from the first puck drop to lifting it.
Which club should you actually pick?
There is no best team, only a best team for the save you want. These four groups cover most of what people are choosing between, based on where each roster stood at the end of the 2025-26 season.
Win now
Contenders with a closing window
Deep, expensive rosters that can win a Cup in year one. Carolina arrive as reigning champions after beating Vegas in six games in June, and both clubs are here for the same reason. The catch is the cap sheet: you will be trading picks to stay on top, and the rebuild lands on your head around year four.
Rebuild
Young rosters and a pile of picks
The long game: bad for a while, then very good. San Jose is the obvious one now that Celebrini is the cover athlete, since you are building around the player EA put on the box.
Cap puzzle
Good teams with hard math
Star-heavy lineups where most of the money is already committed. You inherit the roster and the problem: fitting a fourth line and a backup goalie into what is left.
Goaltending
Built from the net out
A starter who steals games covers a lot of mistakes, which counts for most while you are still learning the defensive stick. A forgiving place to start.
One caveat: EA has not published NHL 27 ratings, so every judgment here comes from last season's play and offseason moves rather than in-game numbers. We will revisit this section when the roster drops.
The newest club, and four numbers from the table
Utah is the franchise most likely to confuse anyone coming back to the series after a couple of years away.
The Arizona Coyotes moved to Salt Lake City in 2024 and spent a season as Utah Hockey Club, a placeholder while the front office ran a public vote on the real name. Mammoth won. NHL 27 ships them with the finished identity: sky blue and black, the mountain mark, and a Central Division slot.
They share Delta Center with the Utah Jazz, a basketball building with a hockey sheet dropped into it, and the seating math shows. Only Winnipeg plays in a smaller building.
Biggest crowd
Bell Centre
Montreal Canadiens · 20,962
Smallest crowd
Canada Life Centre
Winnipeg Jets · 15,321
Oldest building
Madison Square Garden
New York Rangers · 1968
Most Cups
Montreal Canadiens
24 Stanley Cups