With the 2024-2025 NHL season drawing to a close, the offseason promises to provide plenty of drama and intrigue. The NHL draft is on June 27th and 28th, and leads into free agency opening on July 1st.

Several big names are likely to be available, and there are always trades made during the draft. That being said, now is a good time to look at the NHL’s Original Six franchises and see where they sit heading into next season and beyond.

For those unfamiliar, the Original Six teams consist of the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. For 25 seasons (1942-1967) these six teams made up the entire league, and remain the most popular to this day. None of them have won the Stanley Cup since the Blackhawks lifted the trophy in 2015. The goal of this article is simple: to evaluate how close or far each of the Original Six teams are to winning their next Stanley Cup. I have given grades to each team based on their current roster, salary cap situation, and prospect pool.

Boston Bruins

Current roster: C

Cap: C+

Prospects: D

Boston is a team that many fans and analysts have anticipated would decline for multiple years now. The Bruins kept defying expectations year after year, but this past season, the wheels finally fell off. Head Coach Jim Montgomery was fired in November, and the team recently named Marco Sturm as the team’s next coach. They were also big sellers at this season’s trade deadline. Most notably, they traded their Captain Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers.

Unfortunately for Boston fans, it looks as though the Bruins are headed into a rebuild. Just how they will go about rebuilding is unclear. They have quite a bit of cap space (over $26 million projected) but only 14 of 23 active roster spots are filled, including five pending restricted free agents. Jeremy Swayman, Charlie McAvoy, and David Pastrnak are all signed through at least 2030, but they are going to need more support.

That support may need to be found outside of their prospect pool. The Bruins are among the bottom of the league in most prospect pool rankings, a symptom of making moves to keep the team in contention for years. There is little high-end projected talent in their pipeline, so what they do with the seventh overall pick this draft will be critical.

Chicago Blackhawks

Current roster: D+

Cap: A

Prospects: A

The Blackhawks have been in full-rebuild mode for multiple seasons now. During that time their poor play on the ice has resulted in a deep pool of high-end draft picks, highlighted by Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, and Artyom Levshunov. So far the young talent has not translated into more NHL wins, but the talent and potential is there. As the young core continues to develop, it should result in an improved record going forward.

Chicago is poised to add to their already strong youth group this offseason. They hold the third pick in this draft, and have more than enough cap space ($29 million projected) to make a big move should they desire. Mitch Marner has been floated as a potential signing for the Blackhawks. If they can land Marner, it would dramatically accelerate their rebuild.

Chicago GM Kyle Davidson made a hugely beneficial move before the last trade deadline by moving disgruntled defenseman Seth Jones to Florida. In return, he was able to land the team’s potential goalie of the future in Spencer Knight, along with a 2026 first-round pick. Quite a haul considering Davidson had little leverage in the situation. The Hawks will also have a new coach behind the bench next season in former Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill.

Detroit Red Wings

Current Roster: B-

Cap: B-

Prospects: B

The Red Wings fell short of their projections this season. After falling just short of a playoff spot in 2023-2024, most expected them to take the next step and end the team’s long playoff drought in 2025. The Wings failed to deliver on the expectations, and Little Caesars Arena will have to wait yet another year before hosting playoff hockey.

Steve Yzerman walked into an awful situation when he took over as GM for Detroit. This past season came with increased rumblings among the Red Wings’ fanbase to make a move in the front office. Fair or not, the beloved Detroit icon may be on the hot seat this season should the Wings fail to take the next step. Their roster has the pieces in place for a strong foundation with players like Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider, and Marco Kasper. The biggest disappointment has been their free agent signings. Fans continue to clamor for Yzerman to make a big signing in free agency but the biggest names have eluded them so far. Last year they lost out on Steven Stamkos and this year could be much the same with Mitch Marner.

Detroit has a solid prospect pool highlighted by a pair of top-tier goaltending prospects in Trey Augustine and Sebastian Cossa. However, poor draft lottery luck has created a prospect pool that is not as deep or with as much top-end talent as those for Chicago or Montreal. What Yzerman and company do through the draft and free-agency remains a mystery, but Detroit needs to improve if they want to appease Red Wings diehards.

Montreal Canadiens

Current Roster: B

Cap: C-

Prospects: A+

The Canadiens were the most surprising story of the 2024-2025 season. While many projected them at the bottom of the standings, the Habs were able to earn a playoff spot. Several of their young players were major contributors during their postseason push including Captain Nick Suzuki, Cole Caulfield, and Calder winning rookie Lane Hutson.

As a result, the Canadiens put themselves well ahead of schedule in their rebuild. Their roster is solid enough to make the playoffs, but not yet good enough to seriously contend for a title. However as their young players continue to develop, the Habs could be poised to be contenders for years to come.

GM Kent Hughes has little cap space to work with ($6.1 million) but they arguably have the best prospect pool in the NHL. On par or better than Chicago or San Jose. Jacob Fowler is an elite goaltending prospect, and Ivan Demidov arrival late last season from Russia, gives Montreal another potential star.

New York Rangers

Current Roster: B-

Cap: D

Prospects: C+

Did anyone have a more turbulent season than the Rangers this year? Like the Red Wings, the Rangers were projected to be a playoff team, but an up and down season that saw confusing moves and mixed messages from the front office led to disappointment in New York. Captain Jacob Trouba was traded to the Ducks in December, and Chris Kreider was also traded to Anaheim last week. On the flip side, they acquired J.T. Miller from the Canucks after reported locker room concerns involving himself and Elias Petterson in Vancouver.

Aside from goalie Igor Shesterkin, it feels like no player on the Rangers’ roster is a lock to stay long-term. It looks as though Chris Drury is unwilling to commit to a full rebuild, but with little cap room this offseason ($13 million) it seems that he is running out of options. He may also be running out of confidence from the fans and players. Players were reportedly not happy with Drury following the Trouba trade, and New York can be a demanding market.

Mike Sullivan makes the move from Pittsburgh to take over as head coach for the Rangers, replacing Peter Laviolette. What the Rangers will do from a roster perspective is anyone’s guess. The Rangers don’t have a stacked prospect pool, but there is some potential in players like Gabe Perreault and Brennan Othmann. They have the 12th pick in the upcoming draft.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Current Roster: A-

Cap: B-

Prospects: D

Another NHL season in the books, and another playoff exit in Toronto. To be fair, they took the eventual Stanley Cup champs to seven games before being eliminated. The series was not without controversy, as the Leafs were booed off home ice twice during blowout losses. Of all the Original Six, Toronto could see the biggest changes this offseason.

Those changes will likely start with the departure of Mitch Marner. The star winger has been a lightning rod in Toronto going back to his previous contract negotiations. After this postseason, all signs point to Marner looking for a change of scenery. That could include a potential signing with fellow Original Six clubs like the Blackhawks or Red Wings. Fellow Toronto “Core Four” member John Tavares is also a free agent. He wants to stay in Toronto, but it may come down to how much of a discount he is willing to accept. Their prospect pool is severely lacking, and the Leafs traded top prospect Fraser Minten to Boston at the trade deadline.

Similar to Boston, the Leafs have a fair amount of cap space to work with ($25.7 million projected) but currently need to fill six roster spots. They have a unique opportunity to shake up their roster foundation without being anchored to their four highest paid stars. They could add some less expensive pieces to give them depth if they want to stay in Cup contention.