Post-2025 NHL Trade Deadline Playoff Predictions
The trades have been made, the dust is settling, and players are getting settled in with their new teams. We're past the trade deadline in the NHL, and now all eyes are on what's to come for the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Take one look at the standings now and there's a good chance you can guess roughly 75 percent of the playoff field with ease. The teams that made moves at the deadline to help their chances stick out, especially if you compare them to where they are in the playoff race.
As fun as it can be to analyze the teams that are barely in or totally out of the running for the playoffs, we're looking at the teams that will likely be taking part in the NHL postseason and tie in how things broke down at the deadline.
Let's make some predictions for teams and players for the playoffs. Chances are there are some you're really not going to like but maybe you also can't wait to congratulate us for our smarts. We're ready for all of it, we promise.
Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid Help Oilers Fans Forget Quiet Deadline
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We picked on the Oilers for having a deadline that didn't address some of their apparent issues in the lineup. Sure, they added Jake Walman on the blue line and Trent Frederic up front for toughness, but it felt like something was lacking especially with the rest of West loading up.
What do the other teams in the West lack, though? Answer: Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Draisaitl is making his case to be the Hart Trophy winner this season, while McDavid continues to dominate the game himself and pile up points. Whether the Oilers get Evander Kane back for the playoffs or not, having Zach Hyman crashing the net and defenseman Evan Bouchard setting guys up or sniping from the blue line helps make life a lot easier as well.
We know Edmonton may have concerns about how consistent goalie Stuart Skinner has been this season, but the Oilers power play is still annihilating teams because of McDavid and Draisaitl (fifth-best in the NHL).
Having those two scoring at will at 5-on-5 or on the man advantage gives them a leg up on even some of the best teams in the NHL.
Blue Jackets Destined for Postseason
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It's easy to get wrapped up in good feelings in the wake of the darkest times, but watching the Columbus Blue Jackets put themselves in a position to win a wild-card spot and close in on the New Jersey Devils for third in the Metropolitan Division is something everyone can feel good about.
After Johnny Gaudreau's death in August, the Blue Jackets putting things together in a way in which they're playing great hockey and getting solid play all over the ice is inspiring.
Defenseman Zach Werenski is having a brilliant season, second in scoring among all NHL blueliners. Forward Kirill Marchenko is becoming a star before our eyes, while young players such as Kent Johnson and Adam Fantilli are breaking out and becoming offensive leaders. And even role players like Mathieu Olivier have taken another step to show they can do more than what they've been typecast as.
The Jackets also have Elvis Merzlikins in goal, and new coach Dean Evason has helped the team find a new gear and it has adopted his style quickly.
Provided Columbus can stay healthy and keep grinding out wins, it will be a difficult team to face in the playoffs. Winning in memory of Johnny will keep them beyond motivated.
Washington and Winnipeg Will be Wagons
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We're going out on a limb here to say the best team in each conference right now, the Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets, will be the end bosses on each side of the playoff bracket.
Watching how the Capitals have been able to diversify their offensive attack going beyond Alex Ovechkin and instead being led by Dylan Strome, Aliaksei Protas, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Connor McMichael and Tom Wilson was a development that not many people saw coming.
And yes, while Ovechkin closes in on Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal record and draws most of the attention from opposing teams, seeing how big and heavy they play with Protas and Wilson and the skill flourishes from Dubois and Strome is something else.
It also helps having goalie Logan Thompson show that the great seasons he had with Vegas were the real deal and the Golden Knights' loss is their gain.
When you look at the Jets, it all starts with Connor Hellebuyck in goal and how he's on track to win his third Vezina Trophy. His brilliant play makes life a lot easier, but the team can also score a ton of goals.
Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, Gabe Vilardi and Nikolaj Ehlers have had great seasons, and with Josh Morrissey helping start the attack from the blue line, it's no wonder they've been able to romp around the West this season.
Yes, Winnipeg's road to the Stanley Cup Final will be fraught with nightmares, whether it's Colorado or Dallas waiting for them in the second round or any of Vegas, Edmonton or Los Angeles in the conference final, but they have shown they can handle their business this season.
The Jets and Capitals are nasty and have been built like teams meant to go deep from the start. They should be ready to go come playoff time.
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It's Now or Never for the Maple Leafs...Again
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Every year the Toronto Maple Leafs make the playoffs and every year it becomes a question of whether they're going to ever get over the hump and make a deep run in the East and maybe get back to the Cup Final for the first time since 1967 when they last won the trophy.
At the trade deadline this year, GM Brad Treliving shored up the defense by adding Brandon Carlo and deepened the forward group with Scott Laughton. The Leafs have been tougher to play against when it comes to scoring chances, but their own offense has come back to Earth a bit in the process.
They've gotten great goaltending from Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz, so that would seemingly put Toronto in the best shape it's ever been in for a postseason run.
Never mind how both John Tavares and Mitch Marner are set to be free agents this summer and just ignore how Toronto could have pursued Mikko Rantanen and opted against it.
Pay no mind to the efforts both Tampa Bay and Florida made at the trade deadline to try to leapfrog the Leafs in the standings.
All right, so Toronto is not going to be able to ignore all of that and if this season ends with another early playoff exit, what in the world does it do next? What's even left to do at this point other than running it back again and giving it another go and hoping for better?
Stars vs. Avalanche in 1st Round Will Force NHL to Change Playoff Format
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When the NHL changed the postseason format to bring back the divisional playoff setup but with wild-card wrinkles added to it, it was a fascinating attempt to bring back the heat the playoffs used to generate in the 1980s.
Unfortunately, that heat hasn't arrived and instead, we've been left with a format where occasionally two of the best teams in either the Eastern or Western Conference end up facing off in the first round because that's how their division standings shook out.
It's frustrating and has cost us from seeing some dynamic matchups later on in the playoffs when you want to see the best teams duke it out.
Looking ahead to this year's playoffs, it seems like destiny that the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche, two teams that had an arms race at the trade deadline to prepare for the postseason, will meet in the first round because Winnipeg shot out to the lead in the Central and is poised to have the best record in the West, if not the whole NHL.
As great as that matchup will be to watch, it's terrible that it will happen in the first round.
As of now, if the NHL adopted the old 1-through-8 style where the teams with the top eight records are slotted in order by points, the Stars would be No. 2 behind Winnipeg and would face the No. 7 team while the Avalanche would be in a battle with Edmonton to see who would hold down the No. 4 seed while they tried to chase down Vegas in the No. 3 spot and hold off Minnesota and Los Angeles who would be right behind them.
Even if you allowed the two division winners to have the top two seeds, you'd still have an incredible battle that, more than likely, wouldn't lead to seeing Dallas and Colorado duking it out in the first round.
It's time to stop the divisional playoff nonsense and let it be like how it used to be so we can have the more important part of the playoffs be that much better.
Hurricanes Have No Choice but to Go Deep
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We've said for a couple of years now that the time is nigh for the Hurricanes to figure things out and make a deep run in the playoffs.
Even though they've gotten the benefit of being mostly out of the limelight thanks to playing in Raleigh their playoff slip-ups in the past kept them off pundits' scorn radar, you can only avoid attention for so long.
Watching the fallout from the Mikko Rantanen situation in which he was traded by Carolina to Dallas and the details of how they were unable to get him signed to a long-term extension have found their way into the public forum has gotten them a bit more attention. After all, why would a superstar player not want to play for a perennial Cup contender? Not being able to punch through into the Eastern Conference Final with regularity could be part of that.
Carolina could have its fourth straight 100-point season in the standings and while it would take a miracle for them to catch the Washington Capitals for first in the Metropolitan, it could face New Jersey or Columbus in the first round and then a second-round clash with the Caps. Daunting to see a boss battle like that so close in the future.
But after making the conference final twice in the past six playoffs and not getting beyond the first or second round in the other four playoff seasons, it's well beyond time for the Hurricanes to show out.
Their numbers are great, they have star talent all over the lineup and they've yet to get it done and return to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006.
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