1 Word For Every NHL Team's 2025-26 Regular Season
Hockey fans, rejoice: We've made it to playoff week. On Saturday, the best 16 teams from the 2025-26 NHL season will captivate us all as they embark on their unique journeys.
We'll follow the Sabres as the postseason returns to Buffalo—with home-ice advantage—for the first time in 14 years. We'll watch the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild face each other in the first round before potentially going head-to-head with the Colorado Avalanche in Round 2.
We'll wait to see if the Stars or the Carolina Hurricanes will finally make it out of their conferences this time around.
First, we've got to put the regular season to rest. Here's one word for every NHL team's 2025-26 season as we say goodbye to some disappointments and hello to the playoff field.
Anaheim Ducks: Phew
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There's nothing like a late-season seven-game losing streak to give us the heebie jeebies, especially from a young team. Thankfully for the Ducks, they reside in the Pacific Division, so they still managed to turn their rollercoaster of a season into the first playoff appearance for this core.
Cutter Gauthier broke out with a 40-goal season, and all was well that ended well.
Boston Bruins: Treat
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Many thought the Bruins were fated for a few seasons of retooling, but they had other plans. Marco Sturm's first year behind the bench was a resounding success, Jeremy Swayman had a strong bounce-back season in net, and despite the ups and downs, the Bruins are headed to the 2026 postseason.
Buffalo Sabres: Singular
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There will never be a Sabres season like this again.
Not only did Buffalo snap the league-longest 14-season playoff drought, but it also clinched the No. 1 spot in the chaotic Atlantic Division. This was the full-team effort we've been waiting for this team to put together, and they feel unstoppable heading into the playoffs.
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Calgary Flames: Productive
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The Flames really put the finishing touches on their rebuild this year, shipping off Rasmus Andersson, Nazem Kadri, and MacKenzie Weegar after years of anticipation and other rebuild-adjacent moves. They can now move forward and focus on the young core headlined by goaltender Dustin Wolf.
Carolina Hurricanes: Typical
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With the Panthers out of the way, the East-leading Hurricanes are the most playoff-seasoned team in the conference. Their regular season was another year of predictable success, but at this point, we're all waiting to see if they can finally get to the Cup Final.
Chicago Blackhawks: Appetizer
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For a minute there, the Blackhawks were in the early playoff conversation. That was, of course, before Connor Bedard got hurt and everything fell apart. It was our first taste of what this core will look like with a few more pieces in a few more years, and Chicago is trending fast and fun.
Colorado Avalanche: Beastly
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Yes, the Avalanche had moments where they took their foot off the gas and had a breather. Yes, MacKenzie Blackwood struggled to end the season. But this team is so good that it is still far and away the best in the league this season. Plus, the Avs won the top seed out West and avoided playing the Stars or Wild in the first round.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Premature
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The Blue Jackets looked primed for a playoff appearance until the wheels fell off at the end of the season. Jet Greaves looks awesome in net, Zach Werenski is as consistent as ever, but the scoring as a whole just isn't there yet. That's OK, though.
Dallas Stars: Business-like
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Every time it seemed like the Stars might lose grasp of that No. 2 spot behind the Avalanche, or that a multi-game skid could be foreshadowing bigger issues to come, the Stars simply figured it out. Can they take their years of consistency and experience and face the tall task ahead in the West?
Detroit Red Wings: Expletive
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The Red Wings have once again blown it in March, this time with real playoff expectations. They have now missed the playoffs in each of the eight seasons since Steve Yzerman took over as GM. It's time to shake up the YzerPlan, or move on from it entirely.
Edmonton Oilers: Underwhelming
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The Oilers changed the goaltender, but it didn't change their goaltending. They've still had the best player in the world doing "best player in the world" things, but the collective playoff wear-and-tear has added up, and Leon Draisaitl's playoff status remains uncertain. The Pacific as a whole was underwhelming this year, and the Oilers were no exception.
Florida Panthers: Lost
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Many thought the Panthers' 2025-26 season would be a three-peat campaign, but it ended up a complete wash due to injuries and back-to-back Cup wear and tear. The good news? Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk get a full summer of healing. Plus, the only big pending UFA is Sergei Bobrovsky, so GM Bill Zito can decide to run it back with Bob or explore some different options in the offseason.
Los Angeles Kings: Annoying
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Sure, the Kings ended up squeaking into the playoffs yet again. But shouldn't they be better than this at this point?
Year after year, we are treated to the most predictable first-round exit, and not much fundamentally changes about the team. Could the first huge fundamental change in this era – Artemi Panarin – be enough to move the needle?
Minnesota Wild: Eventful
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The Wild started the season off by signing Kirill Kaprizov to a record deal, and things just got even more eventful from there. The combination of a subpar start to the season and the competition in the division encouraged GM Bill Guerin to snag Quinn Hughes in the trade of the year.
It paid off, as the team has been one of the strongest in the league since. We'll see how it shakes out against a tough (but sort of inevitable) first-round draw in the Stars.
Montreal Canadiens: Statement
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The Canadiens were at a crossroads after a fun, but short-lived, first-round exit against the Capitals last season. Would they take the next step forward as an established core group, or would they need to return to the rebuild and make a few more significant changes to prepare for perennial contention?
They started the season strong, finished the season strong, and showed a lot of guts, resiliency, and scoring flair along the way.
Nashville Predators: Sure
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Well, if you don't know which direction the franchise is moving in, you've tried everything else, and your GM is on his way out, you might as well stand pat at the deadline and make the playoffs. Was it that easy this whole time?
New Jersey Devils: Useless
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The Devils have really got to find a way to shore up their depth so that the entire state of New Jersey doesn't fall apart when Jack Hughes enters a steakhouse.
New York Islanders: Collapse
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As fun as Calder Trophy front-runner Matthew Schaefer's season was, it didn't end without heartbreak.
The Metropolitan Division was a cold and unforgiving beast on the playoff bubble this year, and a late-season collapse from the Islanders was enough to take them out of the playoff spot they'd climbed up to. Not even a last-ditch Pete DeBoer hiring could will them back in.
At least Schaefer is already getting some crucial experience in the disappointment department.
New York Rangers: Disastrous
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It's never good when your captain, who came over seeking a new start from Vancouver of all places, says "I literally don't know" when asked what the message was to the team. That J.T. Miller press conference sums up the Rangers' season as a whole, plus another GM Chris Drury apology letter (TM).
Ottawa Senators: Resilient
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The Senators finally showed us the scoring, the resiliency, and the chemistry they've needed to put it all together. The fundamentals had been there for a few seasons as Ottawa developed a Hurricanes-like identity, allowing opponents few shots. The last stretch of this season saw the offense step up in a big way, making the hard work pay off.
Philadelphia Flyers: Swaggy
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Oh, the Ducks are making the playoffs in their first year without Trevor Zegras? Well, would you look at that: Trevor Zegras is also making the playoffs in his first year without the Ducks.
The Flyers could probably use a few more pieces before making a significant playoff run, but what a swaggy turn of events as they squeaked into the last Wild Card spot out East at the last second.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Classic
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A rebuild? On Sidney Crosby's watch? Nope, he, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang will take one more crack at the Cup before presumably going their separate ways. Everyone, say thank you to Kyle Dubas. Everyone, that is, except Leafs fans and Flyers fans.
San Jose Sharks: Fun
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The Sharks didn't make the playoffs, but they entered the playoff conversation for the first time in this new era, ahead of schedule. Macklin Celebrini just keeps getting better, and the whole team just keeps getting more fun to watch.
Seattle Kraken: Frustrating
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What are we doing here, Seattle? It feels like the answer is "almost something" every year.
With Ron Francis out of the picture, the Kraken will have yet another rebuild on their hands.
St. Louis Blues: Blue
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Times are tough in St. Louis. The Blues have a bona fide budding star in Robert Thomas, but they're caught up in several dismal contracts that have made it hard to build the proper team around him. Time to sell and turn this thing around, for real.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Scary
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Will the Lightning ever go away? They went on some terrifying win streaks this season, even while dealing with multiple injuries to their most important players. Don't underestimate the Bolts headed into the post-season, especially with no battle of Florida on deck.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Lifeless
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This season is what happens when you fail to replace a 100-plus point player – especially when offense is kind of your whole thing. Will the Leafs continue to try to lean into the "grit" of it all next year, or admit they need a Mitch Marner replacement?
Utah Mammoth: Historic
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The Mammoth have made it to the playoffs for the first time in their second year as an NHL franchise. Dylan Guenther achieved a 40-goal season, Clayton Keller was poised in his leadership and in his first-line center position, and Logan Cooley looks great since returning from injury. Good vibes.
Vancouver Canucks: Unholy
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The Canucks had eight home wins this season. Eight. On to the draft lottery.
Vegas Golden Knights: Underwhelming
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We expected pure dominance from the Golden Knights this year after the addition of Mitch Marner, and hey, they ended up No. 1 in their division. Maybe we were being unrealistic about the impact of one player.
Regardless, the Golden Knights did not dominate; it felt more like treading water, holding on tight, and plenty of overtime losses on the way to No. 1 in the Pacific this season. To be fair, they didn't have to do anything else to snag that top spot.
Washington Capitals: Bittersweet
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Alex Ovechkin hasn't officially confirmed if this was his last NHL season just yet. But if it was, it ended on a bittersweet note. Just when the Capitals climbed back into playoff contention, they missed out because the Flyers had an ROW edge.
Sure, Washington could've and should've banked more points in the beginning of the season, but it'll be tough to stomach how this ended if it is, indeed, Ovechkin's last dance.
Winnipeg Jets: Revealing
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There's a reason this team kept stumbling through the postseason year after year, and that reason reared its head this regular season. The Jets have the best goaltender in the world in Connor Hellebuyck, and they've got a top line up there with the best of 'em, but they don't do enough to support Hellebuyck on defense or the top line on offense. We have seen these holes exposed in the playoffs each year, and management continues to waffle on significantly improving the team as a whole.
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