Final 2025-26 Regular-Season Report Cards for Every NHL Team
The 2025-26 NHL regular season is complete, and the Stanley Cup Playoffs have arrived. So let's hand out one more set of grades for every team in the league for their regular season performance, whether they made the playoffs or not.
When it comes to grading a team's season we are looking at their overall performance, preseason expectations, and any other variables that may have come up during the season (injuries, for example). This is only taking into account regular season performance, so anything we have seen from the first weekend of playoff hockey is not relevant when it comes to the 16 teams competing in the playoffs.
So let's get to the grades.
Anaheim Ducks
1 of 32
Grade: B+
Are the Ducks perfect? No way. They still have some big shortcomings defensively and in goal-prevention, and those are areas that are going to need to be addressed when their playoff run comes to an end.
But they ARE in the playoffs and that is a huge step forward for a team that had started to fall into a perpetual rebuild. The forward talent here is sensational, and between Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier and Beckett Sennecke they have a trio of young stars they can build around for the next decade.
No matter what they do in the playoffs this season is a big step forward and a big success.
Boston Bruins
2 of 32
Grade: B-
This is a case of "good results, questionable process."
The good news for the Bruins is they did enough to finish with 100 points and make the playoffs. The bad news is there are still a lot of flaws under the surface that are being masked by a couple of elite players (specifically David Pastrnak) and a truly elite goaltending performance from Jeremy Swayman.
The Bruins 5-on-5 defensive metrics are among the worst in the league, but because Swayman saved more than 25 goals above expected it was enough to help put them into the playoffs. Goalies are a part of the team and goaltending is a huge element, but teams that rely so much on that sort of goaltending performance typically have a ceiling, and it is not always a sustainable way to win.
Buffalo Sabres
3 of 32
Grade: A
In early December the Sabres looked like their playoff drought was about to reach an almost unimaginable 15 years.
They fired general manager Kevyn Adams.
And then, with no other roster moves or changes behind the bench, they just started winning.
And kept winning.
And then never stopped winning.
It resulted in them not only making the playoffs for the first time in a decade-and-a-half, but also shockingly winning the Atlantic Division.
There is an element of smoke-and-mirrors to some of it, as they were mostly a middle-of-the-pack team in terms of pushing play and controlling scoring chances (17th in the NHL in expected goal share during 5-on-5 play), but there is also a lot of young, high-end talent here and a couple of stars in Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin. Maybe they overachieved a bit, but given where the preseason expectations were, where they were in December, and where they ended up this is a truly fantastic season that deserves an A grade.
.png?w=256 "Playoff Winners and Losers")
Calgary Flames
4 of 32
Grade: D+
The Flames were not particularly good, and continued their extensive rebuild by trading away more veterans in Rasmus Andersson, Nazem Kadri and MacKenzie Weegar.
They basically did what was expected of them.
They over-achieved in 2024-25 to stay in the playoff race for most of the season, and did not do anything to address the goal-scoring issues that ultimately held them back. They then went from 29th in the league in goals scored to 32nd (that would be last).
Making matters worse, Dustin Wolf regressed from his rookie season performance, and was eventually outplayed by Devin Cooley.
It was also another lost year for Jonathan Huberdeau offensively with only 25 points in 50 games before being shut down due to hip surgery that can hopefully fix a chronic issue. Can they help turn things around for him next season? Time will tell.
Carolina Hurricanes
5 of 32
Grade: A
Business as usual.
Efficient. Smothering. Aggressive on the forecheck. Good enough goaltending. Rock solid from top-to-bottom with almost no major weaknesses or weak spots on the roster.
Just another year of Carolina Hurricanes hockey with a great regular season.
Overall, though, the only grade the team and its fans care about here is the playoff grade. That story is still being written.
Chicago Blackhawks
6 of 32
Grade: F
Connor Bedard had a breakout year offensively, and there is some really good young talent here, but they are three years into Bedard's career and have never won more than 29 games in that time. Keep in mind, they won 26 games in the year they tanked to position themselves to get him.
Even worse than the poor results is this team seemed to regress down the stretch and was simply playing out the string by the end.
Bedard is great.
Anton Frondell looked really good when he joined the team.
Maybe they have some more draft lottery luck go their way and position them for Gavin McKenna or Ivar Stenberg.
But this team still has a LOT of things that need to be fixed. It is not even remotely close to being a contender.
Colorado Avalanche
7 of 32
Grade: A
No matter the measurement, the Avalanche were the best team in the NHL from start to finish.
Best record, best underlying numbers, and they have some of the league's best players in Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, both of whom were outstanding all year. Martin Necas also proved to be an outstanding fit with a 100-point effort in his first full season with the team.
Not much to be critical of here. Simply an A effort and performance.
Columbus Blue Jackets
8 of 32
Grade: D
This is like three different seasons all wrapped into one disappointment that matches so many other past disappointments for the franchise.
They seemingly took a step backwards under Dean Evason in the first half of the season.
After making the coaching change to Rick Bowness they were unbeatable for nearly two months and played their way back into what looked to be a guaranteed playoff position.
Then they completely fell apart over the final three weeks of the season and were publicly ripped by Bowness for having an awful culture that needs to be changed.
Is it totally unexpected they missed the playoffs? No. But the way they got here is pretty staggering, and a little unacceptable.
There is talent here, and they have salary cap flexibility and they have some trade assets, so it is by no means a hopeless situation. But there is still clearly a lot of work to be done here.
Dallas Stars
9 of 32
Grade: A
This is the Western Conference version of the Carolina Hurricanes, only with a litle more high-end talent on the roster.
Rock solid team from top-to-bottom, and a team that has found a ton of playoff success in recent years ... just not enough of it. After three straight Western Conference Final appearances there is a pressure and expectation to break through and get back to the Final.
Also like Carolina the only grade any Stars fans is going to care about this season is the playoff grade.
Detroit Red Wings
10 of 32
Grade: D-
On paper there is not enough talent here to be a serious contender. The top five or six players are outstanding, including No. 1 defenseman Moritz Seider who should be in the Norris Trophy discussion. But there is not anywhere near enough depth that after them, and that is a front office problem.
What is a problem for the front office, the coaching staff and the locker room itself is this is the third consecutive year they completely melted down in the month of March to miss the playoffs. This collapse is the worst of them all, and is even somewhat historic given that in late February they had 69 points through 53 games and had the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.
At that point it would have been nearly impossible to NOT make the playoffs.
They somehow found a way to do it, extending the current playoff drought to a full decade, including seven consecutive seasons under general manager Steve Yzerman.
When do you start considering drastic changes here? Is this still a patience and stay the course situation? And if so, what would it take to up the pressure? It is time to start having those discussions.
Edmonton Oilers
11 of 32
Grade: C
This is a tale as old as the Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl era.
Those two, along with defenseman Evan Bouchard, are fantastic.
The rest of the roster, including the goaltending, is severely flawed.
In some ways those flaws are even worse this season than they have been in recent years.
The goaltending is even more unsettled than it's been, while the Oilers have been outscored by a 42-71 margin during 5-on-5 play with a 47.5 percent expected goal share when none of the aforementioned trio is on the ice. No matter how good those top players are, you are not winning a Stanley Cup with that sort of supporting cast around them.
The thing that helped the Oilers the most this season is the simple fact they played in the worst division in hockey where nobody wanted to take control of it.
Florida Panthers
12 of 32
Grade: C-
This is a tough situation to evaluate here. After making three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals and winning two of them, the Panthers ended up missing the playoffs entirely this season and finishing with one of the worst records in the NHL.
That is a staggering drop off.
But it is also easy to understand. This team was absolutely decimated by injuries all season. No. 1 center Aleksander Barkov missed the entire year. Matthew Tkachuk missed half of the season. By the end of the regular season they were playing what was basically an AHL roster due to injuries elsewhere. It is just really hard to win given the talent they were without for most of the season.
The structure was still very much there. They just did not have the players and talent to turn it into wins.
A down year from starting goalie Sergei Bobrovsky did not help things, either.
Just a tough year where everything went wrong at the same time. Do not expect to see them in this spot again next season. Especially if they get some NHL Draft Lottery luck and land a franchise player at the top of the class.
Los Angeles Kings
13 of 32
Grade: C-
Hey, the good news is the Kings are back in the playoffs.
The bad news is nobody really knows how or why they are here.
Following a bizarre offseason that saw them fail to upgrade the offense, willingly make the defense worse, and not fix the flaws that have kept them from advancing the past few years, they finally made a big move in-season to get Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers.
It was a good move, and a needed move. Especially after losing Kevin Fiala due to an injury at the Olympics.
But this team won just 22 games in regulation all season and barely snuck into the playoffs in a watered down Western Conference. This all just felt like a step backwards for a team that already seemed to be alarmingly average.
Minnesota Wild
14 of 32
Grade: A
The only real downside for the Wild this season is that they played in the wrong division. Minnesota is one of the best teams in the league, and made itself even stronger with the trade for superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes. But because they play in a division with Colorado and Dallas, all of their success and their strong roster only produced a third-place finish and a first-round matchup with Dallas.
They are arguably a top-five team in the league.
It just so happens two of the teams ahead of them play in their division.
There is still some question as to whether or not they have the center depth to win the Stanley Cup, but the rest of the roster is fantastic.
Montreal Canadiens
15 of 32
Grade: A
The young talent has arrived, and it keeps getting better.
Cole Caufield scored 50 goals.
Nick Suzuki is the first Canadiens player to top 100 points in 40 years.
Juraj Slafkovsky had a breakout year.
Ivan Demidov should be a finalist for the Calder Trophy.
The future here is bright. The present looks pretty good as well.
Nashville Predators
16 of 32
Grade: C-
The Predators missed the playoffs, did not really do anything major toward a rebuild, and are still searching for a new general manager as Barry Trotz is stepping aside from that role.
It is honestly the worst possible season a team could have.
They did not make the playoffs despite the Western Conference having a seriously low entry-point, they do not have great lottery odds, and they still have a pretty veteran team that is just pretty average.
Nobody wants to be in the mediocre middle. Nashville currently is.
New Jersey Devils
17 of 32
Grade: D
The Devils missed the playoffs for the fourth time in six years under general manager Tom Fitzgerald, resulting in a major change at the position. Sunny Mehta is taking over that role and is now being tasked with the job of getting this team back where it should be.
And you know what? That shouldn't be too hard.
They have one of the best players in hockey (Jack Hughes) signed to a team-friendly, cap-friendly deal, they have a great No. 2 center in Nico Hischier, they have a top-line winger in Jesper Bratt, and just need to be patient for a year before they almost certainly add Quinn Hughes to their blue line.
Those are attractive pieces.
They also have salary cap flexibility and some good young assets and draft pick capital to work with.
The team underachieved this season, but there is still a path here to being good here, and they might have the young mind and GM to get them there.
New York Islanders
18 of 32
Grade: D
This is a very similar situation to their divisional rival in Columbus. Nobody is surprised they missed the playoffs. But the WAY they missed the playoffs is the problem. They played their way into a playoff position for most of the season and were in a situation where it would have been nearly impossible to miss.
And then they did with a late-season meltdown.
The Islanders have a lot of flaws and relied heavily on starting goalie Ilya Sorokin and 18-year-old rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer. They almost carried them to a playoff spot.
The presence of Schaefer is a huge development for this season because he is not only going to be the league's rookie of the year, he looks like a cornerstone piece for the next decade. Better days are ahead, and he is a big reason why.
New York Rangers
19 of 32
Grade: F
Despite missing the playoffs a year ago the Rangers still entered this season with the expectation of returning this season.
You don't trade a first-round pick (eventually the No. 12 overall pick) for J.T. Miller and name him the captain at the end of last season if you are not trying to win now.
You don't hire a two-time Stanley Cup winning head coach in Mike Sullivan if you are not trying to win now.
You don't sign one of the top free agents in Vladislav Gavrikov if you are not trying to win now.
This was a team that thought it could win, which is what makes this total failure of a season even worse. They did not just fail to win, they were the worst team in the Eastern Conference and one of the worst teams in the league.
Injuries to starting goalie Igor Shesterkin and defenseman Adam Fox played a big role in a lot of their struggles, but even when those two were healthy this team was not anywhere near good enough.
Maybe the lottery balls will go their way in the lottery and salvage something from this season by giving them a long-term building block. But this team still needs a lot. It is still a team looking at another potential rebuild. Do they have the right people in charge to successfully pull that off? Based on some of their recent moves and the way the team has regressed the past two seasons, that is certainly up for some debate.
Ottawa Senators
20 of 32
Grade: B
Goaltending is the biggest X-factor in hockey, and the Senators are proof of that.
This team was WAY better than its record indicated, and the only reason they struggled was because they just did not get consistent goaltending. If they get last year's version of Linus Ullmark, they probably win five or six more games.
They have some high-end forward talent at the top of the roster, and were one of the best defensive, possession-driving teams in the league all season.
They just struggled to consistently get saves in net.
Philadelphia Flyers
21 of 32
Grade: A
This season could have very easily been a C or C+, and until about a month ago that is what it was looking like.
But thanks to a late-season surge, combined with some help from the Blue Jackets and Islanders struggling to win games down the stretch, the Flyers played their way into the postseason thanks to a relentless shutdown defensive game.
This team is still very flawed. They relied heavily on shootouts and overtime games to get in, which is a concern from a long-term sustainability angle. They also still lack major offensive talent. But the latter concern is rapidly changing. Matvei Michkov is showing progress, and Porter Martone has arrived and made an incredible first impression. If those two guys pan out, they might have something here.
Pittsburgh Penguins
22 of 32
Grade: A
Both Pennsylvania teams wildly overachieved this season and exceeded all preseason expectations. The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the 2025-26 season with the third-worst odds to make the playoffs. They ended up clinching a spot with two weeks to play in the regular season and were in a position to rest people for the final three games of the season. Had they not been in a situation with nothing to play for in those games they probably exceed 100 points.
The future Hall of Famers (Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson) showed they still have something left in the tank, while general manager Kyle Dubas hit home run after home run with all of his roster moves, including the offseason additions of Anthony Mantha, Justin Brazeau and Parker Wotherspoon, as well as in-season trades for Egor Chinakhov and Elmer Soderblom.
Ben Kindel, the team's first-round pick in 2025, also made an unexpected impact as an 18-year-old. Between him and Chinakhov they have two young forwards that can be major long-term pieces.
San Jose Sharks
23 of 32
Grade: C+
The Sharks took a step toward at least being a competitive team and remained in the playoff race all season. That is something.
A lot of it was due to the continued emergence of Macklin Celebrini who is already one of the best players in hockey.
There are some good young pieces to accompany him, but they still need to do a big job in adding more talent around that young core. That is the next step this offseason.
But the most important piece (Celebrini) is already in place, and the list of players in the NHL better than him right now can probably be counted on one hand. Perhaps with a finger or two left over.
The playoffs next season should be a reasonable goal.
Seattle Kraken
24 of 32
Grade: D
Just more of the same here, and that is not a compliment. It's just a painfully mediocre team, and has been a painfully mediocre franchise from its arrival in the league.
They are not awful.
They are not particularly good.
They have little to no star-power.
It's just hard to get excited about anything here in the short-term or long-term. They need somebody like a Matty Beniers or Shane Wright to take a big step forward. Ideally it would be both of them. They also need to get their general manager hire right this offseason.
St. Louis Blues
25 of 32
Grade: D
This team may not have been quite as bad as its place in the standings, but it also was not especially good.
Jordan Binnington had an absolutely dreadful year in net that held everything back, and while that was not the biggest problem, it was certainly a major problem.
The question coming into the offseason is what happens next with forwards Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou. Both players were on the trade block for most of the season, and it might be time for some sort of a change this offseason.
Tampa Bay Lightning
26 of 32
Grade: A
They not only had another outstanding season, they did so despite dealing with some massive injuries on defense throughout much of the year.
The fact they were able to still win 50 games despite that is a testament to how good their top players (Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Jake Guentzel and Andrei Vasilevksiy) are, and how good of a job head coach Jon Cooper is still doing behind the bench.
They still have some questions with depth, but the top of the lineup is good enough to still make them serious Stanley Cup contenders.
Toronto Maple Leafs
27 of 32
Grade: F
Just an absolutely forgettable, miserable, and boring season.
At least in recent years when the Maple Leafs were letting their fans down in the playoffs they were still winning a lot of regular season games and playing a mostly entertaining brand of hockey.
This team did not even accomplish that.
Pretty much every move made by this team over the past calendar year has flopped, Auston Matthews has still been really good, but not consistently dominant, and they never did anything to replace what they lost in Mitch Marner.
The new general manager, whoever it ends up being, is going to have their work cut out for them.
The first step should be putting a new voice behind the bench.
Utah Mammoth
28 of 32
Grade: B+
You could see this sort of season coming for the Mammoth.
They have aggressively added talent to the roster in their first two years in Utah, and when combined with a young core in Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther that was already in place it created some real expectations and excitement.
Their play on the ice backed it up.
It is an exciting, fast team that had a tendency to carry play during 5-on-5 play, and by getting the top wild-card spot and positioning itself in the Pacific Division bracket there is a path here for a potential deep playoff run.
Immediate success and a financial commitment to the roster is a great way to build a fan-base in a new market.
Vancouver Canucks
29 of 32
Grade: F
Nobody expected them to be good, but this was the worst team in hockey by a significant margin. The positive here is it might have been enough to jumpstart a real, serious rebuild, something they have been putting off for a while.
Quinn Hughes, Kiefer Sherwood and Conor Garland were all traded, general manager Patrik Alvin was fired, and they now have the best lottery odds and a chance to add a much-needed superstar.
But is Jim Rutherford the person to oversee that sort of a rebuild? Based on the answers he gave at his end-of-the-season press conference there should be some real concern about that. He did not seem to take any accountability for anything that happened, and admitted some truly bizarre things that should concern Canucks fans (like the fact he knew Quinn Hughes was not going to re-sign, but that the Canucks still wanted to re-sign his friends to long-term contracts in the hopes it would change his mind). Truly wild things to say.
Vegas Golden Knights
30 of 32
Grade: B-
The Golden Knights ended up emerging from the pile of mediocrity in the Pacific Division to claim the top spot, and that was due in large part to the late-season coaching change that saw John Tortorella replace Bruce Cassidy, resulting in a 7-0-1 finish to the regular season.
Despite the mediocre overall record and stunning coaching change, this is another one of those teams that is probably better than its record.
Injuries sidetracked a lot this season, and the process was mostly in place. It was another team where bad goaltending undid a lot of the good. There is still a championship-winning core in place here that is mostly healthy for the playoffs, and a winnable path through the playoffs sitting in front of them. They just need to find the goaltending to help bring it all together.
Washington Capitals
31 of 32
Grade: D
After being one of the top teams in the NHL a year ago, the Capitals took a huge step backwards this season and missed the playoffs despite a Vezina-worthy season from starting goalie Logan Thompson. The injury to top center Pierre-Luc Dubois was a big problem, as was the fact their special teams, and especially their power play, was an absolute disaster for most of the season.
They have salary cap flexibility and some trade assets to potentially add the difference-maker they need this offseason, and if Alex Ovechkin returns for another season there might be some real incentive to make a blockbuster move.
Winnipeg Jets
32 of 32
Grade: F
This is a well-earned F, going from the Presidents' Trophy to out of the playoffs in just one year. Even when Winnipeg was finding success in recent years it was still a very flawed team that was being boosted up by the play of starting goalie Connor Hellebuyck. Not even he could mask all of the flaws that this team had this season. He also sounded off after the season, suggesting some real unhappiness and uncertainty with his future with the team. If he is unhappy, this team has a problem.
He also has every reason to be unhappy given the way the front office has built the team around him.
General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff and the front office have always been slow to make changes, and their offseason moves were an immediate red flag for what might be ahead this season. Losing Nikolaj Ehlers and doing nothing to replace him, while relying on Jonathan Toews in his comeback attempt to the NHL was always going to be a losing strategy. It was. They got older, slower, worse on paper, and that transferred over to the ice. There is not much to be optimistic about here. This is an organization that needs major changes. Now. This offseason.
.png?w=480 "Playoff Winners and Losers")
