Five NHL Teams That Need A Reset In 2026

The NHL is approaching the halfway mark of the regular season with  some unusual looks in the standings.

All the teams in the Eastern Conference standings have had a points percentage of at least .500 for much of the season, and the three teams that lead the top-heavy Western Conference are from the Central Division. 

There are some young, promising clubs – the San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks – which have benefited from selecting high in the draft the last few years and seem poised to challenge for a playoff spot.

Some other teams, however, have a variety of different issues and might be in need of a reset, whether it's just capitalizing on the break get back on track or making some significant changes. 

Here are five clubs that could use a reset in 2026:

Buffalo Sabres 

The Sabres are once again wallowing at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, which finally cost GM Kevyn Adams his job after more than five seasons. 

New GM Jarmo Kekalainen believes that Buffalo has the talent to succeed and get back into the playoff race, but he is looking for them to display the character necessary to compete. 

This collection of players has entered the holiday break on a hot streak, which brings hope that the Sabres have already had their reset with the GM change and can climb back into the playoff race.

The Sabres are at high risk of extending the playoff drought to 15 seasons, so a reset is preferable because the Buffalo market does not have the patience for a third rebuild this decade.

Seattle Kraken

The Kraken have fizzled since making the post-season in their second year, when they eliminated the reigning Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in the first round.

They've attempted to dip into free agency and add players, such as Chandler Stephenson and Brandon Montour, with a championship pedigree, but they have not seen high draft picks Shane Wright and Matty Beniers blossom into franchise cornerstones.

That, in part, is why they are near the bottom of the NHL in offense and the Western Conference standings.

Seattle GM Jason Botterill does have one advantage in his first year, as his club has four pending UFAs – Jaden Schwartz, Jordan Eberle, Eeli Tolvanen and Jamie Oleksiak – who can be flipped at the NHL trade deadline for young prospects and draft picks.

NHL Free Agency: What Will Happen To These 14 Pending UFAs In The West? The Kings, Flames, Mammoth, Canucks and Oilers are among the NHL's Western Conference teams that will eventually have decisions to make with important pending UFAs.

Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks' decline began last season with the internal battle royale and the eventual trade of center J.T. Miller, and the departure of Rick Tocchet as coach.

Questionable moves, such as the trade for Evander Kane, the re-signing of injury-prone Thatcher Demko and a slew of injuries, led to Vancouver being at the bottom of the Western Conference standings and the trade of Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild. 

President Jim Rutherford and GM Patrik Allvin do not have much of an option other than going down the rebuild path and winning the golden ticket in the Gavin McKenna sweepstakes.  

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs are a club in disarray, with coach Craig Berube openly expressing frustration at their inability to play consistently and to generate any offensive production from a power play that features Auston Matthews and William Nylander as trigger men.

Toronto even decided three days before Christmas to fire assistant coach Marc Savard, who ran the power play.

The Leafs cannot make an impactful trade with most of their draft capital in the next two drafts gone, and they have a handful of veterans over the age of 30.

If they continue to wallow in a state of mediocrity over the next month and continue to trail by a significant margin in the playoff race, GM Brad Treliving may switch his focus from adding depth at forward and/or defense to swapping out veterans, such as Brandon Carlo, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Max Domi and Scott Laughton, to recoup assets and then try to build back up this summer.

The Maple Leafs Firing Marc Savard Won't Take The Heat Off Berube For Long The Toronto Maple Leafs' struggling power play cost assistant coach Marc Savard his job. Will this move spark a turnaround and save the job of Buds coach Craig Berube?

St. Louis Blues

The Blues made a late charge to make the playoffs last season before losing to the top-seeded Winnipeg Jets in overtime of Game 7 in the first round.

This season, Jim Montgomery's squad looks more like the struggling club prior to the 4 Nations break than the one that went 18-4-2 down the stretch.

St. Louis is a bottom-three team in offense in the NHL and has aging veterans such as Brayden Schenn, Colton Parayko and Jordan Binnington, who could all attract a sizable return if GM Doug Armstrong decided to retool around players still in their prime, such as Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou.

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.