With the 2025-26 NHL regular season coming to a close, here are six teams that have been the most disappointing this year.
Recently, TheHockeyNews.com discussed four NHL teams that have been pleasant surprises during the 2025-26 season.
But there have also been some gravely disappointing teams, considering pre-season expectations. Divisional champions and teams that had deep playoff runs last season, some have just been shocking this year
With April almost here, let's look at six NHL teams that have disappointed during the 2025-26 campaign.
Toronto Maple Leafs
While the Toronto Maple Leafs lost star right winger Mitch Marner this past off-season, they still entered the 2025-26 season expected to be a playoff team. Instead, they have disappointed mightily this season.
The Maple Leafs currently have a 31-29-13 record and are 12 points behind the New York Islanders for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. This is unacceptable from a team that had 52 wins just last season, and it should be a very busy summer in Toronto because of it.
Vancouver Canucks
A lot has changed since the Vancouver Canucks won the Pacific Division just back in 2023-24.
The Canucks missed the playoffs last season and hoped to turn things around this year. Instead, the Canucks are the NHL's worst team with a 21-42-8 record and a minus-84 goal differential this season.
Because of this poor campaign, the Canucks have been sellers and traded Quinn Hughes, Kiefer Sherwood, Tyler Myers, Conor Garland, Lukas Reichel, and David Kampf. It's clear the Canucks are a rebuilding team to this point.
Max Domi and Tom Willander (Bob Frid-Imagn Images)Winnipeg Jets
After winning the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's best regular-season team in 2024-25, the Winnipeg Jets have taken a big step in the wrong direction this season. The Jets have a 30-30-12 record and are five points behind the Nashville Predators for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
While the Jets' playoff hopes are not completely dead, there is no question that they have performed far below expectations this season. Although the Jets lost Nikolaj Ehlers to the Carolina Hurricanes last off-season, they were still expected to be a clear playoff team.
New York Rangers
After a disappointing 2024-25 season that saw them miss the playoffs, the New York Rangers entered the 2025-26 campaign with the hope of bouncing back. Instead, they took another step in the wrong direction this season and kicked off a retool because of it.
The Rangers have been at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings for much of this season and will likely finish the season there. They currently have a 29-35-9 record, which earned them 67 points, and they were the first team in the East to be eliminated from playoff contention.
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are another team that came into this season expected to be much better. The Metropolitan Division club currently has a 37-32-2 record and is 11 points out of a playoff spot.
While they have not been one of the NHL's worst teams, they have still underperformed in 2025-26. Therefore, it would not be surprising if they look to make some changes to their roster during the summer. One of their biggest needs is a top-six winger.
Florida Panthers
The injury bug can be blamed for the Florida Panthers' struggles in 2025-26. They have not had star center Aleksander Barkov in the lineup all season, and left winger Matthew Tkachuk missed a significant chunk of the season before returning in January. In addition to those blows this season, veteran left winger Brad Marchand's season is also in jeopardy.
Now, the back-to-back reigning Stanley Cup champions are unlikely to even make the playoffs this year. The Panthers have a 35-33-3 record and are 14 points behind the Islanders for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
While the 2025-26 season has been disappointing for Florida, it is hard to bet against them bouncing back next season when they get healthy.
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