One point secures a spot, while chaos reigns in the West. Intense races for the final seeds could trigger rare WHL tie-breakers.
WHL Teams Who Can Still Clinch Playoffs
With the 2025–26 WHL Regular Season scheduled to end this Sunday, March 22, the playoff picture is almost complete, but several teams are still fighting for their lives this weekend.
In the Eastern Conference, six teams have clinched a spot (Prince Albert, Medicine Hat, Edmonton, Calgary, Brandon, Saskatoon). However, the gap between 6th and 10th essentially turns this into a two-team race for the final seeds.
The Regina Pats can clinch a berth this weekend with just one single point. The Red Deer Rebels theoretically hold the last playoff spot. They control their own destiny but likely need at least one win to ensure they aren't overtaken. While the Moose Jaw Warriors are three points back of Red Deer and four back of Regina. They must win out and hope for help from teams above them.
The Western Conference is significantly more chaotic. Six teams have clinched (Everett, Penticton, Prince George, Kelowna, Spokane, and Kamloops), leaving the final two spots (7th and 8th) to be decided between three teams separated by a single point.
The Seattle Thunderbirds, Portland Winterhawks and Victoria Royals all sit within a point of one another, battling it out for the final spots.
If the standings stay the same throughout the weekend, this could force the WHL into the rare tie-breaker game for the first time since 2019, when the Kamloops Blazers beat the Kelowna Rockets.
According to the WHL's rule book, "In the event two Clubs are tied in points for the last playoff position, then these Clubs will play a sudden-death game in the home arena of the Club having won the most games in WHL standings. If the Clubs are tied in wins, section a) will be used to select the home site."
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