5 NHL playoff teams most likely to fall out of contention in 2025/26 season ft. St. Louis Blues

The NHL offseason is nearly a month in, and most of the impact free agents have already signed, so the focus now turns to training camp in September.

Ahead of the 2025-26 NHL season, plenty of teams have hopes of making the playoffs. But here are five NHL teams that made the playoffs last season who could miss the playoffs this year.

5 NHL playoff teams most likely to fall out of contention

#1, St. Louis Blues

The St. Louis Blues were the eighth team in the West and lost in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs to the Winnipeg Jets.

St. Louis made the playoffs due to a 12-game winning streak, and had that not happened, the Blues would have been on the outside looking in. So, the Blues would likely be a team to watch to fall out of the playoffs.

#2, Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators were 7th in the East and lost in 6 games to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Ottawa looks like they are only going to get better. However, teams in the Eastern Conference that missed the playoffs last season have improved; thus, the Sens may miss the playoffs this season.

#3, New Jersey Devils

New Jersey likely will make the playoffs next season, but the Metro is the worst division and likely will only have three teams in the playoffs next year.

If the New York Rangers do improve as expected, they could push out the Devils for the third spot in the Metro division. New Jersey does have some question marks on offense and scoring.

#4, Washington Capitals

A bold prediction is the Washington Capitals, who finished first in the East and second overall in the NHL.

However, the Capitals were considered a fluke all season, and Washington could very well take a step back to reality this season. The Capitals are an older team, and they could be a disappointment this season.

#5, Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs won the Atlantic Division and although Toronto should make the playoffs this season, they could very well be a Wild Card team or battle for a playoff spot.

The Maple Leafs lost Mitch Marner this offseason, who led the team in points, and it will be difficult to replace him. Toronto will likely be much worse next season.