5 NHL teams with best shot of making playoffs in 2025/26 after failing to make it last season ft. New York Rangers

The NHL offseason is now in a lull as the wave of free agency is over, and the focus now turns to training camp and the NHL season.

Ahead of the 2025-26 NHL season, here are five teams with the best shot of making the playoffs after not making the postseason last year.

5 NHL teams with best shot of making playoffs

#1, New York Rangers

The New York Rangers had a horrible season last year after winning the President's Trophy with the best record in the NHL the year prior.

The Rangers have been active this offseason, adding more talent to the roster, like star defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, to help out their defense. New York likely has the best chance out of any non-playoff team to make the playoffs next year.

#2, Vancouver Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks missed the playoffs last season as they had a disappointing season.

The Canucks had a lot of locker room issues, which hindered their season, and Vancouver should now put that behind them and be much better this season. The Canucks will be in playoff contention all season.

#3, Calgary Flames

Calgary barely missed out on the playoffs last season - Source: Imagn

The Calgary Flames finished last season with a record of 41-27-14 and had 96 points, the same amount of points as the St. Louis Blues, but the Blues had more regulation wins to earn the playoff spot.

The Flames should be battling for a playoff spot next season once again. Calgary has Dustin Wolf in net, who is one of the top goalies in the NHL and should only be better this season as he's entering his second year in the NHL.

#4, Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings have missed the playoffs in nine straight years, but should be battling for a playoff spot next year.

Detroit's biggest issue has been its goaltending, and the Red Wings went out and acquired John Gibson from the Anaheim Ducks. If Gibson solidifies the Red Wings' net, Detroit should be a legit playoff contender this season.

#5, Anaheim Ducks

The Anaheim Ducks appear close to ending their rebuild and entering playoff contention.

Anaheim has a young team and is backed by young star goalie Lukas Dostal. The Ducks have a good defense and a young forward who could take the next step and be a playoff team next year.

About the author

Cole is an NHL, NFL and College Sports reporter at Sportskeeda with over 7 years of experience writing for publications like CBC, USA Today, SMG, BJPENN, Sherdog and SB Nation.

An NHL fan his whole life, Cole played rep hockey in Canada from age 5 until 17 and grew up rooting for Martin St. Louis and the Tampa Bay Lightning. His all-time favorite players are Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos, while Jon Cooper is his favorite coach of all time.

Cole attended Sheridan College and received his journalism degree in 2019. After decades of watching and reporting, he considers his knowledge of sports as his primary strength. He ensures that the same story has been reported by at least two reputed reporters before creating it.

Cole enjoys playing golf and spending time with friends and family when not reporting breaking stories. His favorite sports moment is from the 2010 Olympics, when Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal in overtime to beat Team USA for the gold medal.

Know More

Wayne Gretzky’s wife Janet responds to critics questioning his loyalty to Canada, Bobby Orr's support following 4 Nations drama

Edited by Cole Shelton