The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs provided fans with an ultra-competitive field, including some familiar faces and a couple we hadn't seen in quite some time. Though, many of the usual suspects were shown the exit well before the Finals.
Typically, an early elimination can be sufficient fuel for that locker room's fire to make it back to the postseason and improve upon the previous year's performance, but not always. There's usually one team that regresses and misses out entirely the following season. It happened to the Washington Capitals in 2023, snapping an eight-season playoff appearance streak. And it could happen to these three teams in 2026.
3 Stanley Cup Playoff teams from 2025 that will miss out in 2026
St. Louis Blues
The Blues were one of the hottest teams in the Western Conference in the final stretch of the regular season. That streak nearly earned them a massive first-round upset over the President's Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets, falling in a tragic Game 7 overtime after leading all but the final seconds of regulation.
THE JETS TIE IT WITH 1.6 SECONDS LEFT IN THE GAME 🤯
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 5, 2025
PANDEMONIUM IN WINNIPEG, WE GOT GAME 7 OVERTIME 😱 pic.twitter.com/iIWCyUeq2p
The team traded away winger Zach Bolduc to the Montreal Canadiens earlier in July and placed veteran defenseman Nick Leddy on waivers. There's also been reports the Blues are shopping one of their top scorers in Jordan Kyrou before the start of the season. While that may seem like just a re-tool, it could trigger an unintended regression in an already stacked Central Division, let alone the Western Conference overall.
Minnesota Wild
The Wild are another one of those teams that seem to be perennial playoff participants, appearing in five of the last six postseasons. Though, with little offensive growth, Minnesota looks primed for a disappointing 2026.
Star goal-scorer Kirill Kaprizov can't continue to carry the team on his back while the front office makes just minor transactions in the offseason, refusing to surround him with a sufficient supporting cast. Minnesota squeaked into the playoff bracket with the Blues not far behind. Another tight finish like last season in the Western Conference could see the Wild on the wrong side of the cut.
Toronto Maple Leafs
This may come as a slight shock to some considering Toronto managed to re-sign all of its significant free agents except for Mitch Marner. But losing the 28-year-old will prove too costly a mistake for the Maple Leafs in the long run.
Marner (102 points) accounted for 14 percent of the team's total points scored last year (710), that's going to be incredibly hard to replace even with a serviceable veteran or a freshly promoted prospect inserted into his slot. Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares can only do so much to pick up the slack, and there may be too many close games during the regular season where Marner's clutch play will be sorely missed.