Looking back on our preseason expectations for every team
By Austin Nivison Apr 15, 2026 at 9:49 am ET • 1 min read 
CBS Sports design The 2025-26 NHL regular season is coming to a close. Before the playoffs begin, let's take some time to look back at our preseason expectations. With that in mind, we're reviewing the first NHL Power Rankings of the season to see how right (or mind-numbingly wrong) I was about each team.
Hockey is an incredibly unpredictable sport. That's one reason why it's the greatest sport on Earth. It's also why making preseason predictions with any degree of accuracy is a fool's errand. Who could have seen the Buffalo Sabres not only ending their 14-season playoff drought but also winning the Atlantic Division? The Sabres have broken out in a big way.
On the other end of the spectrum, who called the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions finishing 25th in the league? The loss of Aleksander Barkov was always going to be a lot to overcome, but then the rest of the team got injured, and the Panthers were never able to get on track. As a result, Florida is within striking distance of the No. 1 overall pick. If only this team could catch a break.
Before we turn the page and drop the puck on the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, let's take a trip back in time for our final NHL Power Rankings of the season. Each team's original ranking from October is in parentheses.
Expected goals and goals saved above average data via Natural Stat Trick.
Biggest Movers 7 Kings 6 Islanders RkTeams ChgRcrd 1
Avalanche (2) | I was only one spot off, but it still feels like a big gap. Looking at the entire season, the Avalanche have been head and shoulders above everyone else. Colorado is the clear Stanley Cup favorite, and it's been that way for a while. No. 2 now seems like an insult. -- 54-16-11 2 
Hurricanes (7) | Rod Brind'Amour deserves a lot of credit. You can set your watch to the Hurricanes being a top-five team in the league every season under his watch. The question for this bunch is whether that success can carry over into the playoffs. Is the goaltending good enough for a deep run? 1 53-22-7 3 
Stars (6) | Glen Gulutzan came in and kept the machine chugging along in Dallas. Now can Gulutzan do what Peter DeBoer couldn't and get this team to a Stanley Cup Final? The Stars face a brutal path, but they are built to take some lumps. 4 49-20-12 4 
Sabres (20) | If you told me the Sabres would end their 14-season playoff drought, I would have believed it. If you told me that they would be on the verge of winning the Atlantic Division, I would have directed you toward a psychotherapist. Buffalo is a legitimate contender. 1 50-23-8 5 
Canadiens (17) | Clearly, I was not bullish enough on the Canadiens' young stars coming into the season. Every member of the core has leveled up with Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky all posting career years in some form or fashion. Lane Hutson continues to amaze on the blue line, and Jakub Dobes has been outstanding in goal. 3 48-24-10 6 
Lightning (5) | It's pretty amazing the Lightning will finish this high despite the injury issues they've faced throughout the season. Jon Cooper should be a frontrunner for the Jack Adams Award, and he has the veteran Bolts looking like a real threat to win their third Cup since 2020. 2 50-25-6 7 
Wild (14) | What a season it's been for the Wild. Bill Guerin pushed his chips all in and swung a blockbuster trade for Quinn Hughes. The team responded by posting 45 wins and 102 points through 81 games. And Minnesota's reward is ... the Dallas Stars. Good luck! 1 46-24-12 8 
Senators (10) | For a large chunk of the season, it looked like horrid goaltending would completely sink an otherwise great team. Then, just in time for Ottawa to begin its playoff push, Linus Ullmark managed to right the ship. Now the Senators will be a real problem for whichever No. 1 seed draws them in the first round. 1 43-27-11 9 
Golden Knights (3) | Much like the Senators, goaltending has made a team with an elite five-on-five profile look rather pedestrian at times. A late-season coaching change -- swapping Bruce Cassidy for John Tortorella -- has provided the spark the Golden Knights were looking for. They're the best team in the Pacific. 5 38-26-17 10 
Flyers (27) | Rick Tocchet has squeezed the most out of this Flyers roster -- and then some. Credit to Trevor Zegras for reviving his career in Philly, and Dan Vladar has been thriving in his first season as a true starter in net. Don't count this team out against the Penguins. 1 43-27-12 11 
Bruins (24) | The Bruins have confounded me all season. Their underlying metrics are abysmal. They should be nowhere near the playoffs, but they just keep winning. It doesn't make any sense, and frankly, I've stopped trying to understand it. David Pastrnak is awesome. Jeremy Swayman is a brick wall. Depth scoring has been shockingly good. Maybe that's all Boston needs. 3 45-27-10 12 
Penguins (30) | So, I was way off about the Penguins. I thought an aging core was on its last legs, and I certainly didn't think Dan Muse was the right coach to turn things around. There's a lot of egg on my face now. Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust, Evgeni Malkin and Erik Karlsson have turned back the clock. 2 41-25-16 13 
Oilers (1) | The same problems plague the Oilers year after year. Their depth scoring leaves a lot to be desired, and their goaltending leaves even more to be desired. Still, Edmonton has the best player on Earth, and Connor McDavid is accompanied by more elite talent in Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard. The question is whether Draisaitl will be back for the playoffs. -- 40-30-11 14 
Mammoth (13) | As expected, all the young talent on Utah's roster blossomed at the same time. Clayton Keller leveled up, Dylan Guenther is a 40-goal scorer and Logan Cooley is emerging as a No. 1 center. Utah is about to be a very live underdog in the first round. 2 43-32-6 15 
Capitals (16) | The Caps were a fringe playoff team for most of the season, and they were ultimately the victims of a very deep Eastern Conference. All the attention now turns to the future of Alex Ovechkin. Has Ovi played his final NHL game? 5 43-30-9 16 
Kings (12) | For a while, it didn't look like the Kings would reach the postseason, but Anze Kopitar will get one more crack at the Stanley Cup. The offense was a liability for most of the season -- and the acquisition of Artemi Panarin was negated by an injury to Kevin Fiala in the Olympics. 7 35-26-20 17 
Ducks (23) | The Ducks took many meaningful steps forward this season, especially on offense, and that led to the team's first playoff berth since 2018. The defense is still a major work in progress, but that just means Anaheim will be must-see TV in the postseason. 2 42-33-6 18 
Blues (18) | Awful goaltending from Jordan Binnington hurt the Blues early, and they were a mess for large portions of the season. However, this team found something down the stretch, just not enough to make the playoffs. That line featuring Dylan Holloway, Robert Thomas and Jimmy Snuggerud should provide hope for next year. 1 36-33-12 19 
Red Wings (21) | The playoff drought has now reached 10 seasons. Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond are exceptional, but beyond those two, there is little to show for the YzerPlan. The Red Wings haven't surrounded their stars with a good supporting cast, and it cost the team a playoff berth. 1 41-30-10 20 
Jets (11) | Things have gotten stale in Winnipeg, and there doesn't seem to be an easy way to fix that. The core veterans are locked into long-term deals, and the prospect pool isn't loaded with elite talent. One year removed from winning the Presidents' Trophy, the Jets might be in need of a new direction. 4 35-34-12 21 
Predators (25) | On the bright side, Steven Stamkos, Filip Forsberg and Ryan O'Reilly all had bounce-back seasons. The bad news is that the Predators barely missed the playoffs and will miss out on the opportunity for a premium draft pick, which they badly need. -- 38-33-10 22 
Islanders (26) | Falling short of the playoffs after being in the mix all season probably feels disappointing for Islanders fans, but this was a very encouraging season. Most importantly, Matthew Schaefer has the goods. He will be one of the NHL's best defensemen for many years to come, and he will win at least one Norris Trophy. 6 43-34-5 23 
Blue Jackets (22) | Rick Bowness managed to make things interesting after taking over for Dean Evason, but the Blue Jackets ran out of gas down the stretch. Columbus didn't have a playoff roster on paper, but it could in 2026-27, if the right moves are made in the offseason. 6 40-30-12 24 
Devils (8) | The only way to classify this season for the Devils is as a massive disappointment. This team has legitimate stars in their prime, and they couldn't even reach the playoffs. A front office shake-up was overdue, and New Jersey needs to be aggressive in upgrading its roster over the summer. 2 42-37-3 25 
Sharks (31) | Macklin Celebrini came close to single-handedly dragging the Sharks to the playoffs. That alone puts him in the running for the Hart Trophy. There's work to be done on the rest of the roster, however. -- 38-34-8 26 
Flames (28) | The Flames did what they needed to do this season. They sold off assets for draft capital, and they will have good odds in the draft lottery. It wasn't flashy, but it was a nice bit of business. -- 33-39-9 27 
Rangers (15) | I didn't think the Rangers were going to contend for a Cup this season, but I at least expected them to compete for a playoff spot. This entire season can be flushed, along with the 14-20-7 record in Madison Square Garden. -- 33-39-9 28 
Kraken (29) | One year after firing their coach -- after just one season -- the Kraken will endure more significant changes. President of hockey operations Ron Francis, the first GM in franchise history, is stepping down. Seattle has become a messy team just five years into its existence. 2 34-35-11 29 
Panthers (4) | Winning back-to-back Stanley Cup requires a lot of breaks going your way. This year, the hockey gods came to collect on that good fortune, hammering the Panthers with a run of poor injury luck that rivals anything I've ever seen. The Cats should be contenders again in 2026-27. -- 39-38-4 30 
Maple Leafs (9) | At least Florida won two Cups before disintegrating this season. What do the Maple Leafs have to hang their hats on? Will the next GM want to build around the current core or take more drastic action? 2 32-35-14 31 
Canucks (19) | Congratulations to the Canucks on a truly disastrous season. They went all in for the tank, and it paid off with the best draft lottery odds. That said, it will take a while to recover from trading a franchise superstar like Quinn Hughes. 1 25-48-8 32 
Blackhawks (32) | The Blackhawks have gotten a little too good at tanking. Gavin McKenna and Connor Bedard would be a whale of a combo, though. 1 28-39-14 Join the Conversation comments 
