The 2025-26 NHL season has been a frustrating one for several Canadian teams.
Just one season after the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, Winnipeg Jets, and Edmonton Oilers were all able to punch their tickets to the playoffs, only one team north of the border is currently in a postseason spot at roughly the 25-game mark.
That lone team is the Canadiens, who sit third in the Atlantic Division with a 13-8-3 record.
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The Senators remain right in the mix, as they are just one point shy of the Habs for third in the Atlantic, and trail both the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins by three points for the final wild-card spot.
One of the most disappointing teams in the NHL this season has been the Leafs. They have limped their way to an 11-11-3 record, which has them dead last in the Atlantic and 28th overall in league standings.
Things don’t get a whole lot prettier in the Western Conference, either.
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After back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances, the Oilers have been extremely inconsistent through their first 26 games. They currently sit at 11-10-5, which has them one point shy of a wild-card spot and three points shy of the Vegas Golden Knights for third in the Pacific Division.
Another major disappointment has been the Jets. After winning the Presidents’ Trophy in 2024-25 with 116 points, they find themselves two points out of a wild-card spot and seven back of the Minnesota Wild for third in the Central Division.
Meanwhile, both the Canucks and Flames look primed to be in the running for the draft lottery. The Canucks sit at just 10-13-3, while the Flames have an even worse record of 9-14-4. They sit in 30th and 31st place in the NHL standings, respectively.
It’s been quite some time since we’ve seen Canadian teams struggle to this level. In fact, the last time no teams north of the border made the playoffs came a decade ago in the 2015-16 season. The lowest total since then was in 2017-18, where the only Canadian representatives were the Leafs and Jets.
Of the teams on the outside looking in, the Senators are being given the best odds by MoneyPuck to make the playoffs at 49.4 per cent. The Oilers (46.6) are close behind, while the Jets (45.6) are also still being given a very realistic shot.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the Flames (9.2) and the Canucks (8.4), who would both have to go on miraculous runs to get themselves back into the playoff picture.
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