3 Playoff Teams From Last Season That Will Miss in 2026-27

It feels like the offseason has gone on forever, and we still have to wait another three weeks or so before training camp. Although there is still quite some time before we’re watching games, most NHL rosters are likely set.

All the offseason moves got me thinking about which playoff teams last season might struggle to repeat. Typically, we see five or six new teams make the playoffs season over season in the NHL, so here are three playoff teams from last season I think will miss out this season.

Anaheim Ducks

The Anaheim Ducks had the worst offseason in the league after being forced into paying Leo Carlsson a five-year contract with an $18 million annual average value (AAV). The offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers set the offseason off on the wrong foot, and offer sheets would become a theme of the offseason for the Ducks.

It was later reported that several teams were interested in offer sheeting their young defenseman, Pavel Mintyukov. With that adding to the pressure to get Mintyukov signed, Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek had to overpay, giving him a five-year deal with a $7.2 million AAV.

Part of the pressure to get Mintyukov signed was because both John Carlson, whom they paid a first-round and third-round pick for at the 2026 Trade Deadline, and Jacob Trouba already left in free agency.

Now they have a bottom-10 defense corps in the NHL with $9 million in cap space and Cutter Gauthier still unsigned. It was reported that Gauthier rejected a four-year deal with a $13 million AAV.

On top of this, they also handed over a four-year contract with a $4.25 million AAV to AJ Greer, which is far too expensive for someone who should just be a fourth-line winger.

With so much turnover in their lineup and a significant hit to their blue line, I don’t think the Ducks will have enough to take a playoff spot in the Pacific Division.

Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins were a team that shocked me by making the playoffs last season. The Toronto Maple Leafs’ and Florida Panthers’ declines opened up a spot in the Eastern Conference for the taking.

Jeremy Swayman’s bounce-back season was a huge part of Boston’s return playoffs, but a lot of the questions I raised in my recent article on every Eastern Conference team’s biggest question mark in 2026-27 are exactly the reasons I don’t think they’ll make the playoffs.

Conor Geekie’s hot start wasn’t sustainable, which helped their offense immensely at the beginning of the season. I have a hard time believing he’ll be the player he was at the beginning of last season, but I also don’t think he’ll be the player he was in the last 22 games, where he scored just two goals.

He shot 21.5 percent last season, which is pretty high, even though he’s shot over 21 percent in back-to-back seasons. If his shooting percentage returns to normal rates, that will be tough production to lose for a Boston team that is thin in the forward corps as is.

A lot of this pick also has to do with the Eastern Conference’s changing landscape. I think it’s fair to assume the Panthers are a lock to make the playoffs, and I’d assume they’d also take one of the three spots in the Atlantic Division. I also don’t think the Bruins are better than any of the three Atlantic teams that made the playoffs in the divisional spots last season either.

That leaves one of the wild-card spots, and I think there are better teams within the conference as well. The Washington Capitals are a better team than Boston, and I think there will be a battle for the second wild-card spot.

I’m not saying Boston will be a Draft Lottery, but with how competitive the Eastern Conference should be, I don’t think they’ll be good enough to return to the playoffs next season.

Los Angeles Kings

It felt like nobody wanted to take the second Western Conference wild-card spot last season, and the Los Angeles Kings just ended up landing it.

They couldn’t score, ranking 29th in goals last season. While that hopefully that changes with Peter Laviolette behind the bench, I don’t think they have the personnel to be a high-octane offensive team.

A full season of Artemi Panarin will definitely help, and Kevin Fiala, hopefully playing a full season, would also be a boon. Unfortunately, the mix of the underwhelming defense corps and a forward corps that already struggled to score is a bad recipe.

Another easy sign of what type of team the Kings were last season was their minus-22 goal differential, which was worse than any other playoff team this season.

In a Western Conference with young teams like the San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues looking to take a step, I don’t see the Kings making the playoffs for the sixth straight season.