The Nashville PRedators and Vancouver Canucks in action on Jan. 29. 2025.John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images
Lyle RichardsonMar 31, 2025
The 2024-25 NHL regular season concludes April 17. The top teams are currently jockeying for postseason home-ice advantage while bubble teams scramble for the remaining wild-card berths. Meanwhile, the clubs near the bottom of the standings shift their focus toward the offseason.
Several teams entered this season with high hopes. The Vancouver Canucks were coming off a stellar 2023-24 campaign. At the same time, the Nashville Predators made significant offseason signings that suggested they could attempt to push their way into Stanley Cup contention.
Instead, the Canucks are slipping out of contention for the final Western Conference wild-card spot. Meanwhile, the Predators have already been eliminated from playoff contention, sitting near the basement in the overall standings.
The Canucks and Predators faced each other in the opening round of the 2024 playoffs. Now, they are among the six clubs we consider to be this season's most disappointing teams.
Let's look at what went wrong for those clubs and the priority that each must address to bounce back in 2025-26.
Boston Bruins: Improve the Second Line
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From 2016-17 to 2023-24, the Boston Bruins were regularly among the NHL's top teams. They reached the 2019 Stanley Cup Final and won the Presidents' Trophy in 2019-20 and 2022-23, setting a single-season record during that season with 65 wins and 135 points.
This season, however, brought a definitive end to that era. The Bruins struggled throughout this season, resulting in a coaching change in November that did little to reverse their fortunes. Injuries to key players and a difficult start to the season for goaltender Jeremy Swayman contributed to their difficulties.
General manager Don Sweeney waved the white flag on the season before the trade deadline. He shipped out core players Charlie Coyle, Brandon Carlo and team captain Brad Marchand, adding younger players like Marat Khusnutdinov, Fraser Minten, Jakub Lauko and Casey Mittelstadt.
Time will tell if those moves will pay long-term dividends. One thing the Bruins won't do is stage a complete roster teardown while core players like Swayman, David Pastrňák, Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm are under long-term contracts.
Sweeney will likely attempt to retool his roster during the offseason, hoping that a healthier, replenished roster will lead to a quick turnaround in their fortunes next season. He has a projected cap space of $27.9 million for 2025-26 with 12 active roster players under contract.
On March 14, The Athletic's Fluto Shinzawa suggested bolstering their second-line forward depth. He suggested adding left and right wingers to skate along the recently acquired Mittelstadt if he's to handle the second-line center role.
The Bruins have only one core player needing a new contract and that's pending restricted free agent Morgan Geekie. Other RFAs, like Khusnutdinov and Lauko, would be affordable re-signings. There could be enough to make a significant addition to the second line.
Chicago Blackhawks: Add Quality Depth2 of 6
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This season was expected to be a step forward for Chicago's rebuild. Franchise player Connor Bedard was entering his sophomore campaign after winning the Calder Memorial Trophy last season. Management brought in veterans Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teräväinen and TJ Brodie to bolster their roster depth.
Things didn't go as hoped as Chicago sits second-last in the overall standings. Replacing head coach Luke Richardson in December with Anders Sörensen didn't improve things. Top defenseman Seth Jones got his wish and was traded to the Florida Panthers, while the constant losing frustrated Bedard.
On March 20, The Athletic's Mark Lazerus cited signs of better days ahead. The Jones trade netted Spencer Knight, who has the potential to be a solid starting goaltender. Youngsters Frank Nazar, Artyom Levshunov, and Alec Vlasic have shown promising potential.
Following the March 7 trade deadline, general manager Kyle Davidson told the media that he wasn't ruling out making significant acquisitions this summer. He has a projected cap space of $32 million and plenty of draft picks to use as trade bait.
Davidson spent the past two seasons attempting to surround Bedard with veterans to ensure his budding superstar wasn't carrying the load alone. However, they were mostly players in their thirties past their playing prime.
The challenge for Davidson is finding players in their mid-to-late twenties under contract beyond next season who can help accelerate the rebuilding process. He could weaponize his cap space and draft capital to target cap-strapped clubs trying to shed salary before next season.
Detroit Red Wings: Improve the Defense3 of 6
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For the second straight season, the Detroit Red Wings entered March seemingly poised to end their long playoff drought. And again, they collapsed throughout the month, winning only four out of 15 games to tumble out of a wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference.
A last-minute push through April could propel them back into a wild card. Nevertheless, the Wings have disappointed their fans, who've been waiting patiently throughout their long rebuild for the club's much-anticipated breakthrough as a serious playoff contender.
Making the playoffs could take some heat off general manager Steve Yzerman. Failure to clinch would extend their postseason drought to nine seasons, the last six during Yzerman's tenure. He could find himself under pressure to improve the roster during the offseason.
On March 20, Max Bultman of The Athletic suggested the Red Wings could use a top-six forward who can be a difference-maker, goaltending stability, and one more defenseman. However, he believes they have enough cap space for next season to address one or two of those issues.
The Wings have a projected $21.4 million of cap space for 2025-26 with 18 active roster players under contract. Patrick Kane is their notable pending unrestricted free agent while Jonatan Berggren is their noteworthy restricted free agent.
Yzerman's priority should be shoring up their defense. It would lessen their goaltenders' workload and reduce their goals-against per game (currently 3.18) while bolstering a penalty-kill percentage that is a league-worst 69.6.
Addressing that issue won't be easy but it's a necessity. Another disappointing performance next season could lead to changes in their front office.
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Nashville Predators general manager Barry Trotz made the biggest splashes in last summer's free-agent market, signing forwards Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and defenseman Brady Skjei. Those moves had fans and pundits declaring them the winners of the offseason.
Those additions created high expectations for the Predators, suggesting they were pushing to become a Stanley Cup contender. Instead, they sit near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, eliminated from the playoffs for the second time in three years.
During a March 25 interview with The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun, Trotz acknowledged this season's disappointing results. He stressed that the moves were meant to keep this team competitive while adding younger talent over the next two years.
Trotz was busy in the trade market this season moving out veterans and players who didn't fit into his long-term plans. They included Gustav Nyquist, Luke Schenn, Dante Fabbro, Tommy Novak, Alexandre Carrier and Philip Tomasino.
Younger players like Luke Evangelista, Fedor Svechkov, Justin Barron, and Zachary L'Heureux have been given larger roles this season. Promising forwards Joakim Kemell and Ozzy Wiesblatt could rise from the farm team next season, or a prospect like Tanner Malendyk might crack the lineup.
Nevertheless, the Predators head into the offseason with big holes on their blueline and at center. It could be offset if some of those youngsters step up next season but that could be expecting too much from them too soon.
The Predators have a projected cap space of $18.2 million with 20 active players under contract next season. There's enough space for Trotz to add an affordable center or one or two defensemen on short-term deals to buy time until the kids are ready to fill those roles.
New York Rangers: Create Salary-Cap Space to Retool the Roster5 of 6
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Winners of the Presidents' Trophy for 2023-24, the New York Rangers entered this season expected to be among the contenders for the Stanley Cup. However, things quickly fell apart for the Blueshirts as they spiraled down the standings through November into December.
From December until the March 7 trade deadline, general manager Chris Drury made deals to remake his roster. He shipped out notable players like Jacob Trouba, Kaapo Kakko, Ryan Lindgren, Reilly Smith and Filip Chytil, bringing in J.T. Miller, William Borgen and Carson Soucy.
The Rangers have stabilized and are jockeying for the final wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference. On March 7, The Athletic's Arthur Staple indicated their midseason rebuild was over, but they must do more to become contenders again.
That could be difficult given their salary-cap limitation. They have a projected $10.6 million available for next season with 17 active roster players under contract.
Forward Will Cuylle and defenseman K'Andre Miller are restricted free agents this summer. Re-signing both to affordable short-term deals will eat up most of that cap space, especially considering Miller has arbitration rights this summer. Drury would need a major move to free up cap space to continue the retool.
Staple suggested seeing if Mika Zibanejad or Artemi Panarin would waive their no-movement clauses to go elsewhere. Zibanejad carries an average annual value of $8.5 million through 2029-30 while Panarin has one season left with an AAV of $11.6 million.
Panarin's contract could interest bargain-minded teams looking to remain above the cap floor. His actual salary for next season is $8 million, of which $7 million is a signing bonus. If that is paid on July 1 as most signing bonuses are, an interested team would only have to pay him $1 million.
Vancouver Canucks: Find Stability6 of 6
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After several inconsistent seasons, the Vancouver Canucks entered 2024-25 looking like an emerging powerhouse in the Western Conference. They had good reason, having finished third in the Western Conference with the third-best record in franchise history of 50 wins and 109 points.
Instead, the Canucks have fallen behind the St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames for the final Western Conference wild-card berth.
Injuries to key players like starting goaltender Thatcher Demko and team captain Quinn Hughes were contributing factors, but there was more going on behind the scenes. Reports emerged claiming top forwards Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller didn't get along, culminating in the latter's trade to the New York Rangers on Jan. 31.
Trading Miller didn't improve Pettersson's performance. A 102-point scorer in 2022-23, the 26-year-old center is in the first season of an eight-year contract with a team-leading average annual value of $11.6 million. However, he seems to be struggling under the weight of heightened expectations.
Meanwhile, Patrik Allvin was among the busiest general managers in this season's trade market. Along with the Miller trade, he acquired Marcus Pettersson and Drew O'Connor from Pittsburgh, shipped Carson Soucy to the Rangers, and sent Daniel Sprong to the Seattle Kraken.
Allvin must also decide whether to re-sign or replace former 40-goal winger Brock Boeser. The 28-year-old is UFA-eligible on July 1. The Canucks entertained offers for Boeser before the trade deadline but were left underwhelmed by what they received.
The Canucks have some legitimate roster weaknesses. They need a second-line center to replace the departed Miller and a right-shot defenseman among their top-two pairings. Meanwhile, the future of head coach Rick Tocchet remains uncertain amid rumors about his contract status.
Nevertheless, the Canucks are a better team on paper than they were on the ice this season. Management must find a way to ensure more stability for this club or risk another season of inconsistency and uncertainty derailing its promising future.
Stats and standing (as of March 30, 2025) via NHL.com. Salary info via PuckPedia.
