At this time last season, the Florida Panthers were preparing for what would become a successful defense of the Stanley Cup, becoming the third team since 2017 to win back-to-back championships.
Meanwhile, the Winnipeg Jets enjoyed the best regular season in franchise history. Having dominated the standings, they won their first-ever Presidents’ Trophy.
Fast forward to this season, and both clubs have been eliminated from the postseason race.
Injuries decimated the Panthers’ roster. They began the season without captain Aleksander Barkov and winger Matthew Tkachuk. Barkov suffered a season-ending knee injury during training camp, while Tkachuk was out until January recovering from offseason surgeries.
Other notable Panthers sidelined by injuries included Sam Reinhart, Brad Marchand, Evan Rodrigues, Anton Lundell, Aaron Ekblad, Seth Jones, Niko Mikkola, and Dmitry Kulikov. As a result, they’ve become the third team in NHL history to miss the playoffs after winning back-to-back Stanley Cups.
Meanwhile, the Jets became the fifth team in league history to miss the postseason after winning the Presidents’ Trophy, joining the 1992-93 and 2024-25 New York Rangers, the 2007-08 Buffalo Sabres, and the 2014-15 Boston Bruins.
One reason was the Jets’ goals-per-game average plummeted from a fourth-overall 3.35 in 2024-25 to 2.81 (24th overall) this season. The departure of long-time Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers via free agency hurt more than expected, as did a knee injury to Connor Hellebuyck earlier in the season.
The Jets brought in past-their-prime veterans Jonathan Toews, Gustav Nyquist, Tanner Pearson, and Luke Schenn last summer. Meanwhile, young players like Brad Lambert and Elias Salomonsson saw limited playing time in Winnipeg.
We also cannot overlook that the Washington Capitals exceeded expectations last season by finishing first in the Eastern Conference. However, they dropped out of contention by midseason, failed to gain ground down the stretch, and finished outside the postseason picture.