Believe it or not, but Thanksgiving is just about here. And while there’s still plenty of hockey to be played between now and the end of the regular season in April, history tells us teams on the outside of the playoffs looking in come turkey day will likely find themselves in similar positions when the dust settles in the spring time.
So through nearly a quarter of the season, here are five of the NHL’s most disappointing teams.
Buffalo Sabres
It’s hard to believe a hockey-crazed city like Buffalo hasn’t seen playoff hockey since 2011. In fact, the Sabres have qualified for the postseason just twice since back-to-back Eastern Conference Final appearances in 2006 and 2007, which is the last time they won a playoff round.
This year was supposed to be different, though, but it’s turned out to be more of the same. The Sabres finished last season strong and missed qualifying by just a single point. The thought process was this group’s young, high-flying core would finally break through this season.
An injury to star Tage Thompson, as well as one earlier in the year to projected No. 1 goaltender Devon Levi complicates things. Scoring hasn’t been an issue for the Sabres of late, with six players already with double digit point totals, including Rasmus Dahlin’s team-leading 15 from the blueline.
Buffalo currently sits sixth in the Atlantic Division, five points out of a playoff spot.
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Ottawa Senators
Rebuilds are often long and difficult. But the benefit is once they’re over, ideally you are left with a team that can not only qualify for the postseason but compete for a Stanley Cup.
But Ottawa is finding out that despite a young core that is the envy of the NHL, getting over the hump and back to relevancy is easier said than done.
The positive is that the big guns are firing in Canada’s capital. Tim Stutzle leads the club with 20 points in 15 games, followed by veteran Claude Giroux and captain Braeden Tkachuk right at around a point per game.
Former GM Pierre Dorion put his faith in Joonas Korpisalo to be the No. 1 goaltender for the foreseeable future and after a difficult start, he’s stabilized a bit with three consecutive wins under his belt.
History isn’t on their side as the Senators currently trail Carolina by four points for the second Wild Card spot, but they’re within striking distance to end a playoff drought dating back to 2017.
New Jersey Devils
Disclaimer here that New Jersey was without Jack Hughes and are still missing Nico Hischier and Timo Meier due to injuries. But the Devils looked shaky even with all three healthy to begin the season.
New Jersey made moves during the offseason that impacted their blueline and its showing through the season’s first month of the year, as the Devils currently rank fourth-worst in goals against per game at 3.81. It’s difficult to score your way out of bad defensive play and mediocre goaltending, so the fact the Devils are right in the playoff hunt is impressive all its own.
Both Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid are rocking sub .900 SV% with goals against averages well north of 3.
With all that said, when you have one of the best players in the game in Hughes wearing your sweater, you have a chance to win every night.
Of all the teams on this list, though, the Devils are likely the safest pick to buck history and qualify for a playoff spot despite spending Thanksgiving on the outside looking in.
Edmonton Oilers
Speaking of having a world-class player, the Oilers are by far the biggest disappointment of the season. Outside of the Devils, no team on this list ever envisioned being outside the playoffs this late. In fact, the Oilers entered the season with aspirations to bring Edmonton its first Stanley Cup since 1990.
But things got off the rails quick with just two wins in the team’s first 12 games. That, of course, led to coach Jay Woodcraft getting pushed out the door earlier this month.
What’s been the issue? Namely goaltending, or a lack of it. Stuart Skinner has just four wins in 12 games this season to go along with a 3.39 GAA and a .873SV%. Jack Campbell, in the second year of a five-year contract, was so bad he was waived and assigned to the AHL last week.
Connor McDavid, meanwhile, has looked human for the first time in his career with just 15 points in 15 games. Leon Draisaitl, Evander Kane and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are off to strong starts, as is defenseman Evan Bouchard.
It’s foolish to count out a team as talented as Edmonton, but they’ve surely dug themselves a hole that could be difficult to climb out of. With just five wins on the season, they’re third from last in the Western Conference, eight points out playoff positioning.
Columbus Blue Jackets
It felt like Columbus’ season was over before it began when it parted ways with Mike Babcock just before the start of training camp following an incident involving the coach, some young players and their cell phones.
Nothing has improved since the games actually started.
The Blue Jackets, despite improving their blueline and adding top prospect Adam Fantilli in the draft, are currently dead last in the Eastern Conference. Simply put, they’re a bad team.
Johnny Gaudreau, who shocked the hockey world in July 2022 by signing with the club, is having the worst season of his career with just two goals and seven points through 19 games. Somehow Patrik Laine is even worse, leading to him being a healthy scratch Monday night, which he called “embarrassing.”
The Blue Jackets’ minus-19 goal differential is ahead of just the historically bad San Jose Sharks. Their goaltending has been bad operating below replacement level. Elvis Merzlikins has just three wins thanks to a .897 SV%, though any goaltender would struggle to find wins for a team averaging 2.68 G/GP.
There’s no sugarcoating things in Columbus. It’s a team doing what it always does: nothing.