The 2025-26 NHL season is only about a month and a half away from starting, and it’s going to be here before anyone knows it. Heck, action is already starting to pick up a little bit around the league after the Minnesota Wild re-signed forward Marco Rossi to a three-year deal on August 22. It also feels like it’s only a matter of time until the Anaheim Ducks re-sign forward Mason McTavish.
As for the Pittsburgh Penguins, they enter the season with a lot of question marks, but their direction isn’t one of them. They are clearly rebuilding and have been since they traded Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes before the 2024 trade deadline.
Still, their forward group on paper right now is decent, especially since Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell are still on the roster. However, it gets really dicey once you look at the defensemen and the starting netminder. The Penguins will be able to score this year, but will also give up a lot of goals due to those various weaknesses. In other words, if you’re a betting person, take the “over” in a lot of games this year.
Many Penguins fans are obviously watching the 2026 NHL Draft closely, with Gavin McKenna and other potential franchise players like Keaton Verhoeff and Ivar Stenberg in the spotlight, since the top of the draft is the easiest place to find the next game-changing prospect that can help turn the team around. The Penguins will need the lottery balls to go their way to get one of those players, but will face stiff competition from other teams who also likely won’t be very good.
With all of that in mind, let’s take a look at five teams that could/should be worse than the Penguins this year.
1. San Jose Sharks
The Sharks were the worst team in the NHL last year, winning only 20 games and finishing with 52 points, nine fewer than the Chicago Blackhawks. The Penguins had 28 more points than them last year, despite missing the playoffs for a third consecutive year. The Sharks have a nice developing core, led by Macklin Celebrini, but they are still far away from being a serious Stanley Cup threat, let alone a playoff team.
Will they be better this year? Probably, but not to the point where they will make up 28 points on the Penguins. A lot would have to go wrong for Dan Muse’s squad to finish behind the Sharks.
2. Chicago Blackhawks
The Blackhawks only won 25 games and finished with 61 points last year, 19 fewer than the Penguins. They have the generational superstar in Connor Bedard and did a great job locking up Frank Nazar to a long-term extension last week, but like the Sharks, they still need more talent and aren’t close to contending right now.
It’s asking a lot for them to make a big leap next season, even though there’s a chance they’re at least a bit better compared to last year. At the end of the day, Bedard needs more help.
3.Boston Bruins
The Bruins’ eight-year playoff streak ended last season when they finished last in the Atlantic Division with 33 wins and 76 points. Their fans then got to see captain Brad Marchand traded to the Florida Panthers, one of the Bruins’ biggest rivals, right before the trade deadline, before he helped the Panthers win their second-straight Stanley Cup.
They still have several issues heading into this season, chief among them: Who is scoring the goals outside of David Pastrnak? Pastrnak is one of the best pure goal scorers in the NHL, but he can’t do it all by himself.
Can Matt Dumba Have A Bounceback Year In 2025-26?If one thing is for certain when it comes to thePittsburgh Penguins, it’s that their team defense has failed them in the three years since they’ve made the playoffs.
4.Seattle Kraken
The Kraken were hoping to return to the playoffs this past season after signing defenseman Brandon Montour and forward Chandler Stephenson during free agency, but didn’t accomplish that goal, finishing seventh in the Pacific Division with 76 points. Because of that failure, they fired former head coach Dan Bylsma, made Jason Botterill their new general manager, and hired Lane Lambert to be their new head coach.
They continue to stack as many depth forwards as they can and still don’t have a true superstar in their lineup. Joey Daccord is a solid goaltender, but still needs more help.
5.Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators were one of the busiest teams last offseason, signing Steven Stamkos, Brady Skjei, and Jonathan Marchessault to hefty contracts. They were a sexy pick to finish top three in the Central Division before they fell flat and finished seventh in the Central Division with 68 points.
Fast forward one year, and it still doesn’t appear that general manager Barry Trotz knows what he’s doing. Their star players are also another year older, and the Central Division promises to be tough once again this year.
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