The 2025-26 National Hockey League (NHL) season has officially surpassed the one month mark. The season is over ¼ of the way done with Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, and the Washington Capitals rounding out the top three teams. However, the league has recently been plagued with injuries with the majority of teams struggling as a result.
Around 150 players are out with an injury as of December 3, 2025. The Vancouver Canucks currently have the most injuries with 10 players out with 8 being on injury reserve (IR). Other teams also have high numbers of injuries such as the Dallas Stars, the New Jersey Devils, the Boston Bruins, and the Florida Panthers as they all have at least 7 injured players.
There are not only numerous injuries in almost all 32 teams, but there is also a lack of healthy star players. Alexander Barkov is the captain of the Florida Panthers and is out for the season with a knee injury. Furthermore, alternate captain Matthew Tkachuk has been placed on IR and is out with no set return date. The Florida Panthers are the reigning Stanley Cup champions, but have found themselves at the bottom of the Eastern Conference due to their injury-riddled team and the loss of their leaders.
Similarly, the Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils has been out on IR since sustaining an injury on November 13, 2025. In this time without their star, the Devils have lost 6 of the 9 games that they have played. Previous to Hughes’s injury, the team had only lost 5 of 12 games throughout the season. While the Devils started the season leading the Eastern Conference, they have now fallen to the first wild card spot.
While there is no one reason that injuries are extremely prevalent this season, fans and analysts alike speculate that the upcoming Winter Olympics are having an effect. NHL players have not been allowed to represent their respective countries in the Winter Olympics since 2014 in Sochi, Russia. However, the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) have reached a new agreement that will allow NHLers to participate in the 2026 Winter Olympics after a 12-year absence.
Ongoing theories circling this recent agreement are that the pressure from these upcoming games may be a factor in the increasing injuries. Additionally, many fear that having these players participate in the Olympics will only cause more strain and injuries when the NHL and the rapidly approaching playoffs should be the players’ main focus.
Regardless of the causes, the question still remains: how will injuries continue to impact the playoff standings?