It happened for the first time in the league in years! It looks like it’s an end to the long-time history, legacy (built over years), and on-ice dominance for the renowned US-based teams in the NHL. Now this is the kind of moment that makes you double-check the standings and the points and perhaps makes you rub your eyes to see if you are reading right! But with the 2025 playoffs looming—the Stanley Cup awaiting straight and right for that one tough team to get hold of it—the whispers for what has happened are growing. It’s the pure silence that fans hear that has hushed the vibes and hopes entirely.
And with that, Ty Anderson brings it to X—what Liam McHugh, the sportscaster, shared on the TNT network. “This is the first time that all four American-based Original Six teams (Boston, Chicago, Detroit, and NY Rangers) have missed the playoffs,” Anderson’s post read! Okay, so we hear that, finally! But what just happened to the heart and soul of the league? Because fans and spectators across America express shock and disbelief while seeing the league moving forward without these four!
Absolutely WILD stat from @liam_mchugh on NHL on TNT: This is first time that all four American-based Original Six teams (Boston, Chicago, Detroit, and NY Rangers) have missed the playoffs.
— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) April 13, 2025
Well, let’s admit that all four—Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, and New York Rangers—have been phenomenal! To say that these teams have played in the playoffs for decades, with the Red Wings being the most dominant one, clinching the win 11 times in the league!! Followed by the Bruins and the Blackhawks bringing the cup home 6 times and the Rangers witnessing the glory 4 times. But let’s just say gone were those days, and here we are facing the most unpredictable yet difficult NHL season of all time! Can you believe it? Because I can’t, and not these legends too!
“It’s disappointing for everybody. It certainly wasn’t anybody’s plan coming into the year, especially coming off of last year. Yet here we are,” said Peter Laviolette, the Rangers coach, after a 3-7 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. Well, who would have known that the Rangers would go from Presidents’ Trophy winners to packing up this early!! But here we are, facing the harsh reality of the Blueshirts being officially out. But hey, let’s just call it a moment for now.
And moving next to the Bruins and the Blackhawks, it looks like they have hit the brakes already. And for Boston, the team that has been like your constant companion—never missing a chance for the playoffs for nearly two decades, oh my, even they have suddenly found themselves watching from the sidelines! Well, let’s give a knockout thanks to the Montreal Canadiens for the win then! And the Blackhawks? Wait, aren’t they the ones who owned the 2010s—three NHL Cups in six years, but now slowly fading with their fifth straight season without a sniff of the postseason? But just wait until you feel the real pain while cheering for the Red Wings!
When we say it hurts, this one truly does! Despite having the momentum, the fire, and the buzz, the Red Wings fell short in breaking the curse. One lousy point by the Montreal Canadiens, and boom—it’s over—yet again! And let’s not forget it’s the ninth season they aren’t heading to the playoffs, and for a team that once defined dominance, it’s just brutal. To say that it’s the longest drought in their 98-year history, where fans are just left wondering how much longer they have to wait?
Americans witness a bittersweet moment in NHL
Fans across the states have been left stunned after hearing the news. After all, this was the year all major American Originals crashed out for the first time ever! And it didn’t take any longer for the hockey fans to start expressing their emotions. It started with one fan saying, “We should feel comforted by the fact that at least the Bruins are still able to set records this season.” Looks like this one is ready to settle for less. But just then another fan chimed in with throwing a brutal accuracy–“Original Deep 6 this year…” Now, there’s no sugarcoating here, friends, because that’s history, that’s the ultimate truth!
With many emotions pouring in, frustration didn’t seem to stop boiling too! “I still don’t like losing n being giddy about it!! Nothing is Guranteed in the Draft and losing should NEVER be Accepted!! As a fan I am so proud of the Bruins getting in a Record 29 years in a row from 1968 on,” one of them wrote. Let’s say it’s a dual combo—pride and pain in one pack of emotions! With this, yet another one clearly tried to sum it all up by writing, “What an absolute bizarre season .” And honestly, don’t you think it has been one?
And then comes the one who digs deeper into the situation, trying to analyze the points. Perhaps they are pointing fingers at the style of play itself while expressing, “I think it’s a damning mandate on the old style, North/South way of playing that our teams champion. Defense first, keep it simple, hit hard, don’t be creative, no finesse, etc.” Now with fans left behind banging their heads and throwing grief and anger at the same time, their emotions do highlight the fact that the NHL had its turning point this season. With top teams behind the race and others running fast to chase the winning flag, it’s only the past that sang glories for the Bruins, Red Wings, Blackhawks, and Rangers. But hey, the future’s still wide open, and there’s no harm in still dreaming and hoping, right?
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