With the first quarter of the 2025-26 season in the rearview mirror, some preseason playoff hopefuls find themselves in a bit of trouble. Which teams should be hitting the panic button, and which teams shouldn't sweat a slow start?

Now that we have a big enough sample size, I've broken out my handy Panic Meter to help teams determine exactly how worried they should be. I took a look under the hood at some of the more disappointing squads around the league to see whether their issues are here to stay.

In the case of teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers , they had real hopes of a deep playoff run. At the moment, neither team is in a playoff spot, and the all-important date of American Thanksgiving is around the corner. If you're not in the playoffs then, history says

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