Review of teams that didn't reach NHL Qualifying Round

The NHL announced its Return to Play Plan for the 2019-20 season on Tuesday, ending the regular season. Play will resume beginning with a Qualifying Round and Seeding Round Robin to precede the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Seven teams did not qualify based on their points percentage when the season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.

Here is a brief review of each of their seasons:

Buffalo Sabres

Record: 30-31-8, 68 points; .493 points percentage

Season summary:Energized by new coach Ralph Krueger's positivity, the Sabres started 8-1-1 and were 16-11-6 and in second place in the Atlantic Division following a 4-3 win against the Nashville Predators on Dec. 12. But a 1-6-1 slide began their decline toward missing the playoffs for a ninth consecutive season.

Standout player:Center Jack Eichel tied for 10th in the NHL with 78 points (NHL career-high 36 goals, 42 assists) in 68 games. That included 31 points (16 goals, 15 assists) during an NHL season-high 17-game point streak Nov. 16-Dec. 17.

Biggest question entering offseason:Will Rasmus Ristolainen finally be traded? There was speculation about the defenseman throughout the offseason and this season, but the 25-year-old has remained with the Sabres. If Buffalo GM Jason Botterill is looking to shake things up, Ristolainen would likely draw a lot of interest.

New Jersey Devils

Record: 28-29-12, 68 points; .493 points percentage

Season summary: The Devils failed to live up to expectations after selecting center Jack Hughes with the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and trading for defenseman P.K. Subban and forward Nikita Gusev in the offseason. A 9-13-4 start led to the firing of coach John Hynes on Dec. 3. Forward Taylor Hall was traded to the Arizona Coyotes on Dec. 16 and GM Ray Shero was fired on Jan. 12. New Jersey went 19-16-8 after Alain Nasreddine took over as coach but missed the playoffs for the seventh time in eight seasons.

Standout player: Mackenzie Blackwood emerged as the Devils' No. 1 goalie by leading NHL rookies with 22 wins (22-14-8) and ranking second among rookies who played at least 20 games with a .915 save percentage and three shutouts. Blackwood fell five wins short of Martin Brodeur's Devils rookie record of 27 in 1993-94.

Biggest question entering offseason:Will Nasreddine and general manager Tom Fitzgerald return? Each was a midseason replacement. The Devils reportedly have interviewed candidates for each job an,d Fitzgerald said neither he nor Nasreddine have been told if they will be back.

Anaheim Ducks

Record:29-33-9, 67 points; .472 points percentage

Season summary: Rebuilding with a younger roster under first-year coach Dallas Eakins, the Ducks went through some expected ups and downs. After going 9-6-0 in its first 15 games, Anaheim went 8-18-5 in its next 31 to fall out of contention and missed the playoffs for a second straight season. The Ducks ranked 29th in the NHL in goals per game (2.56) and scored two goals or fewer in 39 of 71 games.

Standout player: Center Adam Henrique led the Ducks with 26 goals and 43 points. He was first on Anaheim with five power-play goals, tied for the lead with nine power-play points, and tied for 18th in the NHL in winning 55 percent of his face-offs (minimum 600).

Biggest question entering offseason:How can the Ducks speed up the rebuild? Some of Anaheim's young forwards did not progress as hoped this season. Trading a defenseman for a scoring forward could help.

Los Angeles Kings

Record: 29-35-6, 64 points; .457 points percentage

Season summary: Los Angeles was one of the hottest teams in the NHL before the season was paused, winning its last seven games and going 10-2-1 in its final 13. Although that wasn't enough to prevent the Kings from missing the playoffs for a second straight season, it boosted coach Todd McLellan's and GM Rob Blake's belief that they're headed in the right direction.

Standout player: Center Anze Kopitar led the Kings in goals (21), assists (41), points (62), power-play goals (seven) and power-play points (21). The Kings captain was first among their forwards averaging 21:02 of ice time per game and led Los Angeles by winning 55.1 percent of face-offs (minimum 10).

Biggest question entering offseason: Will Los Angeles acquire a defenseman? The Kings have a prospect pool that includes forwards Alex Turcotte, Gabriel Vilardi, Arthur Kaliyev and Samuel Fagemo and 11 picks in the 2020 NHL Draft if they are interested in trading for a defenseman.

San Jose Sharks

Record:29-36-5, 63 points; .450 points percentage

Season summary: After losing the Western Conference Final last season, the Sharks had trouble replacing forward Joe Pavelski, who signed with the Dallas Stars, and went 4-10-1 in their first 15 games. San Jose rebounded to go 11-2-0 in its next 13, but a 0-4-1 start to December led to the firing of coach Peter DeBoer on Dec. 11. Injuries to forwards Logan Couture (ankle) and Tomas Hertl (knee) and defenseman Erik Karlsson (thumb) ended any hope of a second-half comeback.

Standout player:Although Couture missed 18 games, he was fifth on the Sharks with 39 points (16 goals, 23 assists) in 52 games and was their only forward to play more than 20 games to finish without a minus rating (he was even).

Biggest question entering offseason: Will coach Bob Boughner return? The Sharks went 14-20-3 after Boughner replaced DeBoer but were hampered by injuries. GM Doug Wilson said he was pleased with how they competed under Boughner.

Ottawa Senators

Record: 25-34-12, 62 points; .437 points percentage

Season summary:The rebuilding Senators went through some growing pains in their first season under coach D.J. Smith but battled after a 1-6-1 start and managed to be competitive, particularly at home where they were 18-13-6. Playing 10 rookie skaters over the course of the season, Ottawa was tied for 24th in the NHL in goals per game (2.68), 30th in goals-against per game (3.35), last on the power play (14.2 percent) and tied for 28th on the penalty kill (76.1 percent).

Standout player:Thomas Chabot continued to establish himself as a top defenseman and more than lived up to the eight-year contract extension he signed Sept. 19, 2019. The 23-year-old led the NHL averaging 26:00 in ice time per game and led Ottawa defensemen with 39 points (six goals, 33 assists) in 71 games.

Biggest question entering offseason: Will the Senators win the 2020 NHL Draft Lottery? Ottawa has its first-round pick and San Jose's (from the 2018 trade for Karlsson). Winning the lottery and the opportunity to select coveted forward Alexis Lafreniere would provide a significant boost to the rebuild.

Detroit Red Wings

Record: 17-49-5, 39 points; .275 points percentage

Season summary:The Red Wings won three of their first four games before going 1-11-1 in their next 13. Detroit won three straight from Nov. 8-12 but did not win more than two consecutive games the remainder of the season. In the middle of a rebuild following a run of 25 straight seasons in the playoffs, the Red Wings have failed to qualify the past four seasons.

Standout player:Forward Tyler Bertuzzi led the Red Wings and matched his NHL career-high with 21 goals, and established NHL career-highs with 27 assists and 48 points in 71 games. In his fourth NHL season, the 25-year-old was selected to represent Detroit at the 2020 Honda NHL All-Star Game.

Biggest question entering offseason: Will coach Jeff Blashill be retained? Steve Yzerman inherited Blashill as coach when he was hired as Red Wings GM on April 19, 2019 and might be looking to make a change after four straight losing seasons.