The NHL plays 82 regular season games, and out of 32 teams, only 16 advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, one of professional sports’ most challenging tournaments to win a league championship. Even though 21 of the league’s current franchises have won the Stanley Cup, it’s not so easy qualifying for the postseason consistently as the current teams with the longest playoff streak is only eight seasons. Here’s a look at the 16 current teams skating in the league’s second season and their recent successes.
Minnesota Wild – 1 Season (2025)
When the Minnesota Wild missed the 2024 Playoffs, it ended a 4-year postseason streak. They got back to the postseason with a fourth-place finish in the Central Division in 2024-25.
Montreal Canadiens – 1 Season (2025)
The 2024-25 Montreal Canadiens were one of the NHL’s biggest surprises. After missing the postseason for three straight years, which coincided with three last-place finishes in the division, the Canadiens showed signs of recovering from their rebuild by making the 2025 Playoffs as a wild card team.
New Jersey Devils – 1 Season (2025)
The New Jersey Devils missed the playoffs in 2024 after making it in 2023. Their 2023 Postseason appearance was the team’s first since 2018 and appeared to be the start of consistent playoff appearances. They got back to the playoffs in 2025 with a third-place finish in the Metropolitan Division despite injuries to key members of the team.
Ottawa Senators – 1 Season (2025)
The 2024-25 Ottawa Senators were another surprising team to make the playoffs. The postseason berth came on the heels of seven straight years of missing them, which included never finishing above sixth in the division.
St. Louis Blues – 1 Season (2025)
The 2024-25 St. Louis Blues proved that they weren’t quite ready to go down the path of a rebuild or retool. Consistent playoff participants in the 2010s and early 2020s, the Blues missed the postseason in 2023-24. However, a rebound that included a coaching change turned things around and led them to a playoff berth.
Washington Capitals – 2 Seasons (2024, 2025)
Since Alex Ovechkin made his NHL debut in 2005-06, the Washington Capitals have only missed the playoffs on four occasions: 2006, 2007, 2014, and 2023. In addition to breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record, he’s led the Capitals to one appearance in the Stanley Cup Final, which they won in 2018. Their longest playoff streak of the salary cap era is from 2015 to 2022.
Related: Top 10 Longest Stanley Cup Playoff Streaks
Winnipeg Jets – 3 Seasons (2023-25)
The Winnipeg Jets just compiled the best regular season campaign in franchise history, advancing to the postseason for the third consecutive season and the seventh time in the past eight years. Initially, this recent success started in the Western Conference Final in 2018, a spot the Jets returned to in 2024. Since relocating to Manitoba in 2011, the franchise has played postseason hockey in eight out of 14 seasons.
Vegas Golden Knights – 3 Seasons (2023-25)
The Vegas Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup in June 2023, just six seasons into existence. Moreover, the franchise has only failed to advance to the postseason once, in 2022, ending their four-year streak, which included appearances in the Final (2018) and the Western Conference Final (2020).
Los Angeles Kings – 4 Seasons (2022-25)
The Los Angeles Kings are the most recent Stanley Cup champion (2014) to not qualify for the playoffs the season following their championship. The organization has had its greatest run during the salary cap era, with two titles. With four straight playoff appearances, starting in 2022, the Kings are looking to get past the first round in a decade.
Dallas Stars – 4 Seasons (2022-25)
The Dallas Stars have a spotty history of qualifying for the playoffs, having achieved most of their success before the salary cap era in the late 1990s. After 2008, they have skated in the Stanley Cup Playoffs just five times, losing in the 2020 Final to the Lightning. In 2024, the club won the Central Division for the first time and reached the postseason for the fourth straight season, something they have not achieved since a run from 2003 to 2008.
Related: 10 NHL Players with the Most Stanley Cups
Edmonton Oilers – 6 Seasons (2020-25)
The Edmonton Oilers advanced to the Stanley Cup Final in the first season of the salary cap era but then fell on hard times. They landed the top pick at the NHL Entry Draft four times, including Connor McDavid in 2015.
Even though it was tough sledding in the first few seasons of his career, the Oilers have now played in six consecutive playoffs, skating in the Western Conference Final in 2022 and Stanley Cup Final in 2024 and 2025. The franchise’s ultimate goal is to win the Stanley Cup for the sixth time.
Florida Panthers – 6 Seasons (2020-25)
The Florida Panthers were founded in 1993-94 and qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs just five times between 1994 and 2016. In 2025, the club has advanced to its sixth consecutive postseason, a franchise record that matches all previous playoff appearances combined. They have now reached three straight Stanley Cup Finals, winning it all in 2024.
Carolina Hurricanes – 7 Seasons (2019-25)
Since hiring Rod Brind’Amour as head coach for the 2018-19 season, the Carolina Hurricanes have not missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs, skating in the Eastern Conference Final in 2019, 2023, and 2025.
Interestingly, in the salary cap era, Carolina was crowned the first champions and only had one playoff appearance between 2007 and 2019, going three rounds deep in 2009. In the past 19 seasons, the Hurricanes have only won one other game in the Eastern Conference Final, getting swept in three of the four series since.
Colorado Avalanche – 8 Seasons (2018-25)
During Nathan MacKinnon‘s 12-year career with the Colorado Avalanche, he’s only missed the playoffs in 2015, 2016, and 2017, winning the Stanley Cup in 2022. Outside of head coach Jared Bednar’s first season behind the bench (2017), he’s guided the club to the postseason for eight seasons, winning three division titles and the Presidents’ Trophy (2021), but only advancing past the second round on one occasion.
Tampa Bay Lightning – 8 Seasons (2018-25)
The Lightning recently became only the fourth franchise since the Islanders dynasty (1980-1984) to win back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. In the past 10 seasons, the Lightning won two titles in 2020 and 2021, appeared in the Final in 2015 and 2022, skated in six Eastern Conference Finals, and missed the playoffs just once in 2017. Before the NHL lockout in 2005, the Lightning won the Stanley Cup in Game 7 against the Calgary Flames in the last game of over a calendar year.
Toronto Maple Leafs – 9 Seasons (2017-25)
The Toronto Maple Leafs last won the Stanley Cup in 1967, failing to advance to the Final outside of the Original Six era. Despite reliving that history with every playoff loss, the franchise recently completed its ninth consecutive season of advancing to the postseason, a period of success unseen in Toronto since the teams from 1974 to 1981. Before this stretch, the Maple Leafs qualified only once for the playoffs between 2006 and 2017, in 2013.
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