2022 NHL Playoffs - Bandwagon Rankings

As the fan of an NHL team that has once again failed to make the playoffs, I am now required to do what some hardcore fans consider a mortal sin, join another fanbase as a bandwagon fan. Sports are most fun when you're cheering for a team that wins, so joining a bandwagon is an essential part of enjoying a sport that your favourite team is bad at.

Today I will be ranking each of the 16 playoff teams in the 2021-22 NHL season from least enjoyable (16) to the best-case scenario (1). Wish me luck on my journey to find a team that will hopefully hurt me less than the Canucks, at least for the next month or two.

Some of my criteria include the likability of the team (influenced by public appearance of fans, team social media, players and coaches), being a fun team to watch (a.k.a. . . being actually good), and one of the most important factors, actually having a chance to win the Stanley Cup. If the team has great vibes and players but is probably going to get smoked by Colorado in the first round, they would be a terrible bandwagon choice.

Alright, with that out of the way, let’s break the stigma around being a bandwagon fan and check out my picks for the best bandwagon playoff team to cheer for this playoff season.

16. Nashville Predators

(Predators captain Roman Josi is the first NHL defensemen to score over 90 points in nearly 30 years)

The Predators are simply not going to make it out of the first round and would therefore be a poor choice for a bandwagon fan. They finished the season in the (first/second) wildcard spot and are going to be facing the (Avs/Flames) in the first round.

Goaltender Juse Saros has been excellent all season but there is no reason to believe that the team around him is anywhere near good enough to make it out of the first round.

They could be your pick if you want an underdog and are feeling very, very bold, but there are much better underdog-style picks later that are much safer in my opinion.

15. Washington Capitals

While the Capitals’ opponent in the first round is not set at the moment, it will likely be either the Panthers or the Hurricanes, both of which would be terrible news for Caps fans. An early season hot streak pushed the Caps into a sure-fire playoff spot, but they have since cooled off and are looking like one of the weakest teams in the Eastern Conference half of the playoff bracket at the moment.

Their goaltending has been a major weakness this season but has stabilized somewhat with the recent success of Vitek Vanecek. However, none of that may matter if Alex Ovechkin’s injury persists into the playoffs. Ovi crashed awkwardly into the boards Sunday night and seemed to be favouring his shoulder afterward. If he isn’t at 100%, then the Capitals’ playoff chances look much worse.

14. Los Angeles Kings

The Los Angeles Kings weren’t supposed to be here. Most people (myself included) expected them to be in the bottom 10 of the league again this season as they wait for their young players to improve at the NHL level. However, Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar and Jonathan Quick all turned back the clock and looked great this season along with offseason acquisitions Danault and Arvidsson who have both been excellent.

The Kings are certainly ahead of schedule but considering that Doughty is out for a season-ending surgery and none of their young players have really broken out yet, they are unlikely to make it far this year. They are almost guaranteed a first-round matchup against the Edmonton Oilers which could make things interesting though. If Kopitar can adequately shutdown Connor McDavid, then the Kings may have a real chance in the first round.

Regardless, this season is an unequivocal success for the Kings.

13. Pittsburgh Penguins

(Sidney Crosby has scored over 1 point per game in each of his 17 NHL seasons)

The Penguins have been slipping a bit lately which makes it difficult to place a ton of confidence in their game. They are also likely to match up with the New York Rangers in the first round who have greatly improved their play since the trade deadline. The Rangers have also had their number of late, beating the Penguins 5-1, 3-2. And 3-0 in their last three games.

However, the Penguins have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. It is not wise to bet against those two players, but this really doesn’t feel like their year, and I would advise against cheering for them.

12. Boston Bruins

The Bruins have been one of the NHL’s least likeable teams for quite some time, partially due to the fanbase and partially due to Brad Marchand. If you can get past that (I can’t, it’s in the Canucks fan contract to hate the Bruins) then this could be a decent team for you.

They haven’t been particularly great this season, but their top line of Marchand – Bergeron – Pastrnak is incredible. They’re likely going to line up against the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round which should be a pretty entertaining series.

11. Dallas Stars

The Stars have had a bit of an up and down season so far and are unlikely to make it through the first round of the playoffs since they are guaranteed a first round series against either Colorado or Calgary. The reason they rank as high as they do here is because of one man, Jason “Robocop” Robertson.

Robertson had an excellent and surprising rookie season last year, scoring 45 points in 51 games, but he has stepped up in a big way this year, scoring 75 points in 71 games so far. He is infinitely likeable, and I just want him to be happy. However, Robocop might not be enough for this team, and they probably won’t last too long in the playoffs. If you decide to cheer for the Stars, you are going to have a great time watching one of the most top-heavy teams in the league, but you’re only going to have a good time for about a week and then they’ll be eliminated.

10. Maple Leafs

(Auston Matthews leads the NHL in goals and set the single-season goal scoring record by any Maple Leafs player)

The Maple Leafs are weird. They have allowed more goals this season than any other playoff team (251) but also have the second most goals scored by any playoff team (307). Their games are chaotic and high scoring in all directions. The only reason they rank this low is their history as a team that chokes come playoff time and has failed to get out of the first round for roughly two decades.

Auston Matthews is absolutely incredible and has been scoring at will this season, just a few days away from confirming his second straight Maurice “Rocket” Richard trophy as the NHL’s leading goal scorer. If Matthews can maintain his offensive brilliance in the playoffs and Mitch Marner can continue to rack up the points, the Leafs are a legitimate cup threat. This team is a pretty good bandwagon choice but be prepared for fans of every other team to be cheering against them.

9. St. Louis Blues

The Blues have Jordan Binnington as their starting/backup goalie. I do not like Jordan Binnington.

Aside from my disdain for their goaltender, the Blues have a tough matchup with the Wild in the first round. Both of these two teams have been two of the very best in the league for the final two months of the season. The only reason the two teams aren’t rated higher is that the winner of this tough series will almost certainly be playing against the Colorado Avalanche in the second round, and nobody wants that.

They have a few really great young players in Robert Thomas (not the guy who sang the song “Smooth” with Santana, but he has the same name) and Jordan Kyrou who are, for some explicable reason, not being treated as the superstars that they are by head coach Craig Berube. Anyway, listen to “Smooth” by Santana and probably avoid cheering for the Blues at this point.

8. Minnesota Wild

This is the best team in Minnesota Wild franchise history. They already have the most points in team history (109 with 3 games remaining) and their star forward Kirill Kaprizov has scored 103 points so far which is by far the most any Wild player has scored in a single season. As I mentioned above, the Wild have been one of the best teams in the NHL ever since the Trade Deadline so they are coming in hot.

Unfortunately for them, they will need to beat the Blues in the first round which is a pretty tall order. This could very well be the most entertaining series in the first round because the teams are so evenly matched. I ranked them next to each other here but the Wild have the clear advantage in likeability. A bonus point for the Wild is that if you cheer for them, you get to watch Noted NHL Nice-guy Marc-Andre Fleury play in net.

7. Edmonton Oilers

(Connor McDavid scored at least 100 points for the 5th time in his short career)

The Edmonton Oilers were one of the least consistent teams in the NHL for the first half of the season or so, but they have turned that around with several months of excellent play ever since hiring their new head coach Jay Woodcroft. The team that has both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl should be a very serious threat but the team around them is a bit lackluster.

As long as the refs actually call penalties when people tackle McDavid to the ice this postseason, the Oilers should have a pretty good shot at making it even as far as the Conference Finals. Their first-round matchup is almost guaranteed to be the Los Angeles Kings and if they beat the Kings then they would likely be facing the Flames in the second round. Aside from the excitement of getting to watch an entire playoff series of the Battle of Alberta, Edmonton could be a great choice for anyone wanting to cheer for the team with the best offensive player in the world. Connor McDavid is easy to cheer for.

6. Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes are a fun young team that has been excellent all season. They score lots of goals with players like Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov leading the offensive charge, but they are also a great team defensively with players like Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce on defence.

They have found quite a bit of success with their two brand new goalies in Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta, but Raanta unfortunately got injured this week. Andersen was surely already going to be playing most of the games in the playoffs anyway but relying on Pyotr Kochetkov and his two games of NHL experience as your backup is a little bit nerve-wracking.

Regardless, this is an awesome team who play good fun hockey. You’ll probably have a good time cheering for them.

5. New York Rangers

The Rangers have had absolutely elite goaltending all season from the presumed Vezina trophy winner Igor Shesterkin. He has been dominant and kept the team well within the playoff race through the first half of the season even though the rest of the team was pretty underwhelming.

However, for the last few months the Rangers have looked very different. They have dominated competition, winning 11 of their last 15 games. Chris Kreider has shocked everyone by scoring over 50 goals and Artemi Panarin is creeping ever closer to 100 points on the season, currently sitting at 96 points with three games remaining.

This team looks like the real deal and it’s always nice to cheer for a team that could actually win something.

4. Calgary Flames

(Johnny Gaudreau scored over 100 points for the first time in his career in the 2021-22 season)

The Flames have been a pleasant surprise this season as one of the best overall teams in the league. Their offense is incredible with four players scoring over 30 goals (and one Johnny Gaudreau goal away from having three 40-goal scorers) and their defence has been solid with a great bounce back season from Chris Tanev and a breakout season for Oliver Kylington.

Starting goalie Jacob Markstrom has been elite this year, leading the league with 9 shutouts and backup Dan Vladar has been excellent in a limited role. This team gets a boost in the rankings because they will likely have a fairly easy road to the Conference Finals compared to the few teams below them, but they are certainly no slouch. Cheer for the Flames if you want to watch them score 6 or 7 goals one game and then win the next one by a score of 1-0. That is the Daryll Sutter way.

3. Florida Panthers

(Jonathan Huberdeau broke the record this season for the most points in a single season by any player in Panthers history)

The Panthers are incredible. They have scored more goals than any team in the NHL this year (by 25!) and are no slouch on defence either. If Aaron Ekblad (1st overall pick in 2014) comes back from injury soon, they will be in an even better spot which is nuts.

Their goaltending has been a bit up and down, but overall Sergei Bobrovsky has been great this year and if that continues into the playoffs, then this team is poised for a deep playoff run. Their offense was already kinda ridiculous before they went and added Claude Giroux for cheap at the trade deadline, now it’s just downright unfair.

It’s easy to cheer for players like Giroux, Barkov and “Jumbo” Joe Thornton and so this team is a great pick for someone who wants a fun team that is going to have a real shot at the Cup this year.

2. Tampa Bay Lightning

(Steven Stamkos passed Martin St. Louis as the all-time leading scorer for the Tampa Bay Lightning this year)

The Lightning are currently they two-time reigning Stanley Cup champions, and they are showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. They looked to be showing some fatigue at the start of the season but have since been just as good as everyone expected them to be.

They have been on an especially impressive tear lately, beating the Maple Leafs 8-1 and the Panthers 8-4, both in the last 5 days. They clearly know what it takes to win the Stanley Cup since the core of their team is the exact same this year as the previous two. The Lightning would be my pick for the team most likely to win the Cup this year as they have proven exactly what they’re capable of come playoff season.

1. Colorado Avalanche

(Cale Makar scored the most goals by any defensemen this season)

My pick for the best bandwagon team to cheer for this year is without a doubt the Colorado Avalanche. This team is an absolute joy to watch and has a very real chance to go all the way. They have been absolutely dominant in all aspects of the game this season and have a few of the very best players in the NHL including defenseman Cale Makar and the underappreciated Mikko Rantanen who currently leads the team in scoring with 91 points in only 73 games (a 102-point pace over 82 games).

After a shaky start to the season, goalie Darcy Kuemper has been lights-out down the stretch. He now boasts an impressive .922 save percentage with 5 shutouts. He has been playing his best hockey lately and that is perfect timing for a team with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations.

This team will be a whole lot of fun to watch and considering how much easier the path to the Cup Final is in the Western conference when compared to the Eastern conference, they have the easiest route to the Cup in the whole league. The Avalanche are the team that I will be rooting for this year come playoff time and I’m feeling pretty good about it.

Did your favourite team make the playoffs this year? If not, who are you cheering for over the next two months? Will the Maple Leafs finally make it past the first round? Let me know in the comment section below.