Blogs and Other Things

If you’re new to hockey and are looking for a team that (probably) won’t hurt you, you’re in the right place.

(Won’t hurt you too hard, I should say)

Here are the 16 easiest teams to cheer for in the NHL, based on the following:

1. Results from the past decade,
2. The team’s current outlook over the next five years, and
3. How recently they’ve won, which determines the validity (or lack thereof) of trash talk from opposing fans.

(If you’re like me and take everything personally, #3 can be fairly helpful)

I’ve also provided the best name from each team as a little bonus for you all.

Cheer soft 😉

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16. Utah Hockey Club

Utah is an interesting place to start.

On one hand, they’re a relocated franchise in a new city (and state) with a talented team and (seemingly) competent management.

On the other hand, their name is Utah Hockey Club.

…

(Thankfully, it is subject to change)

Regardless, as I said, they’re an exciting young team with skilled players at every position, so it’s only a matter of time before they turn it on and never look back.

Last Won A Cup: Never

Best Player: Clayton Keller

Best Name: Matias Maccelli

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15. Nashville Predators

Everyone thought Nashville would be good this year!

And everyone was wrong.

(Except for my sister’s boyfriend, in case you were wondering)

Their veteran offseason signings pointed towards a team going all-in, which, to be frank, couldn’t have gone worse. The Predators finished 3rd last in the Western Conference, often looking like a team that forgot how to play hockey.

So you may be wondering, why are they easier to cheer for then Utah?

Well, for one, they weren’t playing in a college arena last year, but more importantly, this year marks just the second time in the past 11 years that they’ve missed the playoffs (including a Cup Final in 2017), so things haven’t been all bad in Music City.

But you wouldn’t need glasses to see that the future is grim.

Last Won A Cup: Never

Best Player: Filip Forsberg

Best Name: Nick Blankenburg

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14. Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks are bad.

Like really bad.

But they may just be the hardest team to actually feel bad for.

The Blackhawks were a dynasty in the early 2010s, winning the cup 3 times in 6 years, largely due to the consistency of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Duncan Keith (among others).

Since then, they haven’t made much of a mark in the post-season, so you’d think it’d be harder to be a fan, but in 2022, the team won the NHL Draft Lottery and selected Connor Bedard with the first overall pick, the league’s supposed next generational superstar.

So things are looking up, right?

Wrong.

The Blackhawks winning the lottery was not a great look for the league, and here’s why:

News had recently surfaced that the Blackhawks’ organization covered up the sexual assault of a staff member in their dynasty era, which led to the GM and coach from that era to be temporarily removed from the league.

Naturally, fans found it unjustly poetic that the team covering up a sex crime was given the opportunity to draft the NHL’s supposed next best player.

(And fair enough)

So, the Hawks are sort of in a grey area in terms of cheer-ability, partly because there’s not much to enjoy about them right now (along with the moral qualms), but they do still have Connor Bedard.

And as he grows up, he’ll be a fun one to follow.

Last Won A Cup: 2015

Best Player: Connor Bedard

Best Name: Landon Slaggert

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13. Boston Bruins

Boston is currently at their lowest point of the past decade. Missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016, the team is currently icing one of their weakest rosters in recent memory, which was only amplified after trading their captain (and longtime Bruin) Brad Marchand to division rival Florida.

So things aren’t looking great for the Bruins.

But they’ve had a good run.

While having not actually won the Cup since 2011, the team was good for a long time, making the Stanley Cup Final in 2013 and 2019 and reaching the playoffs all but two years since 2007.

Safe to say, they’ve had a lot to cheer about.

And if the future is grim, if you put their current roster in a Game 7 against the Leafs, they’d probably still win.

Because that’s just how they roll.

Last Won A Cup: 2011

Best Player: David Pastrnak

Best Name: Marat Khusnutdinov

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12. St. Louis Blues

The Blues seem to semi-regularly make the playoffs, and while they rarely dominate the regular season, they are often a post-season dark horse no matter who they’re up against.

With a Cup in the last 6 years and a playoff berth this year, the vibes around the organization have remained fairly positive. This year’s team has a good mix of veterans and young guns, so Blues fans will be glad to know that this year isn’t anything close to a “last chance” with this core.

If anything, it may just remind the rest of the league that they’re good.

Still.

Last Won A Cup: 2019

Best Player: Robert Thomas

Best Name: Jimmy Snuggerud

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11. Winnipeg Jets

The Jets won the Presidents’ Trophy this year, but stellar regular seasons aren’t an anomaly with this team.

Every year, they struggle to shake off the “regular season merchants” tag as they stumble in the playoffs, which can largely be attributed to the play of Connor Hellebuyck.

Each year, during the regular season, Hellebuyck is either the best goalie in the league or top 3, but come playoff time, he seems to forget what makes him so good. His playoff stats compared with those of the regular season are comical (though not for Jets fans), and they only seem to reinforce the notion that the Jets aren’t as good of a team as their record often shows; they just have a good goalie.

So, is it hard to be a fan?

Well, not for the first 7 months.

But you might want to turn the TV off after that.

Last Won A Cup: Never

Best Player: Connor Hellebuyck

Best Name: Nino Neiderreiter

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10. New Jersey Devils

Both of the past two seasons, Jack Hughes has gone down with a shoulder injury late in the regular season. Both times, the injury required surgery.

Last year, it didn’t matter as the Devils were missing the playoffs.

But this year, it will probably be the reason that they don’t make it out of the first round.

But the Devils are young, skilled and entertaining as ever, so they’ll continue to have that going for them.

That said, I’m not convinced in Sheldon Keefe’s coaching, nor in the future of the team’s goaltending.

So we’ll just have to see.

Last Won A Cup: 2003

Best Player: Jack Hughes

Best Name: Tomàš Tatar

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9. Carolina Hurricanes

Carolina have been the better team in each playoff series they’ve played in in the past decade.

They’re fast, determined and have an incredibly motivating coach, so it’d be hard to imagine anything less.

Unfortunately, consistently playing better doesn’t always amount to wins; they’ve made multiple deep runs in the playoffs without anything to show for it.

But why?

The easy answer is a lack of high-end talent, but the playoffs are a time when anyone can get hot, and if the Blues won the Cup in 2019, this version of the Hurricanes should have a pretty decent shot.

But it feels like we say that every year.

So only time will tell.

Last Won A Cup: 2006

Best Player: Sebastian Aho

Best Name: Logan Stankoven

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8. Edmonton Oilers

Watching Connor McDavid play hockey is one of life’s greatest gifts that we’ll never be able to cherish enough.

Every night, he does something you didn’t realize was humanly possible.

Unfortunately, though, by no fault of his own, he hasn’t won a cup yet with the Oilers (despite making it to Game 7 of the Cup Final in 2024), and it’s possible he leaves Edmonton if they don’t win by the end of his current contract.

So while it may be a slightly nervous time for Oilers fans, I’d argue that if fans of other teams got to cheer for McDavid every night, they probably wouldn’t have much to complain about.

Last Won A Cup: 1990

Best Player: Connor McDavid

Best Name: Kasperi Kapanen

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7. Pittsburgh Penguins

This year, Sidney Crosby achieved his 20th point-per-game season, passing Wayne Gretzky for the most all-time.

If this tells you anything, it should be that Penguins fans have had it made since 2005, and their greatest player of the century has yet to slow down.

Had Crosby not faced lockouts and concussions which shortened his career, he would likely be close to hitting 2000 points at his current pace.

Regardless, while the Penguins have gone downhill since Crosby’s prime, he is, for all intents and purposes, “still kicking,” as is his career-long partner in crime, Evgeni Malkin. As long as those two are around, the Penguins will be easy to root for (for sentimental value, if nothing else).

But afterwards, I have no clue where that franchise is headed.

And I don’t think their GM knows, either.

Last Won The Cup: 2017

Best Player: Sidney Crosby (…at age 37)

Best Name: Rutger McGroarty

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6. Dallas Stars

Dallas have curated one of the most well-built teams in the NHL, which, like Florida, is a testament to two things: management and weather.

Jokes aside, the Stars have been cup contenders for years now, and it’d be hard to imagine them leaving the 2020s without a Stanley Cup ring.

…especially considering their best playoff performer is only 21.

Last Won The Cup: 1999

Best Player: Wyatt Johnston

Best Name: Roope Hintz

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5. Washington Capitals

Everything is going right right now for the Washington Capitals. For starters, Alex Ovechkin just scored his 895th goal, passing Wayne Gretzky for first on the all-time goal scoring list (a record many thought was untouchable).

In itself, that would be enough; yet, the Capitals are somehow at the top of the Eastern Conference after squeaking into the playoffs last year before being swept in 4 games.

This year, again, if you look at their roster, you’d wonder how on Earth this team is at the top of their conference.

That said, if Ovechkin continues scoring at his current rate and their goaltending rediscovers their form from the beginning of the year, they could be an interesting sleeper pick to make the conference final, given the ease of their matchups.

That said, if for nothing else, cheering for Ovechkin in the chase of Gretzky’s record has brought the hockey world together, and given the Capitals’ current record, it’s pretty easy to get behind them regardless.

Last Won The Cup: 2018

Best Player: Alexander Ovechkin (at age 39)

Best Name: Alexander Alexeyev

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4. Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche have been one of the most electric teams of the 2020s. Whether or not they’re winning, their hockey is incredibly entertaining; they’re fast, they’re skilled, and they’re experienced. Every year with Mackinnon feels like they have a genuine shot at the Cup, and this year is probably the best team they’ve built around him since 2022 (when they actually won the thing).

In short, as long as Mackinnon’s around, you really can’t go wrong.

Last Won The Cup: 2022

Best Player: Nathan Mackinnon

Best Name: Ivan Ivan

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3. Florida Panthers

For any diehard Panthers fans that do exist (I’m sure you’re out there), they’d probably agree that there hasn’t been much to complain about in recent memory.

Unfortunately for everyone else, that doesn’t show any signs of changing.

For a while, Florida was the forgotten team of the southeast; teams like Tampa and Carolina were consistently making the playoffs while Florida was like the little brother who would occasionally be allowed to play.

But as the team grew, developed and consistently made moves to solidify their future, it became a popular attraction for players to want to play, and they haven’t looked back.

In 2024, the Panthers won the Cup in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, after almost blowing a 3-0 series lead.

But they didn’t.

And in the end, that’s all people will remember.

Last Won The Cup: 2024 (defending champions)

Best Player: Aleksander Barkov

Best Name: Uvis Balinskis

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2. Tampa Bay Lightning

In 2020 and 2021, Tampa Bay won the Stanley Cup in back-to-back years (before making the Cup Final again in 2022).

Safe to say: Lightning fans have had it pretty good recently, and with management unafraid to make the right moves for the team (often disregarding the tenure or namesake of aging players), there’s no reason to think they won’t compete for years to come.

Last Won The Cup: 2021

Best Player: Nikita Kucherov

Best Name: Zemgus Girgensons

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1. Vegas Golden Knights

The Vegas Golden Knights are the easiest team to cheer for in the NHL. Vegas joined the league in 2017-18 and made the Stanley Cup Final in their first year, which raised a lot of questions about the expansion draft process.

8 years later, they have missed the playoffs only once, and won the Stanley Cup in 2023.

The organization’s management are incredibly competent and consistently find loopholes within the salary cap to optimize their team for the playoffs.

Their tactics are frowned upon by opposing fans, but as long as the organization remains unpunished, there’s no reason to believe they will change their ways.

Nor should they.

They’re simply playing the hand they’ve been dealt; why punish them for doing it well?

Regardless, if you’re a new fan, I hate to say it, but you can’t go wrong with Vegas. With a talented roster and a culture built on recent success, Vegas have cracked the code that every opposing fan wishes their team could emulate.

Last Won The Cup: 2023

Best Player: Jack Eichel

Best Name: Kaedan Korczak