Minnesota Wild
The second NHL franchise to grace the state of Minnesota following the movement of the North Stars to Dallas, the Wild are still a very young franchise. The team has been bounced from the first round six times while playing in the second round in three different seasons including a trip to the Conference Finals in just their third season, resulting in a sweep to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.
Yet to play in a Stanley Cup Final series, the Wild had their best season as a franchise in 2016-17 with a 49-25-8 record, good for 106 points and second place in the Central Divisionpeting in one of the toughest divisions in hockey against some of the best teams in the league, the Wild will have their work cut out for them each and every year as they look to compete for their first championship.
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators were one of the final two teams competing in the 2017 NHL Playoffs. Appearing in the Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history, the goal for the Predators from the very start of the season has been the Stanley Cup. Making history with a conference Ffnals appearance is a nice goal to have achieved, but the end-game for every franchise is winning a Stanley Cup. Unfortunately, the team fell just short as the Penguins went on to capture their second title in as many years.
After missing the playoffs in each of the franchise’s first five seasons, the Predators have actually had a solid run from 2003-04 up until the present day. Only missing the playoffs three times since 2003, the Predators have qualified for the postseason 12 times. The team unfortunately lost in the first round in seven of those seasons, though they’ve also played in the second round five times in history, including their Stanley Cup run.
Starting the 2016-17 postseason off in decisive fashion with a sweep of the first-place Chicago Blackhawks, the Predators have proven that they can compete with the best in the league. That remained true in 2017-18 when the Predators were ultimately the best team in the regular season and looked like they had the potential to go on a deep postseason run.
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks were one of the best teams in the NHL for nearly a -04 until 2013-14 – despite the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, the Sharks proved to be a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, however, the story for the Sharks has been regular-season success and failures in the postseason.
To the credit of the franchise, they’ve only missed the playoffs six times compared to the 21 playoff berths since the 1991-92 season. In that time, they’ve qualified for at least the second round 13 times and have competed in the conference finals four times. Despite this, the Sharks have only appeared in one Stanley Cups Final series, ultimately losing in six games to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2015-16.
Despite the success that the franchise has experienced in their 25 seasons, the Sharks remain the only current California-based team to have never won a Stanley Cup. The Los Angeles Kings have two championships – both coming after the 2010 season, and the Anaheim Ducks won their first and only championship to date in 2007.
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks have seen their fair share of ups and downs throughout the history of the franchise. Though the Canucks have missed the postseason 21 times, https://rapidloan.net/installment-loans-ny/ they’ve also qualified for the playoffs 27 times. While they’ve made the playoffs and competed in competitive hockey more often than not since their debut in the 1970-71 season, that success may have also caused even more heartbreak to the fans in Vancouver.
