Who will return to the playoffs the earliest?

Are you feeling the frenzy of the National Hockey League playoff race? No ? I assure you. It’s normal. It’s like that in 11 markets where, two months before the end of the season, the home team has almost no chance of making the playoffs.

It’s sad.

Between the top and the bottom of the ranking, the gap is wide. Very large. Too wide, even, for several clubs to cross. The Detroit Red Wings recovery plan drags on. That of the Ottawa Senators, too. The Anaheim Ducks and the Chicago Blackhawks have just begun long reconstructions. The Arizona Coyotes are entering their second decade.

But yes, it is possible to cross the gap. The New Jersey Devils are doing it, after a miserable decade in which they never finished in their division’s aces.

Who will be the next team to come out of the cellar?

Here is my list of the worst teams in the NHL, from the one that will return to the playoffs the earliest to the one that will wait the longest. You can cut a few years at the club that will fish Connor Bedard.

Buffalo Sabers

Losing record since 2011
Skyline: now

The future: The Sabers have been battling for a first playoff spot for 11 years. Their first reconstruction, centered around Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart and Rasmus Ristolainen, was a failure. The second phase is more promising. Two lucky freelancers, in the repechage lottery, allowed them to acquire two elite defenders, Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power. The Sabers have great prospects up front and in net, as well as space under the salary cap to add reinforcements. They will (finally) get out!

Ottawa Senators

Losing record since 2017
Horizon: 2 or 3 years

The future: “The reconstruction is over,” declared general manager Pierre Dorion last April. Since then, Claude Giroux and Alex DeBrincat have arrived. Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stützle have progressed. And yet, the Senators are treading water. They are second-to-last in the NHL in offensive production at five-on-five. The healthy return of center Josh Norris next season will help them. Another positive point: all the stars are under long-term contract. In playoffs in two years? I believe it. But they will lack the talent and depth to join the leading group.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Losing record since 2019
Horizon: 2 to 4 years

The future: The Blue Jackets are currently last in the overall standings. A situation attributable in particular to their inexperience. It is the formation whose players have played the fewest games in their career in the NHL. The raw talent, on the other hand, is there – and plenty of it. The hirings of Johnny Gaudreau and Erik Gudbranson last summer, as well as the acquisition of Patrik Laine, the previous season, are not indicators of a reconstruction to come. The Jackets are full of prospects, and they have enough room under the salary cap to improve. The lethargy should be short-lived.

Detroit Red Wings

Losing record since 2016
Horizon: 2 to 4 years

The future: The Red Wings wanted to accelerate their reconstruction last summer by hiring a half-dozen veterans. Result: the needle did not move. Should we be worried? Even with two of the best young attacking talents in the league (Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider), scoring goals remains a challenge. It will be even more difficult if their two leading scorers of the last five years, Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi, take advantage of their complete autonomy to leave Detroit next summer.

Montreal Canadiens

Losing record since 2021
Horizon: 3 to 5 years

The future: What will the top 6 in attack in three years? Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes will have to find solutions so that the club can compete with the best teams in the Eastern Conference. The Canadian may have to sacrifice young defenders to strengthen in other positions. Unless, of course, Pierre-Luc Dubois arrives in 2024 as an unrestricted free agent…

Philadelphia Flyers

Losing record since 2020
Horizon: from 1 to 7 years old (you read that right)

The Future: The hardest team to predict. In an open letter, released Monday, head coach John Tortorella called the current season “the first step in building the future of the Flyers.” What does that mean, exactly? The Flyers are at a crossroads. Or they continue to progress with the current core, made up of players in their mid-twenties. Or they dismantle it and start fresh. They have enough assets to trade to replenish their bank of prospects, but it would also delay their return to the playoffs.

Anaheim Ducks

Losing record since 2018
Horizon: 5 to 7 years

The future: This is the team with the worst differential in the National League (-81). Wait. Four regular defenders will get full free agency in July. What will it be next season? The Ducks have a very good bank of prospects on the blue line, but they are almost all under 20 years old. The transition promises to be difficult. Even with good shots in the draft (Trevor Zegras, Mason McTavish, Jamie Drysdale), the Ducks line up to prolong their lethargy.

Arizona Coyotes

Losing record since 2012
Horizon: 5 to 7 years

The future: The previous rebuild failed. How to get over it? “We’ve set a goal of trying to get back to the playoffs in five or six years,” general manager Bill Armstrong said last December. And to claim the Stanley Cup? “Winning the Cup can take between 11 and 14 years. A few teams did it in 5-7 years, but St. Louis, Tampa and Colorado, it took 11-14 years. The Coyotes will have lost two decades, in an already difficult market to conquer. Brutal.

San Jose Sharks

Losing record since 2019
Horizon: 7 to 10 years

The future: All of the players in the Sharks roster this week are 24 or older. Despite everything, the team loses repeatedly – ​​for four seasons already. So, when is the reconstruction due? Management resists. She risks paying dearly for her stubbornness. The Sharks, who haven’t drafted in the top five since 1998, lack elite talent AND depth at every position. Who will be the guardian of the future? Mystery. They are also stuck with heavy contracts that cannot be traded. A management nightmare.

Chicago Blackhawks

Losing record since 2017
Horizon: 7 to 10 years

The future: Their top three scorers will be unrestricted free agents in July. No striker in the current roster has a contract beyond next season. Who will play in 2024-2025? Surely some hope. It will take veterans to surround them. However, history shows that clubs at the start of reconstruction struggle to attract free agents. A decade in the cellar? It’s more than likely.