3 Teams on The Outside Looking in That Could Make the Playoffs Next Year

The 2022 Stanley Cup playoff seedings are almost set as the season winds down.  As per usual, there are some teams on the fence about making it in while others are just waiting for their first-round opponents.

What about the teams that might not qualify but make some noise in next season’s postseason? Those teams are the Nashville Predators, Vancouver Canucks, and the New York Islanders.

Of those three teams, the most likely to make the postseason next year are the Nashville Predators. While they are still fighting for a wild card spot in the Western Conference with 89 points and 4th  in the Central Division, they have an uphill battle if they make it.

The West is loaded as far as talent goes, so the Predators are going to need a busy offseason. Their playoffs next season could very well depend on who’s re-signed as forward Filip Forsberg and goaltender David Rittich are both UFA’s and forward Luke Kunin is an RFA.

The most important piece is Forsberg, who has been mentioned in trade rumors this season. The Predators have $10.3 million in cap space for this offseason.

These three teams on the outside could make the playoffs next year.

The Predators have a well-rounded team, focused mostly on Forsberg and goaltender Juuse Saros, who played extremely well this season. If things go well this offseason the Predators will be right back in the thick of things next season and likely capture one of the playoff spots.

The Vancouver Canucks, who are quietly having a good season, are next to make the postseason next year. Although they will miss the playoffs, they did make a run to make their names known as the season is ending. The Canucks are currently 4th in the wild card chase and 6 points behind the Dallas Stars.

Just like Nashville, the Canucks have some important pieces to bring back next season, and the biggest one is forward Brock Boeser, who is an RFA after the season. Also, does Elias Pettersson rebound from the lack of production and be the superstar and offensive producer the Canucks need him to be?

The Canucks, who are 5th in the Pacific Division with 82 points, need a roster improvement for next season if they are going to make the playoffs.

Finally, the New York Islanders had a season they would like to forget about. Over the past few seasons, the Islanders were one of the teams you did not want to face in the playoffs. The team was low-scoring but suffocated teams with an air-tight defense that gave the opposition little chances to score and create offense.

This season they are 5th in the Metropolitan Division, and 3rd in the wild card chase but about 20 points behind the leading Boston Bruins.

The good thing is New York has just one UFA and that is defenseman Noah Dobson, who should have no problem re-signing as the Islanders have $2.5 million in cap space. The Islanders did not look like the same team that made the playoffs with regularity and they may need to look at a roster change in the offseason, whether it be by free agency or trade.

The Islanders’ defense and goaltending are solid but could use a tweak. The forwards could use some additional scoring, as star forward Mathew Barzal needs help producing. If the Islanders make a few moves and get back into the playoff picture they could once again be a force and make some noise en route to another Stanley Cup Finals appearance.

These three teams on the outside looking in could make the playoffs next year as the playoff seedings are taking shape for this postseason.