Bandwagon NHL Playoff Rankings: Best Teams for Casual Fans To Root For This Season

Bandwagon is a harsh word, but many hockey fans or folks new to the sport are probably looking for a team to root for in this year’s playoffs. 

Your team may have been eliminated from playoff contention. Maybe you’ve never tuned into the NHL before and are picking a team for the first time. Or, perhaps you’re stuck in some “50 First Dates” situation, and you’ve already been rooting for an NHL team, but you’ve forgotten it due to a traumatic brain injury.

I won’t fault anyone in any of those situations. 

Unless you’re a Rangers or Bruins fan and you’re going to oscillate between your big-market team and a small-market underdog, stop reading this if you’re that person. 

But, for everyone else, here’s a list of five NHL teams that you can buy low on in these Stanley Cup Playoffs. More established teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs or Florida Panthers are not on here. Bandwagoning to a team like that is a felony in most states and provinces. 

Best NHL Teams for Casual Fans To Root For This Season

1. Montreal Canadiens

Yes, Montreal is a slightly odd choice for this, given that they’re the most storied franchise in the history of professional hockey.

But while the Canadiens have won the most titles in NHL history, this version of the team has accomplished almost nothing. 

They’re stocked with electric prospects like the presumptive Calder Trophy winner, defenseman Lane Hutson, and Russian rookie forward Ivan Demidov. 

To give a preview of the medal of these rookies, Demidov was asked ahead of the team’s opening round series against the Capitals if fellow Russian Alexander Ovechkin was his “idol” growing up, to which Demidov responded, “I love [Evgeni] Malkin much better than Ovi.”

Outside of their rookies, they also have forward Cole Caufield, who’s been lighting it up since entering the league in 2021. He also spawned a “Caufield’s on fire, your defense is terrified” chant from the Montreal faithful, which became popular, even among other NHLers, on social media.

With the surprising competitiveness of their series against the Capitals, combined with the viral bench fight between the infamous Tom Wilson and Habs forward Josh Anderson, the bandwagon is starting to fill up, so make sure you get on before it leaves the station.

2. Minnesota Wild

If you redrafted the entire NHL based solely on players’ names, the first one off the board would undoubtedly be Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen — that’s a given. The second pick is probably Minnesota rookie Zeev Buium. 

After a storied career playing college hockey at the University of Denver, Buium joined a Wild roster that reloaded with young talent in recent drafts. 

That youth infusion has paid off, as Minnesota has gone from a late Wild Card clincher to tied in Round 1 with the Pacific Division-winning Vegas Golden Knights. 

Along with the prospects, they have a bevvy of more established vets, like Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zucarello, and an NHL legend playing in his last playoffs, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. 

Watching one last playoff run from Fleury may be enough to make this team a solid choice for those looking for a bandwagon to jump on. 

3. Washington Capitals 

A few weeks before the regular season ended, I said that if Ovechkin could break Wayne Gretzky’s career goal record before the season was over, the Capitals would become the premier casual sports fans’ playoff watch. 

I thought the opening round matchup against the young Canadiens would dim this a little — typically, people don’t like seeing a bunch of old guys beating up on kids. 

But, upon careful consideration, I remembered that people do like that sort of thing. 

Washington is this year’s ‘The Expendables’ playoff team. 

For the unacquainted, The Expendables was a 2010s action movie franchise in which all of the action movie stars of the 80s and 90s — Sly Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jean-Claude Van Damme, etc. — were jammed into one ensemble cast. 

This year’s Capitals team is similar. 

Right now, I’m envisioning a poster with the names “OVECHKIN,” “OSHIE,” and “WILSON” in big block letters. Then, at the bottom of the poster, in smaller letters, it says, “AND INTRODUCING RYAN LEONARD.” And a picture of all of them posed together holding various heavy weaponry and, inexplicably, also wearing eye black. 

I’m sure a certain demographic of dads who wear Oakley sunglasses and cargo shorts is now asking their wives to record the Capitals on the DVR. 

4. Los Angeles Kings

Do you like harmonicas? If so, boy, do I have the team for you. 

Jokes aside, the Kings are a great value pick for a team you can bandwagon without someone questioning it. 

Your NHL-fan friends aren’t going to let you get away with picking Edmonton as your new playoff team, but they probably won’t care if you choose the Kings. 

After a wild first-round slate, not many teams seem like shoo-ins for a Stanley Cup Finals appearance. But, amid a crazy Western Conference, the Kings are as good a pick as any. This version of LA has had its chances over the years, but with an opportunity to go up 3-1 Sunday night on Edmonton, 2025 may be the year they get the Cup back. 

Still, until they get past the Oilers, they will likely not be taken seriously. If and when they do advance, you’re going to be looking pretty smart for saying “Idk there’s just something about the Kings” in your group chats. 

5. Winnipeg Jets

You can only bandwagon a number one seed when that team has had zero franchise success. The same goes for the recent playoff success of teams like the Detroit Lions in the NFL, or the San Diego Padres in MLB, you can pick them if they’re good now but have always sucked. 

The Winnipeg Jets are a great example of this. 

Sure, it is kind of annoying if you consider it from the perspective of a lifelong Winnipeg Jets fan. 

They’re probably in a lot of defensive conversations right now, going, “Oh, okay, you met someone from Manitoba at a summer camp once, so you think that makes this okay?” 

Who can blame them for being upset? I don’t like it when a classic rock song becomes a TikTok trend — I’ve been on the Bob Seger train for years, where were you guys?

But if you just want to say, “Wow, what a save,” under your breath at a bar while watching Connor Hellebuyck, then that’s fine. Just don’t go posting about it on your Instagram story if they win the Cup.