Mar 24, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Hockey Club left wing Matias Maccelli (63) warms up before a game against the Detroit Red Wings at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images The Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens were the surprise playoff teams of the 2024–25 NHL season.
While the New York Rangers and New York Islanders both floundered and the Boston Bruins fell off a cliff, the Senators and Canadiens took advantage and rejoined the Stanley Cup chase for the first time in years.
Looking west, surprise contenders could define the coming campaign.
Among the Western Conference powers, it’s fair to say only the Vegas Golden Knights have clearly improved. The Winnipeg Jets are expected to regress after a record-setting season. Meanwhile, the Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers appear mostly unchanged, and the Los Angeles Kings look weaker—particularly on defense.
Add to that the lack of notable upgrades from last season’s fringe playoff teams like the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues, and the door is open for a new wave of postseason hopefuls.
Here are four Western Conference clubs poised to make the biggest jump in 2025.
Utah Mammoth
Known as the Utah Hockey Club in their inaugural season in Salt Lake City, the now-monikered Mammoth are well-positioned to push for the playoffs.
The addition of offensive spark plug J.J. Peterka—despite some defensive flaws—adds a scoring element to a team that struggled to mount comebacks last year.
Injecting a championship pedigree with defenseman Nate Schmidt and backup goaltender Vitek Vanecek from the Stanley Cup-winning Florida Panthers, along with depth forward Brandon Tanev, brings leadership to a roster full of promising youth looking to take the next step.
Anaheim Ducks
Jan 5, 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson (36) defends the goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the first period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Seven straight seasons near the bottom of the standings have allowed the Ducks to amass a deep crop of young talent. This offseason was about pairing them with seasoned veterans to speed up the turnaround.
Veteran wingers Chris Kreider and Mikael Granlund may be in the twilight of their careers, but both should make solid contributions in middle-six roles. Anaheim also made a bold bench move by hiring Joel Quenneville—his first NHL head coaching job since 2021.
The big question: Is Lukas Dostal ready to be the No. 1 goalie after John Gibson was traded to the Detroit Red Wings? If so, the Ducks are in prime position to end their playoff drought.
Seattle Kraken
Jan 18, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Kraken forward Oliver Bjorkstrand (22) skates with the puck during the second period against the Los Angeles Kings at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images After reaching the playoffs in just their second season—and upsetting the defending champion Avalanche in the first round—the Kraken have since taken two steps back.
With a new general manager in Jason Botterill and head coach Lane Lambert, Seattle is reshuffling. They’ve added goal-scoring help in Mason Marchment and Frederick Gaudreau and improved the blue line with Ryan Lindgren.
Goaltending has been an issue, but an improved defensive group and more consistent scoring should take pressure off the crease.
San Jose Sharks
Oct 29, 2024; San Jose, California, USA; San Jose Sharks left wing Danil Gushchin (75) skates against the Los Angeles Kings during the second period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images No, the Sharks aren’t ready to make the playoffs—but they may be the NHL’s most improved team.
After back-to-back last-place finishes, there’s only one way to go: up. And they’ve taken steps. San Jose added scoring depth in Jeff Skinner and Adam Gaudette and brought in defensive upgrades with John Klingberg and Dmitry Orlov.
The long-term future still revolves around young stars Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith and goaltender Yaroslav Askarov. But this won’t be the pushover team we’ve seen the past two seasons. The Sharks will influence the playoff picture more than they’ll chase it.
