Playoffs improbable? Breaking down teams in NHL's 'Scratch-off' division

Hope springs eternal in the summer for NHL fans who last watched their team play in early April.

Could 2024-25 be the season that non-playoff teams from 2023-24 make the postseason? 

In a four-part series, we examine the non-playoff teams from last season and whether they have improved enough to give their fans hope they'll play beyond early April. 

We've divided the 16 teams into four tiers: the "Long National Nightmare" division, the "Groundhog Day" division, the "Scratch-off" division," and the "Puh-leeze" division, which is our bottom tier.

Here's an assessment of teams in the second tier from the bottom, the "Scratch-Off Division."

The 'Scratch-off' division

In our Scratch-off Division, the teams are the equivalent of a scratch-off lottery ticket. The odds of winning big (making the playoffs) are slim.   

12. Anaheim Ducks | 27-50-5, 59 points, 30th in the NHL last season

The Ducks are betting that young players progress into stars faster than veteran support players become liabilities. Anaheim's additions were almost entirely around the margins (defenseman Brian Dumoulin, forward Robby Fabbri and winger Brock McGinn).  

The team has big questions to answer: Can the blue-chip prospects Anaheim has spent six years collecting take that next step? Will forward Trevor Zegras be a part of the new Ducks or a trade chip to bolster the new Ducks?

Centers Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish, winger Cutter Gauthier, goaltender Lukas Dostal and defensemen Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger look poised to play enormous roles. 2024 third-overall pick Beckett Sennecke could also join them on the wing.

11. Montreal Canadiens | 30-36-16, 76 points, 28th

The Canadiens are banking on internal growth.

Montreal and Anaheim are basically interchangeable. Where the Canadiens may have the slight edge is their core, which is further developed. Forwards Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook, goaltender Cayden Primeau and defenseman Kaiden Guhle are expected to carry the next era of Canadiens hockey along with rising 20-year-old star Juraj Slafkovsky, the first overall draft pick in 2021.