There is a changing of the guard in NHL's Eastern Conference

The Tampa Bay Lightning's shocking loss to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 7 on Sunday night did not just eliminate them from the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. It also officially signaled a major changing of the guard in the NHL's Eastern Conference.

With Tampa Bay's elimination and the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers missing the playoffs entirely, it means this season will be the first time since the 2018-19 season that somebody other than Tampa Bay or Florida will represent the conference in the Stanley Cup Final.

There is changing of guard in NHL's Eastern Conference

The Panthers and Lightning have not only dominated the conference over the past six years, but they have been the only two teams to play in the Stanley Cup Final over that time period. 

The Panthers appeared in each of the previous three, winning two of them, while the Lightning appeared in the three finals before that, also winning two of them. 

If you go back even further and go to the 2014-15 season, only five different teams have made an appearance

• Tampa Bay Lightning: Four appearances (2015, 2020, 2021, 2022)
• Florida Panthers: Three appearances (2023, 2024, 2025)
• Pittsburgh Penguins: Two appearances (2016, 2017)
• Washington Capitals: One appearance (2018)
• Boston Bruins: One appearance: (2019)

None of these teams advanced to the second round this season.

Of the four teams remaining (Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes), the only one that has played in a Stanley Cup Final at any point over the past 15 years is Montreal, which last made an appearance in 2021, and even that came in a bizarre 56-game season that featured a one-year divisional and conference realignment, putting all of the Canadian teams in one division. 

Carolina last played in the Final during the 2005-06 season, Philadelphia last appeared during the 2009-10 season and Buffalo last appeared during the 1998-99 season. 

If you went back to the start of this season, you probably would not have found many people who anticipated this quartet of teams to be playing at this point in the Eastern Conference. Carolina would have been expected. You could have made an argument for Montreal, but it certainly would not have been favored. Buffalo and Philadelphia have come out of nowhere. 

Whichever one of these teams ends up advancing, it is going to be some new faces playing for the Cup.