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 one of the 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.

10. Utah Hockey Club | 36-41-5, 77 points, 27th

There's probably a book to write about the bizarreness of this franchise's journey from Arizona to Utah. With a new owner, new building, and a new era, will it produce a new result? Doubtful.

Utah absorbs a Coyotes franchise that failed to make the traditional 16-team playoff field for over a decade.

Utah essentially rebuilt its blue line by acquiring defenseman Mikhail Sergachev in a blockbuster deal with Tampa that sent J.J. Moser and top prospect Conor Geekie to the Lightning. Utah also re-signed Sean Durzi, who was acquired last offseason from the Los Angeles Kings in a salary dump .

Utah's additions at forward were more modest: Stanley Cup-winning fourth-line center Kevin Stenlund from Florida and primarily organizational depth for their AHL team — Utah's banking on growth from talented young players and good vibes from escaping Arizona and hellish ownership .

9. Ottawa Senators | 37-41-4, 78 points, 26th

Despite the talent this team has added over the years, the Senators have struggled to find consistency.

There are issues everywhere, none as big as the long-term health concerns for centerman Josh Norris , who's expected to be critical to the Senators' success after the rebuild.

To get back to the postseason for the first time since 2016-17, Ottawa added Vezina-winning goaltender Linus Ullmark from Boston, signed winger David Perron (formerly of Detroit) and swapped left-handed defenseman Jakob Chychrun for right-handed Nick Jensen by trade .

Ottawa is banking most of its chips on new head coach Travis Green, a noted taskmaster and disciplinarian, whipping a talented but underperforming core of players into shape and creating an environment that will be more friendly to Ottawa's goaltenders.

Next up: Groundhog Day Division