The NHL is full of surprises. While some teams have a much higher chance of ending their playoff droughts than others, Carol Schram examines five squads in particular.

In the summertime, optimism reigns supreme. Once NHL GMs have wrapped up most of their off-season shopping, fans can look over the rosters with visions of best-case scenarios for their emerging youngsters, wily veterans and new arrivals.

But this isn't 1991 when only five of the league's 21 teams failed to qualify for the post-season. In today's 32-team league, just getting into the playoffs is a serious challenge. And once teams slip out of the mix, it can be tough to work their way back in. 

But the good news for them is that there is some churn from year to year. 

In the 2022-23 season, the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders replaced the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference playoff mix — and the Devils did it with authority, improving by 49 points from 63 to 112.

In the West, the Seattle Kraken also displayed a stunning improvement in just their second year. They jumped from 60 points to 100 while the Vegas Golden Knights erased the memory of one year outside the playoffs, not just with a return but a Stanley Cup.

Anything's possible in today's NHL. Here are the five teams who could take a real crack at making some playoff noise next spring.

Buffalo Sabres

When the Buffalo Sabres last made the playoffs, it was 2011. Corey Perry was bringing home the Rocket Richard Trophy for his 50-goal season, Dan Bylsma was named coach of the year with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and current Sabre Jeff Skinner won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Yeah — it was a while ago.

Since that time, the Sabres went from Darcy Regier to Tim Murray to Jason Botterill before promoting Kevyn Adams to GM in 2020. The coaching position became even more volatile: Lindy Ruff to Ron Rolston to Ted Nolan to Bylsma, then Phil Housley and Ralph Krueger before Don Granato took over in 2021.

Last season, the Sabres were this close to getting back into the playoff picture for the first time in more than a decade. Tage Thompson has emerged as a superstar, Kyle Okposo brings veteran leadership, and Buffalo has built a young defense as formidable as any in the league with Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson.

Though they won five of their last six games at the end of last season, the Sabres finished one point behind the Florida Panthers and had to settle for another summer on the sidelines. Returning with largely the same group and some talented reinforcements also available in Rochester, it's time for Buffalo to make some playoff noise in 2024.

Detroit Red Wings 

The Red Wings made the playoffs for 25 consecutive seasons between 1991 and 2016 and won four Stanley Cups during that stretch. But when the streak ended, the playoff door slammed shut. Detroit now has the second-longest active playoff drought in the NHL, at seven years.

For all the praise that Steve Yzerman gets as a forward-thinking GM, the Red Wings failed to match the improving pace of the Sabres and the Ottawa Senators last season. They finished 12 points out of a playoff spot in the tough Atlantic Division.

But Yzerman made a splash this summer, acquiring scoring star and Michigan native Alex DeBrincat from the Senators. 

Yzerman was also one of the busiest GMs in the league on July 1. He added James Reimer and Alex Lyon to his goaltending group, signed defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere and Justin Holl, and added free-agent forwards J.T. Compher, Klim Kostin, Daniel Sprong and Christian Fischer.

Nearly half of the roster will be new faces when the Red Wings open their regular season in New Jersey on Oct. 12. They'll be hoping that some of the Devils' playoff mojo from last year rubs off on them. 

It's time for Little Caesars Arena to host playoff games.

Ottawa Senators

The Senators went on a spending spree last summer, putting their house in order before selling a majority stake of their business to an entity led by Michael Andlauer in June.

Ottawa has the NHL's third-longest playoff drought — six seasons. The Sens' last post-season appearance was their storybook run to the 2017 Eastern Conference final, which was ended by Chris Kunitz of the Pittsburgh Penguins in double overtime of Game 7.

Year-over-year, Ottawa improved by 13 points last season. Brady Tkachuk is a fearsome captain, Jake Sanderson is quickly shaping up to be an important blueline piece alongside Thomas Chabot and Jakob Chychrun, and newly signed Joonas Korpisalo should be an upgrade in net. 

Andlauer's experience and resources should provide the stability to move the Senators another step forward this season and back into the playoff conversation.

Nashville Predators

Remember two years ago, when Andrew Brunette stepped into the head coaching role with the Florida Panthers after Joel Quenneville stepped down, then guided the team to 122 points and a Presidents' Trophy?

Rather quietly, Brunette takes over the Nashville bench this fall. He's renewing a relationship with new GM Barry Trotz, which stretches back to the AHL's Portland Pirates 30 years ago and carried over to the Predators' inaugural season in 1998-99. 

Trotz knows the Nashville market like the back of his hand — and while he was known for his ability to coach team structure, he clearly has no concerns about the fact that Brunette's year at the helm in Florida was a bit of a hair-on-fire situation, where no deficit was too big to overcome. 

The pair form a formidable tandem, taking over a Nashville team that finished just three points out of a playoff spot last season.

After selling aggressively at the trade deadline, the Preds went on to jettison Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene. Up front, they've added Ryan O'Reilly, Gustav Nyquist and Denis Gurianov, while Tyson Barrie and Luke Schenn will help shore up the defense in front of a rock-solid goaltending tandem of Juuse Saros and Kevin Lankinen.

The Preds saw an eight-year run of playoff appearances snapped last season. But they haven't won a series since 2018 — the same year they won the Presidents' Trophy. 

Now that reset time has arrived, trust Trotz and Brunette to get the Predators back on track.

Chicago Blackhawks

It's a very bold prediction, but the Chicago Blackhawks are going to look very different next season. If GM Kyle Davidson gets his group to pursue the playoffs as aggressively as it pursued that draft lottery win, things could get interesting in the Central Division next spring. But they must do much more as it stands.

Of course, it's all about Connor Bedard. But Davidson has immediately adjusted the landscape in Chicago to give his new franchise player every opportunity to succeed.

Nick Foligno is a leader who can nurture the budding star. Taylor Hall is a first overall pick himself who can support Bedard as he goes through a long list of first-time experiences. He'd also be a pretty sweet set of hands to have available on Bedard's wing. 

And Corey Perry? In addition to wreaking havoc at the net front like he always has, you can bet he'll serve up some not-so-subtle messages to anybody who tries to mess with the new franchise centerpiece.

The Blackhawks finished with 59 points last season — but worked very hard to get that low in the standings. Right now, they may not be ready to make the kind of jump that we saw from New Jersey or Seattle last season. 

But Davidson still has nearly $15 million in cap space available, per PuckPedia. If his plan for next season starts to pay dividends, he's in prime position to make significant additions and potentially give Bedard an opportunity that evaded Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and Connor McDavid, among many other top prospects — a playoff appearance in his first NHL season.