The NHL was once made up of six teams, but due to expansion, it now has 32 teams spread across Canada and the USA. Today, we are going to look at the defining moment of the last six expansion teams.
With 32 current NHL teams, it is hard to believe that there was a time when the league had just six teams.
It was not until 1967 that the first six expansion teams – the California Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and St. Louis Blues – bumped the count up to 12 teams.
Since those early years, we have seen several expansion franchises come and go. The Quebec Nordiques, Hartford Whalers and Kansas City Scouts were three such teams that went the way of the dodo. However, many expansion teams have stood the test of time, and among them, a few have even made deep playoff runs and won Cups.
This was seen most recently when the Vegas Golden Knights, who are currently battling the Avalanche in the Western Conference final, won the Stanley Cup in 2023.
To get a greater perspective on how expansion franchises have fared over the years, we are going to be looking at the biggest accomplishments achieved by the NHL’s expansion teams. We won’t be covering every expansion team ever introduced, as that would take forever. Instead, we’ll focus on the last 30 years, looking at every expansion franchise introduced since 1996, and go through them in chronological order.
While the Utah Mammoth and Winnipeg Jets won’t be included on this list, as they were technically the relocations of existing teams – the Arizona Coyotes and Atlanta Thrashers, respectively – the Jets have made it as far as the Western Conference final, and the Mammoth managed to make a first-round playoff appearance this year in just the franchise’s second season in Salt Lake City.
With those omissions in mind, let’s dive in.
Nashville Predators, Expansion Year: 1998
In the 90s, a boom in NHL expansion saw the Nashville Predators become the sixth team added that decade. The team started shaky, missing the playoffs in each of their first five seasons, and even then, the Preds failed to advance past the first round in the following four seasons. It was not until 2011, 12 years after their initial introduction, that the team made a second-round appearance.
The franchise’s biggest accomplishment came during the 2016–17 season. Entering the 2017 playoffs, the Predators were viewed as long shots after barely securing the Western Conference’s final wild-card spot. With no player topping 61 regular-season points, Nashville lacked star scoring power, but strong playoff performances from Filip Forsberg (16 points in 22 games) and Roman Josi (14 in 22) helped fuel a stunning run.
The Predators swept the Central Division-winning Chicago Blackhawks before defeating the Blues and Anaheim Ducks in six games each to reach the franchise’s first Stanley Cup Final.
Unfortunately for the Preds, their finals matchup was against Sidney Crosby and the defending-champion Penguins. While Nashville did manage to take two games from Crosby, Malkin, and company, Pittsburgh ultimately won the series in six games, and to this day, that finals matchup remains the furthest any Predators team has advanced in the post-season.
Atlanta Thrashers, Expansion Year: 1999
Nineteen years after the departure of the Atlanta Flames, the NHL returned to the Peach State with the Thrashers, and to keep things simple, the Thrashers saw very little success during the team’s brief 11-season tenure. How minute was the success, you may ask? Well, the team made only one first-round appearance, and it was also the only playoff appearance the Thrashers had before relocating to Winnipeg.
That lone playoff appearance came in 2007, and while we wish we could say that Thrashers fans were at least treated to a memorable series, it turned into a four-game humiliation at the hands of Jaromir Jagr and the New York Rangers.
Most notably in this series, in a crucial Game 3 for Atlanta, they got shut out 7-0 as the Rangers took a 3-0 stranglehold on the series. Keep in mind as well that the Thrashers were the higher seed in the series.
While the Thrashers’ relocation to Winnipeg has been successful, with the Jets reaching the Western Conference final in 2018, the organization’s time in Atlanta will unfortunately be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
Columbus Blue Jackets, Expansion Year: 2000
Like many expansion teams of the era, the Columbus Blue Jackets struggled early on, missing the playoffs in each of their first seven seasons and failing to establish themselves as any sort of a contender.
Even after finally reaching the post-season in 2009, playoff success remained hard to come by with the team bowing out after a first-round sweep against the Detroit Red Wings.
The franchise’s biggest accomplishment came more recently during the 2018-19 season. Entering the 2019 playoffs just narrowly via a wild-card berth, the Jackets faced the Tampa Bay Lightning, who were heavy Cup favorites after a season that saw them go 62-16-4, tying the NHL record at the time for most regular-season wins. Many simply assumed that the Blue Jackets would be swept with ease, but what happened next was shocking.
After falling behind 3-0 in Game 1, Columbus stormed back for a 4-3 victory and never looked back in the series. Led by Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene, and Sergei Bobrovsky, the Blue Jackets shocked the hockey world by sweeping Tampa in four games, becoming the first team in NHL history to sweep a Presidents’ Trophy winner in the opening round.
Unfortunately, the magic ended in the second round, as Columbus fell to the Boston Bruins in six games. Still, the upset remains the high point of the franchise’s history, and one of the craziest Stanley Cup playoff upsets of all time.
Minnesota Wild, Expansion Year: 2000
After losing the North Stars to Dallas in 1993, Minnesota hockey fans finally welcomed another NHL franchise in 2000 with the arrival of the Wild. Unlike several expansion teams, Minnesota became competitive relatively quickly, making the playoffs in just their third season of existence.
That 2002-03 campaign remains the franchise’s greatest accomplishment. Led by players like Marian Gaborik, Cliff Ronning, Andrew Brunette, and goaltender Dwayne Roloson, the Wild put together one of the most unlikely playoff runs of the era. In both the first and second rounds of the playoffs, the Wild found themselves down 3-1 against the Colorado Avalanche and the Vancouver Canucks, respectively.
Rather than fold, the Wild mounted consecutive comebacks, becoming the first team in NHL history to overcome two separate 3-1 series deficits in a single playoff year.
Brunette delivered perhaps the most memorable moment of the run, scoring the overtime winner in Game 7 against Colorado to send Minnesota to its first Western Conference semi-final.
The run eventually ended with a sweep at the hands of the Mighty Ducks in the conference final, and while the Wild have remained a competitive franchise over the years, they have yet to surpass that magical 2003 playoff run.
Vegas Golden Knights, Expansion Year: 2017
No expansion franchise on this list has found success faster than the Golden Knights. While most expansion teams had to spend years building a potential contender, Vegas immediately shattered expectations during its inaugural season, even quicker than the Wild.
Led by breakout campaigns from William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault, along with an elite backstop in veteran goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, the Golden Knights quickly transformed from an expansion afterthought to a legitimate contender, finishing the season as the top team in the Pacific Division. Karlsson exploded for 43 goals after never scoring more than nine in a season previously, while Fleury posted some of the best numbers of his career.
Vegas carried their regular-season momentum into the playoffs, sweeping the Kings before defeating the San Jose Sharks and Jets to reach the Stanley Cup Final in their first season. Despite eventually falling to Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals in five games in the Cup final, the run instantly became one of the most improbable in NHL history.
That alone would have been a passable top franchise moment, but the Golden Knights would not have to wait long for redemption. Just six seasons after entering the NHL, the Golden Knights captured their first Stanley Cup in 2023, defeating the Florida Panthers in five games behind stars like Jack Eichel, Marchessault and Mark Stone.
For an expansion franchise, winning a Stanley Cup that quickly is almost unheard of, and Vegas, who are currently leading the Avalanche in the 2026 Western Conference final, could very well reach that peak once again.
Seattle Kraken, Expansion Year: 2021
As the NHL’s newest expansion franchise, the Seattle Kraken entered the league with expectations heavily shaped by Vegas’ immediate success, but Seattle followed a more traditional expansion path, struggling during its inaugural season and missing the playoffs. However, things changed quickly in year two.
During the 2022-23 season, the Kraken dramatically improved, finishing with 100 standings points and earning their first playoff berth in franchise history, and in their second season to boot. Rather than relying heavily on star power, Seattle found success through depth, with Jared McCann, Jordan Eberle, rookie Matty Beniers, and Vince Dunn all playing key roles for the young Seattle squad.
Their reward was a first-round matchup with the defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche. Despite entering the series as significant underdogs, the Kraken leaned on strong play from goaltender Philipp Grubauer, who elevated his game against his former team.
Seattle ultimately stunned Colorado in seven games, securing the franchise’s first playoff series victory. And despite the Kraken ultimately falling to the Dallas Stars in the next round, they pushed that series to seven games as well, showing the fight that this upstart Seattle club had.
This second-round appearance not only remains the franchise’s greatest achievement, but was also the last time the team advanced to the post-season, failing to make the playoffs in each of the last three seasons.
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