Which NHL team should you root for in the Stanley Cup playoffs?

What reason is there to really root for the Penguins? There is no feel-good story here. The Penguins have several Cups in their history, including two in the last three seasons. It’s expected that they make the playoffs. They have two all-time greats in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Rooting for Pittsburgh is simply not interesting.

Boston is really good. It is the second-best team in the East, unfortunately stuck in a division with the far-and-away top team, which we will get to later. Does the city of Boston need another title though? And do you want to root for a team that has Brad Marchand on it? He was licking people last postseason. Seriously. Licking people.

The Stars have one Stanley Cup in their history, even if it was 20 years ago. However, it seems unlikely that they are going to make a run to the finals. So you may only have a round or two to root for them before they are eliminated. Plus, they are kind of dull. They have one great line, but they mostly won by getting great goaltending out Ben Bishop.

Nobody is going to look at you side-eyed if you say you are pulling for the Avalanche. They have a great top line, when Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen are all healthy. Since they were the last team in the West to clinch a playoff spot, they have a bit of an underdog vibe. There aren’t a lot of negatives, but there also aren’t a lot of positives. Unless you are a Red Wings fan by trade. Then you will never root for Colorado.

The Capitals won the Cup last year, so they no longer have the “looking for their first title” card to play in recruiting bandwagon fans. Alex Ovechkin hoisted the trophy. We’ve seen it happen. Still, they are fun, and it’s interesting to see if a team can repeat. If that’s your thing, at least you know the Caps are good, but they aren’t the Yankees of the ‘90s yet.

The Lightning are the best team in the NHL. They crushed everybody else in points and goal differential. So you would be throwing yourself behind a juggernaut. If they lose, you are going to look a little silly. On the other hand, there’s a good chance you are going to see the team you are pulling for win it all. That’s always fun.

Last year, the Golden Knights were a ton of fun. As an expansion team, they shockingly made the playoffs, and then even more stunningly made it all the way to the finals. On the other hand, that means we’ve seen it happen before. The bloom is off the desert rose, so to speak. Vegas is still a cool team to jump on the bandwagon for, but it's definitely dropped down these rankings from last season.

What a turnaround for the Islanders. Barry Trotz showed up and took an also-ran and turned it into a playoff team. That was after losing John Tavares, so it’s a nice storyline. The Islanders are also a defense-first team with no stars, though Mathew Barzal will get there soon enough. It may not be the most exciting hockey to watch.

At this point, we are getting to a level where we are just measuring the degree to which these teams are fun to root for. There’s a good case to be made for all of them. Nashville has turned itself into a real hockey town recently, which is awesome to see happen. ThePredators have been here just a few times now. It’s not too late to jump on the bandwagon, and they still don’t have a Stanley Cup. The peak for rooting for Nashville was probably two or three years ago, though.

The Hurricanes won a Cup, but it was back in 2006. This year they made the playoffs for the first time in a decade. They are a young, fun team. Sometimes they wear Hartford Whalers uniforms. Carolina also got attention for its  delightful postgame celebration, which definitely earns points for getting behind this team. It’s that one Cup, and bad feelings about taking the Whale from Hartford, that keeps them from getting too high on this list.

The Blue Jackets are the ultimate underdog. It took them years to even make the playoffs and over a decade to get their first win in the postseason. The franchise has yet to win a playoff round. When it does, it will be awesome. Columbus is a great team to throw your weight behind…except for the fact it is probably going to be eliminated in the first round.

It’s been a long time since any Canadian team won the Cup, and we know how much hockey means to that country. Specifically, the Maple Leafs haven’t won it all since way back in 1967, the longest drought in the NHL. The only minor quibble is that the Maple Leafs don’t really give off an underdog vibe. They are the most popular hockey team in a hockey-mad country, and their insane prices show that. Toronto fans also don’t have the best reputation among fans of the Canadian teams. There's a lot of talent here though.

The Blues are a good story, as they were at the bottom of the standings before turning things around. They also don’t have a Cup in their franchise history, and they were part of the first wave of expansion way back in 1967. St. Louis is another team that got here with goaltending, but that’s an interesting story too. Rookie Jordan Binnington joined the team in the middle of the season and put up a 1.89 GAA in 31 games.

The Flames have the Canadian element going for them. They haven't had a Cup since 1989, and they haven’t played for one since 2004. Plus, they weren’t expected to be this good this season. And yet they finished with the best record in the Western Conference. Johnny Gaudreau is a great, exciting player, and Mark Giordano is probably going to win the Norris. Calgary is a formidable, fun team with a good narrative behind it.

For years, the Sharks have been snakebit. They’ve been a playoff team but can never get over the hump. That also means Joe Thornton hasn’t been able to get over the hump. Jumbo Joe is a beloved player, and he doesn’t have much time left until he hangs up his skates. Who doesn’t want to see Thornton and his big ol’ beard finally lifting the Stanley Cup? It would probably be the best Cup-raising moment since Ray Bourque in 2001.

The Jets are a Canadian team, but they have so much more to their story. In their initial run, the Jets failed to find much playoff success. Then they moved the franchise to Phoenix, and Winnipeg didn’t have a team for years. When the Atlanta Thrashers needed a new home, Winnipeg came calling, and the city got a team back. It would be great for Jets fans to get to see their team win it all. If any franchise, and its fans, deserves it, it’s Winnipeg. All other things being equal, the Jets are the team to root for.