This year's Stanley Cup Playoffs have been nothing short of incredible, as the first round has been littered with upsets and comeback victories. The Canadiens made easy work of the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Sharks appear on the verge of doing the same with the Kings, but the rest of the field has been defined by closely fought games. Three series are tied 2-2, and the three at 2-1 may soon be even thanks to the one-win teams taking home ice advantage in Game 4.
As in past years, this year's postseason is also full of the NHL's most valuable teams. The Rangers and Canadiens both rank among the league's three most valuable teams, and eight of the league's ten most valuable franchises made the playoffs. That shouldn't be much of a surprise - generally speaking, on-ice success begets major profits, and more money means more spending toward a top-tier roster.
But this year's postseason also features a few teams that are at the bottom of the value list, and some of them are putting up a serious fight on the ice.
The NHL's three least-valuable teams - the St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets - all made the postseason, and four of this year's playoff teams lost money last year. And though Tampa was swept, the Blues and Jackets are involved in the two best series of the first round.
Nobody expected that Columbus, in its second ever playoff appearance, would put up much of a fight against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who boast some of the most dangerous scoring threats in NHL history. And yet the Blue Jackets have fought back from behind to take two overtime victories in the series, which heads back to Pittsburgh on Saturday. Columbus is the league's least valuable team at $175 million, but may soon be able to climb out of the basement if the on-ice success continues.
And while many predicted that Blues-Blackhawks would be a hard-fought battle, the series has so far exceeded even those high expectations. Three games have gone to overtime, and all three had thrilling finishes. Even last night's St. Louis loss to Chicago ended after the Blues came back from an early two-goal deficit. The Blues haven't made a profit since 2006 and lost $2.5 million last year, but they may wind up in the black with a first-round victory over the Hawks.
It's also worth highlighting the Minnesota Wild, which rank No. 19 with a value of $330 million. Last year lost nearly $14 million, easily the most of any NHL team. A big part of that was spending associated with the massive 13-year, $98 million contracts given to Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Those acquisitions appear to be paying off, though, as Minnesota has made its second straight postseason after a four-year playoff drought.
The Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota's first-round opponent, are noteworthy for the exact opposite reason. Colorado isn't worth much more, with an enterprise value of $337 million, but the team has excelled this year despite having the NHL's third-lowest payroll. It of course helps that Calder finalist Nathan MacKinnon, who is tied for a team-high seven points through three playoff games, is on a three-year, $11.3 million rookie contract.
