In this post I’ll take a look at Playoff and fringe playoff teams above Blackhawks.

I’ve excluded obvious lottery teams as there is no substantial gap of note.

Dallas: Two key players turning 39 and possibly retiring soon. Salary cap hell with real danger of losing substantial depth. Multiple contributors in middle 30’s or older.

Colorado: Not as old as Dallas but also in cap hell. Several key players likely not affordable to retain.

LA Kings: Two key players in late 30’s how much longer will they play? Cap hell Substantial number of free agents without cap space to retain existing depth.

Saint Louis: Buchevich has one year left on his contract. Likely in tough position of also losing depth.

Vancouver and Edmonton as well as Vegas no immediate decline. The former two because Rosters are relatively young and Vegas because they literally do not care about Salary cap.

Wild: Roster is not anything special they have two excellent players but depth is much less than you would like in playoff contender.

As you can see multiple teams ahead of Blackhawks have a contention window that likely is closing possibly as early as next season.