5 NHL Teams That Could Have a Patriots-Like Turnaround Next Season

Like it or not, we have to admit the New England Patriots' turnaround in the NFL this season has been impressive.

After only a few years of "suffering" following the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick era, Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel have led New England back to the Super Bowl.

We've also been treated to an abundance of teams stepping up and turning things around this NHL season, and it's led to the most competitive playoff bubble we've seen in years.

Are any of these up-and-comers just a Maye or a Vrabel short of a meaningful playoff run? Let's take a look at five teams that could have a Patriots-like turnaround next season.

Chicago Blackhawks

Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Connor Bedard

This season, the Blackhawks' young core has really shown us flashes of the fast, skilled team they're on their way to becoming in the Connor Bedard era.

Despite injury, Bedard himself has had a fantastic year and has re-established the hype and excitement that surrounded him in his rookie season. The team pretty much fell apart after his injury on Dec. 12, but the start of this season showed how far they'll go one day.

They have a ton of cap space and room to improve the team around Bedard. Could they spend the offseason making those signings and taking those next steps? If so—and if Bedard stays healthy—the Blackhawks could make things interesting in a way no one saw coming before the start of this season.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Jason Mowry/Getty Images

Zach Werenski

There's not much more important for a rebuilding NHL team than finding that next franchise goalie. The Blue Jackets might be second-to-last in the Metropolitan Division right now, but Jet Greaves has been a revelation in net.

According to MoneyPuck.com, he ranks No. 7 among all NHL goalies in Goals Saved Above Expected with 13.1 in 35 starts. GM Don Waddell also recently brought in veteran NHL head coach Rick Bowness to change the team's direction.

NHL players love playing for Bowness. Could he be the guy to get the most out of Adam Fantilli and Co.? You see the potential watching them play, and maybe Waddell's retool has accelerated this season with Greaves in net and Bowness behind the bench.

New Jersey Devils

Christopher Mast/NHLI via Getty Images

Jack Hughes

You could argue that the Devils have had higher expectations than the Patriots over the past few years. The Devils keep falling short of expectations, mostly because key players have been injured at inopportune times.

They were derailed once again this season after star center Jack Hughes cut his hand and had to get surgery. To make matters worse, they lost out on brother Quinn on the trade market.

It's clear the Devils aren't deep enough, especially on defense, to survive injury adversity. Still, they have a top six that can go the distance, led by the 1-2 center punch of Jack and Nico Hischier. Can GM Tom Fitzgerald make up for fumbling Quinn with a few more moves to improve the bottom six skill and/or the defense as a whole?

It already looks like a reset in the Garden State after Fitzgerald sent veteran Ondřej Palát packing to Long Island in a trade with the Islanders Tuesday.

He doesn't have our trust quite yet, given the potential compared to the outcome these last few years, but a few upgrades could send this team on a deep playoff run.

New York Rangers

Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images

Gabe Perreault and J.T. Miller

The Rangers made drastic attempts to improve their defense and change their leadership ahead of this season. We expected far more improvement than we've seen, and somehow the defensive situation has actually become significantly worse.

Look, you can't totally blame the Rangers when top defenseman Adam Fox and top goaltender Igor Shesterkin have both sustained injuries that have kept them out when their team needs them the most. Maybe the bad luck and bad injury timing are making this team look worse than it is, and maybe Mike Sullivan's leadership will click as those two come back healthy next season.

Maybe GM Chris Drury's fire sale continues, and the Rangers' Maye looks a little less like Artemi Panarin, and a little more like someone we didn't see coming.

Philadelphia Flyers

Eli Rehmer/NHLI via Getty Images

Just as Vrabel's long tenure as a Patriots player made him a fan favorite, new Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet was a fan favorite while playing for the team he now coaches. He was embraced as he took the role.

It's a crucial time for the franchise, as they have a top draft pick in the fold for the first time in forever with Matvei Michkov.

Michkov's development had already been a blast to watch, then the Flyers made a shocker of a move, acquiring Trevor Zegras ahead of this season. Zegras had been coming off a few rough seasons as the Ducks weren't progressing on schedule, and the change of scenery has done him wonders. He's on pace to smash his past two seasons' point totals and to break his goal-scoring record.

They may have finally found a solution in net in Dan Vladar, and Christian Dvorak is delivering on the much-needed forward depth front. If Michkov can recover from his slight sophomore slump and the front office can snag a few more high-end players all around, the Flyers are in great shape for a playoff run next season.