# @theathletichq on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DXR5heAHz2C
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/64118335-theathletichq-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/15c6c6bd80.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-04-18T16:30:47.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** The Athletic (@theathletichq) — https://gondola.cc/theathletichq

## Caption

This is one of the most unique crops of Stanley Cup playoff teams we’ve seen in recent memory.

We assembled a nine-person, anonymous panel of high-level NHL front-office executives and senior staff. We asked each person to sort all 16 playoff teams into Tiers 1-5 and tallied the average votes.

While panelists were instructed to think of Tier 1 as the league’s inner circle of Cup favorites (roughly 3-4 teams), several executives were reluctant to include more than two clubs in that category. The result is a smaller top tier than expected, which is a telling sign of how uncertain this playoff field is.

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 2,713
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 121

## Credits

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| The Athletic | @theathletichq | https://gondola.cc/theathletichq | Sports Media Outlet |
| Caylee | @caylee_allard | https://gondola.cc/caylee_allard | Senior Social Media Coordinator |

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