NHL Team Picker

All 32 NHL teams, one net each. Choose which teams are in, set how many shots the shootout takes, then skate in — a few are saved, and the one that beats the goalie is your team.

Pick a team to support
NHL game & franchise saves
Fantasy pools & forfeits

Which net does it go in?

Shots in the shootout 3

1 — scores first5 — make them sweat

Skate-in pace Normal

FastSlow

Sound Confetti Winner popup

Which teams are in?

Tap a team to keep its net on the ice — all 32 fit at once, and you can add your own.

Download image after each pick (PNG)

Random NHL Team Picker

A random NHL team, decided by a shootout

The NHL Team Picker draws one of the league's 32 teams at random — but instead of a wheel, you take a shot. Every team is a net with a goalie in it. The skater carries the puck in on a breakaway and shoots; a few are saved, and then one beats the goalie top-shelf and goes in. Whichever net it goes in is your team.

How it works

1st

Choose the teams

All 32 have a net. Tap teams off to cut it to one division, one conference, or a shortlist.

2nd

Set the shootout

One shot scores straight away; five means four saves first. Drama, never odds.

3rd

Skate in

The skater carries the puck in on a breakaway, winds the stick and shoots.

One beats the goalie

That net lights up and grows forward with the full team name — no popup unless you ask.

Why a shootout, not a wheel

A wheel cannot miss. A pointer slides to a stop and the result was never in doubt — there is no instant where it could have gone another way. A shot can be saved, which is the whole difference: every attempt is a real question, and the answer only lands when a puck actually beats the goalie.

The saves are properly random too. One can be made on any net, on the same net twice, and even on the net the winning shot later beats — because a sequence that never does those things is a script rather than a random one.

Glove, pad, or off the post

A shot that does not score has to be stopped somewhere a goal is impossible, or it is a goal being called a save. So each save gets its own outcome: the goalie's glove high, the pad low, or a ring off the post and away. Only a shot that actually beats the goalie — top-shelf, over his glove — goes in, and that is the one that picks your team.

Thirty-two teams, and how it got there

The NHL has not always had 32 teams. It grew there in stages, and two of the names on this list are genuinely recent — worth knowing before you commit to one.

The league added the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017 and the Seattle Kraken in 2021 to reach 32, and both are among the youngest franchises in North American sport. Then in 2024 the Arizona Coyotes relocated to Utah, so that team is brand new in its current home.

Which season is this list? It matches the current 32-team league across four divisions. If you are reading this after another expansion or move, three or four of the details below may have shifted — check the current standings, and use the "add your own team" box for anyone new.

All 32 teams, by division

Each net carries the team name on its colour, with the division and home city on the result. The league splits into two conferences of sixteen — the Eastern (Atlantic and Metropolitan) and the Western (Central and Pacific).

Team	Conference	Division	Home
Bruins	Eastern	Atlantic	Boston, Massachusetts
Sabres	Eastern	Atlantic	Buffalo, New York
Red Wings	Eastern	Atlantic	Detroit, Michigan
Panthers	Eastern	Atlantic	Sunrise, Florida
Canadiens	Eastern	Atlantic	Montreal, Quebec
Senators	Eastern	Atlantic	Ottawa, Ontario
Lightning	Eastern	Atlantic	Tampa, Florida
Maple Leafs	Eastern	Atlantic	Toronto, Ontario
Hurricanes	Eastern	Metropolitan	Raleigh, North Carolina
Blue Jackets	Eastern	Metropolitan	Columbus, Ohio
Devils	Eastern	Metropolitan	Newark, New Jersey
Islanders	Eastern	Metropolitan	Elmont, New York
Rangers	Eastern	Metropolitan	New York, New York
Flyers	Eastern	Metropolitan	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Penguins	Eastern	Metropolitan	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Capitals	Eastern	Metropolitan	Washington, D.C.
Blackhawks	Western	Central	Chicago, Illinois
Avalanche	Western	Central	Denver, Colorado
Stars	Western	Central	Dallas, Texas
Wild	Western	Central	St. Paul, Minnesota
Predators	Western	Central	Nashville, Tennessee
Blues	Western	Central	St. Louis, Missouri
Jets	Western	Central	Winnipeg, Manitoba
Utah	Western	Central	Salt Lake City, Utah
Ducks	Western	Pacific	Anaheim, California
Flames	Western	Pacific	Calgary, Alberta
Oilers	Western	Pacific	Edmonton, Alberta
Kings	Western	Pacific	Los Angeles, California
Sharks	Western	Pacific	San Jose, California
Kraken	Western	Pacific	Seattle, Washington
Canucks	Western	Pacific	Vancouver, British Columbia
Golden Knights	Western	Pacific	Las Vegas, Nevada

Picking a team when you do not have one

A randomly drawn team is only a good idea if you actually commit to it — so narrow the ice first, then let the shootout decide between what is left.

By location. Six of the 32 teams are in Canada and the rest across the United States. Leave on the ones within reach of a home game — a night at the rink is what makes a team stick.
By time zone. With most games in the evening, first puck-drop time decides whether you actually watch. Pick teams whose nights line up with yours.
By difficulty. Leave on the perennial contenders for an easy ride, or the rebuilding sides if you want the version of this that means something in a few years.
By division. Turn on one division and you get a four-to-eight-way draw plus a schedule packed with the same rivals all winter.

Then give it a season. An 82-game NHL season is a long haul — plenty of time to find out whether the team the puck picked is one you want to keep.

Ways to use it

Franchise and be-a-pro saves

Draw a team for a franchise or rebuild in the NHL game. Turning off the contenders makes for a much harder run.

Fantasy and pools

Assign everyone a random team for the season, or settle who drafts from which side first.

Playoff brackets

Hand out teams for a Stanley Cup sweep. The nets reshuffle every run, so nobody can claim a rigged draw.

Settling an argument

Two nets left on the ice is a straight coin flip you can watch happen, with a goal at the end of it.

About the artwork

There are no team logos, jerseys or wordmarks anywhere on this page. Those are protected marks, and everything on this site is original. Each team appears as its name on its own colour — a colour is a fact, not a protected mark, and nothing here reproduces or imitates a real logo.

More sports pickers

After something other than hockey? Try these:

Shoot for a basketball team on the NBA Team Picker, or throw to an end zone on the NFL Team Picker.
Draw a diamond team on the MLB Team Picker, or take a penalty on the Premier League Picker.
Pick a national side on the FIFA National Team Picker, a discipline on the Random Sport Picker, or browse all random pickers.

NHL Team Picker FAQ

The winning team is drawn with your browser's cryptographic random generator before the first shot, using rejection sampling so there is no remainder bias. The nets are also shuffled into new positions every shootout, so no spot on the ice is ever favoured. The saves are separately random — they can be aimed at any net, repeat, and even be made on the net the puck later goes into.

Yes, all 32 franchises, each with its own net, grouped by the four divisions they actually play in. You can turn any of them off to narrow the draw — one division, one conference, or a shortlist of two teams.

It matches the current 32-team league. The NHL reached 32 when the Seattle Kraken joined in 2021, and the Arizona Coyotes became a Utah team in 2024, so those two names are the most recent additions. If you are reading this after another change, check the names against the latest season and use the add-your-own box for anyone new.

Because team logos, jerseys and wordmarks are protected marks and this site uses original artwork only. Each team appears as its name on its own colour — a colour is a fact rather than a protected mark, and nothing here reproduces or imitates a real logo.

Because a wheel cannot miss. A pointer slides to a stop and the outcome was never in doubt at any point. A shot can be saved, so every attempt is a real question and the answer only arrives when a puck actually beats the goalie. It is also the sport itself rather than an abstract spinner. The random pick underneath is identical.

Yes. Tap off the teams you do not want and only the remaining nets stay on the ice. Leaving the eight Atlantic teams on gives a straight one-in-eight draw between them; leaving a whole conference on gives a one-in-sixteen. The odds always spread evenly across whatever is left.

Yes. The winner is chosen by a cryptographically secure generator with rejection sampling, which removes even the tiny bias a plain remainder would leave. Every team in the current selection has exactly equal odds on every shootout, and because the nets are reshuffled each time, no position is luckier than another. The number of shots you choose changes only how long the shootout takes — never who wins.

Completely free, with no signup and no ads in the tool itself. It runs entirely in your browser and works on phones, tablets and laptops, and each result card can be saved as an image.