Original: Since the first round of the NHL playoffs consist of 8 series ( 16 teams ) , there will always be 22 teams in this list - the 14 teams that do n't make the post-season in the last season plus the 8 teams that lost the first round playoffs .
Simplified: Since the first round of the playoffs consists of 8 series ( 16 teams ) and there are 30 teams in the NHL , there will always be 14 teams in this list .