The West may still be the stronger conference, but the rising talent in the East cannot be ignored.
A number of playoff teams from the Atlantic and Metropolitan Divisions are led by young stars looking to dominate the conference for the next decade.
Here are three playoff teams from the Eastern Conference with a solid base for the future:
Florida Panthers
While their rise to the top of the Atlantic Division has seemingly come out of nowhere, the Panthers have shown signs of improvement in each of their past two seasons, and their blend of rising stars and veteran leadership has them primed for success for years to come.
Outside of Jaromir Jagr and Jussi Jokinen, the team's offensive core comes from players 25 and under in Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck, and Reilly Smith all hitting the 50-point mark.
It's a similar story on defense with Brian Campbell providing the veteran presence for an impressive young group starring Calder winner Aaron Ekblad.
As long as Roberto Luongo continues to play at a high level, it shouldn't be long before prospects Lawson Crouse and Mike Matheson are joining one of the best teams in the East.
Tampa Bay Lightning
While there are questions surrounding a number of their forwards heading into the offseason, it's hard to find a team with more young talent at every position than the Lightning.
25-year-old Victor Hedman looks set to anchor the team's blue line for the next decade while veterans Anton Stralman, Jason Garrison, and Braydon Coburn are all locked up long term.
In goal, the team boast's one of the league's best netminders in Ben Bishop and one of the position's best prospects in 21-year-old Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Steve Yzerman's biggest decisions will be directed up front with captain Steven Stamkos hitting free agency at the same time rising stars Nikita Kucherov and Vladislav Namestnikov become RFA's. Though Jonathan Drouin's future remains in doubt, it's hard not to envy the wealth of depth in Tampa Bay.
There's no doubt the Lightning will be a postseason mainstay for years to come, but this offseason will reveal which players get to be a part of it.
Philadelphia Flyers
In his second season as Flyers general manager, Ron Hextall maintains that his focus is still on the long term, but with his team's surprising success, he can't help but be optimistic that a deep playoff run may come sooner rather than later.
Forwards Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, and Sean Couturier are all under 30, and more importantly, are all locked up through 2019.
Calder Trophy candidate Shayne Gostisbehere was a revelation on the team's blue line this season, while prospects Ivan Provorov, Samuel Morin, and Travis Sanheim will all look to join the most promising defense core the Flyers have seen in years.
Most importantly, a solid season in net from the duo of Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth may have proven goaltending will no longer be the team's Achilles heel.
