As much as I agree with you, the only team in the last 15 years I can remember were the Canes. Even then, they had an emerging stars in Staal and Ward.
Sorry..but thats a bad example..here are the standings of that season...
Eastern Conference[3]
R Div GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 Z- Ottawa Senators NE 82 52 21 9 314 211 113
2 Y- Carolina Hurricanes SE 82 52 22 8 294 260 112
3 Y - New Jersey Devils AT 82 46 27 8 242 229 101
4 X- Buffalo Sabres NE 82 52 24 6 242 239 110
5 X-Philadelphia Flyers AT 82 45 26 11 267 259 101
6 X– New York Rangers AT 82 44 26 12 257 215 100
7 X-Montreal Canadiens NE 82 42 31 9 243 247 93
8 X- Tampa Bay Lightning SE 82 43 33 6 252 260 92
Canes were not all that surprising. 2nd in the East by 1 lousy point. Not exactly a surprise team.