The NHL is a league of chance, you never know who will make the Stanley Cup and who won’t. However, certain teams are just plain awful and somehow make the playoffs while others have great roster make-up and can make their way to the finals without any problems.
Let’s take a look at 5 NHL teams who can win the Cup this season and 5 who will just make the playoffs for show.
No Chance – Detroit Red Wings
Detroit is quite simply one of the great playoff teams in the history of the NHL. After 25 straight seasons, the team started a rebuild in the 2017-18 season.
With players like Moritz Seider and Dylan Larkin, the Red Wings are becoming more and more competitive each season.
However, this season, it’s not quite time for them to go on a run, with more experienced and better teams like the Rangers or Panthers, it may be a few seasons before the Red Wings are Stanley Cup contenders again.
Can Win – Dallas Stars
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The Stars have been constantly competitive throughout the last few seasons with players like Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Joe Pavelski.
This season, it seems as though they have the best chance in years after acquiring Chris Tanev from the Flames and calling up Logan Stankoven from the AHL.
While the Central division may be the most competitive in the NHL, the Stars are one of the teams with a decent chance at taking home the cup.
No Chance – Washington Capitals
The Capitals have aged a fair bit in recent years especially after their 2018 Stanley Cup championship led by Alex Ovechkin.
The Capitals traded away players like Anthony Mantha and Evgeny Kuznetsov to recoup draft capital, thus setting up a rebuild.
With many stronger teams set to make the Eastern Conference bracket, there is no way the Caps make the finals.
Can Win – Winnipeg Jets
The second of the 3 Central Division teams, Winnipeg has been constantly competitive through the controversy surrounding the team.
The Jets have one of the best goaltenders in the league in Connor Hellebyuck and brought in a consistent playoff performer in Tyler Toffoli.
Safe to say that the Jets could be the first Canadian team in over 30 years to win a Stanley Cup.
No Chance – Nashville Predators
Nashville made the Stanley Cup Finals in 2017 where they lost to the Penguins 4 to 2 before losing in the second round the next and being taken out in the first the next 4 seasons.
The Predators have been sitting on the edge of a rebuild since 2018-19, having yet to completely blow up their roster.
With their most notable player, Juusee Saros, having to hold the team up single-handedly, it’s easy to see what the farthest the Preds may make it will be the first round.
Can Win – Colorado Avalanche
As the 4th team from the Central division to make this list, the Avs have been constantly competitive since 2017-18, having made the playoffs every single season since then.
Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2022, the Avalanche have continued to step on the gas peddle being among the top 10 teams in the league every season.
It’s no different this time around as the Avalanche look poised to make a deep playoff run with Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon leading the way.
No Chance – Los Angeles Kings
The Kings are not a horrible team, however, they are in an extremely competitive conference, hence their appearance on this list.
The Kings may face off against one of either the Golden Knights, Avalanche, or the Stars, none of which should have a problem taking on the Kings.
Los Angeles may make the playoffs, but there is absolutely no shot that they make it out of the extremely competitive Western Conference.
Can Win – Florida Panthers
With the Panthers playing in the Eastern Conference, they have a better chance than most NHL teams to make another appearance in the finals and even win the cup.
Florida loaded up at the trade deadline acquiring Vlad Terasenko and Kyle Okposo as they gear up for a deep playoff run this season.
It may not be farfetched to see a rematch of the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Panther.
No Chance – Philidelphia Flyers
Don’t get me wrong here, Philly is a good team and will somehow make the playoffs but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.
The Flyers benched their Captain, Sean Couturier just over a month after they named him as such and when that leadership is at odds, it’s tough to make the big dance.
Let’s just say Philidelphia will not only struggle this year but in the future as well.
Can Win – Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes were another team that loaded up acquiring Jake Guentzel at the deadline just to add to their star-studded lineup.
The Canes have players like Brent Burns and Jordan Staal, two guys who have tons of playoff experience and that only adds to their chances.
It may be time that the franchise once known as the Harford Whalers, bring a Stanley Cup to their fans in Raleigh.
