The Stanley Cup is the ultimate prize in hockey and is widely regarded as one of the top trophies and championships that can be won in all of sports. The NHL is a league rife with parity and every year it feels like there are any number of contending teams that can win the whole darned thing.
Now that the playoffs are going to be kicking off in the coming weeks, let’s take a look at 10 of the top contenders and identify five that can win it all and five that are pretenders!
Contender – Edmonton Oilers
With Connor McDavid back at full health and Leon Draisaitl to complement their young superstar, the Edmonton Oilers have one of the most potent offensive units in the entire NHL. When they are firing on all cylinders there are very few teams around the league that can keep up with them and go blow for blow. There is no denying that they are serious title contenders.
That said, there are some questions about the Oilers, particularly on the defensive side of the rink, but general manager, Ken Holland, has been leaning in and trying to improve that group with a couple of key trades ahead of the deadline, most notably snagging defenseman, Troy Stecher and a seventh-round pick from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a future fourth-rounder. Holland also brought in a pair of centermen from the Anaheim Ducks, Sam Carrick and Adam Henrique. To put it simply, The Oilers have pushed their chips into the center of the table and are all in on winning the 2024 Stanley Cup—and they are one of the most serious contenders out there.
Pretender – New York Islanders
Despite coming into the season as a popular choice to contend in the East, the 2024 campaign hasn’t gone exactly as planned for the Islanders. New York seems to lack the high-end talent needed to compete with the league’s best—and that concern will only escalate if and when the playoffs come around. That said—it is still a fairly legitimate “if” as this want-to-be contender still needs to do some work to even qualify for the postseason. They have been playing good hockey of late, but keeping pace with the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning in the Wild Card race is a tall task, especially with the way that their offense often struggles to keep pace.
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Things got so bad that they elected to replace head coach Lane Lambert with Patrick Roy in January, but they are still among the league’s lowest-scoring clubs and have really struggled to kill penalties.
Contender – Boston Bruins
The 2024 NHL trade deadline was a strange one for the Bruins, as they are in serious contention for the Stanley Cup playoffs, but decided not to add a big name, largely due to the limitations of their salary cap situation. The Bruins did, however, make a couple of strategic moves, acquiring a three-time Stanley Cup winner in Pat Maroon from Minnesota in exchange for Luke Toporowski and a conditional sixth-round pick in 2026. Boston also bolstered its defense adding Andrew Peeke from Columbus as part of the deal that sent Jakub Zboril and a 2027 third-round pick to the Midwest.
Neither are franchise-changing players, but they are the kinds of pieces that can complement the existing core that Boston has and better position them for a deep Stanley Cup playoff run—and maybe even a championship.
Pretender – Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars have had a heck of a 2024 season so far, as they are currently atop the Central division, though the Jets and Avalanche are hot on their trail. Dallas has one of the deepest groups of forwards in the league, as many analysts believe they could finish the season with eight 20-goal scorers on their roster, which is pretty ridiculous depth. They also have a legit No. 1 option on defense in Miro Heiskanen—and Thomas Harley is really starting to come into his own. Unfortunately, Dallas doesn’t exactly have the kind of championship pedigree that you would want to see out of a legit “contender.”
Contender – Las Vegas Golden Knights
Ever since their inception, the Las Vegas Golden Knights have managed to consistently be one of the most competitive organizations in the league, which is a testament to their ownership group and the player personnel execs in Sin City.
2024 is no exception. They have a well-balanced mix of seasoned vets and younger talents that make them incredibly hard to match up against, especially for opposing offenses with Alex Pietrangelo leading the way for their defense. Look for the Golden Knights to be a tough out this year and make another deep run towards the Stanley Cup.
Pretender – Tampa Bay Lightning
There are a number of analysts looking at the Tampa Bay Lightning as legitimate Stanley Cup contenders, but we aren’t so sure. Yes, Nikita Kucherov is still among the most talented players in the league, but this group doesn’t have quite as much depth as the 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup teams. Those squads were absolutely loaded.
It seems like a lot of the Lightning stock is being bought almost solely on the idea that Andrei Vasilevskiy could get scorching hot at any moment. Hope, however, isn’t a strategy and we aren’t buying the Lightning as legitimate contenders yet. Not by any stretch.
Contender – Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been super inconsistent this year, but they know that they can’t waste a season of Auston Matthews’s prime. They are currently sitting in third place in the Atlantic Division, but look poised to make a late-season push with the way that William Nylander and Mitch Marner have played. After last year’s crushing disappointment in the postseason, Toronto is going to look to turn things around in a big way with the recent addition of Ilya Lyubushkin to their defensive lineup. Additional depth on the back end should take some pressure off their stars and put them in a position to contend.
Pretender – Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes came up short in the Eastern Conference finals last year against the Florida Panthers in embarrassing fashion, getting swept out by Carolina and while some folks around the NHL think that they are on a crash course to meet again, this isn’t the same Hurricanes squad as last year. They did do well to land a premier goal-scorer ahead of the deadline in Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins and Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov is a nice piece, but there are legitimate questions about how they will be able to fit those pieces into the fold. As far as we are concerned, the Hurricanes are a pretender in 2024.
Contender – Florida Panthers
After a heartbreaking defeat in the Stanley Cup finals against the Las Vegas Knights last season, the Panthers are back with a vengeance and looking to make another run. They are currently sitting at the top of the table in the Atlantic Division and have been playing great hockey for the bulk of the season.
Florida’s executives have also been busy bolstering their roster with some reinforcements ahead of this year’s postseason push. They were able to secure one of the best rental options on the market in former Ottawa Senator standout, Vladimir Tarasenko and a season postseason vet in Buffalo Sabres captain Kyle Okposo. There is no guarantee obviously, but they have as good a chance as anyone to take it home this year.
Pretender – Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are currently leading the way in the Pacific Division with a pretty sizable gap between them and the second-place Edmonton Oilers, but there is reason to doubt their viability come playoff time. Their top line does a nice job of playing without the puck, but when the playoffs come around they will need to get more out of their second and third lines. This is why it was particularly puzzling to see that they made no moves at the deadline—whether it be making a trade or bringing in a vet like Phil Kessel to add some reinforcements. Without making any key additions, this team is for sure a pretender—even with all of the regular season success.
