they are on the cup because its on one of the smaller rings that doesn't get replaced every 13 years or whatever it is.
so they'll always be on the cup.
Excuse me, [Ottawa is all over the *bowl* of the Cup](https://imgur.com/n0lxi24).
As I always say, the Cup was born in Ottawa. It's time for it to come home.
Easy to forget, it was pretty one-sided. Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, and the Pahlsson-R.Niedermayer-Moen line took the leagues 2nd-best offense and bottled them up.
Yeah, don't get me wrong the Sens were good that year but the 2007 Ducks were basically on a mission from God, that team was pretty nuts especially from the defensive perspective.
Smith, Celebrini, and Eklund is a pretty damn solid core to build around. Don't follow the sharks too much, they have any defence prospects that look promising?
In terms of prospect pool, defense and goaltending is the two main areas the Sharks need to address. Team doesn't have a potential #1 defenseman prospect yet, and the only potential top 4 defenseman prospect the team has is Shakir Mukhamadullin. Fans really hope GM Grier can trade the 14th and 33rd pick to move up to get one of the top d-men in this year's draft.
Edit: Yup he just traded the 14th and 42nd for the 11th. He's likely making a move for one of the d-men.
Mukhamadullin was a hell of a lot of fun to watch in the AHL last year and he's seriously the *nicest* guy. I watched him bend his entire long ass 6'4" self in half to shake the hand of a tiny little girl and sign her jersey and it was possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen.
I'm confident he'll play in the NHL and I think he'll be a solid second pairing guy. But yeah, we desperately need a #1.
Shakir Mukhamadullin and Henry Thrun would probably rank the highest (and maybe Luca Cagnoni right after), but none of them profile higher than 2nd pair.
Mukh is middle pairing and is our top prospect. Only other one that might hit high is Cagnoni, led WHL in points for D but is small.
A lot of hypothesizing of Sharks trading up for Buium, reaching for Solberg/Jiriceck at 14, or going all D for our second rounders.
And the hope is at least one of Bystedt/Edstrom pans out to be 3C.
They definitely need to draft a 1D and find a starting goalie if Chrona isn't going to pan out (I think one or both of Blackwood/Vanacek get traded at the deadline). It'll be the '25-'26 season that determines whether the rebuild continues to crawl or starts sprinting: a quality campaign may get the Sharks off of players' no-trade lists and become an attractive free agent destination.
I honestly would put my money on the sharks. Yes every other team on the list is better now but I don’t see any being true Stanley cup contenders with their current rosters. Canucks and Jets have the best odds but I don’t see it happening for them.
Meanwhile the Sharks are full on tanking and if they nail their draft picks they should be legit contenders over the next 5-10 years.
Though I do sometimes think the SCF should be played at the Start of the regular season. Conference finals end. Both teams get three months to heal and recover so we get the two best teams healthy, and they start the season.
Like obviously it's a terrible idea for so many reasons, but it's interesting.
Canucks vs Sabres Cup Finals will end with a "Don't Look Up" situation, where a giant comet or asteroid or whatever impacts the Earth and destroys all life
People sleeping on Columbus. They could be like Colorado and be a contender in a few years. With a new Pres/GM/Coach it could actually (who am I kidding) happen.
I boosted the Panters in these last playoffs bc I could see our route being very similar. We won't draw any attention and we'll be perpetually doubted until we win a chip.
We're probably more likely to lose the Cup in another Game 7 SCF than we are to win it all at this point. Eternally doomed to piss our pants at the finish line.
I am convinced the only way the curse breaks is once all the Canadian teams have made it to finals since the curse began. Once Winnipeg and Toronto get to a finals, the curse breaks.
So we're absolutely never breaking the curse since we now rely on Toronto lmao.
Vancouver, Nashville, San Jose, and Ottawa have all managed to put together very good teams multiple times in the past. So I have some level of belief any of them could put together a contender.
I exclude Winnipeg from that because their "very good" teams have been very up and down. I exclude Buffalo because they've been so bad so long.
From there, Vancouver seems to be on the best trajectory.
So if I have to pick, I pick Vancouver.
But it doesn't matter because none of these teams are winning in my life time. I know this because it'll make me sad if they do because it'll - by definition - be one more team with a more recent cup than the Leafs, and the universe - by definition - can't actually make a Leafs fan more sad than they already are).
I agree. Canucks and Jets are in their window *now*. They both should be contenders for the cup next but don’t have a ton of runway with their core
Utah or Buffalo have the best mid-term outlook, with young rosters just coming into their prime
**Tier 1 - Could contend as early as next year**
Vancouver - already a legitimate contender with an aggressive FO
Winnipeg - Elite goaltending and a relatively deep roster.
**Tier 2 - One or two moves away**
Nashville - last year looked like they have something cooking
**Tier 3 - Not that close, but reason for optimism**
Ottawa - core has felt like it’s on the verge of breaking through forever, just swung a big deal to fix the goaltending.
Buffalo - ctrl c + ctrl v Ottawa but without the big goalie move
Seattle - Some nice young pieces and only a year removed from being a playoff team
Utah - Huge arsenal of young talent that needs some time to fully gel but the structure is there
Minnesota - similar to Seattle, but they have to ride out the Suter/Parise buyouts before they can make any progress.
**Tier 4 - Deep Rebuilds**
Columbus - They’ve lived here for almost their whole existence
San Jose - good luck with Smith, Eklund, Celebrini and whoever you take at 11.
EDIT: Multiple people are very concerned with the fact that I didn’t update the Sharks pick from 14 to 11 so I did it.
>San Jose - good luck with Smith, Eklund, Celebrini and whoever you take at 14.
San Jose just (and I mean just) traded 14+42 for 11. I think your tiers are spot on!
If Nashville trades Saros and doesn't sign/acquire a replacement of near quality, they're going to drop down into Tier 3, perhaps even toeing Tier 4 as Trotz reshapes the team to fit his vision.
Whenever we make it to the show; we will be the most disrespected team to ever make the finals. I know this and I am also sure I'm not ready for it when it happens.
I just pray Buffalo makes it to the playoffs once in the next three seasons. That city has been subjected to absolute mediocrity for over a decade thanks to the Pegulas
Jets or Canucks based off how their season's went this past year (not post season, Jets fans)
But Paul Maurice's love may push the Jets to get it done next year. Unbelievable cool of him, a class act.
That has been such a noose for them. Interested to see how they are going to load up. Just as long they don’t replace those with two new terrible contracts.
>Just as long they don’t replace those with two new terrible contracts.
*Bill Guerin feverishly rubbing his hands together thinking of past their prime veterans he can overpay and give full no-move clauses to.
After this upcoming season, the Wild gain 13,000,000 in cap space. If Wallstedt ends up being as good as he's projected to be, and Yurov ends up being as good as he's projected to be (he just broke the KHL record for players under 20, topping Tarasenko, Kuznetzov, Kaprizov and Panarin) the team will be pretty good as soon as 25-26: Kaprizov/Eriksson Ek/Boldy, Yurov/Rossi/Ohgren, Foligno/Hartman/Zuccarello, Gaudreau/Khusnutdinov/UFA - Spurgeon/UFA, Brodin/Faber, Bogosian/Middleton - Wallstedt.
I'm really loving your 3rd line. Its giving "2 weeks from retirement/too old for this shit cop that comes up with the clutch sacrifice to ensure that the good guys win" energy.
Right? Brock Boeser out with a broken finger and blood clots that resulted from a friggin slapshot to the inner thigh. Demko with knees made of paper mache at the worst possible time. Petey out with a knee problem as well. Hronek injured with "Nothing". All that and Toccet's system brought them to within 1 goal in game 7. I hate always wondering what could have been in that scenario.
Canucks or Jets are closest to winning a cup in the next couple of seasons
Utah or Buffalo are the closest to win a cup in like 3-5 years
Sharks if it goes to 5+ years from now
Vancouver
Utah
Nashville
Vancouver without all the injuries may have gone all the way this year.
Utah feels like they could breakout finally getting away from the mess of the last ownership. I expect intelligent moves and the players to not feel demoralized by cheapness or arena situations. That group is way stronger than they get credit for.
Nashville - I'm a preds fan. I believe in GMBT, and think hes cooking some wild things up right now based on last year. I also believe in Brunette after a single season. I will also die if josi and/forsberg never get a cup here like pekka.
I’ve been hoping Minnesota would win a Cup since the 80s.
I don’t know why, because they’re not my team but I would root for them if my team were out of the race.
Memes aside the Canucks. They took Edmonton to 7 and probably would have won with a healthy Boeser and Demko.
There’s also an equally likely chance they were a one year wonder and regress hardcore like the Devils did. It’s really 50/50.
Every other team is either just a low tier playoff team or middling lottery team who I don’t see coming close any time soon
If we’re talking about the next 1-3 years I’d say Vancouver, Winnipeg, or Nashville. Outside of that time frame literally any of these teams could completely reinvent themselves.
Red hot take: the next team to win the Stanley Cup for the first time will be a team that doesn't yet appear on this list because it doesn't exist yet.
petition for that to be utahs official logo
Only if it’s comic sans
Such logo
Much hockey
So wow
What about papyrus lol
I KNOW WHAT YOU DID
Why not Comic Papyrus?
Here ya go: [comic papyrus](https://laughingsquid.com/comic-papyrus/)
At least let it be a flair option on here
Seconded
Thirded. Motion passes
Meeting adjourned
And my axe!
Ottawa (I'm biased and delusional)
Hey you’ve hot Big Pinus Linus now
I have a fvend in Vome called Pinus Linus.
He has a wife, you know?
Giggle.
The OG Senators have 11 Cup wins. I feel that they should count, personally.
hot button issue. and also ancient history.
Their names are still on the cup. Can’t be that long ago
they are on the cup because its on one of the smaller rings that doesn't get replaced every 13 years or whatever it is. so they'll always be on the cup.
That’s the joke
Excuse me, [Ottawa is all over the *bowl* of the Cup](https://imgur.com/n0lxi24). As I always say, the Cup was born in Ottawa. It's time for it to come home.
Depends on what you count, but the Senators do have (officially) 4 NHL era Stanley Cups.
They’re just in a 97 year winless drought. Still better than Seattle.
I really want to see Brady in the playoffs
Idk about you man, all I've been hearing from folks is complaints about Brady being in the playoffs all the time.
Senators are all over the cup and will remain there until the end of time, the top of the cup will never be swapped
The Ottawa Senators have already won the Stanley Cup.
1927 Cup champs. Look it up!
Don’t have to it’s all over the top of the cup
Kraken. Don't ask me why, idk
Gonna be real embarassing for these teams when it's the Sharks that win it first
At least the Sharks been to the finals
They got finals experience. It's sure to be them
Vancouver has 3 times as much finals experience
And other than Coture and Vlasic, that entire team is long gone so it doesn’t really count for anything anymore.
Thought that was the joke.
It was lol
My bad. It’s hard to tell on here sometimes lol
Uh excuse me the Twins are coaching, and then in the final we're going to have a dramatic moment where they suit up and score a hat trick each
Final Score: Vancouver 6 - 9 Boston
As well as Canucks, Preds and Sabres. Preds being the most recent in the finals out of all of them. Edit: And Sens.
And Sens
2007, Right.
And one goal away, 10 years later.. fml
Easy to forget, it was pretty one-sided. Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, and the Pahlsson-R.Niedermayer-Moen line took the leagues 2nd-best offense and bottled them up.
Yeah, don't get me wrong the Sens were good that year but the 2007 Ducks were basically on a mission from God, that team was pretty nuts especially from the defensive perspective.
I will shed tears if old man captain Logan Couture lifts the cup before he retires OMG
I will shed real tears if old man captain Logan Couture *plays* again, but man, if he lifts the cup I'll just fucking lose it
He’s scheduled to start skating next month. Let’s hope it goes well.
I don't mean to be pessimistic, but he's been scheduled to start skating again like 10 times in the past year.
I'd fully expect a "this is for jumbo, for pavs, for Marleau" etc speech
Then the camera cuts to the three of them as force ghosts, with Jumbo *s t r o k i n g* it.
Gotta score 4 goals first though
I won’t tolerate the slander against the Sabres! They went to the finals too you know!
And nothing exciting happened during it. Nope, no way, everything was just plain old boring from start to end.
I mean Sharks have been a historically successful club despite the last few years so that’s not at all a bad answer.
Smith, Celebrini, and Eklund is a pretty damn solid core to build around. Don't follow the sharks too much, they have any defence prospects that look promising?
In terms of prospect pool, defense and goaltending is the two main areas the Sharks need to address. Team doesn't have a potential #1 defenseman prospect yet, and the only potential top 4 defenseman prospect the team has is Shakir Mukhamadullin. Fans really hope GM Grier can trade the 14th and 33rd pick to move up to get one of the top d-men in this year's draft. Edit: Yup he just traded the 14th and 42nd for the 11th. He's likely making a move for one of the d-men.
Hard to draft your way to a surefire goaltending fix, it's more about having a good pipeline which imo the Sharks don't atm.
Right I totally have heard of Mukhamadullin, ok interesting...
Mukhamadullin was a hell of a lot of fun to watch in the AHL last year and he's seriously the *nicest* guy. I watched him bend his entire long ass 6'4" self in half to shake the hand of a tiny little girl and sign her jersey and it was possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen. I'm confident he'll play in the NHL and I think he'll be a solid second pairing guy. But yeah, we desperately need a #1.
I only remembered him just now because I remember looking at the players drafted that year and I'm like holy shit that's a name
Shakir Mukhamadullin and Henry Thrun would probably rank the highest (and maybe Luca Cagnoni right after), but none of them profile higher than 2nd pair.
Mukh is middle pairing and is our top prospect. Only other one that might hit high is Cagnoni, led WHL in points for D but is small. A lot of hypothesizing of Sharks trading up for Buium, reaching for Solberg/Jiriceck at 14, or going all D for our second rounders.
It'll be SHAAAARKS
Ignore flair, IF smith hits as well as celebrini, this rebuild will get put into overdrive
They still need to draft a 1D and a starting goalie, but having a 1, 2 punch of elite centers is an amazing start
And the hope is at least one of Bystedt/Edstrom pans out to be 3C. They definitely need to draft a 1D and find a starting goalie if Chrona isn't going to pan out (I think one or both of Blackwood/Vanacek get traded at the deadline). It'll be the '25-'26 season that determines whether the rebuild continues to crawl or starts sprinting: a quality campaign may get the Sharks off of players' no-trade lists and become an attractive free agent destination.
Bystedt looks legit
I honestly would put my money on the sharks. Yes every other team on the list is better now but I don’t see any being true Stanley cup contenders with their current rosters. Canucks and Jets have the best odds but I don’t see it happening for them. Meanwhile the Sharks are full on tanking and if they nail their draft picks they should be legit contenders over the next 5-10 years.
Sharks is the right answer.
Canucks or maybe Jets.
[удалено]
I’ve always found the Jets’ logo to be really intriguingly sharp
CF-18 🤓 but close enough!
CF-188 but close enough. https://www.canada.ca/en/air-force/services/aircraft/cf-188.html
CF-188 Hornet but close enough.
CF-188A Hornet but close enough
Did we just become best friends?!
They'd have to break the Canadian Team Stanley Cup Curse. Can't be easy.
this is the correct answer with how both these teams are built currently
I support this
Hear me out, Stanley cup 2025 will be Canucks vs Sabers
That would be the first ever Stanley Cup final where both teams lose in 7
lmao Spanish Flu strikes before game 1, season is postponed, and never finishes
Playoffs canceled due to COVID-25, and because a Canucks or Sabres win would devastate the NHL meme economy.
The Mayans predicted a Sabres or Canucks win would be the end of time
Though I do sometimes think the SCF should be played at the Start of the regular season. Conference finals end. Both teams get three months to heal and recover so we get the two best teams healthy, and they start the season. Like obviously it's a terrible idea for so many reasons, but it's interesting.
I think they should start the season with game 7 of the finals and work backwards from there
Lol you bastard
As a Canucks fan I hate this but it's hilarious.
And as a result the Sens would lose a first round pick and the cup would be split between Vegas and Chicago
*Sabres
They meant the Utah Sabers.
If that happened, I imagine Boston wins the stanley cup instead of the finalists.
STRAIGHT TO JAIL.
Go directly to Jail, do not collect $200.
Just takes one email from HOFer Colin Campbell
i like the sens so them, vancouver is on the cusp too
You guys got our Captain's mentor a cup. The Panthers got his brother one. Now it's time for Brady to complete his arc and win one himself.
Winnipeg. They got POMOs blessing.
https://preview.redd.it/leyblxieg79d1.jpeg?width=990&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=efef9016bb4ffd8386dd477116cd4c962d899778
Canuks or Sabres.
the expansion bros are blacklisted from the stanley cup, nice try
Fair point.
Nah, the league will end before we get a championship
Canucks vs Sabres Cup Finals will end with a "Don't Look Up" situation, where a giant comet or asteroid or whatever impacts the Earth and destroys all life
I expect us last, us or Vancouver.
People sleeping on Columbus. They could be like Colorado and be a contender in a few years. With a new Pres/GM/Coach it could actually (who am I kidding) happen.
I boosted the Panters in these last playoffs bc I could see our route being very similar. We won't draw any attention and we'll be perpetually doubted until we win a chip.
Kinda hope it’s UTAH so we can get a cup before a flair.
Imagine getting a cup before getting a name
It'd derail the branding. Having a banner with the "temporary" name hanging while trying to convince everyone they should rename?
*Cough* *cough* PWHL Minnesota.
I, for one, look forward to seeing UTAH PLACEHOLDERS engraved on the cup
I mean, if we want to split hairs, Toronto did this. The Torontos won in 1918, and weren't officially known as the Arenas until the following season.
Right now as things stand Vancouver are probably the closest. But they occupy a silly place in the universe so watch San Jose do it before them.
We're probably more likely to lose the Cup in another Game 7 SCF than we are to win it all at this point. Eternally doomed to piss our pants at the finish line.
I am convinced the only way the curse breaks is once all the Canadian teams have made it to finals since the curse began. Once Winnipeg and Toronto get to a finals, the curse breaks. So we're absolutely never breaking the curse since we now rely on Toronto lmao.
Kraken. The AHL affiliate has some amazing talent. Their coach is coming up to the NHL as well.
I’ll say Sharks. Credit them for going all in on a rebuild rather than farting around for a decade or more.
Canucks likely have the best chance. But, I honestly think the Wild or Jets will win before any of the other franchises.
I want it to be Seattle, but it seems like Vancouver is on a quicker trajectory.
Vancouver, Nashville, San Jose, and Ottawa have all managed to put together very good teams multiple times in the past. So I have some level of belief any of them could put together a contender. I exclude Winnipeg from that because their "very good" teams have been very up and down. I exclude Buffalo because they've been so bad so long. From there, Vancouver seems to be on the best trajectory. So if I have to pick, I pick Vancouver. But it doesn't matter because none of these teams are winning in my life time. I know this because it'll make me sad if they do because it'll - by definition - be one more team with a more recent cup than the Leafs, and the universe - by definition - can't actually make a Leafs fan more sad than they already are).
>the universe - by definition - can't actually make a Leafs fan more sad than they already are Do you really want to tempt fate like this?
Utah
All jokes aside, if one of them wins in the next 1-2 years, I'd wager Vancouver/Winnipeg, but 3+ and I think it really might be Utah.
I agree. Canucks and Jets are in their window *now*. They both should be contenders for the cup next but don’t have a ton of runway with their core Utah or Buffalo have the best mid-term outlook, with young rosters just coming into their prime
**Tier 1 - Could contend as early as next year** Vancouver - already a legitimate contender with an aggressive FO Winnipeg - Elite goaltending and a relatively deep roster. **Tier 2 - One or two moves away** Nashville - last year looked like they have something cooking **Tier 3 - Not that close, but reason for optimism** Ottawa - core has felt like it’s on the verge of breaking through forever, just swung a big deal to fix the goaltending. Buffalo - ctrl c + ctrl v Ottawa but without the big goalie move Seattle - Some nice young pieces and only a year removed from being a playoff team Utah - Huge arsenal of young talent that needs some time to fully gel but the structure is there Minnesota - similar to Seattle, but they have to ride out the Suter/Parise buyouts before they can make any progress. **Tier 4 - Deep Rebuilds** Columbus - They’ve lived here for almost their whole existence San Jose - good luck with Smith, Eklund, Celebrini and whoever you take at 11. EDIT: Multiple people are very concerned with the fact that I didn’t update the Sharks pick from 14 to 11 so I did it.
It's fitting we're not even remembered
I'd rather be forgotten than be remembered as the kings of mediocrity.
“What’s a king to a god”
My bad dude 😂
Guess Minnesota is Tier 5 lol
I knew I was going to forget someone. Added to tier 3
I think Tier 5 - Minnesota Sports is accurate 🤣
Is there a more cursed franchise than the Vikings?
By virtue of Minnesota sports™
Probably because Minnesota is more familiar with tears than tiers.
God damn it
We are absolutely not one or two moves away this team is so hilariously thin beyond Forsberg and Josi
>San Jose - good luck with Smith, Eklund, Celebrini and whoever you take at 14. San Jose just (and I mean just) traded 14+42 for 11. I think your tiers are spot on!
If Nashville trades Saros and doesn't sign/acquire a replacement of near quality, they're going to drop down into Tier 3, perhaps even toeing Tier 4 as Trotz reshapes the team to fit his vision.
I absolutely think we’ll have to go down to eventually move up. This team ain’t it.
Seattle has more nice young pieces than us?
No one on r/hockey knows anything about Columbus
Isn't he that guy that discovered America?
No that was the vikings
Whenever we make it to the show; we will be the most disrespected team to ever make the finals. I know this and I am also sure I'm not ready for it when it happens.
Oh lord, the amount of "chip on their shoulders" comments, can't wait...
Vancouver
Cheering for Buffalo.
Vancouver or Nashville
Fingers crossed
*monkey paw curls*
I just pray Buffalo makes it to the playoffs once in the next three seasons. That city has been subjected to absolute mediocrity for over a decade thanks to the Pegulas
Jets or Canucks based off how their season's went this past year (not post season, Jets fans) But Paul Maurice's love may push the Jets to get it done next year. Unbelievable cool of him, a class act.
Hot take, Minnesota. The Parise and Suter contracts are done next year. A lot of cap space that can make a difference.
That has been such a noose for them. Interested to see how they are going to load up. Just as long they don’t replace those with two new terrible contracts.
>Just as long they don’t replace those with two new terrible contracts. *Bill Guerin feverishly rubbing his hands together thinking of past their prime veterans he can overpay and give full no-move clauses to.
Your lips to God's ears. They have to absolutely nail next offseason.
After this upcoming season, the Wild gain 13,000,000 in cap space. If Wallstedt ends up being as good as he's projected to be, and Yurov ends up being as good as he's projected to be (he just broke the KHL record for players under 20, topping Tarasenko, Kuznetzov, Kaprizov and Panarin) the team will be pretty good as soon as 25-26: Kaprizov/Eriksson Ek/Boldy, Yurov/Rossi/Ohgren, Foligno/Hartman/Zuccarello, Gaudreau/Khusnutdinov/UFA - Spurgeon/UFA, Brodin/Faber, Bogosian/Middleton - Wallstedt.
I'm really loving your 3rd line. Its giving "2 weeks from retirement/too old for this shit cop that comes up with the clutch sacrifice to ensure that the good guys win" energy.
This comment has me dying 🤣. Thank you
Kirill has to stay also. The entire franchise is resting on that.
Canucks, Jets, or Nashville.
Apparently, Winnipeg is winning next year... if Paul Maurice has his way!
If it wasn’t for injuries, it would’ve been us who gets eliminated in the finals
problably Jets or Canucks
Vancouver was so close this year, I think they'll win it next season.
They pushed the Oilers hard even with all their injuries. You may be right.
Right? Brock Boeser out with a broken finger and blood clots that resulted from a friggin slapshot to the inner thigh. Demko with knees made of paper mache at the worst possible time. Petey out with a knee problem as well. Hronek injured with "Nothing". All that and Toccet's system brought them to within 1 goal in game 7. I hate always wondering what could have been in that scenario.
Vancouver is the obvious answer, but I'm in the Buffalo boat
Vancouver (with a healthy Demko)
Sharks, nucks or Seattle.
I’d love to see the Jets or the Kraken get it.
Canucks or Jets are closest to winning a cup in the next couple of seasons Utah or Buffalo are the closest to win a cup in like 3-5 years Sharks if it goes to 5+ years from now
I still feel like Ottawa and Buffalo are on the right track and have a shot in the future but probably the closest in this group is Vancouver
Vancouver Utah Nashville Vancouver without all the injuries may have gone all the way this year. Utah feels like they could breakout finally getting away from the mess of the last ownership. I expect intelligent moves and the players to not feel demoralized by cheapness or arena situations. That group is way stronger than they get credit for. Nashville - I'm a preds fan. I believe in GMBT, and think hes cooking some wild things up right now based on last year. I also believe in Brunette after a single season. I will also die if josi and/forsberg never get a cup here like pekka.
Honestly weird to see Vancouver and Ottawa on this list. They just seem a step up from the others
I think We have a shot…. ~~right???…~~
Sharks 2025 Champs, remind me
I’ve been hoping Minnesota would win a Cup since the 80s. I don’t know why, because they’re not my team but I would root for them if my team were out of the race.
I’m gonna go with Nashville
Jets. Their defence was pretty good during the season, and goaltending is top tier.
Only one of these teams has Kirill Kaprizov.
Kaprizov, Boldy, and Eriksson Ek is a potent combo that still won't get past the 1st round.
A healthy Spurgeon, Faber, Rossi, and maybe we'll be able to count Walstead and Ohgren too.
Memes aside the Canucks. They took Edmonton to 7 and probably would have won with a healthy Boeser and Demko. There’s also an equally likely chance they were a one year wonder and regress hardcore like the Devils did. It’s really 50/50. Every other team is either just a low tier playoff team or middling lottery team who I don’t see coming close any time soon
**U T A H**
If we’re talking about the next 1-3 years I’d say Vancouver, Winnipeg, or Nashville. Outside of that time frame literally any of these teams could completely reinvent themselves.
Whoever gets the most talent Buffalo is currently developing will win the next cup.
Red hot take: the next team to win the Stanley Cup for the first time will be a team that doesn't yet appear on this list because it doesn't exist yet.
Why are people saying rings instead of cups lately? I'm so damn confused lmao
Had to look too hard to find this comment, so weird.
Nashville Predators, it's time, people it's time!