I PROJECT EVERY NHL TEAM’S CHANCES OF HOISTING THE STANLEY CUP IN 2019

The 2018-19 NHL season is coming up. How does your favorite team stack up when it comes to taking home the Stanley Cup?

The offseason August dead zone is the worst time to be a hockey fan. Hockey withdrawal is in full effect and the season still isn’t close just yet — there’s not even any news to pass the time. However, it is the time to officially start looking ahead to next season, and what better way than to rank each team’s chances at taking home the Stanley Cup in 10 months?

Keep in mind that this is not a rankings prediction. If a team is 20th on the list, that doesn’t automatically mean the prediction is for it to miss the playoffs. This list ranks each team’s chances of going all the way to win the Stanley Cup, taking in more factors than just regular season performance.

31. OTTAWA SENATORS

The Ottawa Senators, an organization ablaze. If you’re not a Senators fan, allow me to set the scene for you. Imagine your favorite team going through a rebuilding process, but also try to imagine that everything around you is on fire and it progressively just keeps getting worse than you ever thought possible. Welcome to life as a Senators fan. Every team around the league can look at themselves with confidence and pride and tell themselves, “At least we aren’t the Senators”.

Last season the Senators finished 30th in the league with 67 points, a 31-point drop off from the previous season when they finished second in the Atlantic and made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals and it realistically could get even worse next season.

Why they could win: Last year the Vegas Golden Knights had the worst odds of all 31 teams to win the Stanley Cup before the season started, and they made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals before bowing out to the Washington Capitals in five games. Even though they came close and didn’t quite win the whole thing, they proved that nothing is impossible in the NHL and you cannot reasonably predict what will happen with each team before you see what they are like on the ice.

If the Senators end up keeping Erik Karlsson, they might not be the worst team in the league. They’re also not entirely devoid of talent with the likes of Matt Duchene and Mark Stone, along with plenty of young talent. It’s a massive reach to say they’ll even come close to playoff contention, but nothing is impossible.

Why they won’t win: Now, back to reality. The Ottawa Senators are nowhere near what the Vegas Golden Knights were when they started last season. This entire organization is in utter shambles from the top down, and that’s being kind. Everything from an assistant general manager being arrested, turmoil between players in the locker room, fans boycotting the team, one of if not the worst owner in the league, and the whole organization bleeding millions of dollars, it’s all a total mess.

Karlsson will be gone eventually — whether by trade before the season starts, the trade deadline, or free agency he will not be staying with this organization with how they’ve treated him. Starting goalie Craig Anderson wants to be traded, and to cap it off they have 10 contracts expiring at the end of the season that they would be foolish not to move for assets before they expire, because almost none of them want to come back to this mess if given the choice.

Yes, Vegas had the worst odds of winning the Stanley Cup last season like the Senators do now and made it to the finals, but all those players had chips on their shoulders and something to fight for. There is nothing of the sort in Ottawa, and there is nothing for these players to come together around like there was in Vegas.

Conclusion: A “successful” season for the Ottawa Senators is honestly just not coming in last place. There is nothing here that even suggests playoff contention as a possibility. A Stanley Cup this season for this team would be the single biggest miracle in all of sports history, and that is not an exaggeration. This is a disaster that has only begun to scratch the surface.

Well at least they have their first-round pick this year so they can have something to look forward to… oh, whoops; that’s gone, too. Senators fans, I wish that I could inspire some optimism for you, but I’ve got nothing. Prepare for a season of pain. I’m so sorry.

30. DETROIT RED WINGS

The Detroit Red Wings are team that has fallen from grace drastically in recent years, and it’s obvious to everybody except Red Wings management that their time is over.

Last season the Red Wings finished in 27th in the league with 73 points, and I wouldn’t expect a season much different than that next year.

Why they could win: The Red Wings, if nothing else, are a team full of experience. If their aging players like Zetterberg and Kronwall can turn back the clock and aid the skilled younger players, they could possibly be a danger.

Speaking of those young forwards, Dylan Larkin has the potential for a massive breakout season, along with Andreas Athanasiou. Evgeny Svechnikov also looks on track to make the team out of training camp, and this year’s first round draft pick Filip Zadina certainly could be a contributor if he makes the team.

If everything goes absolutely perfectly for the Red Wings this season, meaning nobody at all underperforms or gets injured, then they might have the chance to steal a playoff spot. Once you’re in the playoffs, you really never know what can happen.

Why they won’t win: Back to the reality of the situation, the Red Wings are a team built of burnt-out former stars, overpaid role players and underdeveloped young player forced to drag along all of the dead weight.

Almost all the players on this team would be nowhere above a second line on almost every other team in the league. As good as Dylan Larkin is, he’s not nearly good enough to carry all of this weight on his shoulders without a decent supporting cast, which he does not at all have. The defense is the same story, except with no decent youth on it. Mike Green is perhaps the only one who can even be considered a top four defenseman, and he’s not even close to good enough or young enough to pick up the slack.

Red Wings General Manager Ken Holland hasn’t made his job any easier with the amount of albatross contracts he’s buried the team under. Frans Nielsen, at 34 years old, will be making $5.25 million for the next four seasons; 31 year old Justin Abdelkader will make $4.25 million for five more years and 31 year old fourth line winger Darren Helm $3.85 million for three more years. The best part is every single one of those contracts has a no trade clause. That’s just a few of the albatrosses on the offense.

Conclusion: The Red Wings are bad, and they’re going to stay that way for a long time. Yes, they do have a decent prospect system, but the amount of near unmovable contracts that will continue to weigh the team down have the destined for mediocrity for years to come. Ken Holland also thinks that this team is good enough for the playoffs somehow and that they don’t need a full-on rebuild. Unless they somehow luck out in the draft lottery and steal a true elite player, this isn’t getting any better anytime soon.

In all honesty, a bad season is good long term for the Red Wings. They need to accumulate as much young talent as possible through the draft, and it might be enough to convince Holland to rebuild this team.

The Red Wings probably finish a bottom five in the league like last year, and don’t come close to the playoffs again. The 25-year playoff streak is a distant memory.

29. VANCOUVER CANUCKS

It’s another year of the seemingly never ending rebuilding process for the Vancouver Canucks, and although things are getting better, they are not nearly good enough yet.

Last season, the Canucks finished 26th in the league with 73 points, and while improvement is on the horizon, I wouldn’t expect much more from this season quite yet.

Why they could win: Vancouver has accumulated elite young talent over the years, and a lot of them are ready to either graduate to the full time NHL action or have breakout seasons for the ones already on the team.

Brock Boeser should be fully recovered from his back injury by training camp, and if all goes right, he could possibly be in the running for the elite scorers of the league for the Rocket Richard trophy this season. Alongside him should be Bo Horvat, which will make for a deadly combination if he can stay healthy.

Some of the other young talent that will be ready to make the team includes Elias Petterson, who is considered the highest ceiling prospect of the 2017 NHL draft class. Jonathan Dahlin also seems ready for the NHL, and will bolster their depth on the wings.

Elite young talent is always a wild card for a team, and you never know if they can be good enough to sneak a team into the playoffs. The 2016-17 Toronto Maple Leafs were a team that was close where the Canucks are now and they were able to get in to the playoffs, though they had better supporting players around the youth than Vancouver does now.

Why they won’t win: The fact of the matter is that while the Canucks are getting better, they are not close to playoff contention yet. The Sedin twins are gone, their defensive prospects aren’t ready yet, and neither is goalie prospect Thatcher Demko.

The core around the young players like Boeser isn’t very good either. The best player over 25 on the team is Loui Eriksson, who has been on a serious decline since signing in free agency and is on an albatross six million dollar contract for the next five seasons. The rest of the supporting cast is role players who at best belong on a third line on better teams.

The Canucks’ best defense is also frankly one of the worst overall defenses in the league. Their best defender is Alex Edler, who is a solid second pair defenseman but not good enough to center a defense around. Chris Tanev isn’t bad, but that’s where the real top four defenseman talent ends. Vancouver does have defensemen in the pipeline that will be ready soon, but they’ll have to be ready to allow a lot of goals for the time being.

Conclusion: Vancouver may be better then just hanging around the bottom five, but don’t expect it to be a lot more. The improvements are on the way, just not this season.

28. MONTREAL CANADIENS

The self-inflicted downfall of the Montreal Canadiens has been painful to watch as they took a promising team and gutted it into a husk of its former self that is well out of playoff contention, and it looks like an even rougher season could be ahead.

Last season, the Montreal Canadiens finished in 28th in the league with 73 points, a 30-point drop-off from the season before when they won the Atlantic Division.

Why they could win: It’s hard to be especially bad when Carey Price is your starting goaltender. He’s carried pretty bad Canadiens teams farther than they should’ve gone in the past, and if he can have a bounce-back season, then perhaps the Canadiens can find a way into the postseason. After that, having a hot goalie is all it takes to make a run.

Plus, a lot of players on the team had uncharacteristic career worst seasons, and they can get back a lot of production lost last years if their top players can bounce back. Injuries also plagued the team, and a healthy lineup full of bounce back players could get them into the playoffs behind Carey Price.

Why they won’t win: Unless Carey Price is otherworldly, Montreal frankly has to hope for a miracle to even get into the playoffs. The organization is in flux right now, and nobody really knows exactly what they’re trying to do here.

Marc Bergevin has made this team worse over the years for no particular reason, and it all came to pass last year when Montreal suddenly fell off a cliff and couldn’t recover. The team’s depth was traded for scraps, and it didn’t get any better this offseason. Alex Galchenyuk was sent to Arizona in exchange for a struggling Max Domi, because according to Bergevin, he had better character.

Captain Max Pacioretty is on his way out of the organization after being told they it will not negotiate an extension with him, and he’s the last real goal scorer left on this team. Montreal has made no moves to acquire any scorers to play with their abundance of playmakers, and once again, it is going struggle with putting pucks in the net

The defense is also nothing short of a disaster with Shea Weber injured until at least December. That leaves Jeff Petry as the best available defender, who is actually a solid top four guy, but there is nothing else there to support him. Even when Weber comes back, they’ll just have a decent first pairing and nothing after that.

Conclusion: Still expect Montreal to be a bottom five team, but it all hinges on Price. He likely can’t lead them to the playoffs, but he might get them close if he can steal the show night after night. Tanking an acquiring top draft picks would be a good option, but Bergevin has also said that this team is not rebuilding at the moment, even though that is a flat-out lie.

27. BUFFALO SABRES

Last year’s last place team is building themselves back up again after a long rebuild, and things are finally starting to look up for them. But, they’re still rebuilding and they’ve still got a ways to go before they can be considered Stanley Cup contenders.

The Buffalo Sabres finished last in the whole league last year with 62 points, but thing are looking up for a much better season.

Why they could win: The youth movement of the Buffalo Sabres is starting to seriously come together, and this could be the year that they finally break out of the basement and become a team worth notice. They made some moves to support the young players, and could be contributors themselves.

The last two years, the teams that finished last place the season before came all the way back the next season and got into the playoffs behind a massive youth movement, those teams being the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Colorado Avalanche. Additionally, the last two teams to pick first overall also made the playoffs, again the Maple Leafs and the New Jersey Devils. The Sabres were both last season, and their loyal fan base has hope and will start paying attention once again.

Jack Eichel will take another step in his development this season, and if he can stay healthy with his near point-per-game scoring pace, he can lead the Sabres to overachieve past the low expectations set on him. But luckily for him, he won’t have to carry the load alone. If first overall pick Rasmus Dahlin can live up to the hype of a generational two-way defenseman and produce in his first year, the Sabres will have two of the best young players in the league on offense and defense.

Why they won’t win: While the youth movement is ready to take over, that doesn’t mean that all of the youth will be good right away. This team still needs time to gestate and finish their development before serious playoff contention can be considered.

Eichel will likely be able to carry a huge portion of the load on offense, but the depth around him still isn’t up to snuff even with the likes of Mittelstadt and Thompson ready to play at the NHL level.  While Dahlin may be really good in year one, it’s unfair to expect him to carry the entire defensive load at just 18 years old. Newly signed 32-year-old goalie Carter Hutton will also be a wild card, if he can keep up the pace he played at last year while getting starter minutes.

Even if the Sabres can manage to sneak into a wild card spot in the eastern conference, they’ll likely got tossed aside by a division winner like the Maple Leafs, Avalanche and Devils were when they managed to get in.

Conclusion: The Sabres don’t really need to tank anymore with how much elite talent they’ve acquired through the draft, so expect a massive improvement from finishing in last. But making the playoffs this season is a bit ambitious. They don’t have the talent this year that the Maple Leafs, Devils, and Avalanche had when they got in, but they’re getting there. There’s hope for Sabres fans, but they just need to be patient with the process.

26. NEW YORK ISLANDERS

The Islanders were ready to make a huge jump next year in order to get back to the playoffs after missing for two consecutive seasons, but then a bombshell hit. John Tavares, their superstar for the last several seasons, left during free agency for nothing to join the Toronto Maple Leafs, and now they have to deal with the aftermath.

Last season, the Islanders finished 22nd in the NHL with 80 points, and with no significant improvements to their holes and no more Tavares, things could get very ugly this season.

Why they could win: The New York Islanders are not completely devoid of talent with the departure of John Tavares in the offseason. Matthew Barzal, the winner of last season’s Calder Trophy, is ready to step in as the team’s No. 1 center to follow up his incredible 85-point rookie season. Josh Ho-Sang is also ready to join the team full time.

New York also revamped their coaching staff and brought in Barry Trotz and his staff, who just won the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals the season prior. He’ll bring that culture of winning to the Islanders locker room, and inspire confidence into a deflated team.

John Tavares leaving likely also unites the team in a way, and a strong bond can carry a team a long way. Some unnamed players were understandably upset at Tavares’s departure, and the entire Islanders fan base has marked him as a traitor. If they can find a way into the postseason, their iron will makes them a threat.

Why they won’t win: The departure of John Tavares obviously is a large factor, but even with him they were long shots at actually hoisting the Stanley Cup next June. Tavares staying was just status quo, and they still had a lot of work to do. Now he’s gone, and all the holes they had to fill are even more prevalent along with some new issues they’ve created for themselves.

The Islanders had one of the worst defenses and goaltending duos in recent history last season by allowing 296 goals, and they did nothing much to stem the bleeding. The defense is the exact same squad except without Calvin De Haan, and no improvements made. In net, they upgraded from Jaroslav Halak to Robin Lehner, which is actually a solid upgrade but that won’t be enough.

On offense, everything but the top line looks rough. To fill the holes on the bottom six, the Islanders overpaid for Leo Komarov, Valteri Filppula, Tom Kuhnhackel and Ross Johnston to make everything worse.

Conclusion: The Islanders underachieved last year with the expectations on, but now there are no expectations and for a reason. This could be an ugly season for New York, and Barry Trotz will have his hands full without the talent he had in Washington. They’ll likely be competing with the Rangers for last the Metropolitan.

25. NEW YORK RANGERS

The Rangers decided midway through last season that the team they had wasn’t enough to win a Cup, so instead of trading the future to sneak into the playoffs, they decided to tear it down for a little while rebuild into a team that can win the Stanley Cup as Henrik Lundqvist’s career winds down.

Last season, the Rangers traded away several players at the trade deadline and intentionally tanked to finish in 23rd with 77 points. It’s difficult to gauge their intentions for this season, but they can’t really lose either way whether they improve or stay near the bottom with the path they’re currently on.

Why they could win: The will of Henrik Lundqvist could push the Rangers for one more undeserved deep run like he has in the past. If the Rangers can get into the playoffs, they will go as far as he takes them, as usual.

For a team in the midst of a rebuild, the Rangers are surprisingly deep on offense and farther ahead then most teams would be at this stage. A lot of their forwards are incredibly underrated, especially with their first line of Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich. 2017 first round draft picks Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil are also ready to play full time this season after outstanding seasons outside the NHL.

They also revamped their coaching staff with the firing of Alain Vingeault and hiring of former Boston College David Quinn, who has put on the expectation that the Rangers will not “settle for less,” and they want to win heading into next season. Sometimes that change in attitude is all you need.

Why they won’t win: While the Rangers are on the track for building a Cup contender, New York’s goal really isn’t to win a Stanley Cup at the moment as it goes through this carefully crafted rebuild. Unless you’re really lucky, this isn’t the year to shoot for the postseason.

The Rangers declared they would tear down the roster at the trade deadline last year, and they did. Now comes the year where they supplement the youth they’ve brought in and let them develop while they acquire more young talent to build around them.

On paper for this season, the Rangers real issue is the incredibly weak defense. The first pairing of Brady Skeji and Kevin Shattenkirk is pretty good, but there’s not enough talent after that to take the pressure off of Lundqvist. That talent is on the way, but it’s not ready just yet.

Conclusion: The Rangers do not have a wrong direction this season. If they make the playoffs or even compete for spot, that’s fantastic and shows that they are drastically ahead of schedule. But realistically with that defense and an aging Lundqvist, you can expect a season similar to the last season, but with no expectations this time around, and that still fits into the Rangers rebuilding plan just fine.

24. ARIZONA COYOTES

The Arizona Coyotes made significant improvements this season in order to at least compete for a playoff spot this season after not making the postseason since 2012. After years of futility, this season is vital to see if they can actually be a threat with this core.

Last season the Arizona Coyotes finished in 29th with 70 points after a historically terrible start to the season. If all goes to plan, a much better season could be ahead.

Why they could win: After the All Star Break last season, the Coyotes were one of the hottest teams down the stretch to the end of the season, and they can hope to carry that momentum into this season with an improved lineup to perhaps compete for a playoff spot. 

Those improvements include trading for Alex Galchenyuk to bolster their center depth and legitimize their offensive threat. Michael Grabner was also a solid addition to help shore up the weakness on the right wing.

Already on the team is Calder nominee Clayton Keller, who could very well develop into a superstar if he can improve on his rookie season. There is actually a lot of talent youth ready to play in the lineup right now, with just enough experience veterans to lead the way.

If the Coyotes can have a healthy Annti Raanta in net, he could steal plenty of games to help them compete for a spot. Last season he was injured for a majority of the year, but once he came back he was statistically one of the best goalies in the league, posting .930 save percentage in the 47 games he played. If a goalie can do that for a full season, it helps mask a lot of problems in front of them.

Why they won’t win; While the Coyotes are the first team with a somewhat realistic chance at making the playoffs, it’s hard to imagine they go any farther than that if they get there at all. 

The Coyotes’ lineup is finally not terrible, but the downside to having all that young talent on the team is it still needs some NHL seasoning before they really start going for a playoff spot. Until those guys get some more skills, the lineup looks mediocre for the time being.

There’s just too many questions and things that have to go perfect for the Coyotes to get into the playoffs, and it’s hard to see if these guys will be a success or failure before what we see what they can do on the ice.

Conclusion: Overall, I think Arizona will break out of the league basement this year and be competitive, but a playoff spot might be ambitious right now. Their best chance is that the weak Pacific Division falls off completely and they can get in as a third seed, because the Central Division in all likelihood will take the wild card spots in the Western Conference.

23. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

It’s a dark time for the Chicago Blackhawks after years of unparalleled success. The Blackhawks didn’t take many steps this offseason to solve their issues, and it looks as though a rough year is ahead.

Last season, the Blackhawks finished in 25th with 76 points, and missed the playoffs for the first time in ten seasons.

Why they could win: While things are looking bad in Chicago right now, you can’t count out the core that has won three Stanley Cups in this decade alone. Some parts of it are gone now, but some of the more crucial pieces still remain.

Plenty of the Blackhawks’ well-known core is due for a major bounceback season. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews both had down seasons by their standards, but nothing compared to the seasons of Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. Keith scored only two goals last year, and Seabrook was a healthy scratch at certain points with how poor he was playing. If Chicago can get all of them back to form, they can compete with any team in the league.

What truly sunk the Blackhawks last year was losing Corey Crawford to injury. When healthy, Crawford is among one of the best goalies in the league that was carrying the Blackhawks early on in the season. If they can get him back healthy, the team is automatically in contention for a playoff spot. If the Blackhawks get in, they’ll know exactly what to do.

Why they won’t win: The Blackhawks really don’t have anything even resembling roster depth. The team relies entirely on the skill of Patrick Kane, the leadership of Toews to hold the team together, and the health of Corey Crawford. If any of those are lacking, it all collapses. Even if they have all three it might not be enough.

Once you get past the average top six, the bottom six may as well a close to an AHL team. Dylan Sikura may be alright, but he’s got two unproven linemates with him. On defense Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are now way past their primes and might not ever return to form, and those are Chicago’s two best defenders at the moment. Erik Gustaffson is pretty good fringe top four guy, but that’s really all there is here.

The only steps the Blackhawks made to improve this offseason were signing Chris Kunitz and getting Marcus Kruger in the trade that sent Hossa’s contract to Arizona. They even let Anthony Duclair walk even though he signed a league minimum contract with the Blue Jackets. Either management realizes they won’t compete this year, or they think this is somehow good enough. Either way, this looks really bad.

Conclusion: This is going to be rough season for the Blackhawks, and the sooner the organization can realize things need to change, the better. It was a great run for the Blackhawks this decade, and nothing will ever take away what they’ve accomplished, but it’s over now. Unless all of their stars return to peak form, which is still a possibility, the Blackhawks are going to struggle. The reason they’re up at No. 23 despite being worse on paper then some others is their past playoff success, if they do find a way to get in, they know exactly how to get it done in the postseason.

22. MINNESOTA WILD

The Minnesota Wild are in a flux right now after years of playoff futility. Every year they’re in, but nothing ever seems to come of it in the end. With no noticeable improvements on the way this season, it’s hard to imagine anything different for this season, if not worse.

The Wild finished eighth in the league last season with 101 points before being brushed aside by the Winnipeg Jets in the first round in five games.

Why they could win: Minnesota has several solid pieces in place to get back into the postseason for the seventh consecutive season. The roster is still relatively young, and has room to grow with the graduation of players from the farm system.

The defensive top four for the Wild is under the radar dangerous. Ryan Suter, aging as he is, is still a No. 1 defenseman and has support from the emergence of Matt Dumba, and the consistency of Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin. To top it off, Devan Dubnyk is a solid option in net and is consistently undervalued by the rest of the league despite the amount of times he’s carried Minnesota while they’ve struggled during parts of the season.

On offense, the top six is no slouch, either. Eric Staal scored 42 goals last year, and while it seems unlikely he’ll repeat that feat this year, he is entering a contract year which will be motivation enough to stay round that pace. Granlund and Zucker will keep around their 50 point pace, and the youth of Greenway, Eriksson Ek, and Kunin should be ready to make real impact in the lineup.

Why they won’t win: Minnesota is significantly better than the teams behind them, and even a few ahead of them, but they are No. 22 for a reason. This roster will not come close to a Stanley Cup for a long time. Seven straight seasons in the playoffs and only two series wins makes it hard to see what’s practically the exact same team going anywhere. The Wild needed to make a splash this offseason to decide if they want to compete now or retool for the future, but instead they just did nothing.

The youth on the team is unproven, and is already showing signs of not being as good as projected. Normally not that big an issue if the rest of the depth is all right, but Minnesota’s depth consists of these unproven young players and fringe fourth liners. They’re relying on their top six when the top six isn’t good enough to carry a team.

It doesn’t help that the Wild are in the ridiculously stacked Central Division. With teams like Nashville, Winnipeg, Colorado and St.Louis ahead of them, there isn’t much hope for a playoff spot.

Conclusion: The Wild are just painfully mediocre, and have been for a long time. They’ve got a 50/50 shot of even making it into the playoffs, and even then it’s against a team that would dispatch them quickly like the Jets did last year. The Wild need to figure out what they want to be, because this level of mediocrity cannot last.

21. CAROLINA HURRICANES

If I were placing bets on the 2019 Stanley Cup, this is the point where I would be able to make enough a reach to place a reasonable value bet, because all teams beyond this point at the very least have the capacity to compete for a playoff spot.

Every year the Carolina Hurricanes are the popular dark horse team to make into the postseason, but there is a case to make for them this season after some key additions and player growth that could have them finding a way into the postseason in the crowded Metropolitan Division.

Last season the Carolina Hurricanes finished 21st in the league with 83 points, and they’ve been floating around that same point total for a few seasons now, but this could be a year for some massive improvements.

Why they could win: The Hurricanes got exactly what they needed by winning the second overall pick in the draft lottery this past June. With the pick they drafted an elite, NHL-ready scoring winger in Andrei Svechnikov. Sticking Svechnikov on the right wing gives the Hurricanes what very well could be one of the best wing depths in the NHL today, and will get even better as the years go on, as long as they don’t trade Jeff Skinner like they’ve been rumored to.

The defense for Carolina honestly looks like it could transform into one of the best defense cores in the league if all goes right. To bolster it, Carolina made the biggest blockbuster trade of this offseason when they landed Dougie Hamilton and Michael Ferland in return for Noah Hanafin and Elias Lindholm who were having tough contract negotiations. To compliment Hamilton, the Hurricanes also signed Calvin de Haan.

The real problem last year with the Hurricanes was their goaltending, even though Scott Darling was supposed to be the solution to that problem. Darling was the opposite and posted an uncharacteristic .888 save percentage. With Darling on the verge of a bounceback season and the signing of Petr Mrazek to be his backup, or maybe the starter, goaltending could be at least be what they need to succeed.

Why they won’t win: Carolina last made the playoffs in 2009, and every single year the same thing gets said about the Hurricanes. Every year is always the year they make a big step and get into the postseason after an offseason of improvements, but it’s never enough, and there are still holes this year that need to be addressed.

Banking on Darling and Mrazek to have bounce back seasons is a dangerous plan. Darling was a back-up his whole career, and his numbers instantly dropped the second he was given starting responsibilities in Carolina. Petr Mrazek also just isn’t that good, and is a backup caliber goalie. Best case scenario is that get league average goaltending, which won’t push a team over the top.

The center depth in Carolina also leaves a lot to be desired. Jordan Staal as a first line center is not good enough, and he is proceeded by fringe second/third line center Victor Rask, and rookie Martin Necas. There’s been talks of taking Sebastian Aho off the wing and putting him at center, a sign that they are desperate enough to potentially sabotage their top forward just for more center depth.

Conclusion: This is the year the Hurricanes take a big step into being playoff competitors, but the two biggest pieces that determine a playoff team are center depth and goaltending. Carolina is lacking in both of them. Next season we’ll be hearing the same stories on how Carolina is ready to break through to the playoffs, because it’s not happening this year unless several Metropolitan teams take a step back.

20. FLORIDA PANTHERS

Things are looking up for the long cursed Florida Panthers after a strong offseason and renewed confidence in the organization. Could this finally be the year they win a playoff series?

Last season, the Panthers finished one point out of a playoff spot with 96 points, enough for 15th in the league.

Why they could win: This rebuilt Panthers lineup makes for one serious sleeper team this season. They’ve slowly been improving every season, and were just one point away from getting into the final wild card spot last season with a lineup that isn’t as good as it is today.

The first line of Jonathan Huberdeau, Alexander Barkov and Evgeny Dadonov could develop into the best lines in the league this season if they keep trending on their current path. Unlike last season however, the Panthers will be getting a huge boost from their other lines. The addition of Mike Hoffman after taking advantage of his lowered trade value makes a lethal top six, and with top center prospect Henrik Borgstrom ready for a full season, their center depth is set for years to come.

Speaking of Barkov, he’s one of the most underrated players in the league at the moment and is primed for a breakout season that could carry the Panthers into the playoffs along with their new additions to the lineup. Florida actually has a lot of players like Aaron Ekblad and Vincent Trocheck that don’t get enough credit for how good they are because Florida isn’t a very popular market.

Florida is the first team on this list that will very likely make the playoffs, and the Panthers could be a threat with a lineup this deep on offense. The Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup after breaking their playoff curse, and who knows what the Panthers could do if they can do the same?

Why they won’t win: The Panthers are slowly but surely looking like a playoff team sure, but that’s an entirely different ballgame then winning the Stanley Cup. The Florida Panthers are currently on the longest playoff series win drought in the entire NHL, having last won a series in 1996 when they went to the Stanley Cup Finals.

They do have a solid first defensive pairing with Keith Yandle and Aaron Ekblad, but there’s not much after that. Roberto Luongo is also now 39 and not getting any younger, and while he is still a great goalie he’s been getting injured a lot which will eventually take a toll.

Conclusion: While Florida makes it into the playoffs, the Panthers won’t be able to crack the top three in the stacked Atlantic Division without a massive drop-off from the Lightning, Maple Leafs or Bruins, and they’d be stuck in a wild card spot. They won’t make it out of the first round with a defense that’s lacking so much depth in front of an aging goalie, along with the added pressure of being the team with the longest playoff series drought.

19. COLORADO AVALANCHE

Last year’s Cinderella team went from last place by a mile to playoff team in one short season, and now the Avalanche want to prove that it wasn’t just a fluke.

The Avalanche went from a worst in the shootout era with 49 points last season all the way to 16th in the league with 97 points to get the second wildncard spot in Western Conference before losing in six games in the first round to the Nashville Predators.

Why they could win: Nathan MacKinnon has finally become the superstar that he was drafted to be, and came second only to Taylor Hall in the voting for the Hart Trophy. If there’s any reason that the Avalanche went from a joke to a playoff team, it was him stringing together a 44-point production increase from 53 to 97 and giving the organization and fans something to believe in. He elevated the whole team’s level of play, most obviously the ones he played with. His linemate Mikko Rantanen scored 84 points last year, and nobody noticed. Thats 84 points from a second-year 21-year-old who scored 38 points the year prior.

Looking outside of MacKinnon, the Avalanche are the youngest team in the league with players like JT Compher, Samuel Girard, Tyson Jost and Alex Kerfoot. With a year of team chemistry and growth under their belts, the Avalanche might not need any free agents to fill the holes for a long time.

Even though the Avalanche made it to the playoffs, their goaltending was their demise against Nashville in the first round. Their starter Semyon Varlamov was injured late in the year, and they didn’t have a good enough replacement to hang with the Predators so they went out and acquired Phillip Grubauer from the Washington Capitals at this year’s draft. Now they have two starting caliber goaltenders, and the future replacement for Varlamov if he gets injured again.

Why they won’t win: The Avalanche relied too much on Nathan MacKinnon last season, and while it just worked out for them last year, you can’t expect that same result again. Unfortunately not many moves were made to add to the depth of the team around MacKinnon this offseason, despite having more than $14 million in cap space.

The Avalanche do have a lot of young depth, but almost too much. Their second line looks more like a third line without any proven top six talent, and the only move they made to bolster was singing a fringe third line forward in Matt Calvert. Most times rely on a top six to carry a team, while Colorado is relying entirely on its top line.

The Avalanche are also in the Central Division, which leaves no room for error. They may have beaten out St. Louis by a single point last year in the final game of the season, but St. Louis made massive improvements while the Avalanche relatively stayed put. Dallas won’t be far behind, and Minnesota could be a threat if they get it together. One point was the difference last year, and it could be the difference again.

Conclusion: On paper, the Avalanche still have a lot of growing to do before a Stanley Cup can be brought into the question. They decided to stand pat with their young roster, which adds time to the equation.

18. NEW JERSEY DEVILS

The rebuild is progressing better than expected for the New Jersey Devils, and they made it back to the playoffs last season for the first time since 2012 before losing to the Lightning in the first round.

The New Jersey Devils finished 14th in the NHL with 97 points to sneak into the playoffs as the second wild card in the Eastern conference, beating out the Florida Panthers by a single point.

Why they could win: The Devils already have plenty of offensive talent, most of it young and ready to take the next step into reaching their potential. At the forefront is reigning league MVP Taylor Hall, entering the prime of his career at 26 years old, and 19-year-old first overall pick in 2017 Nico Hischier, a duo that will become one of the most potent in the league with time.

Supporting them is a cast of skilled players consisting of Kyle Palmieri, a fully healthy Marcus Johansson, Pavel Zacha and Travis Zajac. A year of development for players like Hischier, Zacha and Jesper Bratt will only increase their production, and make the Devils a team to be feared

Complimenting that offense is the spectacular goalie tandem of Cory Schnieder and Keith Kinkaid, the factor that led the team to the playoffs above all else. When Schnieder went down with an injury, Kinkaid was able to hold the fort to sneak them into the second wildcard spot.

Why they won’t win: The Devils season hinged entirely on Taylor Hall last season, and they wouldn’t have come close to the playoffs without him after only making it in by a single point. It wasn’t a problem last year, and it might not be this year, but they won only one game in the playoffs and they’re bringing almost the exact same roster back into next season, despite having more than $19 million left in cap space.

The Devils defense desperately needed an upgrade this offseason, and the only real change will be that there will be is no more John Moore after he left in free agency. They made no attempt to sign any of the defensemen on the market or make a trade, and as a result Will Butcher and Sami Vatanen will be forced to carry the defense once again.

Conclusion: With no real improvements to a one win playoff team that relied entirely on one player, the Devils, like the Avalanche, are more likely to take a step back than a step forward. It’s not like Taylor Hall can carry the team any more than he has and if he takes any step back, New Jersey might be out of luck.

17. LOS ANGELES KINGS

The Los Angeles Kings are running out of time. Their core is aging and they have no way to get out of it if things go south. This could be a year they load up and go for it all, because this could be their last chance

Last season, the Kings landed the first wildcard spot in the Western Conference and 12th overall in the league with 98 points.

Why they could win: The Kings’ top six is loaded with talent, and might be one of the best top six cores in the league right now with the addition of Ilya Kovalchuk despite its age. Anze Kopitar was a nominee for the Hart last year and won the Selke in an incredible bounce back season, Dustin Brown doubled his point production from the prior season and recorded a career high 61 points, and the addition of Kovalchuk who was a over a point per game over in the KHL makes it that much better.

The Kings are also getting a fully healthy Jeff Carter for next season after only getting 27 games out of him last season. Carter scored 60-plus points in consecutive seasons prior to last year’s injury, but even last year he was around a point per game.

The Kings also got Drew Doughty locked up for the next eight years this offseason, locking down their spectacular blue line. Doughty beside Jake Muzzin and backed up by a second pairing of Dion Phanuef and Alec Martinez is not the most appealing when it comes to offense, but they all play solid lockdown defense that can lock down almost any offense.

Even if the entire Kings roster get injured, Jonathan Quick can carry a lineup well past any spot they deserve when he’s at his best. Never forget when Quick posted one of the greatest plaoff performances of all time in 2012 to lead the Kings to the Stanley Cup when they snuck in as a No. 8 seed in the West.

Why they won’t win: The Kings got swept in the first round by the Vegas Golden Knight last year, and that by itself would be bad enough, but they scored only three goals the entire series. Just the addition of Ilya Kovalchuck alone isn’t get them much farther than that.

The Kings do have a good top six core, but after that it drops off pretty drastically. Nobody in the bottom six beside Adrian Kempe is really much of threat to take the load off of the top six. To really make a run at the Stanley Cup, you need at least three dangerous lines and a fourth line that at the very least won’t be a liability. Los Angeles badly needs some more talent before the season starts to really compete.

Los Angeles also hasn’t adapted to the evolution of today’s NHL, and is a relatively slow team. The number of aging veterans on the team are going to have a lot of trouble keeping up with the younger, faster teams around the league, which was ultimately their demise against the Golden Knights in the playoffs.

Conclusion: The Kings are entirely top heavy, and they’re going to rely heavily on their aging core to carry the workload. If they want to have a better chance to taking home the Stanley Cup this season, they’re going to need make some moves to get some more depth. But since they have only a little more than $2 million in cap space, there’s not much they can do on that front.

If the Kings do lose any of Kopitar, Doughty, Quick or even Carter again, they might be dead in the water. But this core has won two Stanley Cups this decade, so don’t write them off if they make it into the playoffs.

16. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

It’s another season following another playoff disappointment for the Columbus Blue Jackets, and a season of uncertainty ahead with plenty of questions to answer on what this team is capable of.

Last season, the Blue Jackets finished 13th in the league with 97 points, and beat out the New Jersey Devils for the first wild card spot with a tiebreaker.

Why they could win: The Blue Jackets could be a team with plenty of motivation heading into this season after yet another gut wrenching first-round exit, and they have the talent on the roster to back it up.

The pairing of Zach Werenski and Seth Jones is among one of the best in the entire league, and Seth Jones could very well be competing for a Norris Trophy this year after coming close to being a nominee. The forward core is also incredibly deep and can run four dangerous lines, and it doesn’t hurt that Sergei Bobrovsky is one of the best goaltenders in the NHL to backstop the team in front of him.

The Blue Jackets also have plenty of youth like Pierre Luc Dubois and Oliver Bjorkstand, who have the potential for a big breakout season, and they can use the boost from their younger players to support their core.

The Blue Jackets can for sure get into the playoffs like they have the past two years, and they have the kind of roster that you need to make a run. They’ve got four solid lines, borderline elite top pairing defensemen, and one of the best goaltenders in the league. It would be huge weight off the organization’s shoulders just to win one round, and the Capitals just showed how much damage you can do when that happens.

Why they won’t win: The Blue Jackets have never won a playoff series in their existence. They are the literal least successful franchise in NHL history. They have to at least win a playoff round first before anyone can take the thought of them winning the Stanley Cup seriously.

The Blue Jackets also lack a true game changer, and the closest they one to one is Artemi Panarin, who could be traded if the Blue Jackets cannot reach an agreement on a contract extension with him. Without Panarin, this team is out of luck, and it needs to find a way to keep him at any cost.

Their defense outside of Werenski and Jones is nothing special. It’s still relatively young and Ryan Murray is alright, but none of them are anything special enough to hold up against the better players in the league. If Bobrovsky for some reason gets hurt, their flaws will be on full display.

Conclusion: Overall, the Blue Jackets making the playoffs feels pretty safe barring some injuries, especially in the wide-open Metropolitan Division. They’ve got young talent, a deep offense, and a top three goalie in the world, all the right pieces to make a run. However, the Blue Jackets flaws are too prevalent to see a Cup run happening this year, especially with their past of failure.

15. EDMONTON OILERS

The Edmonton Oilers are fascinating team. Heading into last season they were Stanley Cup contenders, and it felt pretty safe to say they would make the playoffs. Then the whole thing collapsed, and the Oilers were knocked out of playoff contention early in the season. They never recovered

The Oilers are the biggest wild card team heading into this season, because they will either be Cup contenders or total busts. Last year they almost pencilled in to be a top five team in the league, and they fell all the way to 22nd in the league with 78 points.

Why they could win: The Oilers have the best player in the world right now in Connor McDavid, and they will go as far as he can take them. McDavid has won back-to-back Art Ross trophies with 100+ point seasons and back to back Ted Lindsey trophies, and is still just 21 years old. As long as his teammates are semi competent, they will make the playoffs. It’s harder to miss the playoffs when you have McDavid than it is to make them.

There is talent around McDavid, and most of it is with Edmonton’s top tier center depth. Down the middle is McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, which is easily a top-five center core in the league. They even brought back Kyle Brodziak to give them the fourth-line center they were missing all last year. Now all they need is for the young players like Puljujärvi to step in and give them support on the wings.

Cam Talbot had a bad season last year due to being overworked the last few years, but this season the Oilers brought in a steady back-up with Mikko Koskinen that can give him the breaks he needs or keep the team afloat if he is to get injured again. If Talbot can bounce back and give the Oilers at least decent goaltending, they become that much more dangerous.

Why they won’t win: If you take Connor McDavid off of this team, it’s without a doubt still a lottery team. McDavid scored 108 points last season and the team still finished 23rd, not even close to competing for a playoff spot. He and Draisaitl are not enough to carry this team, and they didn’t take the proper steps to solve those problems this offseason.

Edmonton’s wing depth is terrible, and its why they couldn’t get off the ground last year. They have great centers with McDavid, Draisaitl, and Nugent-Hopkins, but there is nobody to support them. Milan Lucic is making $6 million for the next five seasons and he can’t even keep up with any of the young players. There’s too much mediocrity and not enough talent surrounding their stars.

The defense was also a mess last year with injuries and underperformance across the board. It could improve this year if everybody stays healthy, but thats’s still counting on Oscar Klefbom to carry the load after rumors that he would be traded this offseason. Adam Larsson is good, but he still bring back bad memories for Oilers fans, best not talk about him.

The Oilers did not really attempt to patch any holes this offseason, maybe hoping that last year was a one off that won’t happen again. Still, it’s bold for a team that was never close to playoff contention to stand pat as if everything is fine when it’s clearly not.

Conclusion: Sticking the Oilers in the dead middle feels fair. Missing the playoffs for two straight years with Connor McDavid is incredibly difficult. Everything went horribly last year, it’s fair to suspect a massive bounce back season for the whole team. Can they make the playoffs this year? Without a doubt. Even if everything doesn’t go to plan, they can absolutely make the playoffs comfortably.

It boils down to one philosophy — don’t bet against McDavid, but don’t bet on the Oilers. Nobody has any clue how this season will go for them.

14. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

Another offseason down, and another set of improvements on the way for Philadelphia Flyers. Slowly but surely, the Flyers are becoming a force to be reckoned with, but is this year it all comes together?

The Philadelphia Flyers finished 12th in the league with 98 points, earning third in the Metropolitan before losing in six games to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round.

Why they could win: The Flyers made a huge splash in free agency by bringing back James van Riemsdyk for five years. With the addition of Van Riemsdyk this offseason, the Flyers are absolutely terrifying on offense on all fronts.

Remember when Claude Giroux scored 102 points and was second only to Connor McDavid for the Art Ross? Or Jakub Voracek putting up 85 points? What about Sean Couterier more than doubling his production output with a jump from 34 to 76 points?  Not convinced they’re legit yet? How about Wayne Simmonds playing through a torn pelvis, broken ankle, torn ligament in his thumb and a pulled groin and still putting up 46 points? Those are just the veterans of the team. The youth movement is well under the way to support them.

Nolan Patrick found his game late in his rookie season and looks ready to take big step in his development and become a top six regular at just 19 years old. Travis Konecny is massively underrated at 21 years old, and playing next to Couterier and Giroux on the top line this year will do wonders for his ahead of schedule development.

For the defense, a pairing of Ivan Provorov and Shayne Gostisbehere, if the Flyers finally decide to go with it, could turn into one of the leagues best defensive pairings, much like the Jones-Werenski pairing is for Columbus. As long as the youth drafted fills the holes beneath them, they are in good shape.

Why they won’t win

The defense of the Flyers when you look outside of Provorov and Gostisbehere is really rough. Radko Gudas looks like he’ll still be in the top four this season for some reason, but it either that or Andrew: MacDonald. The rest of their defense is still young and unproven, and in need of another talented top four player to really become dangerous.

Having a solid goaltender in net would be great to make up for the weak defense in front of him, but Philadelphia doesn’t even have that. Brian Elliot is way too inconsistent to be a reliable starting goaltender, and has track record of terrible postseason performances. As his backup, the Flyers have almost the identical goalie in Michal Neuvirth. Carter Hart can’t graduate to the NHL fast enough for the Flyers, and they’ll have to make due in the mean time.

Conclusion; The Flyers are really starting to look a threat in the Metropolitan Division, and the pieces are there to get into the playoffs for the second consecutive season. But once you look deeper, this team is not a Stanley Cup contender yet. Their offense could take them to a playoff spot, but you need more than a lethal offense to get it done in the postseason, and they’ll be picked apart by more well-rounded teams. In a few years, the Flyers will be a top team in the league, but not yet.

13. DALLAS STARS

After falling apart and missing the playoffs late in the season for the second straight year, the Dallas Stars are hoping that a coaching change and additions of youth can turn the tide and get them back into the postseason.

Last season, the Dallas Stars finished 18th in the league with 92 points after a massive losing streak in March knocked them out of the playoffs. There were serious issues last year that caused the collapse down the stretch, and not many steps were taken to fix them.

Why they could win: Dallas’s top tier players are nothing short of terrific, with a top line to be feared with Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Alexander Radulov. Benn and Seguin are both in the primes of their career, and Radulov just had a career year with 72 points. There’s not any reason to believe those numbers are going to drop anytime soon, and that line alone makes Dallas a threat.

Dallas’s defense gets a lot of criticism, some of it deserved, but there’s a lot of high end pieces there. John Klingberg turned into stud last year with 67 points, and his pairing with Esa Lindell is very underrated. This season will likely see third overall pick in 2017, 19 year old Miro Heiskanen, getting his shot at making the team. If he’s everything he’s projected to be, that defense is good shape. Oh and there’s rumors that they could get Erik Karlsson, which would be pretty helpful.

The real key for Dallas is having a healthy Ben Bishop in net. Bishop was their answer last season to their years of goaltender woes and it seemed to be going well up until he got injured in March and missed the homestretch of the season. Dallas then missed the playoffs by just three points. If Bishop stays healthy, Dallas almost certainly gets those three points and gets into the playoffs. Even if he doesn’t stay healthy, Dallas signed Anton Khudobin to backup Bishop after his career year as a backup in Boston.

Why they won’t win: The Dallas Stars are the prime example of a top heavy team. Their top players are phenomenal and can carry the team, but there is little to no depth to support them. There is a serious lack of true skill outside of the top line, and the only move made to fix it was getting Valeri Nichushkin back from the KHL.

Dallas needs to make some more moves to round out this team, because it’s not enough. If they’re getting Karlsson, then go ahead; that’ll easily render defensive depth irrelevant. If they’re not, use the nine million in cap space and trade for some talent. This is not a team that can afford to stay put and waste what could be the last year of Tyler Seguin’s contract, along with wasting Benn’s best years.

The Central is a brutal division and Dallas will have a lot of competition to get into postseason with the improvements of the teams around them. They finished sixth in the division last year for a reason, and they didn’t solve those problems.

Conclusion: Dallas is a tough team to look ahead for. The core is worthy of a deep playoff run, but the rest of the team is not at that point yet. When you look at the Central Division as a whole, Dallas is maybe the fourth or fifth best team, and not by a lot. There’s no room for error here, and getting into the playoffs is the real concern. If they do get in then they will be a problem for every other team with their star power, and if Ben Bishop returns to form, he can take them deep. There is some value here to place reasonable bet on a Cup run, but if anybody goes down with an injury, it’s all over.

12. ANAHEIM DUCKS

After a disappointing end to a promising season and busy offseason, the polarizing Anaheim Ducks look to take another swing at the Stanley Cup, but they have plenty of questions to answer first.

Last season, the Anaheim Ducks finished ninth with 101 points before being swept in the first round by the San Jose Sharks. They still have a strong team, but time could be running out for the core of the team.

Why they could win: If everything falls into place, the Ducks could very well have the pieces to make a deep run at the Stanley Cup. A lot needs to go right, but it’s all there already.

The Ducks have one of the best top four pairings in the Western Conference, and improvements are on the way. Cam Fowler and Hampus Lindholm are proven top pair defenders on the left side, and with the revelation of Josh Manson and Brandon Mountour as top tier defenders on the right side, this defensive core is set for years to come. Add the potential graduation of Marcus Petterson to the lineup, and you’ve got a defense that can carry any team.

Don’t ever count out Ryan Getzlaf, even if he is getting older. When he was injured early in the season Anaheim looked lost, but once they got him back they began their push for the playoffs and turned the the entire season around for another 100 point season.

John Gibson also doesn’t get the recognition that he deserves as one of the best goaltenders in the league, but that is surely to change this year. With a beyond capable backup in Ryan Miller, there will be no questions in net for the Ducks.

Why they won’t win: The Ducks might be out of time, and regression might begin to kick in for their core. Corey Perry looks well on his way to falling out of the top six, Ryan Kesler career could be in question with injuries, and Ryan Getzlaf better hope father time is still well behind him.

Center depth for the Ducks is now a massive problem with Ryan Kesler rumored to be out for the entire upcoming season. Without the trade for Adam Henrique last season, there would be nothing to help Getzlaf carry the load. If the Ducks wish to really compete this year, they need to find a way to acquire at least a third line center, because Carter Rowney as a top nine forward is not sustainable.

Conclusion: There are just too many questions surrounding this Ducks team to be confident in their ability to go deep this season. Not enough improvements were made this offseason for Anaheim while the rest of the division got better. However, the team they have is still strong in all areas. A lot of things have to go right, like the youth taking a massive step forward, and the older players staving off regression to stay productive, but the Ducks make it into the playoffs and they can make some noise.

11. ST. LOUIS BLUES

The long cursed St. Louis Blues have loaded up for this season after heartbreakingly missing the playoffs by a single point last season in the final game. With a bolstered roster, can this be the year they break through?

Last season the Blues finished 17th in the league with 94 points, missing the playoffs by a single point in the Western Conference.

Why they could win: The Blues had a tremendous offseason, filling almost all of their offensive holes that caused them to miss the playoffs last season along with supporting their already fantastic core.

The most important move the Blues made was trading for Ryan O’Reilly to acquire the true number one center that they desperately needed to get themselves over the hump. They paid a hefty price to get him, but the talent he brings to the table as an elite two way center is exactly what the Blues need.

In free agency, the Blues signed David Perron, Tyler Bozak and Patrick Maroon to add their forward depth. The issue down the stretch for St. Louis was that is all the top guys doing the heavy lifting, and they had no support. That will not be an issue anymore. They are now host to an incredibly deep offense on all fronts where depth scoring will come in spades.

The defense for the Blues is also well up to the task. Alex Pietrangelo is one of the most underrated defensemen in the league, and the rest of the defensive core is built of solid top four guys like Colton Parayko, Joel Edmundson and Vince Dunn.

Why they won’t win: Even after all their great additions this offseason, the Blues hardly addressed the issue that has plagued them most, their goaltending. Jake Allen was not good last year, and it cost them down the stretch when he was among the worst goalies in the league statistically after January 1. Carter Hutton was a revelation while Jake Allen struggled during the season, and now he’s gone, replaced by a far less capable Chad Johnson.

In the Central Division, the Blues can’t afford to stumble like they did last year. The teams behind them are too good, and they know how important every single point is to get in.

The Blues are also the Blues. They’ve been around since 1967 and have never won the Stanley Cup with better teams than they have now. It’s going to take a lot more than a good offseason for there to be belief in this organization, they could even win the Presidents’ Trophy this year and not be favorites to win when the playoffs start.

Conclusion: The Blues should absolutely be a playoff team this year after the additions they’ve made, but it’s after that that concerns me. The Central is full of killers and signs point to St. Louis having to play one of Nashville or Winnipeg in the first round, and that will be trouble without consistent goaltending. Even if they play someone else, you aren’t going far in the playoffs without good goaltending no matter how good the team in front of them is. So all in all, an improved regular season for the Blues? Absolutely. A run at the Stanley Cup? Unlikely given their path to the cup. But who knows? The Capitals just broke their curse; why not the Blues this year?

10. CALGARY FLAMES

Not making the playoffs last year was a failure for the Calgary Flames, but the Flames are a team that should absolutely be competing for a playoff spot this season after some big additions to improve the team.

Last season, the Calgary Flames finished outside the playoffs in 19th with 84 points, but a significant improvement is on the horizon after a great offseason.

Why they could win: The Flames really should have made the playoffs last year with their lineup. Now that lineup is looking even better, and the Pacific Division is as wide open as ever. This is the Flames’ year to really make a push with all the talent they have in the lineup.

The Flames replaced Michael Ferland with James Neal on the first line. That will put Neal as the deadly finishing touch to the already dynamic duo of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, and could turn into one of the league’s most prolific scoring lines.

The depth after the first line is no slouch either, and they can run a solid three line attack. Matthew Tkachuk should take another step in development this year, along with Mark Jankowski and some of the other youth on the team. 

The Flames look like what the Winnipeg Jets were last year, a young team ready to explode into Cup contention but with plenty of questions. Even if Calgary can somewhat be what Winnipeg was last year, that’s great news with how wide open the Pacific is at the moment.

Why they won’t win: The Flames always look like the team that’s going to take massive step the next year, but every time there is a hole in the lineup that causes their downfall.

The real concern for the Flames still lies in the net with Mike Smith. He’s a solid goaltender for sure, but he has been prone to injury the last few seasons at 36 years old. If he stayed healthy last year, the Flames probably make the playoffs. Behind Smith is the unproven Jon Gilles, who will have to prove himself to be able to handle an NHL workload if Smith falters.

Also on the back end, Calgary made their defense worse with the trading of Dougie Hamilton, even though they got Noah Hanifin back. T.J Brodie will need to prove himself as a top pairing defenseman this season to pick up the slack left behind.

Conclusion: The Flames are a popular dark horse team for this season and for good reason. They’ve got elite talent backed up by depth on both offense and defense and a serviceable goaltender in net. If you’re looking to place a value bet on a team before the season starts, the Flames are probably the best realistic value you can get at 28/1 odds, so it might not be a bad idea to drop a few bucks on these guys. But, they still have a ton of questions to answer when the season, so be cautious for the time being.

9. SAN JOSE SHARKS

Time is running out for the San Jose Sharks to win with their current core of players. They have eleven contracts expiring at the end of the year, and this could be their last chance to really go for it all.

Last season the San Jose Sharks finished tenth in the league with 100 points before bowing out to Vegas in the second round of the playoffs.

Why they could win: Everything is in place for the Sharks to take one last shot at the Stanley Cup before next year’s dreaded offseason. They’ve got the stars, the depth and the incentive to take make a run, but it all has to come together.

The Sharks’ top six isn’t star-studded, but it’s chalk full of solid talent. Joe Thornton, Joe Pavaleksi and Logan Couture have been the guys there for awhile now, but they’re finally getting some real support. The addition of Evander Kane last season at the deadline pushed them to another level, especially in the playoffs; Tomas Hertl took a big step and is now a permanent top six talent; and Timo Meier should be ready for full time top six responsibilities next season.

Joe Thornton is currently the league’s most pitied player now that Ovechkin has a Cup. With it being increasingly obvious that he may not be long for the league anymore, the Sharks can find that extra motivation to if nothing else to win for him.

Martin Jones has flown under the radar and quietly become a solid goaltender. He can lead the Sharks far as long as they give him a chance.

Why they won’t win: San Jose needed to make a bigger splash in free agency than what they did. They were close to landing Tavares, but there was apparently no plan B for when it ultimately failed. The Sharks are bringing the same team they had last season, just aged another year.

The core of the team is getting too old, and regression could begin to really sink in this season. Thornton is 39 and has both knees reconstructed over the last two years, who knows if he can move on the ice anymore. Brent Burns and Pavelski are past their athletic primes now, and both of them taking a step back would be devastating on both end of the ice.

Conclusion: This is the Sharks’ last chance to win a Stanley Cup with this core, but they need one final piece to complete the puzzle. If nobody regresses and all the youth steps forward, then the Sharks are easily Cup contenders. Everything else is in place, but this isn’t the year to be conservative. They need to go for it now; they may not get another chance.

8. VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS

Here marks where the true Stanley Cup contenders for this season begins. Starting with the Vegas Golden Knights.

What an inaugural season for a team that was projected to be an utter failure. They took the league by storm right away, and just never slowed down after that.

The Golden Knights finished fifth in the league with 109 points to win the Pacific, and became the first expansion team to reach the Stanley Cup Final since the St. Louis Blues did so in 1968.

Why they could win: Vegas was not a fluke. Last season was entirely legitimate because the Golden Knights had the right attitude and the talent that they needed to shock the world.

Vegas has great depth on both sides of the ice, but its offense is where it’s best showcased. Their first line of Jonathan Marchessault-William Karlsson-Reilly Smith quickly turned into one of the most productive lines in the league last season and looks to be even better after a season of chemistry.

Normally for an expansion team that would be where the depth ends, but Vegas goes much deeper than that . Paul Stastny was brought in this offseason, Alex Tuch is already a top six forward and looks to go a step further at just 22 years old, and Erik Haula tops it all off nicely with 55 points as a third line center.

Marc Andre-Fleury is still turning back the clock at 33 years old and started fresh in Vegas last season, and re-established himself as one of the top net minders in the league today. Vegas’s ascension was still happening while he was injured, but they don’t nearly as far as they did without him.

Why they won’t win: What happened last season with Vegas was magical, but that magic might be over now. No longer will teams be taken by surprise by the plucky expansion team that they underestimated. There will be game plans on how to beat Vegas, and teams could want payback for making them look like chumps last year.

There were obviously no expectations on an expansion team last year, but that’s gone now. The city of Vegas expects a title now after last years run. No longer can the “Golden Misfits” claim some noble “prove everybody wrong” crusade.

Vegas was also the beneficiary of several career years that will be almost impossible to repeat, most notably William Karlsson. Karlsson went from being a six goal scorer in Columbus, to dropping 43 goals the very next year with Vegas with a 23.4 shooting percentage. If these guys come back down to earth, Vegas could see a drastic drop in point production. That’s after letting James Neal and David Perron walk in free agency, which is 100 points gone in itself.

Conclusion: Vegas still has a good team put together here, and in the weak Pacific Division making the playoffs should be a safe bet. If Vegas can really prove they are still for real, and that it wasn’t all just Disney movie magic, then they can easily make another run at the Stanley Cup.

7. BOSTON BRUINS

The Boston Bruins took a sudden jump from a mediocre fringe playoff to a Stanley Cup contender for years to come in just one short year. Through years of solid drafting, the Bruins built a team to be feared on all fronts.

Last season the Boston Bruins finished fourth in the league with 112 points, one point behind Tampa Bay for the top seed in the East.

Why they could win: The Bruin’s top line is the consensus top line in the entire league. Brad Marchand, Patrice Beregeron and David Pastrnak are all stars and deserve their own individual recognition for how much they carried the team last year. Bergeron got nominated for another Selke Trophy (that he should’ve won, and both Marchand and Pastrnak scored 80+ points. That will not be touched all season long, and in all likelihood will remain king.

The depth on the Bruins is also incredible through their years of excellent drafting. Jake DeBrusk is ready for a top six role next season after finding his game late in the season. Later round picks like Ryan Donato, Danton Heinen and Anders Bjork are developing wonderfully and had wonderful rookie seasons.

Charlie McAvoy deserves a mention for how he saved what could’ve been a underperforming defense last season. Now instead of relying on 41 year old Zdeno Chara, the defense has fresh young legs to push it long.

Why they won’t win: Tuuka Rask is far too inconsistent too have confidence placed in him for another full season. He can go from lights out stopping everything in sight to letting in soft goals on a game to game basis, and there’s never any warning as to when his play will switch. Boston had Anton Khudobin to solve this last year, and he did his job, but now he’s gone. Replacing him is fellow inconsistent and aging goaltender Jaroslav Halak.

As much as McAvoy saved the defense, it still needs some more. Chara is still getting older and older, and adding John Moore hardly seems helpful to moving the needle. The defense will likely consist of McAvoy and Torrey Krug doing all the heavy lifting, and unless they make a move for another guy to share the burden, things could get ugly real fast.

Conclusion: It’s looking real good for the Bruins this year. They’ve got the high end talent to carry the team and the youth to support them. Even in the top heavy Atlantic Division, the Bruins should have no problem getting into the playoffs. If Rask stays consistent during the postseason, the Bruins can easily leave 2019 with another Stanley Cup on their resume.

6. WASHINGTON CAPITALS

The Washington Capitals have waited a long time to call themselves “defending champions,” and they are in no hurry to give up that honor anytime soon.

Last season the Washington Capitals finished sixth in the NHL with 105 points before going on to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. With the most of the same squad back, another run could be on the horizon for this season.

Why they could win: It’s hard to doubt the team that just won the Stanley Cup last year, especially when they bring almost the exact same group into the fight this year. They resolved all their free agency issues, and got creative to make room for what they needed.

Finally we saw what happens for the Capitals in the playoffs when the players outside of the top six show up and put goals on the board, and that was always the concern not matter how well the Capitals performed in the regular season. For once, it was not just Alex Ovechkin and Braden Holtby doing it all, but everybody pitching in to get the job done.

Ovechkin is still Ovechkin and will continue to torch the league as the greatest goal scorer of this generation and leader of this Capitals squad, and now he has proven performers behind him that can take the load off. They’ve got one of the best top nines in the league today, and a center depth that is the among the best in the league with Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Lars Eller. Not to mention the incredible bond this team shares.

To top it all off, Washington has plenty of youth ready to make significant jump next season, most importantly Andre Burakovsky who has been hampered with injuries the last few years. Other young players ready to make a jump are Jakub Vrana, Christian Djoos, Chandler Stephenson and Madison Bowey.

Why they won’t win: It’s hard to repeat as Stanley Cup champions; the playoffs can take a lot out of you. Not to mention the famous Stanley Cup hangover that a lot of champions and finalists suffer from throughout the following season. Hopefully they’ve been training instead of partying all summer, because that determination from losing won them the Cup.

One of the reasons that Braden Holtby was so good in the playoffs was that Phillip Grubauer was able to allow him to rest when he became fatigued towards the end of the season, but now Grubauer is gone, replaced by an unproven Phoenix Copley. Holtby has had a heavy work load the past few years, and he can exhausted again soon if the Capitals aren’t careful.

Conclusion: Without a doubt, the Capitals comfortably make the playoffs, and they very well could go all the way again, but eventually somebody is going to figure them out and they’ll have to lose. The playoffs are fickle in terms of luck, and nobody can attest to that better than the Capitals. They’ve been on the wrong end for years and finally got it their way last year. They might have used up all their luck last year for the Stanley Cup run. In terms of the Capitals on paper, there is no reason to think that they won’t at least make a run with that amount of talent. It’s a season that Capitals fans can finally just enjoy, no matter the result.

5. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

It’s safe to say the rebuild is over for the Toronto Maple Leafs. After the addition of John Tavares this offseason to their already lethal offense, the Leafs have gone from punchline of the league to Stanley Cup contenders in just a few short years.

The Maple Leafs recorded their best season in franchise history last year, finishing seventh in the league and third in the Atlantic Division with 105 points before losing in seven games in the first round to the Boston Bruins.

Why they could win: The Maple Leafs bring one of the most lethal offenses in the league to the table this season with the addition of John Tavares. The top six talent is obviously stunning and easily one of the best in the league, but the depth on the team is strong on its own.

The Maple Leafs top six should really not need any introduction with players like Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, Patrick Marleau, William Nylander and Zach Hyman. What more needs to be said? Tavares is in the midst of his prime; Matthews is going to continue to get better, along with Nylander and Marner; and old man Patrick Marleau just seems like he’ll never slow down at the ripe age of 38 years old.

Even if they didn’t sign Tavares this offseason, you have 30 goal scorer Nazem Kadri up there in his place. Even if every other spot on the team is terrible, a offensive core like that could make you a playoff team. Best part is, thats not all Toronto has. Kadri is certainly one of the best third line centers in the league, and young players like Kapanen and Johnsson could turn into solid producers if they stay on their current pace.

Frederik Andersen is also a great option in net, and there are several options for a backup goaltender ranging from Curthis McElhinney, Garret Sparks and Calvin Pickard.

Why they won’t win: Toronto’s defense isn’t nearly as bad as it’s made out to be by the mainstream hockey media, but make no mistake, it still needs some work. Defense was the reason the Maple Leafs couldn’t best the Boston Bruins last year, and it’s exactly the same group going out there this season.

Morgan Reilly is the only defenseman that Toronto can rely on night in and night out. Jake Gardiner is talented defender capable of 50 point seasons, but he is far too inconsistent to be relied on in key moments, and that was on full display with his horrendous performance in Game 7 against Boston. Ron Hainsey is ok, but you never know if a 37-year-old defenseman can suddenly fall off a cliff. Nikita Zaitsez had a terrible injury riddled year after signing a seven year extension, and needs a bounce back if the Leafs don’t want five goals against a night. Travis Dermott and Conor Carrick develop into servicable guys, but its far too much to ask for this year.

What Toronto needs is another top four defenseman to truly be considered Stanley Cup favorites. They have guys like Timothy Liljegren on the way up, but not this year. If they want to win this year, they need to work out some kind of deal to patch up this defense, or that potent offense won’t be able to carry them very far.

Plus, that whole 1967 curse doesn’t help either, nor does not winning a playoff series since 2004.

Conclusion: Toronto is right there with the best teams in the league, and they are going to be for a very long time with this core, but they are just one piece away. Playoffs are almost a certainty, but can they make a deep playoff run with all offense and a weak defense core? Step one is winning a playoff series, and then we can see about raising Lord Stanley. Make no mistake; the Leafs are going to finish as a top five team in the league, and if Andersen can get hot at the right time in the playoffs he could render the weak defense obsolete en route to their first Stanley Cup in the modern NHL.

4. WINNIPEG JETS

The Winnipeg Jets didn’t just take a massive step forward and make the playoffs last year, the blew the door off and made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals. With a record year behind them, the Jets will look to take the final step and take home the Stanley Cup.

Last season the Jets surpassed all expectations and finished second in the entire league with 114 points, going all the way to the Conference Finals before losing in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Why they could win: Winnipeg is an offensive powerhouse, and they will stay that way for years to come with one of the youngest rosters in the league.

No one single player leads the way for Winnipeg on offense, but the most important name is Patrik Laine. The 19 year old Finnish star came second in the league in goals with 44 goals, surpassed only by Alex Ovechkin, and has nowhere to go but up in his third full season. Mark Schiefele is still one of the most underrated centers in the league, Blake Wheeler is coming off a 91 point season, and Nikolaj Ehelers and Kyle Connor are both developing into elite forwards at left wing. The average age of that core? Just 23 years old.

When you see a team so stacked on offense, the logical assumption is that the defense is lacking, but that is not at all the case with Winnipeg. They actually have a deep defensive core with some great talent leading the way. Dustin Byfuglien is still at the top of his game 33 years old, Josh Morrissey proved he was a reliable top pair defender, plus support from Jacob Trouba and Tyler Myers makes them dangerous.

Connor Hellebuyck was the true final piece that put it all together for the Jets last season and why they became the threat that they were. For years it was the goaltending that kept the Jets from success, and finally they got what they needed and then some from Hellebuyck.

Why they won’t win: The center depth in Winnipeg is lacking after losing Paul Stastny to free agency, and they need to fix that before or during the season. To go deep in the playoffs, a team needs at the every least three talented centers to carry the team deep. They had that with Stastny after trading for him, but Adam Lowry won’t give that kind of production.

Backup goaltender is also a spot that could need a patch during the season. Winnipeg signed Laurent Brossoit this offseason to backup Hellebuyck, even after his struggles in Edmonton. Maybe Brossoit improves in a backup role and some experienc under his belt but its a gamble. If Hellebuyck gets hurt or tired this season, they are in deep trouble.

Conclusion: The Jets are such a fun team to watch, and the pieces are in place for another deep playoff run. They’ve got some holes to fill, especially at center and backup goalie, but that is nothing that can’t be fixed during the season through trades. Even without that at the moment, the Jets are absolutely Stanley Cup contenders with a deep offense, a stacked defense and a Vezina caliber goaltender. With the city of Winnipeg behind them once again, anything is possible for the Jets.

3. NASHVILLE PREDATORS

Last years Presidents’ Trophy winners will look for another shot at the Stanley Cup, and they didn’t need to make a bunch of moves this offseason to bolster their lineup considering they have everything they need.

The Nashville Predators finished last season with a franchise-best 117 points, enough for their first ever Presidents’ Trophy before losing in seven games to the Winnipeg Jets in the second round.

Why they could win: Nashville runs a balanced attacks from all fronts and has no real weaknesses on its roster. Some fans complained about their lack of improvements this offseason, but honestly what did they even need to do? The team in it’s current state is built to win the Stanley Cup this year, but several years down the road. They have everything a Cup contending team needs.

Nashville has undoubtedly the best defense core in the league hands down. Players like P.K. Subban, Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis and Mattias Ekholm are proven number one defenseman and could be the best defender on several other teams in the league. They can do it all, generate offense, provide solid defense in their own end and have the ability to out physical other teams when push comes to shove.

The offense doesn’t get enough love when it comes to the Predators, as well. Each line is everything you need to make a deep playoff run. An elite first line, only a slight downgrade for the second line, a young third line centered by an experienced veteran and an offensively capable fourth line. What’s not to like here?

In net, Nashville has last year’s Vezina winner Pekka Rinne who posted a career best .927 save percentage en route to the award. Behind him is his future replacement and a contender for best name in hockey, Juuse Saros. Again, no weakness here.

Why they won’t win: Even though Pekka Rinne won the Vezina trophy last season as the leagues best goaltender, he struggled heavily in the postseason last year, especially against the Jets in the second round where he was pulled during three separate games in the series. Aside from 2017, Rinne has a reputation of falling off in the postseason, and the Predators can’t win it all without him.

As great as Nashville’s defense is, their third pairing is bit of a mess. They brought back an aging Dan Hamuis to make it manageable, but it’s still going to be a liability on the ice. Luckily their top four is so obnoxiously good, it might not even matter, but even the smallest bit of weakness gets exposed when the playoffs roll around.

Conclusion: The Nashville Predators are such a fun team to watch, and it will be no exception this year. This could be their final year to really go for it with Rinne as his contract expires at the end of the year, and that motivation for the team as a whole to win the Stanley Cup for a guy who has been one of the builders of the organization might push them over the top. Playoffs are almost a certainty, and another deep playoff run seems on the horizon.

2. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

What’s not to like about their odds this season? They just came short of the Final last year, but they have developing youth that should push their already stacked core over the top.

Last year the Tampa Bay Lightning finished third in the league and won the Eastern Conference with a franchise record 113 points, before being eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Why they could win: The Lightning are coming into this season with a roster that came one win away from the Stanley Cup Finals last year, and that roster is deep with no noticeable weaknesses. Steve Yzerman has taken a lot of care putting this team together, and it’s paid off.

On offense, the Lightning run what could the all around deepest offense in the league. They have bonafide stars leading the way, and heaps of talented depth to support them. On offense, Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov alone would be enough to carry most teams into contention, but Tampa also has players like Brayden Point, Tyler Johnson, Yanni Gourde and J.T. Miller that push them over the top into being the powerhouse that they are.

Same story for Tampa Bay’s defense. Last year’s Norris Trophy winner Victor Hedman leads the way supported by Ryan McDonagh, which by itself is just obnoxiously good, but that’s not even it. Anton Stralman is a solid top four two way defender, and Mikhail Sergachev brings incredible speed and is on track to turn into another top pairing defender. There were talks earlier in the month that they could add Erik Karlsson, and if that’s the case, just cancel the season.

Oh and the guy they have in net? 24 year old Andrei Vasilevskiy who was a Vezina candidate last season and in all likely hood will take another step this season and be even better.

Why they won’t win: The pressure is beginning to mount in Tampa Bay, and this could be the last season the Lightning get to make a run without getting a choking label attached to the team. They blew a 3-2 series lead to the Capitals in the Conference Finals, and didn’t score a goal in the final seven periods, and some fans and media are asking if the team can handle pressure. It likely will not be an issue, but sometimes the pressure can get to a locker room.

While Vasilevskiy is without a doubt one of the top goalies in the league, he doesn’t have that great of a backup. Louis Domingue is alright, but Vasilevskiy will still have to carry the majority of the load, and he admitted to being tired last year which led a dip in performance. This the only weakness on paper for Tampa Bay, but still an issue to keep an eye on.

The Lightning also had a brutal penalty kill last year, finishing the regular season in 28th in the NHL last season with 76.1 percent. That’s going to have to improve because the Capitals killed them in the Conference Finals with their power play.

That’s really it. Tampa Bay is absolutely loaded with talent on all fronts, and if all that’s stacked against you is expectations and a below average penalty kill, you’re going to be all right. With so much talent ready to step up, injuries will barely harm them unless everybody goes down, and that is a possibility for every team in the league.

Conclusion: The Tampa Bay Lightning are exactly what a Stanley Cup contender should be. They are loaded at every position, and are going to be even better this season with the development of their youth. There is no way this team doesn’t at the very least make a deep playoff run, butt the Penguins will be in there way and they don,t Tampa Bay won’t make it to the Stanley Cup Finals

1. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

The defending champions are defending no more. After two consecutive Stanley Cups, the Pittsburgh Penguins were dethroned this past season and now the refocus themselves onto setting their sights on a sixth Stanley Cup.

Last season the Pittsburgh Penguins finished 10th in the league with 100 points, and won their ninth straight playoff series before being dethroned by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals in the second round.

Why they could win: How can the Penguins win the Stanley Cup? They’re the Penguins, that’s how. They just seem to find a way to get it done no matter what. The roster may have taken some turns for the worse, but don’t let that fool you, this team will never not be a threat.

Let’s start down the middle. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. So two generational talents, that’s pretty good. Follow that up with whoever you want and you are fine, but Derrick Brassard works as well.

Having elite centers is great but it means nothing if you don’t have anybody on the wing to support them. Pittsburgh has that in spades with guys like Phil Kessel, Patric Hornqvist and Jake Guentzel. Even depth guys like Rust, Sprong and Simon could have impact seasons on the bottom six.

Pittsburgh defense also gets some flack, but there plenty of talent there. When Letang is at his best he is a game changer, and Brian Dumoulin is consistently able to hold the fort in his own end. Justin Schultz can always slide in on the top pairing as well if need be, and looks better and better each year.

Why they won’t win: The Penguins did not have a good offseason; in fact it was pretty pedestrian and really out of character.

Signing Jack Johnson of all people for five years was not the solution to the defense depth issue in Pittsburgh. He’s fallen off cliff in recent years, and has shown no sign of recovering what he was anytime soon. Bringing back Matt Cullen one more year also isn’t helping on the wings. None of the signings they made the team any better.

The biggest question mark this season for the Penguins is Matt Murray. Yes he was the starting goalie for the Penguins back to back Stanley Cups, but last year was concerning bad. His glove hand is an easy weakness to pinpoint, and the Capitals beat him with it again and again in their second round series. If the Penguins are going to go deep in the postseason, Murray needs to refine his consistency and become the goalie he was hyped to be.

Conclusion: Of course the Penguins are Stanley Cup contenders. As long as Crosby and Malkin still wear that uniform, they are not going away. The Penguins are deep on offense and defense. The Penguins definitely make the playoffs and I believe that they have the talent to win another Stanley cup champions again