The Hurricanes and Maple Leafs still have to prove that they’re Stanley Cup contenders
Amid an exciting start to the 2025-26 season, there are still skeptics surrounding a couple of the more talented teams in the National Hockey League.
Despite the massive loss of Mitch Marner, the Toronto Maple Leafs still have a wealth of talent that can carry them into the postseason. However, it’s interesting to hear the viewpoints on whether the team has enough to win the Stanley Cup. With just two playoff series wins in the Core Four era, many still doubt that the team can go the distance.
Even though they’ve had more playoff success than the Leafs, the verdict is still out on the Carolina Hurricanes. Even though the team has made it to the Eastern Conference Final in each of the past three seasons, the team has failed to get over the hump and play for Lord Stanley’s Cup.
On Wednesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton gave their championship favorites, explaining what the Leafs and Hurricanes have to do in order to be considered Cup contenders.
Carter Hutton: I just think Toronto’s at a point with Craig Berube and where he’s at. I think that they can get this team to play a little bit heavier brand of hockey. I like the addition of Dakota Joshua. I like the addition of Nicholas Roy. I just think there is a little bit more of a back end with their goalie depth.
I bumped Carolina out to the outside. It’s because it’s kind of the team that I guess, they just always leave me wanting more come playoff time. They have a lot of pieces. They’re going to be competitive. They’re going to create a lot of shots. And yes, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see them back in the Eastern Conference final because of what they’re going to face through the Metro Division. My worry is…if we’re going to call them legit Cup contenders, I just worry about that superstar talent pushing them over top.
Tyler Yaremchuk: They got Nikolaj Ehlers over the offseason. That could help. I still like their forward group.
Toronto in the first two rounds of the playoffs, unless they’re a wildcard team…they’re in all likelihood going to have to go through one or two of Florida and Tampa Bay. Montreal could be a factor this season. That path for Toronto is tough. I want to see them play a little bit more without Mitch Marner… I want to be a little bit more sure that that offense is going to be fine. Again, playoffs were a different argument with Marner and the Maple Leafs, but in the regular season, I just want to see a little bit from the Leafs first.
The Canes…I’m sitting there going, ‘They should be able to walk through that division for the first two rounds of the playoffs.’ Again, I don’t think there’s another authentic or even outer circle Cup contender in their division. So just by default, it’s like, they’re clearly the best team in their division in my eyes.
You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…