Offensively early Stanley Cup picks for 2024-25
Time for the final Roundtable of the 2023-24 hockey calendar.
The Stanley Cup has been handed out, and it’s immediately time to turn the page and look ahead to 2024-25.
So much will change between now and October, but regardless:
Who is your offensively early Stanley Cup pick for 2024-25?
MATT LARKIN: Man, it’s tough to think this far ahead. Especially with so many big names set to change addresses. This is unfair, Matt. (*listens to earpiece*) Wait, I”m told that I’m Matt. Moving on. Let’s get chaotic. The New Jersey Devils missed the playoffs altogether this past season, but they did so with terrible goaltending and a litany of injuries, including one that shelved top defenseman Dougie Hamilton for the year. Now, they have Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen for a crease tandem. It would be difficult to have worse injury luck than they had this year, so there’s nowhere to go but up. They’re a stacked team, a year removed from finishing third overall, led by superstar Jack Hughes, and young blueliners Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec will only get better. Maybe new coach Sheldon Keefe even knocks off his old team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, in the Eastern Conference Final? Devils for the Cup in 2025.
STEVEN ELLIS: I feel really confident about the Dallas Stars. They’re such a deep group and should remain that way next year, and it helps that their core is one of the deepest, strongest groups around. I’m still confident they would have won the Stanley Cup had they beat the Edmonton Oilers, and I feel like the Western Conference loss was the kick in the pants they needed to take the next step forward. I expect even better years from Jake Oettinger and Jason Robertson, and the youth duo of Logan Stankoven and Mavrik Bourque should help make up for the loss of Joe Pavelski. Bank on the Stars next year.
SCOTT MAXWELL: The Devils and Stars are both excellent picks, but I think I might have to go with the Florida Panthers. Yes, it’s a lay-up pick since they just won the Cup, but I also think they’re poised to do it again. Even with all of the looming free agents, I trust Bill Zito to find the right pieces to fill the void, which is especially easy when they already have the important components locked up in Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and Gustav Forsling. Heck, you could make the case that a reason they could be back there next year is because we didn’t see Barkov and Tkachuk at their best offensively during this Cup run. However, the biggest reason I think they have a strong chance, or at least give me the most confidence in offensively early pick, is the route to get back there. The Atlantic Division is kind of falling apart, with the Tampa Bay Lightning showing their age, the Toronto Maple Leafs drifting towards mediocrity under their new management, and the Boston Bruins still lacking a #1 center while making whatever the hell that Linus Ullmark trade was. Yes, you might see some improvements from a Buffalo or a Detroit or an Ottawa, but not enough to seriously contest with this Panthers team. It’s an easy route for them to at least the Conference Final, especially compared to the other divisions, so I like their chances of going the distance again next season. If the Lightning can win back-to-back Cups and make the Cup Final in three straight seasons, why can’t their state rival?
FRANK SERAVALLI: Damn, three consecutive trips to the final is difficult, so that is certainly bold, Scott. Yes, another team from Florida recently accomplished the feat, but they ran out of gas on trip No. 3. I thought long and hard about the New York Rangers, but I’m going to go with the Edmonton Oilers. I think the West is wide open. Why aren’t the Oilers good enough to go to back-to-back Finals? I don’t think Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl were completely healthy during their run, and we’ll find out more about that soon. I also don’t think Edmonton, with a new front office, is going to sit back and be complacent or lull themselves into thinking they don’t need improving, even though they got to Game 7. Assuming Draisaitl is signing a long-term extension to stay, this will be an all-important year to make hay before the stars start getting raises.
MIKE GOULD: I was tempted to go completely off-the-wall and pick Pittsburgh or something, but I’m going to keep things a bit more level-headed and go with the Colorado Avalanche. They looked like a runaway train the way they steamrolled the Winnipeg Jets in the first round and I think they might’ve beaten Edmonton had they gotten past the Dallas Stars in Round 2. I have no idea how they’ll handle the Valeri Nichushkin situation, but they could get Gabriel Landeskog back — and I have to wonder whether the Calgary Flames might be able to reunite them with Nazem Kadri at some point in the future. In any event, I never want to bet against Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar, and I still believe these Avs are the most talented team from top to bottom in the Western Conference. I think MacKinnon could win three Cups in Colorado by the time he calls it quits.
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