My Way too early 2026-27 Stanley Cup Contenders

 

As the playoffs just recently finished with the Carolina Hurricanes hoisting the Stanley Cup, I wanted to go through and create my list of who I thought would be the contenders for the Stanley Cup next year.

Now obviously this is way too early. Free agency has only just begun, trades are still happening, and teams still have months to shape their rosters. That being said, where’s the fun in waiting until October?

For this list I will be including 4 teams in total, three teams that I believe to be relative locks based on how their teams are built and how they often step up to bat in the postseason, and one team that I personally think can get there if a couple changes are made.

Carolina Hurricanes

For the first team on my list, I have the reigning Stanley Cup Champions, the Carolina Hurricanes.

For the Hurricanes, I really don’t see many deficiencies in their core group. They have a fantastic culture, one of the deepest defensive groups in the NHL, and a system that gets the best out of almost every player on the roster.

The issues lie externally though.

The Canes have reportedly been gauging interest on rising star defenseman Alexander Nikishkin. If he gets shipped off, that throws off the balance of the defensive core, but I still think Carolina has enough depth to recover from it.

The second issue revolves around Jordan Staal.

Staal is now 37 years old, and after captaining the Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup whilst winning the Conn Smythe Trophy, you have to wonder whether this would be the perfect ending to an incredible career. Carolina wouldn’t just be losing their 3C, they’d be losing arguably the biggest leader in their locker room and one of the best defensive forwards of his generation.

The other major storyline is in goal.

Frederik Andersen departed in free agency to join the Edmonton Oilers, meaning Carolina is now putting their faith in Pyotr Kochetkov and Brandon Bussi.

Kochetkov has shown flashes of becoming a legitimate number one goalie, but replacing the consistency Andersen gave them throughout their Cup run won’t be easy. Bussi will also be getting the biggest opportunity of his professional career, and if both goalies can provide quality starts throughout the season, I don’t think Carolina skips a beat.

I also feel like if they can offload contracts such as Jesperi Kotkaniemi in order to create more cap space and another roster spot, they would be in a good position to strengthen an already dangerous forward group.

Personally, I think Yakov Trenin would be a perfect addition.

The 29 year old winger finished with a league leading 413 hits, almost 100 more than the next closest player. Carolina has built its identity around relentless forechecking and physical hockey, and Trenin would fit that identity perfectly.

Thus for me, the Canes are still very much in contention, and I would not be surprised to see them back in at least the Eastern Conference Final.

Florida Panthers

The second team that I wanted to highlight for Stanley Cup contention is the Florida Panthers.

Sadly, looking at the title of this article, you may have already guessed that the former back to back Stanley Cup Champions would be back and ready for revenge.

After seemingly the entire team getting injured either in training camp, early season games, or throughout the regular season, the product that was being put out on the ice was nowhere near the full strength Florida Panthers.

Although the Atlantic Division was easily the most competitive division in the NHL last season, it wasn’t taking into account just how dangerous a fully healthy Florida Panthers team could be.

Not to mention they made some massive additions.

In a blockbuster move they acquired Brady Tkachuk from the Ottawa Senators, Radko Gudas from the Anaheim Ducks, Garnet Hathaway from the Philadelphia Flyers and, importantly, Jacob Markstrom from the New Jersey Devils.

Apart from Markstrom, every one of those additions brings an extremely physical brand of hockey. They aren’t afraid to finish every hit, get under opponents skin, and make life miserable for whoever they’re playing against.

Combine those players with Brad Marchand, Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, and you get what I personally think is a complete gauntlet of fire for every team in the NHL.

Not only do these players constantly chirp and try to bait opponents into taking penalties, but they actually have the talent to back it up.

I have no doubt that joining a winning culture like Florida will have a positive effect on all of the new additions, and somehow, someway, they’ll find themselves playing some of their best hockey come playoff time.

The one question mark for me is goaltending.

I truly believe that if Jacob Markstrom can even have a decent season, the Panthers will easily be Stanley Cup contenders. But that lies in the hands of Father Time.

Much like Andersen, Markstrom is now 36 years old, and last season posted an .883 save percentage.

Whilst I think working with Roberto Luongo and the Panthers goaltending development staff will certainly help, I’m not sure that’s enough to completely offset the effects of age, particularly for a goaltender.

Thus, the forward group and defensive core are stellar. It simply comes down to whether the goaltending is good enough to get them back to the Stanley Cup Final.

If the goaltending is there, I have no doubt, barring an upset, the Panthers will once again find themselves playing for the Stanley Cup.

Colorado Avalanche

The third team on my list is the Colorado Avalanche.

When you compare the regular season Avalanche to the postseason Avalanche, it was honestly night and day.

During the regular season, Colorado, led by Norris calibre defenseman Cale Makar and Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy winner Nathan MacKinnon, went 55-16-11, finishing with 121 points and winning the Presidents Trophy by a comfortable nine point margin.

Before the playoffs, if you had asked me, or many others, who we thought would represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Final, Colorado would have been one of the first teams mentioned.

Instead, they surprisingly found themselves getting swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final.

The biggest thing that stood out to me during that series was how much Colorado struggled whenever Cale Makar wasn’t at his absolute best.

Vegas did an incredible job limiting his impact, and once Makar wasn’t able to completely control the game, it felt like the Avalanche offense never really got going. They looked like a completely different hockey team.

I don’t think that happens again.

A fully healthy Avalanche roster, combined with a couple of smart depth additions over the summer, immediately puts them back into the Stanley Cup conversation.

If they can also receive the same quality starts, if not even better, from their goaltending tandem next season, I think Colorado has everything needed to make another legitimate run at the Stanley Cup.

As long as Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar are healthy, they’ll always be one of the most dangerous teams in hockey.

Montreal Canadiens

The final team on my list is the Montreal Canadiens.

Before people say I’m just being biased because I’m a Habs fan, hear me out.

I genuinely believe the Canadiens are much closer than people think.

After making the Eastern Conference Final this year, they finally got a taste of what playoff success feels like. When a young team gets that close, it changes the mindset of both the players and the front office. They don’t just want to make the playoffs anymore, they want to win.

That hunger is what makes Montreal so dangerous heading into next season.

Not only have they locked Ivan Demidov up for the next eight years at 9.15 million dollars per season, showing that they believe he is one of the faces of the franchise moving forward, but they still have cap space and a management group that has shown they’re willing to spend when the right opportunity presents itself.

When you look throughout the lineup, there really isn’t much to dislike.

Nick Suzuki continues to prove he’s one of the better two way centres in the NHL. Cole Caufield remains one of the league’s best pure goalscorers. Juraj Slafkovsky continues to take massive strides every season, and Lane Hutson has already established himself as one of the most exciting young defensemen in hockey.

The scary part is they’re only going to get better.

The Canadiens still have high end prospects like Alexander Zharovsky and Michael Hage making their way through the system to provide even more offensive support over the next few years. On top of that, they have what could become one of the most cost effective goaltending tandems in the NHL with outstanding rookie Jakub Dobeš and highly touted prospect Jacob Fowler.

That gives Kent Hughes the flexibility to spend money elsewhere while still having confidence in his future between the pipes.

Personally, I still think Montreal should make one more significant move. Whether that’s adding another top six forward or another top four defenseman, I think this roster is only one or two pieces away from becoming a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

After reaching the Eastern Conference Final, locking up Demidov long term, and still having the cap space to improve, I think the Canadiens window has officially opened.

Maybe that’s the Habs fan in me talking, but I genuinely believe Montreal is much closer to winning a Stanley Cup than many people realize.

To conclude I feel like these 4 teams actually have a good chance of making it to the Cup final and having that chance to create a dynasty or prolong a current one.

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