Clear Stanley Cup Favorites Emerge, But Which Should Be the True Frontrunner?

Most years, the NHL emerges ahead of its major league peers as the most unpredictable, be it at the trade deadline with all of its crazy deals or in the playoffs. The Presidents’ Trophy, famously, rarely produces a Stanley Cup winner, and the grueling nature of what can be a seven-game series of high-intensity hockey swiftly eliminates the pretenders to the crown.

So, those graded as Stanley Cup frontrunners aren’t always the teams leading the Western and Eastern Conferences, but rather, those with the depth and physicality necessary to compete beyond the means of others. This NHL season looks set to produce several worthy would-be champions, but the two who are currently sitting ahead of the rest are certainly making a great case.

A titan in each conference

Given the firepower in their ranks, it’s impossible to overlook the Edmonton Oilers. More importantly, the team could be doing even better now had the season started differently. At 3-9-1, the coach change Edmonton committed to raised some eyebrows, sending Jay Woodcroft out of the door in favor of Kris Knoblauch, but the new boss rapidly pulled the Oilers back out of their 31st overall standing and 26th in goals per game.

At the time of writing, the Oilers’ .649 point percentage was good for ninth in the entire NHL, but with just Knoblauch’s results, that slides to .727 and first overall. It’s quite the change in fortunes, especially as the Oilers now sit sixth for their goal differential – somewhat strangely, given the firepower, by conceding the seventh-fewest goals in the league.

In the other bracket, last season’s runners-up have reasserted themselves as top-class contenders seeking to make the most of the experience gained last season and an absolutely loaded roster – one that’s improved on last year’s team. Celebrating the team’s 30th anniversary, eight players have 30 or more points – the same as Edmonton at present – as well as a league-leading goal differential and joint-leading point percentage of .691.

Enhanced skating corps may not be the decider

Both did well at the deadline. The Oilers added Adam Henrique, Sam Carrick, and Troy Stecher, while Florida brought in Kyle Okposo, Magnus Hellberg, and Vladimir Tarasenko very cheaply. With their standing and hefty rosters, the two come into the sports odds of the leading crypto casino Canada has to offer at +706 for the Western team and +712 for the Eastern contenders. Still, one factor would lean towards the second-favorites coming out on top.

In the playoffs, you can have all of the offensive might in the world, but that won’t matter without a hot hand in net. You can look to the likes of Jonathan Quick, Marc-André Fleury, Corey Crawford, and Andrei Vasilevskiy as the highest-tier goalies to recently stand on their heads to win the Cup. Of course, goalies can come out of nowhere, as Antti Niemi did for Chicago in 2010 and Pavel Francouz did for the Avs in 2022.

The hot hand is often the most decisive factor, particularly in the final series of the playoffs. Last season, Florida’s netminder, Sergei Bobrovsky, endured a torrid campaign by going 3.07 GAA and .901 SV% in 50 games. In the playoffs, he surged to a 2.78 GAA and .915 SV% to be monumental in the team’s run to the Finals. Still very inexperienced, Edmonton’s Stuart Skinner capitulated in the postseason, going 3.68 GAA and .883 SV% in 12 games.

Given the weight that goaltenders carry in the postseason, while Skinner has every chance of holding true to his excellent regular season form, the leaning has to narrowly go to Florida with Bobrovsky in net. So, perhaps the Panthers should be leading the odds instead.