Who's a Stanley Cup contender and who's kidding themselves?

Join hosts Nick Zararis and Hunter Hodies on this edition of Locked on NHL for a wide ranging conversation on the scope of the entire league. What teams are looking to emerge from long rebuilds and enter back into the playoff conversation? What teams are mired in the soggy middle, too good for the lottery but too bad to be a true contender? What teams are ready to break through the ceiling and win the Stanley Cup?
Who's a Stanley Cup contender and who's kidding themselves?
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[@jimlittle5769]

The Golden Knights? I'd be incredibly shocked if they made the playoffs this year. Easily Vancouver and the Bruins over the Golden Knights. Bruins are definitely contenders

[@milktrain5567]

Canes boat has left and it's back to average. Panthers are still stacked and blessed with the cup experience, they don't look like a team that suffers from cup slump. Oilers, Stars have to be up there as well, since both have experienced cores ready for deep run.

[@Smucklz]

Damn Toronto higher than Vancouver?

[@sebastiencarrieres8825]

It will just hurt more for the inevitable fall.

[@yyaadude]

Ah, no.

[@yyaadude]

MM is going to be a distraction until they sort that out. Still in need of a top level goalie.

[@wainber1]

@@yyaadude When it comes to Canadian NHL teams on to what degree they may or may not be Stanley Cup contenders, I consider the: - Oilers as strong candidates to be repeat Cup finalists - Canucks at somewhere in the middle - Leafs as nowhere close due to potential issues with their bottom-six forward group and the stamina of the Joe Woll-Tony Stolarz goalie duo - Jets as nowhere close due to at best minor improvements to the blue line despite having allowed, over their last nine playoff games (just one win over that time span), at least four goals - Flames as way more likely to see their own 2025 first-round draft pick go top-10 than to win a playoff series - Sens and Habs as possible playoff teams but with: - last season neither having come anywhere close to playoff spots, a lot to prove this season for me to be convinced they can finally qualify for playoff action - quite possibly the Sens to become this decade the first Canadian NHL team to at a minimum fully repeat the Oilers so-called decade-of-darkness

[@user-pl8ij9et9w]

East coast trolls especially them

[@burts3781]

Nick you have been the locked on Oilers guy for months. How come the locked on site says some other guy is the host?

[@LockedOnSyracuse]

Not buying Nashville either. They wayyyy overachieved last season. They'll finish with 95-100 point and get bounced in round 1

[@tangofett4065]

lol what??? That’s a pretty “hot take” ya got there, bud. You might be the only person I’ve heard that thinks they won’t be a force on the ice this year…. 🤣

[@kwaty]

@@tangofett4065Nope I agree with him. Playoff team for sure. Cup contender. Not in my estimation. People are overrating some sexy off-season moves.

[@mike8099m]

If they didn’t make the playoffs I wouldn’t be surprised

[@milktrain5567]

I'm high on Preds. Team looks stacked with forwards and the losses in defense are not such problem when they have all small faster goalies, that don't suffer as much from high danger shots caused by possible defensive cover fails.

[@Sean-yt1jn]

Nope, bad take

[@user-pl8ij9et9w]

Vancouver canucks east coast trolls especially locked on Hockey

[@jimlittle5769]

I watched this, but I didn't quite see where you firmly put Utah. You said MAYBE Utah, MAYBE St Louis in the rebuilding/who are they category...then they weren't mentioned again.

[@yyaadude]

I personally like all the moves Utah made around free agency and I think the team will respond strong to their new home. I think they could be the biggest surprise and compete for the playoffs.

[@jax1580]

Leave it to an Oilers homer to completely disrespect the Canucks. It's been pretty obvious for years now they had lots of talent but bad luck(Demko injury) and no system that actually works for them until Tocchet. They will be top 3 in the Pacific without a doubt.

[@spud2727]

Leave it to a Canucks homer to think they have a better team then they do, hence why their trophy case is loaded with Lord Stanley. Bawawawa

[@jax1580]

@spud2727 who is better than them in pacific? Be realistic dude. They're gonna be top 3 easily. It'll be them and Oilers battling for 1st and 2nd. Everyone else is getting weaker. Van is built the same as last year...a similar type of style as Florida, hence why they gave Oilers the most trouble outside of Florida even with a less than rookie goalie in net. The other guy in the vid even said the Oil homer had Nucks ranked too low.

[@spud2727]

@@jax1580 Oilers, Kings, knights. I'm sure you will kick Calgarys ass. Let's face it, Vancouver over achieved last year, there shooting percentages were way above normal. Pacific is a pretty weak division, so in playoffs who knows

[@jax1580]

@spud2727 the pdo was only high for half the season. The second half they improved defense and pdo went back to normal. LAs best players are getting old and the young ones haven't emerged as stars yet. Vegas barely made the play offs last season and will be weaker still with the loss of marchesseault. My bet is van and oil are 1 and 2. Kings and Vegas 3 and 4 and then the bottom battles it out. Only Seattle has a chance to surprise.

[@jamesruscheinski8602]

Stanley Cup contenders Florida, Boston, NY Rangers, Carolina, New Jersey, Dallas, Colorado, Edmonton, Vancouver, Vegas?

[@oldhab7890]

If the Oilers top up their defence corp at the trade deadline they win the Cupl

[@jimgap3654]

Vancouver and Edmonton will be battling for 1st in the Pacific. Nick's take on the Canucks is hot garbage... How can you say you need to see Van do it again before you think they are a contender and then turn around and say NJ, TO and Vegas are contenders. lol that's such a Homer take its laughable.

[@charlieb308]

Buffalo will make the playoffs this year with Lindy Ruff and now finally having two very good goalies.

[@eirikrdberg1161]

The capitals will win the cup. Dubois wil win the conn smythe and be an MVP contender falling just short of Stamkos for the win. Kane plays less than 55 games for Detroit. Mcdavid will score less than 100 points in 60 games. Ovechkin scores 38. Teeing up for the record and 900 goals some time in November 2025. Toronto lose in second round. Matthews scores 53.

[@sebastiencarrieres8825]

Nah man, Dubois will try to get bought out for a second year in a row. It's all 4D chess by him and the Habs to go play in MTL on the cheap while being paid!! 😂🎉

[@eirikrdberg1161]

@@sebastiencarrieres8825 I’ll admit I used to truly hate Dubois. As a caps fan I am excited. No doubt he has the potential to do really good things. A point per game player and so on. Time will tell. Hope he is happy in Washington and delivers the goods.

[@DanielFry-x8o]

Who cares, I go for Penguins

[@olgak57]

If Draisaitl were healthy Oilers would win the Cup? Lol ok Nick still salty about the Cats manhandling your Rangers.

[@kwaty]

Nick is an oiler fan. Rangers are irrelevant to pretty much anything. Would the Oil have won if Leon was healthier? Perhaps. Doesn’t matter. Panthers were beat up the year before. No excuses then, no excuses for the Edmonton. Florida won. This year, Oil will be back & I hope it’s a rematch!

[@olgak57]

@kwaty there are no guarantees that the Oilers will be back. I still think they are overrated.

[@sizzlechest1110]

How injured was leon is the question​. I think the same thing that happened to him happened to all the other stars that played the panthers before. They simply got shut down. Did he require any offseason surgeries? I havemt read any. Meanwhile tkachuk had a cracked sternum n ekblad and montour had a broken ankle n torn labrum respectively. The level of injury the panthers had the year before is uncomparable@@kwaty

[@bradbradford8576]

​@@olgak57how? Look at the forward group..

[@olgak57]

@@bradbradford8576 which Florida shut down

[@mike8099m]

Bruins winning the cup!

[@Silveradoman61]

Not unless they get past my Panthers

[@mike8099m]

@@Silveradoman61 you know they will man handle the panthers this playoffs

[@Silveradoman61]

@@mike8099m You guys said that 2 years in a row

[@edited1325]

@@Silveradoman61the panthers are gassed and aren’t as motivated this time around which you also have to take into consideration the bruins and other teams are fresh in comparison

[@yiordanni]

@@edited1325lol “have to take into consideration my opinion on something as unknown as a team’s motivation”… hahahaha OK