Who Will Take the Cup in 2023?
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The 2021-22 season was the Colorado Avalanche’s year at winning the Stanley Cup after many disappointing seasons of falling short in the second round of the playoffs in prior seasons.
They were able to capture the prize, what are their chances now of winning back to back cups after Darcy Kuempers departure during the offseason?
Goaltending is one of the most important assets as to how far a run a team makes in the playoffs and with Kuemper signing with the Capitals, the chances of the Avalanche winning again next season aren’t very good. Surely enough, their backup goalie would not allow them to make a deep run at the Cup, they’ll be lucky enough even to make the playoffs let alone making it to the Final.
As much as I’d like to see the Penguins win the cup one more time, I don’t think they’ll have the strength physically or mentally after losing a 3-1 series lead to the Rangers in the first round last season. To add on to this, Evgeni Malkin went to test free agency before resigning with the Penguins which will impact the team’s chemistry. He was actually considering leaving way before he resigned and on a four-year deal. He’s lucky enough to get those four years on the terms that he was thinking of leaving, considering how many years he has left.
Many have high hopes that the Lightning won’t win it again next year as they did lose a very valuable asset to their team in forward Ondrej Palat, who inked a five-year deal with the New Jersey Devils. They didn’t really gain much this offseason as well, so I don’t see them winning the Cup even if there’s a good chance they will make another run at it. They also lost defensemen Ryan McDonagh but then brought in Ian Cole on a one-year deal. Even so I think it’s unlikely the Lighting would be the favorites to win this coming season.
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Any team can make a huge surprise run at the cup, with that being said. For example Montreal two seasons ago, who no one would have ever guessed would make it as far as they did or even the Dallas Stars three seasons ago. I think the Capitals will make a good run at it this upcoming season with the addition of Kuemper being elite in goal after they had lost both their goalies last season in Holtby and Samsonov.
No one can know for sure who will win the cup next season, because of how injuries and trades change things for all franchises. Additionally, no one knows who is going to play well at a given time or who will be injured and for how long, but based on current statistics Edmonton for example is definitely on the rise. Other teams that I think are able to be in the mix include the Hurricanes, Leafs, Flames, and Panthers. Not saying any of these teams will win the cup, it’s just a matter of what goalies stand on their head in net and how injuries take a toll.
As said before, the Lightning will make another cup run with the pieces they still have and I think the Golden Knights will clinch a playoff birth this coming season, obviously two teams who are not ones to sleep on. Another team to keep an eye on would be the Devils making the playoffs this coming season with the young core that he have plus veterans and guys with lots of playoff experience. Who knows though, could the Penguins or Bruins be back? Could a new team arise from nowhere and shock the NHL world? All we know for sure is that this season will be one for the ages with new stars arising and old veterans still doing their thing.
