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The NHL is almost ready for puck drop, with six teams established as preseason favourites to clinch the Stanley Cup.
According to the bookmakers, the Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, Vegas Golden Knights, and Carolina Hurricanes are most likely to win it all – but each team enters the new season with burning questions to answer.
The Golden Knights return to the ice as the reigning champions but are relatively unfancied to win their division, let alone repeat their Stanley Cup success, such is the calibre of opposition in their backyard.
With that in mind, British Ice Hockey previews the NHL’s new class of Stanley Cup contenders and sets one season-defining question for each club.
Assessing the NHL’s six Stanley Cup favourites:
Are the Colorado Avalanche deep enough to come through the Western Conference?
The Avalanche are only one season removed from winning the Stanley Cup and have retained the majority of the players that fired them to victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
However, as often happens under salary cap constraints, Colorado general manager Chris MacFarland has been forced to gradually thin his roster – and it could come back to bite the Avalanche this term.
There is no doubt that the Denver-based squad boasts a collection of top-shelf talent – notably Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Cale Makar, and Devon Towes – but is there enough talent below them in the line-up to make a deep playoff run?
Players like Bowen Byram and Samuel Girad will need to take another step forward in their individual development in order for the Avalanche to contend, with reclamation project Jonathan Drouin also under pressure to perform after being placed alongside MacKinnon in the line-up.
Colorado should comfortably finish in the Central Division’s top two spots – but do they have enough firepower in their ranks to push through and recapture the Stanley Cup? We’ll soon know.
Is the Edmonton Oilers’ blueline sturdy enough to win out in the playoffs?
Is there really any point in discussing Edmonton’s offensive gifts? In Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers have two of the best forwards on the planet. They are absolute freaks, warranting no further discussion.
Defensively, though, the Oilers have their warts.
Jack Campbell endured a season to forget last term and is under pressure to rebound in the second year of his big-money contract. If he doesn’t, Stuart Skinner will steal his job as the starting goalie in the orange half of Alberta.
Mattias Ekholm and Darnell Nurse headline Edmonton’s blueline, but it remains to be seen whether there is enough quality around them for the Oilers to make a splash when it matters the most.
In last season’s playoffs, they played run and gun-style hockey against the Golden Knights and failed in their mission because Vegas’ defence was better at handling the chaos.
The Oilers will want to avoid a repeat of that this time around, ideally by playing a tighter defensive game, but will they deliver when it matters?
In the midst of extension talks, will William Nylander fire the Toronto Maple Leafs to silverware?
The Maple Leafs entered the offseason with two major contract situations to resolve.
In one of his first acts as the general manager in Toronto, Brad Treliving solved the Auston Matthews question by making the American the highest-paid player in the sport.
William Nylander, meanwhile, remains uncontracted beyond the end of this season and could leave the Scotiabank Arena as a free agent next summer.
Neither side wants that to happen, the Swede is uniquely suited to playing under the spotlight in Toronto and his general manager wants him to stay, but there is a greater than zero percent chance that the salary cap prevents a deal from being struck any time soon.
With that in mind, will Nylander be able to recreate the career year he put together last term?
The 27-year-old is one of the most dynamic (and divisive) players in the sport, with a wicked shot, extremely creative hands, and an inconsistent level of commitment to contributing defensively.
If Nylander irons the defensive flaws out of his game, the Maple Leafs will fancy their chances in the playoffs.
As always, the core four will make or break Toronto’s season.
Can the New Jersey Devils sustain their breakout form?
The Devils were a surprise package last season, overcoming a torrid start to the season to steamroll their way into contention with a historic run of consecutive wins.
For the first time in a while, New Jersey’s players will feel the weight of expectation on their young shoulders – which completely alters the dynamic within the locker room.
For what it’s worth, there are many reasons to feel optimistic about the Devils – not least because their top nine is stacked with offensive firepower in the form of Jack Hughes, Timo Meier, and Nico Hischier.
But they lack depth on the blueline and question marks continue to haunt presumptive starter Vitek Vanecek.
In other words, are the Devils as dangerous as their play from last season suggests? If so, they might just go all the way.
Can the Vegas Golden Knights stay healthy enough to repeat in the playoffs?
The Golden Knights return with the core of their Stanley Cup-winning roster in-tact, with Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, Alex Pietrangelo, and Alec Martinez all back for another year in Nevada.
There is no doubt that the Golden Knights’ bruising style of defence is made for the playoffs, but it is fair to wonder whether the team will stay healthy enough to contend again.
Stone, the best two-way winger in the world, placed himself at the centre of the preseason’s top storyline when he flipped out after taking a big (but legal…) hit in preseason.
Why? Because his ability to withstand the NHL’s gruelling 82-game schedule is unclear given his recent injury history.
If Stone is waylaid again, the Golden Knights will struggle to make it out of the Western Conference and into another Stanley Cup Final.
Does the Carolina Hurricanes’ attack pack enough punch?
The Hurricanes have stayed away from the superstar model in recent years, sticking with a core of world-class players instead.
When you have the option to build a well-rounded offensive unit around Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, Andrei Svechnikov, and Martin Necas, why would you covet a Hart Trophy favourite?
Likewise, who needs someone like Cale Makar when you can stuff your top four with Jacob Slavin, Brent Burns, Brady Skjei, and Brett Pesce?
Even so, there are reasons to worry about how the Hurricanes are constructed.
Rod Brind’Amour’s squad routinely scores fewer goals than expected and is yet to become a dominant force on the powerplay. It’s been that way for a while – which is mainly due to their lack of a single talismanic figure.
Thus, we continue to ask the same question of Carolina – can they win the Stanley Cup by committee or will they need to eventually add a superstar to their ranks?
