We are living in the height of the parity era in the NHL, so it’s hard to clearly identify even five of the top 2025 Stanley Cup candidates, but 15 feels like too much. In the spirit of honesty and in light of the ever-changing free-agency period, there are 12 teams I genuinely believe could win the 2025 Stanley Cup.
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Tampa Bay Lightning
If the Lightning have shown us anything, they’ve shown us that they don’t care if the rest of us believe their window is closed. They’ve hung on and been competitive for years after their dynasty run, and they’ve had to make tough decisions to do so. The latest was swapping homegrown captain Steven Stamkos for Jake Guentzel, a move that also helped keep Victor Hedman around long term.
I respect the refusal to give up so long as world-class goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy is still in the fold.
