Yardbarker
x
10 teams who can top the Penguins for the Stanley Cup

10 teams who can top the Penguins for the Stanley Cup

After snagging back-to-back Stanley Cup victories, the Pittsburgh Penguins are a favorite to win the championship again. But there are other teams out there that have just as good – if not better – chances of hoisting Lord Stanley's Mug this season.

 
1 of 10

Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton Oilers
Kelvin Kuo / USA Today Sports

Easily one of the most impressive teams in last season's playoffs, the Edmonton Oilers proved in 2016-17 that they were growing into a league-leading force. Todd McLellan's tough squad promises to only get better as the team takes shape in preparation for the up-coming season. Expect spectacular play from the likes of Jesse Puljujarvi, Patrick Maroon, and of course, that Connor McDavid guy.

 
Nashville Predators
Christopher Hanewinckel / USA Today Sports

Yeah yeah, the Pens beat the Preds in last year's Stanley Cup Final. But this in-coming Nashville team is arguably as tough, and is confident that their 2016-17 campaign wasn't just a flash in the pan. Expect the Predators, behind new captain Roman Josi, to be extra hungry after last year's Cinderella run.

 
Tampa Bay Lightning
Kim Klement / USA Today Sports

2016-17 was incredibly disappointing for the Bolts – especially since they entered the season as a heavy favorite to hoist Lord Stanley's Mug. The team has reportedly moved on from all of that, according to what winger Nikita Kucherov relayed to the Tampa Bay Times. "The way we're practicing, everybody is focused. They're hungry. You can see it."

 
4 of 10

Boston Bruins

Boston Bruins
Jerome Miron / USA Today Sports

Boston's roster, made up of both seasoned veterans (Brad Marchand) and hungry youngsters (Brandon Carlo), made an impressive turn-around last season. While they might not stand out as a team that could tango with Pittsburgh, these B's have a "sleeper" quality that might surprise their opponents... That is, if anything can be surprising after the massive six-year contract David Pastrnak signed in September.

 
Toronto Maple Leafs
Dan Hamilton / USA Today Sports

Speaking of sleepers, the Leafs might be on the verge of something great. No, not just because Auston Matthews is a juggernaut on skates. Netminder Frederik Anderson already looks more confident between the pipes during preseason, and the acquisition of Patrick Marleau from the Sharks gives the bench more veteran power. Trust this isn't the same group of kids that got booted from the playoffs early last season.

 
6 of 10

San Jose Sharks

San Jose Sharks
John Hefti / USA Today Sports

Team Teal got caught some flack for not replacing Patrick Marleau at the opening of the trade market this summer. But as training camp has kicked into gear, Joe Pavelski and company appear to have the right young guys in the pipeline to have a more successful playoff run than they did last season. And yes, they could even tango with the Penguins, who beat them in the Stanley Cup Final two years ago.

 
Columbus Blue Jackets
Russell LaBounty / USA Today Sports

CBJ took the 2016-17 regular season by storm when they went on a raucous winning streak. Then sadly, Pittsburgh handed them an early exit in the playoffs. But this Blue Jackets team now a bit more experienced, and has an added offensive punch with the addition of former Chicago Blackhawks forward Artemi Panarin. The next time Columbus meets up with Pittsburgh, the teams could be better matched.

 
8 of 10

Anaheim Ducks

Anaheim Ducks
Gary A. Vasquez / USA Today Sports

Anaheim is gearing up to be a big threat out west yet again. Heck, the Pacific Division squad is already a favorable bet in Las Vegas. Despite their roster getting a little long in the tooth, you can expect them to make their way into the playoff picture yet again.

 
New York Rangers
Vinent Carchietta / USA Today Sports

If there's a team out east that can compete a bit better with the Pens than they did last year, it's the Rangers. (Because heck, we already know the Capitals can't beat them.) New York had a busy off-season and looks to be shaping up to be the Penguins biggest threat in the Metropolitan Division. The biggest key to New York being more competitive, however, will probably end up being Henrik Lundqvist.

 
10 of 10

Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago Blackhawks
Charles LeClaire / USA Today Sports

Because of their ridiculous string of Stanley Cup victories, the Blackhawks have become a regular early season favorite to win again. In all honesty, I didn't see them getting very far last year, even though Vegas made them the heavy favorite to come out of the West. Expect Chicago is coming in extra hungry – especially after getting swept by Nashville in Round 1 last playoffs. A lot of the same players from the Cup years are there, and wouldn't mind fighting the Penguins for another one.

Chelena Goldman grew up on a street where the boys played street hockey and yelling at baseball and football over the radio was a standard -- making life as a sports geek the perfect fit. She believes in dominance on the blue line, good red wine, and the theory that you can never be too overdressed for any occasion. You can find her gabbing away on Twitter at @ChelenaGoldman.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

+

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.