Which NHL Teams Are the Ultimate Stanley Cup Contenders After the Trade Deadline?

As another trade deadline has passed, many teams have beefed up their rosters in hopes of achieving the ultimate goal. However, ten teams stand out as having the best chance to make it all the way.

The NHL’s trade deadline has come and gone, and if we’re ranking the Stanley Cup contenders after the moves that were made, the order of Cup front-runners is even more intriguing than it was prior to the deadline. Here is the post-deadline Stanley Cup shortlist:

The Hurricanes are well-known to take big swings at the plate when it comes to trades, and they did not disappoint at this year’s deadline, making two deals that took only one player – winger Michael Bunting – off the NHL roster, while adding two veterans in winger Jake Guentzel and center Evgeny Kuznetsov. That’s a win any way you slice it, and the moves make the Hurricanes the odds-on favorite to win it all.

If there is a concern with Carolina, it’s with their goaltending; veteran netminder Frederik Andersen is back and ready to go, but until he provides a large sample size to judge his comeback from blood clotting issues, there will be some who wonder if current starter Pyotr Kochetkov can handle the pressure that comes with being a team with high playoff expectations. But if he just maintains his level of play, the Hurricanes are going to be scary for any potential playoff opponent. They have the defense corps and speed and skill to win it all, and now it’s just a matter of them going out and proving they have what it takes to get the job done.

The Knights stepped up in a major way at the deadline, landing D-man Noah Hanifin and veteran wingers Tomas Hertl and Anthony Mantha without taking any player off Vegas’ current roster. This should be the shot in the arm Vegas needs to snap out of their current funk, and the Golden Knights now have one of the top defense corps and forward groups in the league.

The Golden Knights will get another boost when some of their injured players return to good health, but as it stands at the moment, Vegas has the depth, experience and motivation to be a highly dangerous unit. Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon has provided his team with more than enough talent to win it all, and once again, Vegas looks to be a huge problem for any opponent, and a huge front-runner to take home their second Cup in franchise history.

The Avalanche were already a dynamic group before the deadline, but GM Chris MacFarland gave a significant remake to his lineup, shipping out defenseman Bowen Byram and center Ryan Johansen in separate deals, and adding forward Casey Mittlestadt and blueliner Sean Walker in those deals. MacFarland also added depth forwards Brandon Duhaime and Yakov Trenin in deals that didn’t require high draft picks or elite prospects.

All in all, the Avs are neck-and-neck with Vegas as the best team in the Western Conference, and they rival the Hurricanes for the label of best team in the league. Colorado is a much different team than the one that took the ice yesterday, but they’re as deep as any team, and they’ve got the depth and overall talent to challenge any opponent they face. MacFarland has given his core talent a notable boost, and there’s no excuse for them not to be an elite squad. Opponents should be fearing the Avalanche, and we expect a deep post-season run for them.

Despite being a Grade-A regular-season team, the Panthers made a major move before the deadline, acquiring veteran sniper Vladimir Tarasenko from Ottawa in exchange for two draft picks. They also got better and landed more leadership with the acquisition of veteran forward Kyle Okposo from Buffalo. The Panthers didn’t need much help for the roster, but Tarasenko and Okposo solidified their forward group, and Florida now is the top team in the Eastern Conference.

The Panthers can beat an opponent whether they want to run-and-gun and play a high-octane offensive game, or whether they prefer to play a tight defensive game and win games by a 1-0 or 2-1 score. They’re a bona fide Cup contender, and no other Eastern team – at least, on paper – has the depth and all-around game that the Cats do. They’re an amazing organization, and they’ve got what it takes to go all the way.

The Stars made their big move with the acquisition of rugged defenseman Chris Tanev from Calgary, and what was already a deep and talented defense group is now arguably the best in the league (with a nod to Carolina’s ‘D’ corps). The Stars have looked every bit the Cup front-runner in the regular season, and with the addition of Tanev, they’re now one of the best teams in the game.

Stars GM Jim Nill is one of the most crafty GMs in the sport, and once again, he’s put together a lineup that can rival any opponent Dallas faces. Their forwards are a terrific mix of youth and experience, and their back end is as solid as any team’s. No team should want to face the Stars in the first round of the playoffs, and Dallas has what it takes to win the second Cup in franchise history.

The Bruins didn’t make any blockbuster moves at the deadline, but they did get tougher with the acquisition of rugged forward Pat Maroon and defenseman Andrew Peeke, and with or without those two players, the Bruins can’t be overlooked as a legitimate Cup front-runner. Boston is a salary-cap-strapped team, which is why they couldn’t outbid any opponent on the trade front. But they were a Cup front-runner before the deadline, and they remain a front-runner after it.

Boston’s balance of grit, tenacity and all-around skill is the envy of most NHL teams, and nothing they did or didn’t do at the deadline hurts them as a major Cup contender. Bruins GM Don Sweeney assembled a strong lineup at the start of the season, and they remain a force to reckon with. The B's could easily go on another long playoff run, and nobody would be surprised. They’re dangerous and determined, and that’s a powerful combination.

The Rangers made only one move by deadline day, but it was a significant one, as veteran forward Alexander Wennberg was acquired from the Seattle Kraken for a second-round and fourth-round pick. Wennberg gives the Blueshirts a terrific third-line center, and he plugs the only hole the Rangers had heading toward the deadline.

The Rangers were our pre-season pick to win the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s top regular-season team, and we still believe they can be that top team in the league. With Wennberg on board, the on-ice product in Manhattan is formidable, and they have more than enough talent to be a Cup front-runner.

Whether or not you count the Canucks’ acquisition of elite forward Elias Lindholm as a trade deadline move, you have to look at Vancouver’s lineup and see a Cup front-runner. There’s very little that separates the Canucks from the other teams ahead of them in this ranking, and so long as Vancouver stays healthy, they should be considered a top-flite group that has the capability of a long playoff run.

The Canucks are speedy, savvy and determined to bring a Cup to Vancouver for the first time ever, and they have what it takes to knock off a number of potential playoff opponents. Canucks GM Patrik Allvin has made enough moves to instill confidence in his players that Vancouver will be a solid squad. Now it’s up to the Canucks players to prove him right.

The Oilers were one of the more active groups at the deadline, adding forwards Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick from Anaheim to shore up their collection of forwards, and bringing in veteran D-man Troy Stecher to bulk up the back end. If there was a question surrounding Edmonton after that trade, it was their collection of defensemen. That may come back to bite them in the post-season. But they can’t be counted out as a legit Cup contender because their group of forwards is as skilled and balanced as it gets in today’s game.

Edmonton GM Ken Holland knows his team isn’t perfect, but with his trade for Henrique and Carrick, he’s stacked his lineup with talent up front, and he’s betting that the Oilers’ offense is dangerous enough to power them past opponents in the post-season. Nobody should be counting them out.

The Leafs had a clear need heading into the deadline – their defense corps being the key area of need – and Buds GM Brad Treliving went out and addressed that need with the acquisition of veteran defensemen Ilya Lyubushkin and Joel Edmundson. Neither of those two players are star D-men, but there’s now intense competition with the Leafs’ defense, and if the injury bug does strike Toronto’s back end, they now have above-average depth to help get them through until they’re back to full health.

The Leafs have faltered when facing rivals such as the Bruins, Canucks and Avalanche, but Toronto has also shown they can battle successfully against many Grade-A opponents. Defense remains a concern for them, but with Edmundson and Lyubushkin on board, the Buds have sufficient depth to help them thrive when the games matter most. They’re going to win or lose based on the contributions of their “Core Four” forwards, but solidifying their back end makes them more dangerous than they were a couple weeks ago. Overlook them at your own peril.