Top-5 mid-season Stanley Cup contenders
We are well on the way into the second half of the NHL's 2022 season. We are getting an idea of who this season's teams are that are looking at making a run towards the Stanley Cup.
There's still plenty of hockey left though for teams to either bolster their lineup, or for teams looking to make that trade or two to give them the advantage to help them make it into the playoffs.
Here are the NHL's top-5 mid-season contenders thus far, from ESPN and NHL.com.
1- Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes earned some playoff experience last season beating out the Nashville Predators in 6 games. They would go on to be eliminated by the defending champs the Tampa Bay Lightning in 5 games.
The growing pains will help them going forward, with superstar Sebastian Aho and the addition of goaltender Freddy Andersen the Hurricanes look to take a run at the Stanley Cup this season.
2- Colorado Avalanche
What can we say about the Colorado Avalanche? They are so loaded with talent it's scary. Having superstars Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar leading the way, as well as Nazem Kadri having the best season of his career, the Avalanche are looking to bring the Stanley Cup back to Avalanche county.
3- The Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers never get the attention they deserve, they have one of the most complete teams in the NHL. The Panthers are lead by Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau, as well as Anthony Duclair and Sam Bennett turning their careers around with the Panthers, and the goaltending duo of Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight. The Panthers are ready to take a run at the Stanley Cup.
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4- Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have some of the best players in the game with Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, William Nylander and Morgan Reilly. They also have goaltender Jack Campbell who's becoming one of the best in the league.
However, the Leafs haven't been able to get past the first round no matter how well they do in the regular season. Leafs GM Sheldon Keefe is looking to find a couple more pieces ahead of the playoffs to help the Leafs take a serious run. With Jack Campbell in the last year of his deal, this could be the Leafs' best chance to win the Stanley Cup.
5- New York Rangers
After the past few seasons of the New York Rangers rebuilding, they now look like a complete team. Kris Kreider is having his best season and already has 30 goals this season. The Rangers have high octane offence lead by Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, and Alexis Lafreniere.
They also have one of the best young defenders in Adam Fox, the toughness off Ryan Reaves, and the goaltending duo of Igor Shesterkin and Alexandar Georgiev. The Rangers are looking to bring the Stanley cup to the Big Apple and with this roster they certainly have the team to do it.
Honorable mention The Tampa Bay Lightning.
You can't talk Stanley Cup contenders without talking about the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champions. The Tampa Bay Lightning lost some players in the off season but added some more leadership in Corey Perry who's having a sweet year on Tampa.
The Lightning have arguably the best goaltender in the game in Andrei Vasilevskiy, stars like captain Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, and Brayden Point, as well as Victor Hedman and Mikhail Sergachev on defense and you got a Tampa Bay team that could definitely three-peat this season.
Credit: ESPN
