I am a die-hard Toronto Maple Leafs fan, so there is generally a lot of pain when talking about the Stanley Cup playoffs. That won’t stop me from putting together my Stanley Cup predictions (and no, I am not picking the Leafs to win, so don’t worry). I am going to pick my cup winner and some other stuff that I see happening.
Gunner’s 2025 Stanley Cup Predictions
The Nashville Predators Will Make The Western Conference Finals
The Nashville Predators had a fantastic offseason. They brought in Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault to shore up their offense. They also added Brady Skjei to help out on their backend. It would be hard to find anyone who will argue that they didn’t improve as a team with their moves and they are clearly going all-in.
They also signed their star goalie Juuse Saros [note: check out our team Finland hockey predictions for the 2026 Olympics], to a massive extension. It is clear that Saros is going to be the goalie for the next several years. That leaves them with top goaltending prospect, Yaroslav Askarov, in limbo. I could see them dealing Askarov to help improve their team even more. So I see more star power coming to Nashville.
The complaint about Nashville was that they didn’t have the skill up front to compete with the best teams. Adding proven playoff performers like Stamkos and Marchessault should help them out. Stamkos is getting older but I think he still has some gas left in the tank. Both him and Marchessault will want to prove to their old teams that they were wrong to let them go.
I think Nashville is going to make the Western conference finals. I don’t see them winning the cup but I see them making a deep run.
The East Winner Will Be A Surprise
The Florida Panthers won the cup in 2024. If you want to pick them to go to their third straight Stanley Cup final, I won’t argue with you. I think the amount of hockey they have played will eventually catch up to them and they have lost some decent pieces from their cup-winning team. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them back on a deep run. They seem to be built different.
My prediction is the east winner is going to be a surprise. It feels wide open this year in the east, with the west having most of the strong teams. That is why I think it is going to be one of the years where random team can win. That means it won’t be Florida, the Boston Bruins, or the New York Rangers, who are seen as the top dogs in the conference.
I could see a team like the New Jersey Devils making a deep run, which nobody really expects. My Toronto Maple Leafs would also qualify for this (but I am not getting my hopes up). A team that is one of the lower seeds, that makes a magical run. Something that we are not really expecting.
The Edmonton Oilers Will Win The Stanley Cup
After thinking about it, I am going with the Edmonton Oilers to win the Stanley Cup. They came so damn close last year, and I think Connor McDavid is going to take them over the finish line this time. They looked to have improved in the offseason and I think the team will be hungry to get back to where they were.
I see them improving at the trade deadline this year on the backend and in goal. Shoring up what is their weak spots. If they do that, I think McDavid finally gets one.
Speaking of McDavid, check out our Team Canada hockey predictions for the 2026 Olympics.
What are your Stanley Cup predictions? Let us know what you think on Twitter.