Who is Going to Win the Stanley Cup? NHL Stanley Cup Predictions 2023

By WherestheMatch Team

The Stanley Cup is one of the most illustrious trophies available in Ice Hockey and is awarded annually to the NHL playoff champions. With the first playoff matches commencing on the 17^th of April, it's time to enjoy the cinema offered by one of the worlds’ most exciting sports.

The 16 teams in contention for the cup:

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

With clear favourites frequently falling short, underdogs outdoing the veterans, and the customary share of high drama, the Stanley Cup is a challenging competition to try and predict. That certainly isn't going to stop us from trying though! Below are our 2023 Stanley Cup Predictions.

The Champions – Boston Bruins

The Bruins have just set the all-time single-season wins record, which I guess makes them a pretty decent team. On a more serious note, the Bruins have run rampant this season scoring a total of 305 goals, making them the second top scorers across all Conferences and Divisions (second only to the Edmonton Oilers). Combining this with only 177 goals conceded – the best goals against record across all 32 teams – they're a team incredibly proficient in both defence and attack.

Balance isn't always enough for a team to win the Stanley Cup and you always need that bit of magic from your star players to carry you through a tough fixture. As far as star power goes, the Bruins certainly aren't lacking with Czech Forward David Pastrnak placing third in this season's top scorer list; a player you can definitely rely on to get you the last gasp winner or to help you cruise to yet another 7-0 (sorry Buffalo Sabres, too soon?).

At the heart of the NHL’s best defence, stands one of the league's best goaltenders. Linus Ullmark has this season proven that he’s a world class talent and is rapidly gaining recognition as one of Boston’s best players. With a save percentage of 0.938, the big Swede has statistically outperformed the competition and has even pitched in with a goal making him one of only fourteen goaltenders to have ever scored in the NHL.

The Boston Bruins are Stanley Cup favourites for a reason; they've got the ability to pose a major problem to anyone they might face.

Outside Favourites – Colorado Avalanche  

It's hard to deny the quality of this Avalanche team. Mikko Rantanen has hit form this year and appears to be a consistent source of goals for Colorado, while other marquee players such as Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, and Gabriel Landeskog give the entire team a well-rounded base. Injuries have been a major hindrance for the Avalanche this season with many of their top talents being forced onto the injured reserves which culminated in them being outside of a playoff spot going into 2023. Fortunately for them, the physios earned their pay and managed to get most of the roster back onto the field for the end of season push.

While they may not have been as dominant this year as some of their direct competition, it's important to remember that the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022 with a very similar roster. If their star players stay fit and are able to replicate some of the performances that took them to the Championship, seeing them repeat may not be such a surprising outcome.

Potential to Cause an Upset – Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers are a finely tuned goal machine stringing together impeccable attacking plays to make short work of the opposition; placing as the overall top scorers this season with 325 goals, they can make short work of even the best defences. They also only placed two points behind Pacific Division champions the Vegas Golden Knights and are expected to make a real nuisance of themselves in the play-offs.

Goals win you games and Edmonton is home to both of the top scorers in the NHL this year. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl scored 116 goals between them and with regular service you can expect them to keep the opposition goaltender busy. Where they might be let down, however, is in the quality of their side’s defending. That isn't to say they’re particularly poor defensively, but rather that they aren't quite as solid as some of the teams they may need to beat along the way.

In the same seeding as the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Knights, the Oilers don't have an easy path to the finals but a string of victories could certainly set them up as contenders.

Conn Smythe Trophy

This year's playoffs promise to showcase some of the sport's most elite players and picking an MVP from so many gifted athletes poses quite a challenge. We’ve tried to narrow it down and have picked our top three.  

1. Connor McDavid – The best player in the world? Yeah, probably. As long as the Oilers don’t truly mess up their play-off run you can expect them to get pretty far into the competition and give McDavid a real chance to showcase his ability at the top level. Top scorer in the NHL two seasons in a row, it would be more surprising to see him not top the charts in the playoffs.
2. David Pastrnak – While Pastrnak maybe isn't quite the same calibre of player as McDavid; stats don’t lie, and his stats this season are exceptional. He’s also helped by the fact that he plays for a record-breaking side who many fancy to go all the way this season. Keep in mind that only once in the last 33 years has the Conn Smythe trophy gone to a player from a losing team and you certainly wouldn't be blamed for putting your money on Pastrnak.
3. Cale Makar – In a league packed with offensive talent, it's important to recognise defensive brilliance, especially if that defensive brilliance is also complemented by offensive talent. Sounds a bit odd, but a defenceman with 29 points in 20 games in last season's play-offs certainly can't be accused of being poor going forward. Makar was the recipient of last year's Conn Smythe trophy as he led the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup, and with Colorado looking a better team with every game they play, a carbon copy of last season may not be such an unrealistic prediction.

We're looking forward to being proven wrong on every single one of our predictions, the NHL has a habit of never going the way you expect and it’s what makes us love every second of it. Keep up to date with all of the Stanley Cup fixtures on the WheresTheMatch sports guide.