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Five NHL Teams Closest to Breaking their Franchise’s Stanley Cup Curse

By Max Greenberg

Filip Forsberg #9 of the Nashville Predators scores a power-play goal against William Karlsson #71 and Alex Pietrangelo #7 of the Vegas Golden Knights, Forsberg's third goal of the game, with less than five seconds left in the third period to tie their game at 4-4 at T-Mobile Arena on December 31, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Golden Knights defeated the Predators 5-4 in overtime. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Filip Forsberg #9 of the Nashville Predators scores a power-play goal against William Karlsson #71 and Alex Pietrangelo #7 of the Vegas Golden Knights, Forsberg's third goal of the game, with less than five seconds left in the third period to tie their game at 4-4 at T-Mobile Arena on December 31, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Golden Knights defeated the Predators 5-4 in overtime. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports /

Florida Panthers

Stanley Cup Appearances: 2    Last Appearance: 20223 ( Lost in 5 to the Golden Knights)

Let me just say that the Panthers were a weird team to judge when making this list. They of course did just make the Stanley Cup Final, which I have to respect, especially because there are parts of their team that are championship caliber.

Their top line is one of the best in the league, and they as a team can score with the best of them. They also have some studs on defense, mainly Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour, but their series against the Golden Knights showed that their roster still needs some work.

Their defense does not have much depth, and their middle six is not super consistent and could use some reinforcements. They also have to seriously wonder if Sergei Bobrovsky will continue to be a monster from here on out, or if his epic playoff performance was a flash in the pan.

On top of that, it is fair to worry about them being demoralized after such a beating in the finals, and we do not know if that will affect them when the new season begins.

Now as far as their roster is concerned, they have enough cap space to be able to smartly address their needs. There are plenty of defensemen to choose from in free agency this summer, and middle six forwards are also a dime a dozen.

They also may have to address backup goaltender in free agency, and that largely depends on if Spencer Knight returns to the game. But that in itself is a whole other topic that is way bigger than anything hockey related.

The Panthers as a team are approaching an average age of 30, so like the Wild, they only have so much time before their contending window begins to shut.

The odds are going to be against them as they just did make it to the Stanley Cup Final, but on paper they only need a few more pieces to get back there.

People forget that they were supposed to be a contender when the 2022-23 season began, so for the purposes of this conversation, they are in the middle of their window and could easily reach the promised land again very soon.

Stanley Cup window: 1 to 3 years from now

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