5 early favorites to win the 2017 Stanley Cup

5. Nashville Predators

Why they could win the Stanley Cup

The Predators had a very successful 2015-16 season, pushing the Western Conference champion San Jose Sharks to the brink in the Western Conference Finals before losing in Game 7. San Jose has a lot of questions to answer this offseason, especially with an aging roster and not an ideal amount of cap space to add to the roster. Nashville, on the other hand, has a very talented young roster led by Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen.

Nashville has the cap space necessary to add some improvements even if they sign Forsberg to an expensive extension. Pekka Rinne is a huge bounce back candidate after he had one of his roughest seasons as a pro in 2015-16. Shea Weber is aging but he’s still one of the better defensemen in the NHL. Roman Josi is a dark horse Norris Trophy candidate for next season. With the right improvements, they could win the Stanley Cup.

Why they won’t win 

The Predators are a bit of an aging team because they rely quite heavily on Weber and Rinne, both of whom showed their age at times last season. Losing out on Jimmy Vesey could be huge for them. Vesey was a perfect fit for the Predators. They’ll need to find talent in a rather barren free agent market if they want to win the cup. That’s easier said than done.

Next: 4. Chicago Blackhawks