Fansided

NHL 2023: A report from the future of hockey

By Bruin Belisle

BOSTON - OCTOBER 23: Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk skates for the first time on the Garden ice since his trade from Boston under the lights used as the players come onto the surface before the start of the game. The Boston Bruins hosted the New York Islanders in a regular season National Hockey League game at TD Garden. (Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
BOSTON - OCTOBER 23: Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk skates for the first time on the Garden ice since his trade from Boston under the lights used as the players come onto the surface before the start of the game. The Boston Bruins hosted the New York Islanders in a regular season National Hockey League game at TD Garden. (Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – JUNE 20: A detailed view of the Stanley Cup trophy is seen positioned on a table at the 2018 NHL Awards at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on June 20, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) /

The next five Stanley Cups

With this new found time-travel knowledge, gambling on the NHL should be a breeze from now until 2023. Unfortunately, in my visit to the future, I failed to take notes. Here’s my best recollection of the next five NHL Stanley Cup champions.

2019: Winnipeg Jets.

The Jets plow through the Western Conference to meet the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup final. Fans around Canada hopped on the Jets bandwagon, as they do, telling everyone around them that they “just want the Cup to be back in Canada.”

The Jets win the Cup in a grueling 3-2 game 7 overtime victory in which Tuukka Rask made a single mistake. Bruins fans blame the loss on Rask and question if he is a true starting goaltender.

The Hockey News called this before I did and it turns out I can now confirm that they were right.

2020: Boston Bruins

The Bruins wanted revenge for their heartbreaking Stanley Cup loss from a year ago and returned to the final after defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs in a seven-game Conference final. They powered through the Seattle Kraken in six games, winning the Stanley Cup for the seventh time in franchise history.

Brad Marchand was courteous and respectful through the entire Cup run and even took the time to shake every players hand before and after each game. Of course, this was viewed negatively by fans around the world, with most analysts calling for a suspension. Ryan Donato collected the Conn Smythe trophy after scoring 20 playoff goals.

2021: Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers have been lurking for years now, gaining experience and building a team around their large group of young prospects. Carter Hart put on a show through the entire playoff run and was named Conn Smythe Trophy winner when the Flyers win the Cup on his playoff .945 save percentage and 1.76 goals against average.

It’s clear that Carter Hart is the next Carey Price. They both share great abilities and grade-A goaltender names. The difference between the two is that Hart now has a Stanley Cup, something Price will never have.

2022: Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers return to the Cup final after a thrilling victory over the Maple Leafs and win back-to-back Stanley Cups. The stacked Vegas Golden Knights, led by Connor McDavid and Erik Karlsson, fall short of hockey’s top prize as Marc-Andre Fleury runs out of gas in the final.

The Flyers have the perfect combination of new and old, with their young guns coming into their own alongside great veteran players Claude Giroux, James Van Riemsdyk and Sean Couturier.

As for the Vegas Golden Knights, we’re looking poised for a run of dominance from 2024 through 2030 as it seems their status has changed from 2018 contender, to several years of being on the cusp of the playoffs, back to contender after the recent addition of Connor McDavid.

2023, however… (here comes some pandering).

More. 20 hockey smiles that prove teeth are overrated. light

2023: Toronto Maple Leafs

The City of Toronto has been shut down entirely. The cars in the suburb streets resemble the opening scenes of season 1 of The Walking Dead. Over 7 million fans lined the Toronto’s downtown core for the Stanley Cup parade, which began in Barrie and made it’s way down the 400 highway and into Toronto over the span of a week. The City issued a mandatory month off for all non-necessary employees.

Some parade-goers seem to now live in tents outside the Hockey Hall of Fame. There is no sign of the party stopping any time soon and as this is being written, in August of 2023, there are still “Go Leafs Go” chants occurring around the newly erected statue of John Tavares hugging Auston Matthews with the Cup in his hands.

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