Puck Yes
NHL preview: 10 teams to watch for the Stanley Cup - are the Stars aligned?
Oct 2, 2019, 6:52 am
Want to get a puck past Ben Bishop of the Dallas Stars? Good luck. Getty Images
We will take break this week from bashing Bill O'Brien - what is left to say on that topic anyway? I was going to break down how dominant regular season teams often come up short in the playoffs and even did a bunch of research to show how that as good as the Astros are, they are no lock to win it all. But Joel Blank sort of took that angle so that one is dead. So for something different? The NHL season starts tonight. One of these years we will have a team in Houston. Last year we went in depth on every team. This year we will just focus on some key teams:
5 Eastern Conference Stanley Cup contenders
1) Tampa Bay Lightning: Simply the best, deepest team in hockey. They are loaded with four talented lines, terrific defensemen and an elite goalie in Andrei Vasilevskiy. They were dominant in the regular season last year, but their Achilles heel is the postseason. They have no shortage of playoff failings, including being swept out of the first round by an 8 seed last year in the biggest failure yet. They will be a juggernaut once again, but until they actually win a Cup, they are pretty much the Seattle Mariners circa early 2000s; loaded with talent at all levels, great in the regular season, but could never break through. They are about to be in a serious cap crunch, so this might be the last run as currently constructed.
2) Boston Bruins: The Bruins came up just short last year, losing in the Stanley Cup to St. Louis. The Bruins bring back pretty much the same group, although some key veterans are starting to age. Still, if goalie Tukka Rask plays at an elite level, the Bruins are a real threat, with solid defense, some underrated forwards and Rask capable of playing at a high level.
3) Toronto Maple Leafs: The Leafs have gone all in with this group, spending over $30 million on John Tavares, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. They are loaded at forward and might be the only team to match Tampa in depth with skaters. They made moves to try to improve the defense, which has been an issue year in and year out. The Leafs have Stanley Cup pedigree - from 1967. They have a history of playoff failure, and an inability to get past Boston in recent years. They have basically been the Chicago Cubs before the Cubs finally won a World Series. This is a big year for Toronto; next year will require significant roster changes to get under the cap. Head coach Mike Babcock is one of the best in the business, but he might be on the hot seat, especially if they are bounced by the Bruins in the first round yet again, a distinct possibility.
4) Washington Capitals: The Caps are getting older, but Alex Ovechkin is still a monster, Braden Holtby can still play at a high level in goal and the supporting cast is solid. They finally broke through two years ago with a Cup, and they still have a lot of players off that team.
5) Florida Panthers: Classic underachievers year in and year out, they went all-in to add goalie Sergei Bobrovsky to a talented lineup and hired multiple Stanley Cup winning coach Joel Quenneville. If Bobo can play his best, and coach Q puts it all together, this could be a dark horse contender.
Puncher's chance: Pittsburgh, New York Islanders, New Jersey.
Playoff contenders: New York Rangers, Carolina, Columbus, Philadelphia, Montreal.
Rebuilding mode (still): Buffalo, Detroit, Ottawa.
5 Western Conference Stanley Cup contenders
1) Nashville Predators: The Preds have been oh so close year in and year out, but just can't get over the hump. They have arguably the best defense in hockey, and they weakened that by shipping out P.K. Subban to make room for center Matt Duchene. Are they better? That's what we will find out. A lot depends on goalie Pekka Rinne, who is getting up there in age.
2) St. Louis Blues: The Blues were an unlikely Cup winner last season when goalie Jordan Binnington became an elite player the second half of the season and throughout the playoffs. They bring back basically the same group, but repeating last year's remarkable run might be difficult.
3) Dallas Stars: Believe it or not, this could be the Stars year. In a few short seasons they have gone from team that could score with anyone and couldn't stop anyone to a powerful defensive unit that struggles to score. The addition of former Shark Joe Pavelski should be a huge difference for the offense. The key will be goalie Ben Bishop, who was remarkable last year. If he does it again this year, the Stars are Cup contenders. If not? It will be another disappointing season.
4) San Jose Sharks: Even without Pavelski, this is a solid group year in and year out, and they might have the two best defensemen in hockey with Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson. The problem last year was goal tending, and Martin Jones will have to play at a much higher level this season. He is capable, and if he does, they have a real shot.
5) Vegas Golden Knights: The amazing run to the Stanley Cup in their first season was followed up by a decent year last year. They are deep, talented, but may have had to ship off too much talent to stay under the cap. As long as they have goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, they are legitimate contenders.
Puncher's chance:Chicago, Calgary, Colorado, Winnipeg, Minneapolis, Arizona, Vancouver, Edmonton.
Rebuilding mode: Los Angeles, Anaheim.
The bottom line
The West is pretty wide open in terms of playoff spots, so a hot goalie and a few surprises could put almost any team in there. The East is simply deeper and more talented, and just getting to the Cup will be difficult.
If you are looking for value to win the Cup, Dallas (+1600), Florida (+1800) and Nashville (+1800) are all worth a look. It should be an interesting season; these are key years for teams like Tampa, Toronto and Nashville. Don't be surprised if Chicago makes a run as well. No matter what, it should be fun.
Bold predictions
The trendy Cup pick is Tampa over Dallas. I will believe Tampa when they actually get to a Stanley Cup again. I do have Dallas coming out of the West, and how about a shocker from the East - the Florida Panthers. Dallas winds up hoisting the Cup.
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It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday!
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