Why majority of NHL coaches think Florida Panthers are overwhelming 2026-27 Stanley Cup favorites
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Why majority of NHL coaches think Florida Panthers are overwhelming 2026-27 Stanley Cup favorites originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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Many NHL teams got stronger, opening their Stanley Cup championship windows. Some got weaker and had their windows shut down. For many, they will be in the middle of the pack with high expectations to succeed. So, what team do a large number of coaches think will win the Cup? Despite all the talk of parity, it seems like a huge ton know that Lord Stanley will be hoisted by the Florida Panthers led by Matthew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk, and Paul Maurice.
Anonymous NHL coaches and executives survey deems Panthers as Stanley Cup favorites
Usually, about a third of the NHL teams are considered Stanley Cup contenders before the season starts. That's due to the league's long history of parity. This time around, things seem to be different. When The Athletic asked 22 coaches and 13 executives, the same names kept popping up. 19 of the 35 people asked knew the Panthers have everything it takes to win during the 2026-27 NHL season.
"I would go with Florida, as long as Jacob Markstrom gets back to his “A” game. Very hard to play against physically and depth to play that way. Lots of skill up front and on the blue line. Their true leader, Aleksander Barkov, is back and hungry. They’re very much motivated knowing their window is wide open still," an anonymous NHL coach declared.
Another pointed to the Panthers' new acquisitions and championship coach as their reason to win: "Florida. Stanley Cup-winning coach and winning, expect-to-win culture. New energy with Tkachuk brothers Matthew and Brady, but a healthy Barkov is the most important factor. First-shot-against goals and consistency are question marks with Markstrom, but a strong defense to let him see the puck more often than not should lead to success. I like their overall healthy swagger. They’re a hard team to play against with winning culture and confidence."
How did the Panthers offseason go?
A large part of the reason the Panthers are favorites is their front office's ability to manage negotiations, extend their stars, and bring in new talent to remain competitive in the NHL.
The Panthers first had to lose some key players to gain capital and free up space before making big acquisitions. This meant watching Sergei Bobrovsky walk in NHL free agency. They also had to trade Mackie Samoskevich to the Seattle Kraken for some draft capital.
Now comes the fun part. The Panthers started their NHL offseason with a bang. They traded for Brady Tkachuk and united him with his brother, Matthew Tkachuk. The Ottawa Senators received a ninth overall 2026 pick, a 25th overall 2026 pick, a 2027 second-round pick, and a top-10 protected 2029 first-round pick.
2 days until Panthers hockey…
— FL PanthersMuse (@flpanthersmuse) September 27, 2026
2 goals in 11 seconds in a playoff game🤯 pic.twitter.com/H15FAYcUYI
Next, the Panthers needed a new star to stand at goal. This is where they traded for Jacob Markstrom and Angus Crookshank. In exchange, they had to give the New Jersey Devils several players, including Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist, and Ben Steeves.
Paul Maurice also made two additions after that. The Panthers got Akira Schmid from the Vegas Golden Knights to back up Markstrom. They also got more physical depth by acquiring Garnet Hathaway from the Philadelphia Flyers. The moves that rounded out the Panthers' offseason included bringing back Radko Gudas and signing veterans Lars Eller and Jeff Petry.
That said, they are in a win-now situation. Their active cap space of $0, and $150,000 dead cap penalty say so. This is arguably one of the most stacked iterations of the Panthers roster, and it's not hard to see why a large bulk of NHL coaches think they can win the Stanley Cup.
"Hard to bet against the Florida Panthers. They return a healthy and more truculent lineup than last season. I think the age concern is overblown, as most of their top players are right in the prime of their careers. My only question would be in goal, but that is something they could address later in the year if needed," an NHL executive added.
There were some title-contending mentions of the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights; some even went as far as the Carolina Hurricanes. These are just projected opinions and remain unstable for now. One thing is certain: there is a lot of pressure on the shoulders of Paul Maurice, Brady Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, Jacob Markstrom, and Matthew Tkachuk. Can they lift the Stanley Cup a third time in the past four years?