"Tough to pick somebody that's going to beat them": Don Cherry names his current favorites to win Stanley Cup

Modified Dec 10, 2024 13:50 GMT

Hockey legend Don Cherry believes the Toronto Maple Leafs have a strong chance to win the Stanley Cup this season. He praised their solid goaltending, reliable defense and elite forwards. Cherry added that finding a team to beat them in a seven-game series would be tough.

Replying to his son Tom on "Don Cherry’s Grapevine Podcast" on Sunday, he talked about his high hopes for the Leafs this campaign.

"I would say that, I would say the Leafs, has good chances (than) anybody (to) win the cup," Cherry said. "They got the good goaltending, they got the defense that it's not too bad now, and they got the forwards."

The Maple Leafs are 16-9-2 and second in the Atlantic Division, two points behind the Florida Panthers. Despite losing 5-1 to Florida on Nov. 27, they showed resilience by winning seven of nine games without captain Auston Matthews, who was out with an upper-body injury. William Nylander leads the team with 17 goals, while Mitch Marner has 38 points, including 28 assists.

"For team stats, one of the lowest goals against, all right, Like, who?" Cherry said. "Like, if you say, 'No, who's going to beat the Leafs in a seven-game series?' Right now, it'd be pretty tough to pick somebody."

"Pretty tough to pick somebody that's going to beat them."

Cherry acknowledged that Florida could pose a challenge but rejected Edmonton as a tough opponent compared to the Leafs.

"Right now, maybe say Florida would have a chance, but with Edmonton, I take the Leafs over Edmonton in a seven-game series. Washington Washington is kind of surprised." Cherry said.

Toronto was able to narrowly beat Edmonton 4-3 in overtime on Nov. 16.

Challenges to Don Cherry's Leafs prediction this season

This season, the teams who are the likely candidates for playoff spots are Florida, Washington, New Jersey, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Toronto. It would be interesting to see if Don Cherry's prediction comes true and if they fail to challenge the Leafs.

Toronto's challenge remains to perform better in the playoffs and qualify for the second round as it has only done so once since 2004. This frustration led to the firing of Sheldon Keefe and brought in Craig Berube this summer.

The Leafs have shown a balanced play this season. They average 2.96 goals per game and have an 82.3% penalty-kill rate — good for seventh in the NHL. Their goal-against average is 2.63, so staying consistent and performing under pressure will be key for Toronto in its quest for the Stanley Cup.