5 Teams That Will Win the Stanley Cup Within Five Years (And Five That Won't)

Five years ago, the NHL was a very different league.

The shootout was a hotly contested, brand new format used to determine winners of regular season games.

Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin were just rookies.

In the Eastern Conference, the top three seeds were the Ottawa Senators, the Carolina Hurricanes and the New Jersey Devils. In the West, the Detroit Red Wings, the Dallas Stars and the Calgary Flames were the cream of the crop. The Canes and the Edmonton Oilers provided fans with a hard-fought, seven-game classic Cup final.

This all means that, five years later, both teams from that Stanley Cup final and five of the six top seeds didn't make the playoffs. Some of them are now living in the basement, too.

Unlike many of the other major leagues in North America, the NHL does produce bona-fide dynasty teams anymore. Sure, teams can get good and stay good, but they don't continually win championships.

The NHL is a cyclical league, which always provides fans with lots of optimism before the first puck drops in early October, and also makes for a lot of arguing when it comes to odds-makers trying to get it right.

Five years might not seem like a long time to many, but in the NHL, bottom feeders soon have the opportunity to get a glimpse of Lord Stanley's mug, and good teams have to work that much harder to stay on top.

Here are five teams on their way up that have the best chance at winning a Cup in the next five years, and five which will not, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

Tampa Bay Lightning

This was an easy pick, as the Lightning seemed poise to take the Eastern Conference by storm this year and win their second Stanley Cup.

Although the Lightning have an impressive cast of secondary characters, like Teddy Purcell and Steve Downie, who can change a game behind the scenes with their impervious dedication, there is one player who will lead the Lightning back to the promised land—Steven Stamkos.

For a guy who's only been in the league for three years, Stamkos has the uncanny ability to make those around him better players.

Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis played better throughout the 2011 Playoffs than many thought they would, though St. Louis in particular must get the sense that his days playing top-shelf hockey are numbered. He's taught Stamkos well and turned him into the warrior he needs to be early in his career, unlike many other highly-touted superstars (I'm looking at you, Ovechkin).

With prospect Brett Connolly looking healthy and Steve Yzerman, arguably the smartest GM in the game, manning things, don't look for lightning to crash anytime soon.

Chicago Blackhawks

How many NHL teams can claim to have five all-stars/Olympians on their teams aged 29 and under? And how many can also claim to already have a Stanley Cup ring?

There's also that Hossa clown, who can score a goal or two when he feel like playing.

Though the Hawks may have let the media hoopla surrounding every man they lost before the 2010-11 season throw them off course, make no mistake: This is a team whose core group is unshakable.

If the attitude within the locker group stays healthy and hungry, the Hawks could be one of those rare teams that begins to win and gets used to winning.

If "Captain Serious" Johnathan Toews can keep the well-oiled machine running, other players wanting a Cup may take notice and board Chicago ship, making life miserable for teams in the West.

Los Angeles Kings

Here's where things get interesting. The Kings haven't been taken seriously as a contender in the West for years now, but all of that is about to change.

It may not happen next year, but Jonathan Quick is set to emerge as one of the premier goaltenders in the NHL. He's had his share of conditioning (first round exits the last two years), but with the team now looking very dangerous up front, Quick should be able to maintain focus.

Mike Richards is another key to the puzzle. He could be one of those players that leaves a bad locker room and quickly finds his game again. There is no doubting his talent and leadership abilities. Now in a market that isn't exactly hockey crazy, Richards should be able to play without constant media pressure and elevate the game of Anze Kopitar.

Richards and fellow newcomer Simon Gagne will direct the team into the physically demanding waters of hockey in the month of May, then changing the landscape of California hockey very quickly.

Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres improved ten-fold over the off-season—on paper.

There is a lot of pressure on this new-look Sabres team heading into training camp with regards to their ability to gel as a team. This may be the one team that needs to win now.

The defence corps look intriguingly steady, with additions like Robyn Regehr and Christian Erhoff making this team very deep in the back end. But Regehr and Erhoff, aged 31 and 29 respectively, need to produce results immediately.

It's clear that Sabres owner Terry Pegula is dedicated to winning a Stanley Cup, sure. But owners obsessed with winning a trophy can have a bit of tunnel vision as well. I wouldn't be surprised if both of these players are on the trading block come deadline day if the Sabres are not in a clear attacking position.

Though they will challenge the Lightning in the East this year, there still is reason to fear the Sabres in the next few years. Names like Zach Kassian, Tyler Ennis and Tyler Myers don't exactly carry the kind of showy flash that other youngsters do, but that's often how championship teams are built—under the radar.

If Pegula can keep the media attention focused on his maniac-like aspirations, allowing his prospects to develop, and if Ryan Miller can learn the ropes of the playoffs from his American counterpart Tim Thomas, expect the Sabres to win their first Stanley Cup before 2016.

Toronto Maple Leafs

For every one Toronto Maple Leafs fan, there are two others who wish nothing but ill towards the team. But for every one flash-in-the-pan coach or GM in the NHL, the Toronto Maple Leafs are ready to counter with both a coach who GM who share something that is vital to winning a championship: vision.

The Brian Burke era began in Toronto with a bang. Burke promised a "truculent" team that other teams would fear playing. After a disastrous season in the basement, Burke realized he needed to balance his truculent team with some scoring, and things got better.

He then did the unthinkable in Leafs land: He began to trade players with proven NHL track records (Kris Versteeg, Francois Beauchemin, Tomas Kaberle) for young guns and draft picks. Burke did not promise a contender within his first season taking over the job. But what he has done is struck a balance.

While the Leafs made a late-season push with a talented group of players, the Leafs still have lots to look forward to in the future. Names like Jake Gardiner and Joe Colborne will soon provide both scoring and truculence up front, and Nazem Kadri looks poised to show off the softest hands in the league for a full season.

And while many also wish to see coach Ron Wilson left stranded on the side of the 401, he has created a system which seems able to slow down some of the flashier teams in the East (Washington, Pittsburgh) and grind out ugly wins. The Leafs will qualify for the playoffs this year, but they won't win any games after April in a pretty manner.

But then again, how many playoff games are pretty? The Toronto Maple Leafs cup drought will not hit 50 years.

Boston Bruins

Dear Bruins fans: You better start petitioning for Tim Thomas as the next Mayor of Boston, because his best days of hockey are behind him.

While everyone in hockey seemed to use the dreaded "destiny" word for one Cup-bound team in 2011 (I'll get to you bunch of hacks in a bit), few seemed to acknowledge that the Bruins simply seemed incapable of going away throughout the 2011 Playoffs.

And why? Tim Thomas played like a man knowing most athletes get just one chance to create their legacy. He took a team of slightly above-average players on his back and refused to let go. But that was his chance. Zdeno Chara is aging, Michael Ryder is gone and Tyler Seguin really didn't see enough of the ice throughout the season to play like a contender in the next few years.

The NHL is a young man's game, and it's doubtful that Thomas can return to form long enough to take the Bruins deep into the post-season. Sure, Tuukka Rask is waiting in the wings, but how much confidence would you have in Robin if Batman had to retire?

There was a reason the Bruins partied so hard after winning the Cup in 2011. It's going to be their last for awhile.

Detroit Red Wings

Arguably the most consistent team in the NHL throughout the last 10 years, something has to finally give with this team. Simply put, the Wings are too old.

When your three best players (Lidstrom, Datsyuk and Zetterbeg) are over the age of 30, you can't help but wonder how far into the playoffs they can now go. They'll probably squeak into the playoffs every year, but at what cost?

It would be wise of Wings general manager Ken Holland to act before it's too late and utilize some of the assets he now has. A word must begun to be thrown around in "Hockeytown," one that many thought they'd never hear—rebuild.

Edmonton Oilers

I'm sorry, Oilers fans. I know you're entirely optimistic about the future. If I would have made this slideshow into a six-year sort of thing, I might have considered the Oilers.

But it's really hard to take this team seriously in the near future when their fresh and exciting core (Hall, Eberle, Paajarvi, Nugent-Hopkins), who is expected to lad the team back to the promised land, was not alive when the Oilers last won the Cup in 1990.

And while I am an unashamed believer in the NHL being a young man's game, established leadership is still vital in a locker room. If Steve Tambellini can keep this young core together, then there is no stopping the team in the (not-so-near) future.

But when things continue to go wrong, not because the team lacks talent but because they are still learning the ins and outs of the league, who will guide the team? Can Oilers fans really expect Jordan Eberle to council Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as the elder statesman?

If this team can learn from their mistakes and stay committed to winning as a group, then a Cup in 2017 is possible. But with big money contracts now becoming the norm in the NHL, I wouldn't be surprised if one or a few of those young guys strays from the pack.

New York Rangers

First, championships are built, not bought.

Second, if Sean Avery manages to get his name on the Stanley Cup, the NHL as we know it would spontaneously combust.

Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks will probably enter the 2011-12 season as the odds-on favourite to actually win the Cup.

But let me ask you: If you can’t win the Cup on home ice, with one of, if not the most formidable team on paper last year, how can you do it this year or in the next five years?

It’s quite simple. The Sedins, who played marginal hockey throughout the playoffs, are not built for nine months of hockey. Past coaches have cried afoul that the Sedins are treated unfairly on the ice, but perhaps they’re simply pulling the wool over their eyes: The twins, while impossible to contain when healthy, just don’t have the endurance for playoff hockey.

With this stacked team, the Canucks were still 3-6 when it came to deciding games in the 2011 Playoffs. Teams “destined” to win would make that stat 4-0.

And then there's Roberto Luongo. He has proven time and time again that he cannot play well when it matters most.

The Canucks will be perennial playoff performers for the next five years, thanks to being in the weakest division in hockey, but perhaps therein lies the trouble: Without any real competition throughout the regular season, the Canucks cannot be counted on to play physically demanding and mentally stable hockey throughout the playoffs.

This team is not getting any younger, and unfortunately for Canucks fans, not getting any better either.