On Tuesday night, the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes open up the 2026-27 campaign. The Hurricanes will face the Florida Panthers in the first of five games on opening night. The Hurricanes went 20 years between Stanley Cup titles and look to defend their championship.

As the Canes take to the title defense, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet is giving his prediction for the Stanley Cup final in 2027.

“I never pick a repeat champion — even though there were three in the last decade, and Carolina is about as good a bet as a team could be. Never. So, I’m going with Edmonton-Florida III in June. Hope there’s a charter,” Friedman wrote.

Friedman noted he has made a habit of not picking the defending champion to repeat. In the last ten years, the repeat is not a bad pick. The Pittsburgh Penguins went back-to-back in 2016 and 2017. The Tampa Bay Lightning won in 2020 and 2021, while making the finals in 2022. The Florida Panthers won in 2024 and 2025, while also reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2023.

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Still, Hurricanes history says not only is a repeat not going to happen, but the playoffs would be a surprise. Since relocating from Hartford ahead of the 1997-98 season, the Canes have reached the Stanley Cup Final twice before lifting the Cup in 2026. After the loss in 2002 to the Detroit Red Wings, they missed the playoffs the next two seasons. After winning the Cup in 2006, they also missed the playoffs the next two years.

Friedman has Florida returning to the Stanley Cup Final for a fourth time in five seasons, but this time, they will be falling to the Edmonton Oilers. Friedman is also not the only member of the Sportsnet staff who has Edmonton winning it all.

Four other staff members have the Oilers winning it all. Meanwhile, David Amber is selecting the Washington Capitals and is the only one picking them to lift the Cup. Three writers have the Caps making it to the Cup Final, including Frank Seravalli. Seravalli has the Minnesota Wild winning it all this year, giving the Wild their only vote of confidence from a member of the staff.

Overall, six writers have the Colorado Avalanche winning it all, with four having the Florida Panthers lifting the Cup. The Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Tampa Bay Lightning all also got one vote each.