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Parity is in full effect in Lord Stanley's Pool 2024. While the Oilers again have the most picks, they are down over 100 from last year, and Colorado - #3 again - is down about 200. The NY Rangers, taking over from Boston as the #1 Cup pick team, were chosen as the winner on only 64 entries - a record low 18% for the "Cup favourite".
This opens the door for other teams like Dallas, Carolina, and Florida, as well as the other Canadian teams, to make an impact deep into the pool. It should be a wide open field if you picked the teams that will go deep!
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| Igor Shesterkin, the top goalie pick, tends the twine for the Cup-favourite NY Rangers |
Last year with most entries out of it and nearly all of the pool picks eliminated, many would have missed the improbable result. It seemed like a lock for Marie Loop, who like most entries had no players left going into the final but an 8 point lead over third-place Vince Galante and 18 over Laura Speciale in 8th. Yet Vince and Laura narrowed the gap over the first four games. Vince needed 3 points from his only pick, Jack Eichel, in the deciding Game Five, while Laura needed 7 points from Eichel, Mark Stone and Alex Pietrangelo, and that's exactly what both of them received in Vegas' 9-3 romp over the Panthers. Florida pulled their goalie trailing 7-3 with over six minutes remaining, and after Eichel hit the post (denying Vince the outright win), Stone's empty netter resulted in the most unlikely outcome in the pool's history, a three-way tie. Congrats to Marie, Vince and Laura on their co-championships!
No surprise that Connor McDavid is once again the #1 pick. The all-time great is on 74% of all entries (257/349), down from 89% last year yet still a major factor and rightly so. McDavid and the #2 pick, teammate Leon Draisaitl (188 picks), both now place in the top 4 all-time in points in their first 50 playoff games, behind only Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux and just ahead of Jari Kurri.
After the Rangers' Artemi Panarin and Avs' Nathan MacKinnon, there is a deep field of forwards picked on over 5% of entries - 28 this year versus only 18 last year.
Cale Makar has extended his record streak with his 5th consecutive #1 pick on defence. In the spirit of parity, he too has had his base shrink, from 71% in 2022 and 57% last year to just 38% in 2024. His 133 picks are only six ahead of Adam Fox's 125 (again #2), with Evan Bouchard right behind at 123. Again, the top three teams anchor the defense.
The Rangers are the top Cup pick team, and accordingly their goaltender Igor Shesterkin is the top pick at this position. But with only 25% of the picks - and with the Oilers' and Avs' goalies at less than 10% each - contestants opted for Jake Oettinger, Sergei Bobrovski and Connor Hellebuyck to steal a shutout or two while their teams remain in the tournament.
Here are the most common players in this year's pool.
F:
Connor McDavid, Edm (257)
Leon Draisaitl, Edm (188)
Artemi Panarin, NYR (169)
Nathan MacKinnon, Col (151)
Sebastian Aho, Car (104)
Matthew Tkachuk, Fla (95)
D:
Cale Makar, Col (133)
Adam Fox, NYR (127)
G:
Igor Shesterkin, NYR (89)
Team to win: NY Rangers (64)
Total entries: 349
2023:
F:
Connor McDavid, Edm (304 picks)
Leon Draisaitl, Edm (264)
David Pastrnak, Bos (229)
Nathan MacKinnon, Col (207)
Mikko Rantanen, Col (128)
Brad Marchand, Bos (112)
D:
Cale Makar, Col (195)
Adam Fox, NYR (90)
G:
Linus Ullmark, Bos (147)
Team to win: Boston (147)
Total entries: 341
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| Edmonton | 643 | 58 |
| NY Rangers | 471 | 64 |
| Colorado | 385 | 35 |
| Dallas | 293 | 47 |
| Carolina | 282 | 39 |
| Florida | 277 | 30 |
| Vancouver | 184 | 12 |
| Toronto | 182 | 28 |
| Winnipeg | 122 | 14 |
| Boston | 114 | 9 |
| Tampa Bay | 97 | 8 |
| Vegas | 52 | 3 |
| Nashville | 32 | 1 |
| Los Angeles | 5 | 1 |
| Washington | 2 | 0 |
| NY Islanders | 0 | 0 |
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