from Rory Boylen of Sportsnet,

There was a time last season when you would have looked foolish picking the St. Louis Blues to win the Stanley Cup — who’s laughing now?

With so much parity in the NHL, it is true that if you can just get into the playoffs you have as good a chance as anyone to win it all come June. So if you want to shy away from going the easy route and choosing among the favourites — Tampa Bay, Toronto, Vegas, Boston — to win the 2020 Stanley Cup, the key to finding a diamond in the rough isn’t to see a contending roster in August, it’s identifying playoff potential and prognosticating how things could favourably come together.

We don’t want to be boring here and tell you why the Lightning remain next year’s favourite (and they are without a doubt). Rather, using the early Stanley Cup odds set by Sports Interaction, we’re looking outside of the top-15 clubs to identify teams with the potential to overachieve. These teams aren’t going to make anyone feel good about picking them in August, but with some luck, there’s a world where everything hits.

So before training camps open, RFAs sign, and the NHL odds picture changes again on the eve of the regular season, here are some teams you can perhaps get in early on now.

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