NHL 21 Predicts The Stanley Cup Winner, And It's A Team That Hasn't Won In 20 Years

The real-world NHL season begins on Wednesday, January 13, and to celebrate the occasion, EA Sports has released the results of its annual simulation to predict which team will win the Stanley Cup.

According to the results of the NHL 21 simulation, the Colorado Avalanche will win the Stanley Cup this year, defeating the defending champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning, in 7 games. In the real world, the Avalanche have not won the title since the 2000-2001 season.

The Official #NHL21 Playoff Simulation has spoken 🔮
The Colorado Avalanche will be your 2021 Stanley Cup Champions 🏆
Check out our full breakdown of the 2021 season 👉 https://t.co/zINlF97AH4 pic.twitter.com/lkietzgXK4
— EA SPORTS NHL (@EASPORTSNHL) January 13, 2021

The simulation also predicted that Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs will be the NHL's top goal-scorer for the season, racking up 39 goals. Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, meanwhile, will be the league's top points-scorer with 83, according to the prediction.

During the playoffs, Nathan MacKinnon of the Avalanche will have a particularly strong showing, picking up 18 goals and 22 assists in 35 games to win the Conn Smyth trophy for being the MVP of the playoffs.

Head to EA's website to see a full breakdown of the NHL 21 season predictions.

NHL 21 released in October 2020 for PS4 and Xbox One. EA did not release a bespoke version of the sports game for PS5 and Xbox Series X, but it is playable on those machines with some improvements. The franchise's first outing for PS5 and Xbox Series X is expected to be NHL 22, which should release in or around September 2021.