Canada’s Cup Drought in Edmonton’s Hands
Edmonton Oilers defeat the Dallas Stars in six games to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006. Edmonton Oilers began the season 3–9–1 prior to making a coaching change on November 13th, where they hired Kris Knoblauch in efforts to turn the season around. Pretty safe to say it worked out to near perfection from being 31st in the league in November. Connor McDavid (as most people could have predicted) paves the way for the Oilers with 10 points in those six games, including a beautiful goal that opened the scoring in game six.
For reference in 2006: Sidney Crosby was just coming off of his incredible rookie season, Cam Ward won the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP, the Nintendo Wii was not released yet, and Pluto was downgraded from a planet to just a dwarf planet. Feeling old yet? I know I am.
Speaking of droughts, the last time we’ve seen a Canadian market NHL team win the Stanley Cup was 1993. Only six Canadian teams have made the finals since then.
Evan Bouchard has arrived. With Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid receiving a majority of the attention for being top four all-time in their race to fastest to record 100 playoff points. Can we talk about Bouchard for a second? He has become the third fastest defensemen to reach 50 playoff points, doing so in 45 games. The two ahead of him are two of the most iconic defensemen of all time — Bobby Orr (39 GP) and Brian Leetch (41 GP). He has become the Oiler’s backbone on the defensive end in a very short timeframe. Bouchard is set to become a UFA at the end of the 2024–2025 season after coming off a bridge-deal where his current cap hit is 3.9 million AAV (Steal). This guy is gonna get paid.
Corey Perry has become the first player in NHL history to appear in the Stanley Cup Final with at least five different NHL teams. His track record? 1–3. His recent campaigns include losses with the Dallas Stars, Montreal Canadiens, and the Tampa Bay Lightning. This will be his fourth appearance over the span of five years. Perry is no stranger to bringing a veteran presence and grit to the lineup — although with him aging and being tied to a limited role, he has still played a huge factor for the Oilers this year.
The Dallas Stars fall short of the Stanley Cup Final after losing in six games. Coming off a great regular season, appearing in the Conference Finals in back-to-back seasons, and displaying incredible depth all throughout the lineup. What’s next?
I don’t think it’s a secret that the Dallas Stars had the toughest road to the Final this year. The team was able to defeat the reigning Stanley Cup Champions, Vegas Golden Knights, in the first round in 7 games which adds to Head Coach Peter DeBoer’s undefeated record of 8–0 all time in Game 7’s. In the second round, they were able to oust the 2022 champs, Colorado Avalanche, in 6 games. For their reward? They got the chance to play two of the best players to ever lace up the skates in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Tough sledding for these Stars, but a cup is in their near future.
