Can We See Another Canadian Team Winning the Stanley Cup?
Is the domination of Canadians in ice hockey just a mere hearsay?
Ice hockey was invented and dominated by the Canadians, but the reality is that we only have seven Canadian teams among the 32 in the NHL, with the latest addition, comes from Seattle. On the flip side, Canadian players are dominating the league as can be seen in the table below:
With all being said about Canadians playing in an American league, I’ve been asking this question to myself: Will a Canadian team win the Stanley Cup?
We all know that Montreal Canadiens is the most successful Canadian team with 24 Stanley Cup titles. But the last time they won it is 26 years ago and also that’s the last win by a Canadian team. The last Canadian team’s appearance in the finals was when Vancouver Canucks beaten by the Boston Bruins in 2011. Let’s not talk about last year’s playoffs as all the Canadian teams (Toronto, Winnipeg, and Calgary) who made it got eliminated in the first round. Ironic.
To be honest, I really want to see a Canadian teams lift a Stanley Cup trophy again. And actually, this season could be the best opportunity for them. But I should set my expectation low because this season’s resume gave a “second chance” for four teams in the non-playoffs zone from each conference to make the NHL resume a 24-team competition.
Those 24 included six teams from Canada (Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, and Winnipeg) and Montreal was the only team that is not in the playoffs zone. But what happened after that? Only three of them made it to the playoffs. Winnipeg and Calgary faced each other in qualifying matches, Edmonton got knocked out by Chicago (#12), and Toronto loses from Columbus in an anti-climax of game seven qualifications round, regretting their play in game 5 when they gave away a three goals lead and lost.
Based on my playoffs prediction, I’m not sure if a Canadian team can win the cup this season. Look at what’s happened in playoffs. There are three Canadian teams and Vancouver is only conference semifinalist.
Montreal Canadiens almost forced game 7 against the no.1 seed in East, Philadelphia Flyers. With their young lineup and lack of post-season experience, it’s still can be considered a great success. If the season goes well, I’d be 90% sure they won’t make it to the playoffs. They took the opportunity, gave the young players some playoffs exposure, and this will be a huge stepping stone for the Habs as they will also secure a decent position in the NHL draft.
Calgary surprisingly lost after leading two times against Dallas Stars. With no homecourt advantage from both teams, the Flames should’ve grabbed another win in game 3 or 4. Game 6 was their worst display as they were demolished by seven goals by the Stars and only responded one. Ironically, Calgary was the strongest team in the Western Conference based on the last standings before the NHL come to a halt due to COVID-19.
They were in a pretty similar situation with the Flames but Vancouver Canucks was able to capitalize on their chances in game 5 as they took the series lead back and sealed it with another win in game 6 against last year’s champion, St. Louis Blues.
All eyes on the Canucks but they have to be careful as Vegas is the second most productive team with 3,75 goals per game, but poor of defense by conceding 2,63 goals per game (second-worst among the remaining teams in playoffs). Based on the goal’s statistic from each team, I’m sure that 2nd period of each game will determine the end of games. Vancouver has 11/30 goals and conceded 10/26 goals in P2, while Vegas has 16/34 goals and 13/21 goals as the highest number of goals by periods.
As for now, the Canucks just even the series 1–1 with a 5–2 win in game 2. We’ll see how far Vancouver Canucks can go and reign supreme as the champion representing Canada.
