Don't get your hopes up, Canadian hockey fans
New alignment should be exciting enough, but 28-year Cup drought isn't about to end
Sorry to break it to you, but this isn't going to be your year.
We're talking to you, hockey fan living in Ottawa. But we're also talking to the fans living in Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg. We're speaking to the whole country.
Oh sure, you think just because the NHL put together an all-canadian North Division that it suddenly means the Stanley Cup is going to be paraded across the country? Go back and read the fine print.
All you're guaranteed is that four of the seven teams will make the playoffs, and that one of them will advance to the conference final. From there, it might look easy. All you need is eight more wins and the Cup is yours.
Those are pretty good odds. And yet, the sad truth is that the 28-year championship drought is not ending. Not this year. Sorry.
Or, as our neighbours to the south might say in mocking us: “Soar-ee, eh?”
The Stanley Cup isn't coming home. It won't be won by Toronto or Edmonton or any of the other seven teams in the North Division. Not even Postmedia's so-called experts seem to believe so .
Most of our esteemed hockey writers had no problem picking Edmonton's Connor Mcdavid to win the Hart Trophy and for Toronto's Auston Matthews to lead the league in scoring, that's where the love for all things Canadian comes to an end.
When asked what team would win the North Division, Toronto was the overwhelming favourite to not only finish first in the regular season, but also reach the conference final. But none of the 22 writers who made pre-season predictions was willing to put their reputation on the line and suggest that a Maple Leafs team with Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and Joe Thornton would complete the journey and win the Cup.
None picked Edmonton, which has two players who have claimed three of the past four scoring titles.
None picked Montreal, which has Carey Price and Shea Weber.
None picked Calgary or Winnipeg or Vancouver, with their collection of superstars.
“If all it took to win a Stanley Cup was to have the best offensive players in hockey, then the Edmonton Oilers would have won a Cup or two with Connor Mcdavid and Leon Draisaitl,” said Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons. “But they haven't been close, and the Maple Leafs haven't been close and the Winnipeg Jets haven't been close with all the great offensive talent like Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner and Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler, because one-way teams don't succeed in the playoffs.”
Instead, Colorado received 13 votes to win the Cup, followed by Tampa Bay (four), Vegas (three) and one for St. Louis.
“Fewer holes on those teams,” said Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette.
Based on prior success, it's difficult to disagree.
Tampa Bay is the defending champion. Colorado with Nathan Mackinnon and Cale Makar went to the conference final last year, where the Avalanche might have defeated Dallas if their toptwo goalies didn't disintegrate.
Vegas, which went to the final in 2018, added Alex Pietrangelo to a roster that includes Robin Lehner, Mark Stone and Shea Theodore.
When was the last time the Maple Leafs reached the conference final? When was the last time they even won a round?
And for all their offensive talent, the Oilers have reached the second round of the playoffs just once in the past five years.
Winnipeg, which has the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, hasn't won a playoff round since reaching the conference final in 2018.
Calgary and Montreal last advanced to the second round in 2015.
Up until last year, when they advanced to the second round, the Canucks had gone eight years without winning a playoff round.
“Colorado is too strong,” said Rob Tychkowski of the Edmonton Journal/sun. “Edmonton isn't ready and Toronto doesn't have the fortitude.”
So it's not shocking that most are taking a wait-and-see approach — especially when it's difficult enough to decide which Canadian teams will end up in the playoffs once the dust settles.
“I bet, come mid-may, you'll see a Canadian team — or maybe a few of them — getting some love,” said Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Herald/sun.
Indeed, getting into the playoffs will be a grind. So much so that some believe that once the post-season arrives, the Canadian teams might not have much left in the tank to go all the way and win a Cup.