Pressure? Depends on which NHL team you ask
Urgency to make cup run varies among diverse 24-team field
Training camps are usually a time of optimism. Every team believes it has a chance to make the playoffs. This year, with 24 teams in the post-season, that optimism has never been higher as camps open up on Monday following a four-month break because of the coronavirus. But with optimism comes heightened expectations.
Here’s a look at each of the 24 teams and the unique pressures they face:
BURNING TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
After three straight seasons of getting bounced in the first round, no team has more to prove than the Leafs, who are paying Mitch Marner, John Tavares and Auston Matthews more money than any other player in the league. If they don’t get past the Columbus Blue Jackets, GM Kyle Dubas — who fired head coach Mike Babcock — will find himself in the crosshairs.
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
The bitterness of last year’s first-round sweep is still lingering in the mouths of the Lightning, who were one of two teams that were against this 24-team format. As the Cup favourites, they need to go deep. Anything less could cost Jon Cooper his job as head coach.
BOSTON BRUINS
Boston lost in Game 7 of last year’s final and was the best team in the league when the season was put on hold because of the coronavirus. With an aging roster (this could be Zdeno Chara’s last year), the Bruins’ window on winning another championship is closing.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
On paper, the Penguins have the easiest play-in round opponent. But in reality, no team wants to face Carey Price and the “nothing-tolose” Habs. If Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin can’t get past Montreal, which finished with 15 fewer points in the regular season, they’ll never hear the end of it.
EDMONTON OILERS
Forget about what we may have thought of Edmonton at the beginning of the season. With Leon Draisaitl emerging as a Hart Trophy favourite and Connor Mcdavid
finishing second in scoring, this is a very good team. The question is whether the Oilers are mature enough to get past a veteran Chicago team. If not, it could be a long post-season.
hot CALGARY FLAMES
If not for Tampa Bay falling flat on its face, we would be talking a lot more about Calgary’s disappointing first-round exit a year ago. Remember: this was the best team in the West. The pieces are still there to be the best. But if they can’t win at the most important time of the year, then changes could be coming.
ARIZONA COYOTES
The top-spending team in the NHL pushed in all its chips this year by acquiring Phil Kessel in the summer and Taylor Hall in December. So far, the results haven’t been what anyone expected. With Hall potentially gone after the season, Arizona needs a deep run to justify the money was well spent.
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
The Capitals won their first Stanley Cup two years ago. But if Alex Ovechkin hopes to get his face on the Mount Rushmore of hockey, he may need to win another one before his career is done.
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Expansion franchises rarely feel the pressure to win this early. But a trip to the Cup final in Year One sped things up. The fact that head coach Gerard Gallant was fired after the team hit a mini speed bump in December
tells you all you need to know about the win-now mentality in Vegas.
FLORIDA PANTHERS
The Panthers haven’t won a playoff round since 2012. If they hope to change that, then Sergei Bobrovsky will have to start earning his Us$10-million salary. If not, then it could be a long six more years for the two-time Vezina Trophy winner.
LUKEWARM COLORADO AVALANCHE
There comes a time when every young franchise has to take that step forward. But with Cale Makar in his rookie season and top prospect Bowen Byram still playing major junior, the thinking is the Avs are another year or two away from that point.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
The fact that GM David Poile fired a head coach for only the second time in 21 years suggests that the pressure to win in Nashville has never been higher.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
Those bunch of jerks are trying to make the actual playoffs for the second year in a row — something they’ve never done in the history of the franchise. If they don’t, they can rest easy knowing that five of their top seven scorers are 25 years old or younger.
DALLAS STARS
It’s been more than a decade since Dallas advanced past the second round of the playoffs. But with 11 players who are over the age of 30 — including Joe Pavelski and Corey Perry, who are both 35 years old — there’s no telling whether the four-month pause will help or hurt a Stars team that had been fading down the stretch.
WINNIPEG JETS
The Jets acquired defenceman dylan demelo and centre Cody Eakin at the trade deadline for what they had hoped would be a long playoff run. But first, they have to get past the flames. for that to happen, the pressure is on goalie Connor Hellebuyck to continue to play at a Vezina Trophy level.
COLD ST. LOUIS BLUES
They won their first ever Stanley Cup a year ago, so the Blues could get swept in the first round and fans would still be in the streets singing gloria.
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
In a season where they lost more man-games to injury than any other team — and to players, such as Seth Jones, who were integral to their success — it’s amazing that the Blue Jackets were even in the playoff picture when the season was halted. Now that everyone is healthy, no one knows what to expect.
MINNESOTA WILD
The fact that the Wild hired the Vancouver Canucks’ former director of amateur scouting this week is an indicator that the team is focusing more on the draft than planning the Stanley Cup parade route.
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
No one would be surprised if Chicago, which has a core that has won three Stanley Cups together, upset Edmonton in the play-in round. If they don’t, then maybe the Blackhawks can get around to that rebuild they’ve been putting off.
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
The flyers wouldn’t be where they are without 21-year-old goalie Carter Hart, who looked like the second coming of Carey Price this season. And while the playoffs can make or break a goalie in Philadelphia, fans will be forgiving — at least, we hope — if he should falter.
FREEZING VANCOUVER CANUCKS
This is the first post-season appearance for Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes. With Pettersson and Hughes still on their entry-level contracts, their window on winning may never be this wide open. At the same time, it’s not closing anytime soon.
MONTREAL CANADIENS
No team has less on the line than the Habs. If they win, it’s a bonus since no one expected them to be in the playoffs in the first place. If they lose in the play-in round, they could very well end up with the No. 1 pick and a chance to draft Alexis Lafreniere.
NEW YORK RANGERS
As a team, the retooling rangers are not under pressure. But for Henrik Lundqvist, who’s reign as a No. 1 goalie seems to be coming to an end, this could be his last chance to lead the team to glory.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
Pressure? The team is still playing with house money after losing John Tavares to free agency a year ago. The Islanders might as well have fun with this post-season, if they can.