End of Canadian Stanley Cup drought so close you can almost taste the bubbly
By all means, yes, let’s stick to hockey, and let’s get this season started pronto.
After all, the longer the exhibition season stretched, the more complicated, sticky political problems seemed to be ensnaring NHL teams and players.
We’ve had Mike Sullivan and Sidney Crosby fumbling around on the White House visit. Oh my. Then Auston Matthews weighed in with his thoughts on the U.S. Constitution, sort of. Max Domi released multiple tweets on Canadian immigration policy after a scary weekend incident in Edmonton.
Internally, Alex Ovechkin raged against his ineligibility to play in the 2018 Winter Olympics, apparently blissfully unaware it was mostly his own union’s fault. Players such as Brad Marchand tore strips off the league for new rules, also apparently unaware players sit on the competition committee and had a hand in drafting those rules.
So yes, let’s get on with the games on the ice before another skate boot is placed squarely in the mouth of another player, shall we?
It’s certainly not fake news that Canada’s seven NHL clubs are on the rise, so much so that Jaromir Jagr — 46 years old in February!! — is keen to join the festivities north of the border after spending the first 27 years of his pro career in other countries. Jagr as a Flame is intriguing, although it suggests Calgary isn’t too happy with its other options and wouldn’t mind a nice little diversionary story to distract from its rather messy arena dispute with the city.
Jagr, by picking Calgary over St. Louis, must see what we all see.
The Stanley Cup has stayed south of the border since Montreal won it in 1993, but it seems apparent that particular drought has a very, very good chance of ending in the next few years, and quite possibly this season.
Ottawa, don’t forget, came within a Chris Kunitz overtime goal of battling Nashville in the Cup final last spring. If Erik Karlsson was healthy and ready to go, there would be bigger talk in the nation’s capital right now. This team gets stronger if Mark Stone reverts to his form of two seasons ago.
Edmonton and Toronto, spurred on by two of the finest young players in the sport in Connor McDavid and Matthews, respectively, look to have many of the necessary pieces in place to take a serious run at a championship.
The Oilers, in fact, begin the season out west amidst enormous expectations that they’re good enough right now to win it all. A favourite? It’s hard to go that far until we see a little more evidence, until we see if Cam Talbot will stand up to a bigger test or if Ryan Strome can fill Jordan Eberle’s shoes. But this looks like the best Edmonton team in a generation and really, you might also be able to say the same about Toronto.
If the defence is better for the Leafs and helps Frederik Andersen be a little less busy, there appears to be ample skill up front to compete with anyone. Patrick Marleau should help, probably Ron Hainsey too. This is a team that should at least get out of the first round.
Along with the Sens, Oilers and Leafs, meanwhile, a lousy pre-season in Montreal hasn’t dimmed expectations that the Canadiens could be dangerous this season, nor should it. The pre-season is the pre-season, and while there are indeed signs of concern with the club Marc Bergevin has built, like quality on defence and strength down the middle, the Habs won their division last year, are clearly in win-now mode and still have Carey Price guarding the twine.
So that’s four significant Canadian threats. Calgary also made the playoffs last year, but got swept by Anaheim in a thoroughly disappointing effort. Mike Smith and Eddie Lack are the newest answers in goal. Along with signing Jagr, acquiring Travis Hamonic for a first and two seconds suggests GM Brad Treliving believes his team is also about now, not the future. Calgary still needs the kids, specifically Johnny Gaudreau and Sam Bennett, to be much more consistent.
In Winnipeg, most of the pieces appear to be in place to complement Patrik Laine, likely a true superstar, and centre Mark Scheifele, the league’s seventh-best scorer last season. Steve Mason will take a shot at solidifying the crease and starts Wednesday against the Leafs. If he works out, this could easily be a playoff team.
That’s six of the seven Canadian teams with a pretty positive vibe. Only Vancouver, still going with the twins and the newest owners of Thomas Vanek’s hockey skills, appears unsuited to contend as currently constructed. The crease is filled with uncertainty, but the Canucks do have some interesting youngsters such as Brock Boeser, and Jake Virtanen has made a solid statement this fall that he doesn’t intend to go down as one of the bigger busts in Vancouver draft history.
This is the time Canadian hockey fans have been waiting for, possibly the best collection of teams since the late 1980s/early 1990s when the Flames and Oilers iced outstanding teams, the Habs still won Cups, the Leafs had a blip of competitiveness under Cliff Fletcher and Pat Burns and the Canucks went to the ’94 Cup final.
Detroit, Chicago and Los Angeles, three of the powerhouse organizations of the past decade, are in moderate to sharp decline, and it’s hard to believe Pittsburgh can win a third consecutive Cup. Crosby, of course, may prove us wrong again. The future for U.S. clubs seems to lie with Philly, Carolina, Columbus and maybe Arizona, while San Jose, Tampa and the Blues want to prove they haven’t already missed their chance.
After years of watching all the best young players go to U.S. teams, we’ve now got ’em here in the Great White North for the foreseeable future: McDavid. Karlsson. Matthews. Mitch Marner. Laine. Gaudreau. Leon Draisaitl. Scheifele. Jonathan Drouin. The list is suddenly impressively long.
Opportunity has arrived for many clubs, meanwhile, in a league without great teams. Or perhaps more accurately, in a league where the salary-cap system restricts teams to two or three big stars, and then a roster made up of low-salaried, industrious players.
With more young talent now than in recent memory, it’s time for Canadian teams to strike. Damien Cox is the co-host of Prime Time Sports on Sportsnet 590 The FAN. He spent nearly 30 years covering sports for the Star. Follow him @DamoSpin. His column appears Tuesday and Saturday.