NHL.com writers make case for each of 5 clubs in playoffs north of border to capture championship
© Darcy Finley/NHLI
Canada is considered the cradle of hockey, but it has not seen one of its seven teams cradle the Stanley Cup in more than 30 years.
Woe Canada, indeed.
The last Canada-based team to win the Stanley Cup was the Montreal Canadiens in 1993, defeating the Los Angeles Kings and Wayne Gretzky behind the brilliance of goalie Patrick Roy.
Other Canadian teams have come close, but none have succeeded.
The Edmonton Oilers, riding the brilliance of Connor McDavid, got to Game 7 of the Final last season, losing to the Florida Panthers. Edmonton also lost in 2006, in seven games to the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Canadiens reached the Final in 2021 but lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Vancouver Canucks have reached the Final twice, losing in Game 7 each time, to the New York Rangers in 1994 and the Boston Bruins in 2011.
The Calgary Flames lost in seven games to the Lightning in 2004, and three years later the Ottawa Senators lost to the Anaheim Ducks.
The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t been to the Final since their last Cup championship in 1967 and the Winnipeg Jets have never been to the Cup Final.
Will it change this time around? Will one of the five Canada-based teams in the playoffs — Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto or Winnipeg — end the country’s long-running sorrow and bring the Stanley Cup home? And, if so, which team?
That’s the questions we put before a panel of nine NHL.com writers. Here are their answers.
The Oilers struggled with injuries toward the end of the regular season but expect to have most of their key players healthy for the start of the playoffs. Centers Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will not only be healthy, but well rested, which could prove too much for any opponent to handle in the playoffs. Each missed time because of injury toward the end of the regular season, which might prove to a blessing in the playoffs. After reaching Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last season, Edmonton still has a championship-caliber team and is motivated to return and finish the job. A fresh McDavid and Draisaitl at the starting line in the postseason could go a long way to combat the playoff grind. — Derek Van Diest, staff writer
The Stanley Cup, This Is Forever
Yes, I know the Canadiens waited until their final game — and the penultimate day of the season — to get into the postseason. But, to me, that’s part of their charm and another hint this could be their season. They have beaten all the odds in qualifying for the playoffs, far ahead of schedule. But they are not just a feel-good story. They have been a top-tier team since Feb. 1, going 16-9-6 for 38 points, more than their first-round foe, the Washington Capitals (37), the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers (35), and the defending Western Conference champion Oilers (33). They have a coach they love playing for in Martin St. Louis and a core of young players that should put fear into opponents, led by defenseman Lane Hutson (66 points; six goals, 60 assists) and forwards Nick Suzuki (89 points; 30 goals, 59 assists) and Cole Caufield (70 points; 37 goals, 33 assists). Is it enough to claim the Stanley Cup for a 25th time? I don’t know, but I’m not ruling them out. — Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial
The underdog can be dangerous. We’ve seen it time and again in the NHL. The Kings winning the Stanley Cup in 2012 as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. The Nashville Predators reaching the Stanley Cup Final as the playoff team with the fewest points in 2017. The Canadiens in 2021 and the Panthers in 2023 doing the same thing as the Predators. So why not the Senators? They’re raw, new to this dance, but they’ve got elite goaltending in Linus Ullmark, and a captain, Brady Tkachuk, who wills players into the battle. They have skill on the back end. They are soaring with confidence based on how they’ve played down the stretch. And they don’t have any pressure to win. All of it makes Ottawa dangerous. — Dan Rosen, senior writer
There are a lot of choices here, a lot of good choices. And while I can’t say I think the Maple Leafs will win the Stanley Cup this season, I do think they could be the last Canadian team standing. Part of that is they’re an Eastern Conference team and it’s almost impossible to predict which team will ultimately come out of the East. Part of that is the impact coach Craig Berube has made on them this season. Part of that is simply the increasing maturity shown by Toronto’s core members, including a stunningly strong season from center John Tavares, bolstered by players like forward Matthew Knies and the goalie tandem of Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz. The Maple Leafs can take a step this season, and I think they will. — Amalie Benjamin, senior writer
There are a few reasons I’m a believer in the Maple Leafs finally breaking through this season to win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1967, but they all stem from Berube. In his first season with Toronto, Berube knows what it takes to succeed during the playoffs from his experience winning the Cup as coach of the St. Louis Blues in 2019. Under Berube, the Maple Leafs play a simpler, more straightforward game that is better suited for the postseason. Berube also brings an attitude and a confidence that will be needed for the Maple Leafs to overcome their past playoff demons and string together the 16 victories they need to win the Cup. — Tom Gulitti, senior writer
Yes, I know it’s been 57 years since the Maple Leafs last won the Cup, but it has to happen at some point, right? And there is no better year for it to happen than this season. Toronto is loaded, with a strong goalie contingent in Stolarz and Woll, and most importantly, the Maple Leafs won’t have the Bruins standing in their way. In fact, after winning the Atlantic Division, they will only have to go through either the Panthers or Lightning, not each, and those two teams are going to beat the heck out of each other in the first round. I think the Jets can make noise in the Western Conference, but I worry about the Oilers having to face a hungry Kings team in the first round. The Senators and Canadiens are nice stories, but their roads will end in the first round. It’s all right there for the Maple Leafs, and I believe this is the year they will be the class of the Canadian teams in the postseason. — Bill Price, Editor-in-Chief
My NHL.com colleagues were shocked when I picked the Maple Leafs to be the Canadian team most likely to win the Stanley Cup, primarily because I’m cynical about Toronto each spring. Understandable, given they’ve won just one postseason series in the past 21 years. Why change now? First, I have little confidence in the other Canadian teams. The Oilers, my Stanley Cup pick in September, are banged up and the loss of defenseman Mattias Ekholm for the first round is crushing. In Winnipeg, the Jets and goalie Connor Hellebuyck have yet to show me they can win the big game. For their part, neither have the Maple Leafs. But there’s a different vibe under Berube and his low-risk style. Defensemen Brandon Carlo, Chris Tanev and Jake McCabe bring a defense-first mentality and Stolarz had shutouts in three of his final four regular-season starts. Do I think they’re Cup favorites? No. But there’s an opportunity here. Fizzle again in the first round, however, and the cynicism will return. — Mike Zeisberger, staff writer
Jets look for redemption in Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Blues
No team has won the Presidents’ Trophy and the Stanley Cup in the same season since the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013. The Jets have lost in five games in the Western Conference First Round each of the past two seasons — to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023 and to the Colorado Avalanche last season. Yes, Winnipeg has a lot to overcome, a lot to prove. But let’s not forget: The Jets were the best team in the NHL this season. They had the second-best home record (.780 points percentage) behind the Kings (.805), and now they will have home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. They had the best goalie in Hellebuyck, ranked first defensively (2.32 goals against per game) and ranked fourth offensively (3.35). Best chance among Canadian teams? They might have the best chance among all 16 teams. — Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist
Yep, among the Canadian teams, I feel this is the year for the Jets. I know, the postseason wasn’t kind to them in 2024. But this feels different. Winnipeg got off to an insanely hot start and didn’t cool down very much throughout the season. The Jets feel they have something to prove and they played accordingly, and I believe that carries to the postseason. That goes for Hellebuyck, too. We know he’s all-world in the regular season; now he’ll prove he can get it done in the playoffs. The White-Out party will be hopping when the playoffs begin and still be going in June, too. — Tracey Myers, staff writer
It’s very hard for me to pick against the Jets as being that Canada-based team with the best shot at winning the Stanley Cup. They are the first Canadian club to win the Presidents’ Trophy since the Canucks in 2011-12, and while I know that’s not a prerequisite for playoff success, Winnipeg has proven to be very strong in all three zones. Many will point to Hellebuyck as the reason for success, and that’s certainly true, but the Jets are much more. They had the League’s top power play (28.9 percent) and tied for third with 3.35 goals per game. Forward Kyle Connor heads a list of a dozen players, including defenseman Josh Morrissey, with at least 10 goals this season. Look, defense wins championships, but it’s also beneficial to have a strong offensive group capable of coming up big on the power play and at 5-on-5 when the games get tighter in the playoffs. The Jets have that look of a champion. — Mike G. Morreale, senior draft writer
