It’s opening night in Canada — here’s a look at our 7 NHL teams

Posted on October 9, 2024 by Peggy

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The NHL did not include Canada in its season-opening plans. The 2024-25 campaign started last week in the Czech Republic with two games between New Jersey and Buffalo, and the North American schedule began yesterday with a U.S.-only triple-header.

Hockey’s most devoted country finally gets its turn tonight with three all-Canadian matchups. Toronto visits Montreal at 7 p.m. ET before Calgary faces Vancouver and Winnipeg takes on Edmonton at 10 p.m. ET. Ottawa opens Thursday night in Florida.

Here’s one question facing each Canadian franchise this season, presented in descending order of their odds to win the Stanley Cup:

Can Edmonton go all the way? The Oilers pretty much answered this question last June by reaching the Stanley Cup final for the first time in the Connor McDavid era before falling one win short of a championship. McDavid was devastated, refusing to come out of the dressing room to accept the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP following Edmonton’s 2-1 loss to Florida in Game 7. If the world’s best player can convert that heartbreak into fuel for another Cup run, look out. His team enters the season as the betting favourite to win the Cup.

Is this Toronto’s year? New head coach Craig Berube, who in 2019 guided St. Louis to the only Stanley Cup in the 50-plus-year history of that franchise, is now in charge of ending hockey’s most storied championship drought, which turns 58 next year. If the Leafs finally do win the Cup (don’t laugh — the betting markets have them in the mix), Auston Matthews will be the first to hoist it after inheriting the captaincy from John Tavares this summer. If they don’t, expect big changes with Tavares and fellow “core” forward Mitch Marner set to hit free agency this summer.

Will Vancouver defy the Plexiglass Principle? Introduced by pioneering baseball thinker Bill James, this concept posits that teams who experience a big improvement tend to decline the following season. The Canucks were probably the NHL’s most-improved team last year, climbing from 22nd to sixth overall and winning their first division title in 11 years before falling to the Oilers in the second round of the playoffs. Young stars Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson and late bloomer J.T. Miller (career-high 103 points last season) could help ward off regression, but Vezina Trophy runner-up Thatcher Demko’s continued absence due to an unusual knee injury is an ominous sign.

Can Winnipeg catch a break? The Jets were a pleasant surprise last season, soaring to a fourth-place finish in the overall standings — tops among Canadian teams. Anchored by Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck, they tied Florida for the fewest goals allowed in the league. But, for the second straight year, Winnipeg drew a very tough first-round opponent, this time falling to MVP Nathan MacKinnon’s high-powered Colorado Avalanche in five games. As usual, Winnipeg was quiet in free agency as Scott Arniel takes over for the retired Rick Bowness behind the bench.

Will Ottawa’s bold move pay off? In an effort to snap their seven-year playoff drought, the Senators acquired 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark from Boston for a first-round pick and two players. Ullmark went 40-6-1 and led all No. 1 goalies in goals-against average and save percentage during the Bruins’ record-breaking 2022-23 season. He regressed toward his career norms last year, but the Sens seem to believe the 31-year-old Swede still has some great years ahead. They signed him to a four-year, $33-million US contract extension today that doesn’t kick in until next season.

Will Calgary bottom out? After missing the playoffs by 17 points and trading No. 1 goalie Jacob Markstrom to New Jersey, the Flames seem committed to rebuilding. A truly elite prospect would help, so Calgary would probably be better off tumbling even further after finishing 24th overall last year. The Flames used their ensuing ninth-overall draft pick on OHL defenceman Zayne Parekh, who was sent back to juniors after a “very humbling” experience in training camp.

Is Montreal still Canada’s worst team? The Habs finished 28th overall last season — lowest among the Canadian-based clubs — and mostly sat out free agency as they continue with a rebuilding effort that was somehow deemed worthy of an eight-part documentary. Mercurial sniper Patrik Laine, Montreal’s big off-season trade acquisition, suffered a knee injury that will sideline him for a few months, while fifth-overall draft pick Ivan Demidov will spend the year in Russia completing his KHL contract. In other words, don’t expect a season 2 of that doc.

For those looking to catch their favourite Canadian team on TV or streaming this season, the process has never been more confusing and expensive. Read about it in this story by CBC News’ Peter Armstrong.