All seven of the NHL’s Canadian teams are looking competitive for next season. Where does each team rank? Here are my Canadian team rankings for the 2020-21 season.
Since 1993, the Stanley Cup has not gone north of the border. It’s a source of a lot of shame for many Canadians, but we are seeing the country’s teams really turning it around. Here are my rankings for the seven Canadian teams:
7. Ottawa Senators
The fact that the Ottawa Senators are at the bottom shows you how loaded the Canadian teams are. While Ottawa made some big moves in free agency, acquiring Matt Murray and Evgeni Dadonov and drafting Tim Stutzle, we have yet to actually see this team in action.
There’s just too many questions surrounding the Senators right now. Can Murray bounce back from his poor performances these past few seasons? Do they have enough depth at center or defense? Until these problems are shown to be solved, the Senators will continue to be at the bottom of the Canadian team rankings.
6. Montreal Canadiens
I think the Montreal Canadiens did a good job bolstering their top-six by getting Tyler Toffoli and Josh Anderson and finding a solid back-up for Carey Price. However, I don’t think the Canadiens have any player that truly moves the needle. If you look at the teams I’ve ranked ahead of Montreal, all of them have two or more players that can completely shift the momentum of the game.
Until one of their young stars like Nick Suzuki and Jesper Kotkaniemi can prove that they are true difference makers, I’m not going to put this team very high on my list. While I do think they will be huge threats in the future, they aren’t going to be one in the 2020-21 season.
5. Edmonton Oilers
Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are not enough to win this team the Stanley Cup. The NHL has proved time and time again that having two superstars are not enough. The Edmonton Oilers have been working on adding wingers to play with their stars, but no one they’ve added has blown me away. Kyle Turris was an interesting pick up as he adds more center depth to the team that desperately lacks bottom-six production.
However, my biggest hang-up is with their goalie tandem of Mikko Koskinen and Mike Smith. Koskinen had a strong season last year, but Smith had a really poor performance, going 19-12 with a .902 save percentage. In his one playoff game last season, he let in five goals on 23 shots. I just don’t understand why the Oilers would bring him back. This goalie tandem has a massive question mark on it, and having uncertainty on your most important position is not a good look.