Canadian hockey fans are getting restless, desperate to have a Canadian team bring the Stanley Cup to its place of origin for the first time since 1993, when the Canadiens topped the Los Angeles Kings led by Wayne Gretzky in 5 games.
This year, five Canadian teams have a real chance at making the playoffs, assuming the season resumes (Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto). It hasn’t been the perfect season by any means for any of these clubs, but they all have been good enough to stay in the playoff mix, and that’s all you can ask for from a team.
Now, realistically, I just don’t think that any of these teams can actually make it to the Stanley Cup and win it. Every single one of these teams have a glaring weakness they need to address before even thinking of lifting the fabled cup over their heads.
Trying to find the best roster of any Canadian team was no daunting task: it was relatively easy. The best roster on paper is the Toronto Maple Leafs, and it’s not close. They have one of the best offences in the league led by John Tavares, Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews and William Nylander that ranks third in the league with 238 goals, as well as a solid secondary scoring unit featuring Alexander Kerfoot, Ilya Mikheyev, Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson.
Their once depleted defensive corps is now starting to trend in the right direction with the likes of Morgan Rielly, Tyson Barrie and Jake Muzzin leading the way and young guns Travis Dermott, Justin Holl, Calle Rosen and Rasmus Sandin chipping in as well.
They also have an all-star goaltender in Frederik Andersen and an above-average backup in Jack Campbell.
The reason I don’t think the Leafs have a great chance of winning the cup is their competition. In the first round alone they will almost certainly face one of Tampa Bay or Boston, and then you will probably have to take on a Washington or a Pittsburgh in the second round.
So, my pick for the Canadian team to win the cup may surprise a lot of people, but I’m going with the Vancouver Canucks. They have had one of the best goaltenders in the league in Jacob Markstrom, a surprise Calder candidate on defense in Quinn Hughes, and some unexpected scoring from J.T. Miller to back up Elias Petterson and Brock Boeser.
Their path to the cup would have them most likely face St. Louis or Las Vegas in the first round if they make a wild card spot, and Calgary or Edmonton if they manage to snag a divisional spot, which is manageable enough, especially if they play Calgary or Edmonton.
So, my team from Canada most likely to win the cup may surprise a lot of people, but the Stanley Cup Playoffs are a wild time so we will just have to see how it plays out.
But what do I know. I’m just an eleven year old aspiring GM. Let me know in the comments what you think and don’t forget to follow @puckinaroundwithjohnny on Instagram.
Until next time,
Johnny