NHL Insights: Who is the Best Canadian Hockey Team?

Welcome to another edition of NHL Insights. Here at Full Press Hockey, we are going to spice things up. Usually, we look at the surprising or disappointing teams. However, in this edition, we are going to look at a question, specifically, who is the best team in Canada right now between the Winnipeg Jets, Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, and Toronto Maple Leafs.

It has been 30 years since a Canadian team lifted the Stanley Cup. The 1993 Montreal Canadiens were the last team to win the Stanley Cup. Other Canadian teams had chances to win the Stanley Cup, like the 1994 Vancouver Canucks, the 2004 Calgary Flames, the 2006 Edmonton Oilers, 2011 Vancouver Canucks. Those teams got to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final and lost. The 2007 Ottawa Senators and 2021 Montreal Canadiens got to the Stanley Cup Final and lost in five games to their respective opponents.

Then there were the 2018 Winnipeg Jets that just ran out of gas against the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final. But now, there is a possibility that Canada could win the Stanley Cup this season. There are seven Canadian teams, but the Calgary Flames, who are on the outside looking in, fall outside this list. The Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens are rebuilding, building to the playoffs. That is why we are looking at the Canucks, Jets, Oilers, and Toronto Maple Leafs.

It’s time to dive into some NHL Insights for this week.

NHL Insights: Let’s Go North of the Border

Winnipeg Jets

Who would have thought the Winnipeg Jets would be in the position they are in this season? Look at the turmoil at the end of last season. Head coach Rick Bowness called out his players for their performance in the players. Players are coming back at him in the media. Pierre-Luc Dubois was traded at the Draft. There was talk that Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck were gone as well. Kyle Connor did not want to be a part of the rebuild.

Instead, the Jets rally behind Bowness; there is a culture change in the locker room. Adam Lowry is named captain. The commitments by Scheifele and Hellebuyck rejuvenate this team. Through 44 games, Winnipeg sits in first place with 64 points with a record of 30-10-4. Winnipeg has faced adversity. Bowness was out for personal reasons. The team rallied behind Scott Arniel. Kyle Connor has been out with injuries. But Nikolaj Ehlers has stepped up along with Gabriel Vilardi. Scheifele leads the way, but the defense is what has been so impressive.

For years, the Jets defense was undermanned and overmatched. Now, they are playing inside a system that works as Hellebuyck and Laurent Brossoit man the pipes. The Jets are for real, and they are elite. This might be their best chance since 2018 to make a deep run in the playoffs.

Vancouver Canucks 

However, the Jets are not the only team that resides in Canada. The Vancouver Canucks are showing what the right coach can do. As with the Jets, the Canucks were a team nobody really expected to do too much this season. The reason was nobody really knew what to expect from the Canucks, with Rick Tocchet being in his first entire season as head coach. He came in last season and had an off-season to get his team prepared.

Everything that could go wrong last year did. This season everything is going the way of the Canucks. Elias Pettersson is playing like the player he was in his rookie season. Not to mention, it is a contract season for Pettersson. He will be waiting to negotiate that contract at the end of the season. The other members of the lotto line, J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser, are performing as well. The addition of Nikita Zadarov has really given the Canucks a different edge.

And while the team is looking to clear cap space, Conor Garland, who was a trade bait earlier in the season, has performed. The defense led by Quinn Hughes has been excellent. Thatcher Demko is back to “Bubble Demko,” and the addition of Casey DeSmith has really helped ease the workload for Demko. Tocchet keeps his players accountable by mentioning things in the media without calling them out. But this Canucks team sits in first in the Pacific Division with 66 points and a record of 31-11-4 in 46 games. Could this be their year?

Edmonton Oilers 

Well, I guess it is time to play La Bamba here in this edition of NHL Insights. The Edmonton Oilers are on a 13-game winning streak. It is a franchise record. Not even Wayne Gretzky‘s Oilers did not have a winning streak like this one. Earlier in the season, the Oilers would not be in this group, near the bottom of the Western Conference. Jay Woodcroft lost his job and was replaced by Kris Knoblauch. Goaltending, defense, and top players not performing did Woodcorft in.

Now Knoblauch has got the Oilers playing better defensively. They are playing a more patient game. Edmonton is not chasing the game. Instead, they are letting the game come to them. Depth scoring has really helped the Oilers, as well. Of course, it helps when the Dynamic Duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl start producing. McDavid is back in the Hart Trophy mix. But it is the play of Zach Hyman, Ryan McLeod, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and others that have really helped this team during this winning streak.

Goaltending has turned around, too. Stuart Skinner is looking like the All-Star he was last year. However, the Oilers would still like to get a backup goalie for him. Under Knoblauch, the Oilers are 23-6, and they have climbed to third in the Pacific Division with 53 points and a record of 26-15-1 in 42 games. They are back to being a Stanley Cup favourite.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Then there are the Toronto Maple Leafs. As former NFL head coach Dennis Green said, “They are who we thought they were.” And while the Leafs are in this category, they are fighting for their playoff lives this season. Yes, they have the “Core 4” of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Morgan Reilly. You can make it five with John Tavares, but this team is too top-heavy.

When they are cooking on all cylinders, they are one of the best teams in the NHL. However, defensively, as we have seen recently during this little skid, they have structural problems. We know general manager Brad Treliving wants to make a move or two at the deadline. Nylander got his extension and is one of the highest-paid players on the team. But they need something on the backend. Maybe a goalie, too. However, Martin Jones has played well with Joesph Woll hurt and Ilya Samsonov trying to find his game.

The adversity may help this team determine what it takes to win the playoffs. But as of now, it does not appear to be the case. Toronto is in Third Place in the Atlantic for now, with a record of 23-14-8 for 54 points in 45 games. But Sheldon Keefe is on the hot seat, and you could argue that Maple Leafs are the weakest of the four teams listed.

That does it for this edition of NHL Insights. Let Full Press Hockey know in the comments.