With the pandemic creating an All-Canadian NHL Division this season, we’re due for a hockey war up North
Well, after a tumultuous 2020 on and off the ice, Canadian hockey fans are in store for an incredible NHL season. With that in mind, let’s tackle the newly formed Scotia™ NHL™ North Division.
This division is undoubtedly a return to the NHL’s roots, as you’d have to harken all the way back to 1924 to find the last time the league had an all-Canadian division before the Bruins joined the league and became the first American franchise. Chalk that up as another reason to hate the Bruins I suppose. The new Canadian-only division was largely necessitated by the challenges of international travel posed by COVID-19, but this is truly set up to make the best of a bad situation. I can’t even believe that the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers will wage the Battle of Alberta 10 whole times this year. TEN! With each team in the division improving significantly in the offseason, fans can expect an extremely competitive division. As each team has some combination of a terrible defence or goalie, I would expect high scoring games to be the norm. You can practically hear Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl salivating. As we head into the season, let’s briefly check in on each team to see what they’re looking like. I’ll order this from the team I project to be last in the division moving up towards the projected first.
7. Ottawa “Stuetzle” Senators
The Senators are actually starting to look scary. I guess it might be because a large portion of their team are ex-Leafs, but I digress. With youth aplenty, the Senators look to continue to build this year on the back of Brady Tkachuk. As a fantasy hockey player myself, this guy is an absolute freak of nature. He hits hard and shoots the puck even harder. With the Canadian division amping up the rivalry, I expect Brady to have a field day. Offseason additions of Matt Murray and Evgeni Dadonov should be improvements but, if that’s not good enough, the drafting of Tim Stuetzle seems to be paying immediate dividends with the young German forward dominating the few games his country played in the World Juniors. The future is bright for Sens fans – it is merely a question of how long until Eugene Melnyk flushes it down the toilet.
6. Calgary “Smouldering” Flames
Man, what is going on in Calgary? I expected huge things from this team last year but it seemed like every single player on the roster had no interest in playing the game outside of Matthew Tkachuk. If the Flames hope to stand any chance in this division, they’ll need bounce-back seasons from Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau. The addition of ex-Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom could be exactly what the doctor ordered, but I’m not sold just yet. I wouldn’t be shocked with a repeat of last season – putting the Flames out for good.
5. Montreal “dépassement”Canadiens
This team is so interesting to me. On paper, they shouldn’t put up a fight, but they continue to prove me wrong year in and year out. Led by a great coach and great offensive and defensive systems, the Habs continue to prove that synergy and buying into a system are just as important as having great players. Carey Price had an incredible run in the bubble last season but has quietly been shaky over the past few years. If Montreal has any hope for another fairy tale run this year, it will be on the backs of their goaltender. Look for rising star Nick Suzuki and the acquisitions of Tyler Toffoli and Josh Anderson to ease some of the stress off Price and fight for a playoff spot.
4. Vancouver “Astonishing” Canucks
The Canucks enter the year in a very precarious position. Are they contenders? Are they pretenders? I’d wager that much of this question will depend on the newly formed goalie tandem of Braden Holtby and Thatcher Demko. Holtby, of previous Washington Capitals fame, moved to Vancouver in free agency. Once an elite netminder, Holtby has seen a monumental decline in play in the past few years. Some may argue it was due to some questionable defence and systems in Washington, but where there’s smoke there’s fire. I expect Demko, the youngster and goalie of the future, to make a huge step forward and take over the team’s reigns this season. If he doesn’t, the Canucks may need to put up at least 5 goals a game to be competitive in this division with their struggling defence. At least they can rely on Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes if worst comes to worst.
3. Winnipeg “Last Chance” Jets
Okay Winnipeg, we’ve thought you’d be a contender for quite a few years now. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck won the Vezina last season and is in the prime of his career. Captain Blake Wheeler isn’t getting any younger. The time is now. This team has all the makings of being great but for some reason hasn’t gelled just yet. With the likes of Mark Scheifele, Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor, there simply can’t be any more excuses. I’m still a bit skeptical, but I trust that coach Paul Maurice to lead the Jets to success this year. Maybe Laine will make another big step in proving the Leafs really did make a mistake by not drafting him first overall. Probably not – but he can dream.
2. Edmonton “McDavid” Oilers
You already know about McDavid and Draisaitl so I won’t even talk about them in this blurb. Truthfully, I think nothing else needs to be said about them at this point. The league knows they are incredible. They’re going to put up points. What matters for the Oilers is their depth, defence, and goaltending. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has to continue to be the secondary scoring depth the team needs. With Oscar Klefbom out for the season, Tyson Barrie needs to return to his form while he played for the Avalanche and quarterback the powerplay. Darnell Nurse needs to continue his progression into a shutdown defenceman. Mikko Koskinen and Mike Smith need to prove to be a capable goalie tandem. While that is definitely a lot of variables, I can see everyone coming through for the team to find success. Unfortunately for the Oilers, there’s one more team in the division to deal with.
1. Toronto “Plan the Parade” Maple Leafs
I can already hear our editor groaning as I type this. But really, what did you expect? The Leafs will win this division. No longer do the Leafs need to worry about the Bruins or Lightning to spoil our party. Sure, they can still spoil the party in the playoffs, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Another year of growth for Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander will do nothing but help the Leafs offensive efficiency. With the addition of T.J. Brodie and the subtraction of Cody Ceci from defence, there should be no excuses anymore. Frederik Andersen simply needs to be a stable and adequate goalie for the blue and white to find success. With the tutelage of veteran forwards Joe Thornton and Jason Spezza, the young guns should continue to grow and finally take that next step past the first round of the playoffs.
Stanley Cup Prediction
Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Colorado Avalanche in 6 games. Hey, a man can dream right?
(Editor’s Note: It’s the hope that kills you, Luke).