Ahead of the NHL season, Sport Arena evaluates the prospects of each league team. First in line – Canadian Division
Oleg Shimansky
The 2021 season (that’s right, not 2020/21) in the NHL will be special. It’s not about the fact that there will be only 56 rounds and not about the partial admission of fans to the stands (or maybe even bubbles). The most important difference will be the NHL mini-championship among neighbors, primarily geographic ones. Recall that all matches will be held only with teams from their division.
Well, okay, you say. But huge millions of hockey fans from Canada will not agree with you, because for them, finally, there will be clarity on the question of who is the best team in the homeland of the game with the puck and stick. And how many interesting confrontations! Judge for yourself: super sniper Matthews vs. Nekstvan McDavid, Canadian battle between goalkeepers Price and Hellibike, Scandinavian derby Petersson vs. Laine. Let’s figure out who has what chances to get into the playoffs from the Northern division.
Vancouver Canucks
Key changes in the off-season:
- Braden Holtby and Nate Schmidt are here
- Jacob Markstrom, Tyler Toffoli, Chris Tanev and Troy Statcher are gone
Vancouver surprised many last season, but his good performance in the regular season and playoffs was not a revelation for specialists. The team ended with a restructuring of the composition after the era of the Grays and now they have a great young generation of new leaders. Here you and Elias Petersson (132 points in 139 games) and defensive sharpshooter Quinn Hughes, who ignited the Stanley Cup (16 points in 17 games), and still top JT Miller with Brock Boser. Throw in a pinch of experience from Washington’s Cup-winner Braydon Holtby and decently scoring Nate Schmidt to this “soup” and you’ve got a pretty fiery dish. Do not forget about the young goalkeeper Thatcher Demko, I’m sure the coaching staff will equally divide the playing time between the two players.
The strong side should be the draw of the majority. Vancouver has almost no weak points. If it is possible to create the first 2 balanced triplets from the Petersson-Miller-Boser-Bo Horvaththen everything will be fine with the killer whales during the season and perhaps they will again make some noise in the playoffs.
Forecast: 3rd place in the division and advance to the playoffs
Winnipeg Jets
Key changes in the off-season:
- Paul Staesny, Dylan DeMelo and Derek Forbort came
- The contract with Dustin Boughlin was finally terminated
The only team of the last season, where 5 (!) attackers at once scored more than 50 points. And now the well-known Paul Staesny is added to this friendly team, consisting of Scheifli, Connor, Laine, Wheeler and Ehlers. The main role for Paul, of course, is to add balance to the attacking game and become a kind of mentor for Patrick Laine – a hockey player with amazing talent, but not yet fully realized it.
I think we should expect a good performance from the Jets this year, but it may not help to reach the playoffs. After all, the main problem of Winnipeg lies in the defense. The team allows too much to rivals (more than 32 shots per game on average last season), lost several key defenders (Trouba and Buflin left the “air army”) and is very dependent on their main goalkeeper.
Yes, the Jets’ main asset is the 19/20 Vezina Trophy winner. Connor Hellibike. If he continues to play as inspired, then, of course, Winnipeg is a 100% playoff candidate. But who will guarantee that in this difficult covid time he will not miss part of the season? Of those who will give results, it is worth highlighting Mark Scheifli on the attack and Josh Morissey in defense.
Forecast: 4th-5th place in the division
Calgary Flames
Key changes in the off-season:
- Jacob Markstrom, Chris Tanev, Nikita Nesterov came
- T.J. Brodie gone
Last season, the lights can not bring themselves into the asset. The effectiveness of the main star Johnny Gaudreau fell, the defense led by the goalkeeper’s line helped slightly. Therefore, the purchase from their neighbors from Vancouver looks logical: firstly, Markstrem and Tanev are one of those who forged the success of killer whales last season and will obviously be court in Calgary; and secondly, it was necessary to weaken the competitor for a place in the playoffs.
It is not worth talking about the importance of the top 6 players once again, but the mood of the Flames leaders is probably the most unpredictable of all Canadian teams. But to maintain the level of the game, if Gaudro-Monahan-Lindholm-Bäcklund-Tkachuk fails, in fact, there is no one. But still, I would take Calgary’s chances for the playoffs higher than Montreal and Ottawa, especially if they show their level Gaudreau, Markstrom and 37-year-old defensive sniper Mark Giordano.
Forecast: 4th-5th place in the division
Montreal Canadiens
Key changes in the off-season:
- Tyler Toffoli, Josh Anderson and Jake Allen are here
- Max Domi is gone
Montreal is the last team from Canada to win the Stanley Cup. It was back in 1993, but, to be honest, the Canadiens have little chance of repeating their success of 28 years ago. The team is still unfading Carey Pricemonolithic, but already with small cracks Shea Weber, and a fervent company of young talents who have something to prove. The leaders of the attack (I would call the attack the weak point of the team) will be Jonathan DrouinKotkaniemi, Toffoli, Anderson, Suzuki…
Agree, compared to the rest of the teams in the division (well, maybe, except for Ottawa) they look weak, but there is a plus here too. In Claude Julien’s combat team, all links are equal (for example, in the 4th link it is planned to use Corey Perry, another old rookie), the majority and the minority will all share plus or minus equally. Yes, powerplay suffers from this (22nd place in the league), as well as overall performance. But somewhere Cary Price will pull up, somewhere the youth will be dragged, you see, and the team will be able to impose a fight on the rest.
Forecast: 5th in division and missed playoffs
Ottawa Senators
Key changes in the off-season:
- Came Matt Murray, Evgeny Dadonov and Derek Stepan
- Craig Anderson is gone
As in Montreal, the main star, perhaps, is the goalkeeper. Despite a failed last season, two-time Stanley Cup winner Matt Murray capable of leading a team. He’s only 26 years old, so a 4-year deal shouldn’t come as a surprise, especially given the departure of Craig Anderson, who has suffered a major personal loss. In defense, the main scorer will be Tom Chabotand the recently arrived Zaitsev, Goodbranson and Coburn will have to unload the time of last season’s record holder (26 minutes on ice per match on average).
Dee Jay Smith’s main headache will again be the attack – you need to raise the worst majority conversion percentage, since experienced Dadonov and Stepan have been added to Galchenyuk and Brady Tkachuk. It will be interesting to watch the 3rd draft pick by the German Tim Stützel, who performs great at the Edmonton MFM. There is no doubt that he will get a chance in the top 6, but whether he will become the second Leon Dreisatl for German hockey, we will find out over the coming seasons.
Forecast: 6th place in the division and absenteeism from the playoffs
Toronto Maple Leaves
Key changes in the off-season:
- T.J. Brody, Mikko Lehtonen and Wayne Simmonds came
- Tyson Barry is gone
Looking at Toronto’s roster, it’s easy to understand the disappointment of fans who never saw their team in the main draw of last season’s Stanley Cup playoffs. I’m sure the coaching staff also drew conclusions, because the team definitely increased in power (Simmonds in attack, Brody and Bogosyan in defense), and the main scorers were on the spot. Thornton, 41, the NHL’s best assisting active player, will add intelligence to the majority. And with those who will complete his jewelry passes, everything is in order: the contender for the Maurice Richard Trophy Auston MatthewsJohn Tavares, William Nylander and Mitch Marner create the most stellar top 6 line in the league (with Zach Hyman and Ilya Mikheev).
On the blue line Morgan Reilly Mikko Lehtonen, who we know from playing for Jokerit, will join and together these guys will score decent points. Finding weaknesses in this team is difficult, except for the last year under the contract of the indispensable Frederic Andersen may unnerve the Danish goalkeeper, but I’m sure he will have enough experience to play excellent matches in the segments of the regular season that the team needs.
Forecast: 1st place in the division, advance to the playoffs.
Edmonton Oilers
Key changes in the off-season: Kyle Turris and Tyson Barry came; injury for the season at Oscar Clefbom.
Top two hitters in the league Connor McDavid and Leon Dreisatl, no matter how strange it may sound, they bring more benefit to the team if they play in different units. This creates the right balance, which will be even more evident in the new season with the arrival of a strong third center Kyle Turris from Nashville.
The Oilers are some of the best in the minority and power play in the league, it remains to tighten the game in equal numbers and everything will be fine for Dave Tipett’s team. Skipping the season due to Clefbom’s shoulder surgery is certainly bad news, but Tyson Barry in his best years even outperformed the Oscars. And with a one-year contract, he will definitely fly on the ice, gaining as many points as possible to earn a good contract in the future. Therefore, this season has all the prerequisites for the best of the non-Crosbys after Crosby (I’m talking about McDavid, of course) to finally make his crusade for the Stanley Cup.
Forecast: 2nd place in the division and advance to the playoffs
Source: Sportarena
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
