Poll: Next Canadian Team to Make the Stanley Cup Final

I do not believe that any of the six Canadian teams will make the Stanley Cup Final this year, so let us look ahead.

Here are some pros and cons for each:

Calgary:
PRO - Currently, the best Canadian team. They have a solid goalie, a great captain, and a stud on defence.
CON - An older team. They may lose too much offence to free agency. Keenan is rarely effective over the long term.

Edmonton:
PRO - Young, fast team. New ownership will spend.
CON - Average at best in net. Ownership will spend, but will anyone go to Edmonton?

Vancouver
PRO - Luongo. A solid bunch of puck-moving defencemen.
CON - Are the Sedins staying? The coaching staff will change if the Canucks don't get out of the first round.

Montreal
PRO - Great scouting is paying off. The team can get hot for stretches, which is what you need to win the Cup.
CON - This team also gets very cold. Is Price the man?

Ottawa
PRO - Arguably the best top 3 forwards in the league. Good prospects on the way, some already there.
CON - No offence from the current defence. Rookie coaches and goalies never go all the way.

Toronto
PRO - Burke and Wilson are a strong tandem.
CON - Very few pieces in place. A few bad contracts will hamper Burke.

Calgary, Montreal, and Vancouver have punchers chances this year, and I think these three teams will make the playoffs. Toronto, Ottawa, and Edmonton will miss, but all three have the potential to make the post-season next year.

Good question. I'll sleep on it.

In my opinion, Montreal is at its tipping point - the decisions they make now will determine whether they continue to climb, or fall back down. I think they currently have the tools to make a run, but need a few tweaks. With the right (minor) tweaks, and the right contracts signed, they may still have a 2-3 year window.

Ottawa is in rebuild mode, so won't see the finals for at least two seasons. If all goes well, they should be competitive at that point, though. As stated, it may come down to the back end, and behind the bench. If Murray gets the boot, then all bets are off.

Toronto is a work in progress. There's a reason Burke wanted a five year guaranteed contract. It will take that long to rebuild the farm system and the team itself. Trading Kaberle and Antropov may accelerate things by a year, but the Leafs are still at least four to five years away from contending.

The three teams in the west may have a tougher time - it's very hard to come out of the west, when you are perennially faced with a Wings team that can induce players like Hossa to take discounts. Chicago, Nashville, St. Louis, and Columbus are also building strong teams, making the west a tough place to survive.

Calgary may be on the bubble as well. Keenan has another year, maybe two before he wears out his welcome. If Iggy continues to dominate, and their D-men stay strong, then should be able to compete. One wildcard is Kipper, who can be very hot, but is aging, and may not have it for much longer.

Edmonton is about two years behind Montreal in their cycle. K. Lowe continues to make moves that excite as well as baffle; some will pay off, some will be anchors (Perry comes to mind). If they can develop their kids properly, though, they have the potential to be a solid contender in the near to mid term.

Vancouver's fortunes will rise and fall with the play of Luongo. Sundin, Sedin, & Sedin may not be there next year, depleting an already anemic offense. Their D corps is solid, but will take a bit of a hit with the loss of Ohlund, who should bolt for greener (read $$$) pastures. If things don't work out well, then I wonder if Roberto moves, and the Canucks become the team bringing up the rear in Canada.

Bottom line is that there is little chance for any of the western teams for a year or two, maybe Edmonton in three or four years. Before that, an outside chance of Montreal in one or two years, and perhaps an even smaller chance of Ottawa in two or three. But I wouldn't hold my breath for any of them - it may be a dry few years for Canadian teams.

More concerning (for CBC/CTV anyhow) is the possibility that there may only be one Cdn team in the playoffs this year - and there may be none by the second round!

Calgary this year, you heard it here! (first)

Ottawa. Despite the lack of regular-season success this year, I think they will hit the ground running with the playoff-proven pieces we already have and surprisingly few additions to the lineup.

marakh wrote:Calgary this year, you heard it here! (first)

I am with marakh, Calgary may show up there this year. Provided that Kipper stands on his head, and Iginla scores like a demon, could be their year

I voted for Vancouver, though I think I could make arguments for all six teams. It starts with Luongo who, despite recent play, is the best goalie playing in Canada. The Canucks have a chance to remake their roster this summer, and they do have some talent under contract. I think that if they spend wisely and bring in a more offensive-minded coaching staff (Pat Quinn), this team could go next year.

A lot of 'ifs', but it is the same with all six teams.

Very hard one with a lot of different factors. I'll say Edmonton because I think they can lure a star to play with Hemsky this summer - or via trade - Brad Richards would be great for Hemsky and the Oilers. They need to make a disgusting offer to Backstrom as well. I could see them getting in if they make a few moves.

Calgary's gotta think about doing it soon, but at the same time they have their core locked up.

Montreal can go nuts this summer with all the $$ they're about to shed. The only keepers IMO would be Tanguay and Komisarek. They can add some real character up front if they play their cards right. And with Kovalev and Koivu going away, they have the means to add someone good.

Vancouver can do it as well...damn this is a hard one. Any team with Luongo, Kesler and the D they have should be able to do it fairly soon. Add Hodgson to the mix - and I assume another year of Sundin and I think it can happen.

Toronto is 4 years away from being serious contenders. They're the farthest away by far. They have Schenn to build with, but it'll really depend on who they bring in this summer. Can they land Pronger? That would be a slick pairing to say the least. If Burke loses his mind and goes after the Sedins, he's dead. If he goes for - and gets - Boumeester or Pronger they're getting closer. What the heck are they doing in nets though? Free agent?

Ottawa's a couple of years away from being serious IMO. 2010/2011 was my original prediction at the beginning of this year, now I'm tempted to push it back to 2011/2012 before the Sens will make a serious run. I hope I'm wrong obviously, but Erik Karlsson and Patrick Wiercioch both have 3 years to go before they can be impact players - not just fringe rookies - but impact D-men. There's still an 'if' tag on both, but I think at least one of them will be a stud. O'Brien may or may not make some noise, it's too early to see. Maybe we have some hidden gems in Zubov, Regin, Caparusso, Greening, Condra, Z.Smith etc., but I wouldn't count on it. At least Elliot looks ready, but even he'll need a solid year after this to get his feet firmly planted. A lot will be decided this off-season. Murray might feel that he has the offence pretty much tweaked and goes after a stud #1 D man and a solid number 2 as well. One will probably have to be via trade, one might come out of free agency, but I highly doubt anyone of consequence comes here this summer. Too many ?? with the economy and the cap.

It's a tall task for Ottawa. They have to add 2 studs on D and they could sincerely use a player like Erik Cole - but there's only so much cap space to go around. Again, this off-season will be quite telling.

I'm going with Calgary. I think they will look to shore up some more secondary scoring at the deadline and watch out. I also think Cammie will be staying in Calgary come July 1.

This is a headscratcher for sure.

Boston and New Jersey in the East.

San Jose and Detroit in the West.

Can anyone seriously tell me which Canadian team can expect to get past them in the playoffs, this year and/or next?

IMHO beyond that, free agency and the draft just make all this stuff way too hard to predict.

Add in the improving young teams in the West like Chicago, Phoenix, Columbus, LA, St Louis...all of whom are, in varying degrees, just a few players away from being contenders...

Buffalo and Florida re-emerging in the East...

The next few years are going to see a lot of changes. So really, it's anybody's game. The key will be, as always, that goaltending and defense win championships.

In this respect, assuming the Ottawans follow the teachings of Zen Master Hockey Samurai Sensei Cory, and that the evolution of Bri-El into SuperGoalie continues, the chances of Les Senateurs are as good as any other Canadian squad.

...and get rid of the word 'Sens' on the third jersey and replace it with the original Senators' O. Invoke that Cup Karma from Cy Denneny and Cyclone Taylor.

Have a great weekend everybody. Looks like we may have ice for some outdoor hockey.