Bringing Lord Stanley home

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/01/2024 (627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Could this finally be the year?

The Stanley Cup drought in Canada is well-documented, now going back a whopping 31 years since the Montreal Canadiens sipped champagne and raised the silver chalice to the rafters for an NHL record 24th time.

While the Habs likely won’t be repeating history this year — you’ve got to make the playoffs first, which is a long shot for them at this stage — the same can’t be said about several other clubs here in the Great White North.

There is both quantity and quality in the chase for a championship.

The Winnipeg Jets have the No. 1 winning percentage in the NHL. The Vancouver Canucks sit third. The scorching-hot Edmonton Oilers have surged to 10th, while the talented but inconsistent Toronto Maple Leafs are 12th.

In other words, yes. Perhaps this really could be the year, even if the Calgary Flames (T-22nd), Canadiens (25th), and Ottawa Senators (29th) are going to need major second-half pushes to even punch their tickets to the postseason.

In honour of Hockey Day in Canada, with all seven northern clubs in action Saturday including three head-to-head meetings (Jets at Senators, Maple Leafs at Canucks and Oilers at Flames), we here at Dump & Chase figured it’s a perfect time to give our two cents on the current state of the hockey land.

Winnipeg (29-10-4)

The plaudits have been plentiful and well deserved for this group, much of it stemming from a renewed commitment to defensive structure that has led to 33 consecutive games of allowing three goals or fewer and 21 in a row of allowing two goals or fewer in regulation.

The goaltending has been outstanding, Josh Morrissey is in the middle of the Norris Trophy discussion once again and the forward depth has been on display throughout the season, allowing the Jets to withstand lengthy absences by Gabriel Vilardi and Kyle Connor owing to knee injuries.

A groin ailment to Mark Scheifele is the latest test, but the Jets have answered every challenge to this point. They’ve lost three consecutive games just once this season and have been remarkably consistent, picking up at least a point in 15 of the past 16 games.

Special teams remain an area that requires improvement, but this is a team that has the potential to have a strong second half and solidify its spot at or near the top of the NHL standings.

The Jets are for real.

 

Vancouver (30-11-4)

The Canucks are thriving in their first full season under head coach Rick Tocchet, as they’ve soared to the top of the Pacific Division while writing perhaps the most surprising story in the league after missing the playoffs last spring.

Elias Pettersson will need a hefty raise as a restricted free agent this summer, but his performance to date has been tremendous. J.T. Miller has rebounded nicely (after plenty of folks were trying to run him out of town last season), currently sitting tied for fourth in the NHL in points.

The combination of Patrick Allvin and Jim Rutherford has overhauled the defence and goalie Thatcher Demko is in the middle of the Vezina Trophy discussion as he’s been able to stay healthy this season.

The Jets and Canucks will meet three times during the final 10 weeks of the regular season, including Winnipeg’s final game on Apr. 17. There figures to be a lot at stake in those meetings, especially with both teams looking to be buyers heading into the NHL trade deadline.

Edmonton (25-15-1)

There is no hotter team in the NHL, with a winning streak that has hit 12 games. Those days of residing near the bottom of the standings are nothing but a distant memory, and on Thursday, the Oilers moved past the Los Angeles Kings and into third spot in the Pacific.

The second-place Vegas Golden Knights should be hearing footsteps. Connor McDavid (up to sixth in scoring) and Leon Draisaitl (14th) are leading the way, Zach Hyman is having a dynamite season (sitting tied for sixth in the NHL in goals with 27), Stuart Skinner has stabilized things between the pipes (with an assist from Winnipegger Calvin Pickard after he was recalled from the minors), the team is defending better and coach Kris Knoblauch has worked his way into the Jack Adams discussion (along with Winnipeg’s Rick Bowness and Vancouver’s Rick Tocchet, who are both heading to the All-Star Game) after taking over behind the bench from Jay Woodcroft.

Despite those early stumbles, it looks like those weighty expectations for this group were warranted, though the true test will come once the post-season arrives.

Toronto (22-13-8)

The team in the centre of the hockey universe has been one of the most difficult to get a true read on, even if there’s no shortage of material to sink your teeth into.

Yes, the Leafs are in the thick of things in the Atlantic Division, despite a recent four-game winless skid that was snapped Thursday in Calgary, but only 14 of their 22 wins have come in regulation, and that’s a bit of a concern for many observers.

GM Brad Treliving gets full marks for taking care of the William Nylander extension, but can he upgrade the blue line before the deadline?

What about the goaltending situation, where Martin Jones has emerged as the unlikely No. 1?

Auston Matthews (NHL-leading 37 goals) appears to be on his way to another Rocket Richard Trophy, but can this group make it past the second round this spring after finally exorcising some playoff demons in 2023? Stay tuned.

 

Calgary (21-19-5)

Despite being in a battle for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference – they are three points behind Los Angeles for the final wild-card spot, although the Kings have three games in hand — the Flames find themselves in a rather precarious position.

They’re not bad enough to embrace a full sell-off heading into the trade deadline, but they’re not good enough to justify spending a bunch of future assets to try and go for it. Compounding matters for first-year GM Craig Conroy is the fact he’s got prominent pending unrestricted free agents in D-men Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin, along with top centre Elias Lindholm, and those situations need to be sorted out.

Can the Flames continue to contend while still moving out a player or two who isn’t interested in signing a new deal? That’s the biggest question.

Winger Yegor Sharangovich (19 goals, 32 points in 45 games) has been a revelation after coming over in the trade with the New Jersey Devils for Tyler Toffoli. They’ve had young players, such as forward Connor Zary, come up from the AHL and make an impact, but they could still use some additional future assets.

Much like Doug Armstrong of the St. Louis Blues did last season, the path Conroy decides to take will have a major impact on the market.

Montreal (19-19-7)

Strides are being taken under head coach Martin St. Louis, but the building process is ongoing.

Samuel Montembeault looks like he’s emerged as the present and future No. 1 goalie, Kaiden Guhle is a stud on the blue line, but the forward group is going to need upgrading during the coming years for this team to take the next step forward.

They’ve got plenty of draft picks and assets and figure to turn centre and pending UFA Sean Monahan into something heading in March.

Cole Caufield and captain Nick Suzuki continue to progress, but they’re going to need a few additional scoring threats to accelerate the process of levelling up.

St. Louis has praised the growth in the overall game of 2023 first-overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky, but he needs to start turning some of his opportunities into additional offence.

Ottawa (16-24-0)

It has been a season of change for the Senators, from Michael Andlauer coming in as owner to Steve Staois taking over from Pierre Dorion as GM and Jacques Martin replacing D.J. Smith as head coach (at least on an interim basis).

The Senators were expected to contend for a playoff spot but find themselves in the Macklin Celebrini sweepstakes, instead. They’ve got a strong young nucleus, led by captain Brady Tkachuk, top centre Tim Stutzle and defencemen Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson, but they’ve got to be more committed to defensive structure before they’re ready to be a force to be reckoned with.

The Senators are currently tied with the Columbus Blue Jackets for 30th in the NHL for goals allowed (3.73), which must go down substantially.

Staois will be looking for a new coach this off-season and also could be on the verge of deciding if this is the right mix of talent, not just focusing on which areas need to be upgraded.

 

Enjoy Hockey Day in Canada, folks.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg