After a fairly bleak start to the season, as October was not kind to most of the NHL’s Canadian teams, November represented shades of progress. For five of the seven Canadian teams, one could argue that the December mood is starting out on a much brighter note. Still, the season is still young, and several teams should see a dramatic stabilisation of their records, and in some cases in season trades to improve the team are expected. For this reason these power ranking become an exercise in balancing each team’s results so far against a more intangible profile of what the team could or should become in the back half of the season.
Without further ado let’s take a brief look at each Canadian team in this month’s Canadian Power Ranking.
7. Montreal Canadiens
Inside the Montreal Canadiens’ fan base are a number who are concerned how and who the team has drafted recently. The fear is that the team is without any true superstars, for example choosing Juraj Slafkovsky and David Reinbacher over Logan Cooley and Matvei Michkov. Time will tell whether or not their concerns are justified, though the Habs have built an impressive prospect system as a whole, which should pay dividends in the future.
In the present the Canadiens have enough veteran talent around their core pieces to remain somewhat competitive. Still, the team is likely a deadline seller, and most likely a season or two before any attempt at turning the corner in earnest. An anxiety might be upon some of these potential trade chips underperforming to the point where they cannot retrieve value, or even cost the Habs. For now, Josh Anderson finds himself dangerously close to such, though his reputation might still have some believers across the league.
GM Kent Hughes has done well to fill his lineup with young NHLers with high upside, like Alex Newhook and Justin Barron, among others. Each of these players that work out greatly enhances the future of the team as a whole. Legitimate playoff expectations might still be two years away, but regardless of any true game breaking stars, the Habs have a great depth of players who will be pushing their way into the league over that span.
Coach Martin St. Louis continues to get good results from his players, and slowly the core of the team is growing. As a true rebuilder the focus is on the future for the Canadiens, but things seem to be headed in the right direction.
6. Ottawa Senators
Over his five seasons behind the Ottawa Senators bench, Coach DJ Smith has seen the talent on his bench improve. Despite this, the team is once again looking to be short of playoff contention, and quite frankly underperforming based on their roster on paper. There has been a lot of change around the team recently, from ownership to the front office, so Smith does represent a certain stability that might be lacking elsewhere, and the coach is generally well liked by players and coworkers.
Whether or not Smith can turn the group around will be seen, though no doubt there is some frustration that the team has yet to take the step. There is a lot to like on the roster, young players continue to take steps forward, and many of the recent additions have had a positive impact. With a young roster surrounded by turmoil, the room appearing to stand by their coach is important. Somehow, there is still a lot left to be desired, and it’s easy to imagine that the right coach might turn the team around to an extent.
It is frustrating, but some of the issues are injury related. In particular, even with Josh Norris healthy, things have been one step forward and two steps back, as promising centres Ridly Greig and Shane Pinto are unavailable for injury and suspension reasons, respectively. At such an important position, and already requiring a healthy optimism, the Sens depth at centre is in a concerning spot.
With high end players at several key positions, the Senators will continue to garner well founded playoff aspirations in the near future, but time is beginning to wear thin on the season the team’s best work needs to be summoned. There should be worry that this will not be the year that the Sens turn the corner.
5. Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames have started to turn the corner after a slow start to the season. More exciting, is that it has been in trusting young players that the Flames have begun to improve, breathing new life into their lineup. It’s difficult to argue the retool is complete, and big decisions await on pending UFAs Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin, but the Flames are amidst a movement of young talent that provides paths to a brighter future.
Connor Zary has been producing with the Flames best forwards, and is hopefully the first of many younger players who will begin to make their marks in the NHL, including a number who are currently injured or in the AHL. Martin Pospisil is hardly a well known prospect outside of the Flames fan base, but has been an impressive presence through the first quarter of the season.
Even with Nikita Zadorov traded away, the Flames have a stable roster to work with, and we should expect them to remain in the playoff picture. At some point the front office might pivot to a more aggressive retool, in which more players are traded away, perhaps made more likely by the Flames not retaining any of Zadorov’s salary.
The Flames have found some success recently by splitting up their three highest paid forwards, Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri, and Elias Lindholm. Time will tell how long the Flames can stretch their roster, accumulating draft capital while treading water in terms of overall quality. With Jakob Pelletier, Jeremie Poirier, Matthew Coronato, and Dustin Wolf all seeming worthy of a legitimate look in the NHL sooner rather than later.
The path to contention might be narrow, and the Flames will need to perform well in the drafts ahead. A lottery win would go a long way, but there is, at least, a path to revitalising the roster while some of their longer term players are still contributors.
Equally ambiguous, the Flames path to a playoff spot is narrow as well. The Flames are every bit as capable as many of the other wild card level Western Conference teams but will need to outduel them just the same. After missing the playoffs by the thinnest of margins last season, the Flames seem destined to be counting points into the spring, that is, unless the front office begins to sell more aggressively.
4. Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers did play some bad hockey to begin the season, followed by a stretch where they kept losing despite improving efforts. Now, with Connor McDavid back to his usual spectacular self the team has started to see results come in its favour. What’s more, a weak Western Conference has the playoff cutoff unexpectedly low to begin the season. There is light on the horizon, a path to playoff relevance, and a hole not as steep as it seems based on the team’s record alone.
Whether or not the team could’ve or would’ve turned around under former Coach Jay Woodcroft will remain unknown, but the Oilers have responded well to new Coach Kris Knoblauch. Both the penalty kill, and the overall defensive performance of the team have come into their own, the penalty kill being significant as it is an area the Oilers struggled with throughout Woodcroft’s tenure. While the goaltending might still be a point of contention, the Oilers are giving themselves a better chance to succeed with their new defensive effectiveness.
The mood surrounding the team has been a roller coaster all season long, but the best news of all is this new persona that is emerging. It is still early, but the Oilers seem to have found the defensive focus and intensity needed for them to achieve their ultimate goal. If the Oilers can use their early season stare into the abyss, and carry this new refined desperation through the rest of the regular season they will be a formidable playoff foe, regardless of seeding.
It is only through their record that the Oilers would find themselves low on this power ranking. In other words, we should expect the team to climb its way higher in such regards as the season goes. There is certainly an argument that the Oilers process is at this point, stronger than any of the other Canadian teams have been.
Just as was the case when Woodcroft first took over the team, the Oilers have all the ingredients for a legitimate playoff run under Knoblauch. Long a favourite of Jeff Jackson, the Oilers new President, a title that is becoming more important to overall teambuilding than that of General Manager on a league wide basis, meaning the new coach should have some more rope than Woodcroft was afforded, at least for now.
While the goaltending situation is the Oilers primary red flag, the position might stabilise itself thanks to the Oilers improved defensive play under Knoblauch, both at even strength and on the penalty kill. The Oilers are giving up far fewer rush chances, one of the key predictors to playoff success. Darnell Nurse headlines a long list of players who have seen their defensive effectiveness skyrocket, and the blueline as a whole is rounding into form.
While rumours swirl around every position on the Oilers roster, goaltending is the most consensus among these. The least expensive option would be for Jack Campbell to find his way back to the NHL and perform well enough that his contract can be more easily moved. While expecting him to live up to his cap hit might be folly, Campbell could match Stuart Skinner’s level of play and repeat his surprisingly high winning percentage of last season. Best case scenario is likely that the Oilers either shed salary, replacing Campbell with a goalie of similar quality at a lower cap hit, or to upgrade the position outright with a goalie making something similar. Either will be expensive for the Oilers, and might take a healthy of the Oilers tradable assets, perhaps keeping them from other moves.
Naturally it is speculative, but the Oilers have shown enough signs of life to have a case as Canada’s top NHL team. Their record is not indicative of their talent, though it is a record well earned, in projecting out the remainder of the season the Oilers still have a strong chance at glory.
3. Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets have been absolutely solid, reforging some of the best traits that they have displayed in the past. The team is physically imposing, playing a rugged defensive style thanks to a deep lineup. This pairs well with their best players, Connor Hellebuyck giving them the best chance to maximise their defensive efforts, and scorers like Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, and Nikolaj Ehlers who can capitalise on chances.
While the early season was full of negativity regarding Scheifele and Hellebuyck’s expiring deals and ticket sales, the Jets have turned it all around. With their stars locked up long term and significant younger players taking strides, with Cole Perfetti emerging as a top-six forward and Brad Lambert excelling at the AHL level, not to mention the team humming along at a playoff pace, the mood has improved dramatically.
The Jets have a clear identity, making them effective in maintaining their strong results. The team rarely switches their lineup, on forward or defence. The Jets pulled together while head coach Rick Bowness took a month long leave of absence, showing exactly the type of workmanlike approach one would expect.
The blueline lacks star power behind Josh Morrissey, but hosts a number of defenders who are under-appreciated league wide. Brenden Dillon, Dylan DeMelo, and even Dylan Samberg have been full value as defenders, playing their best hockey in Bowness’ fairly old school tactics, prioritising hard, simple plays in the defensive zone.
The Jets as a whole have played to their strengths and brought a consistent quality of effort and execution. At this point, it seems as though the Jets are in striking distance of a playoff berth. Though the Vegas Golden Knights dispatched the Jets fairly easily last season, a playoff series matchup against the Jets is not for the faint of heart. While there might be some doubt as to whether or not the Jets have the firepower to beat the true powerhouses of the league, any team lacking in sharpness or intensity will be in tough.
2. Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have done quite well to accumulate points with half of their defensive regulars missing. On a blueline that was already suspect, the Leafs are proving to be the regular season powerhouse we have come to expect, finding ways to win without their best efforts. There is certainly some concern that the team is not controlling play as much as it has in years past, but at this point the team has plenty of savvy to balance its skill.
Meanwhile, the Leafs top-four forwards have evened, with John Tavares and William Nylander outperforming Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, to an extent. Regardless, the core four are so famous because of their illustrious talents, and chances are that they will produce results in any given stretch, though perhaps this season the depth beyond them is improved.
Tyler Bertuzzi is likely the best forward the group has had to work with since Zach Hyman left for Edmonton, and the Leafs have dominated play with Bertuzzi on the ice. Max Domi seems to be fitting in well, while younger forwards Matthew Knies and Nicholas Robertson have had some positive moments as well. All four provide some element of physicality or intensity that the Leafs have been criticised for lacking, though all four do have viable offensive tools as well.
Joseph Woll seems to have taken the top job from Ilya Samsonov, though the duo form a strong enough tandem regardless. Truthfully, the defence remains the primary concern. There is definitely some merit to thinking the Leafs lack puck moving skills, as well as physicality and size. This does sound quite bad, yet somehow the group has been making it work. T.J. Brodie and Jake McCabe are often overlooked as quality defenders, while Timothy Liljegren and Connor Timmins might grow into reliable puck movers. Simon Benoit might have enough quality to bring his physically imposing nature to the group. At the very least former Oiler William Lagesson has proved serviceable as a depth option.
Based on their history, the Leafs deserve some benefit of the doubt. There is not really a reason to think the team will miss the playoffs, where the team will be looking to build off of its first playoff series win in the cap era. We should expect new GM Brad Treleving to make moves on the blueline at some point, and that the team will be better off for it.
1. Vancouver Canucks
It’s been a near storybook start to the season for the Vancouver Canucks, with the team vaulting to a new stratosphere in the Jim Rutherford/ Patrik Allvin era. It appears between the roster tinkering, especially the improvements to the blueline, as well as a new coach in Rick Tocchet, the Canucks have finally built a roster that supports their elite talent.
Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson, Thatcher Demko, Brock Boeser, Filip Hronek, J.T. Miller, and Andrei Kuzmenko all appear to be at their best. While we might expect the goaltending to hold up, the Canucks inflated shooting percentage has many questioning how long they can uphold their strong results. The team acknowledged the need to improve, adding Nikita Zadorov to a blueline that was looking much thinner after losing Carson Soucy to injury.
Zadorov might not be lauded unanimously as a top four option, the blueline is no doubt upgraded. Given how revamping the blueline has been the foremost fulcrum of their coming into their own, any improvements here will go a long way towards becoming the team that the Canucks think they are. If anything, we might expect that the Canucks next move will be to add another defenceman, with many wondering if the team might bring back Ethan Bear when healed from injury.
The forward depth is strong for the Canucks, with a number of potential NHLers waiting in the wings as well. The group has seen contributions from reliable veterans, like Ilya Mikheyev and Connor Garland, younger players like Nils Hoglander, as well as character contributors like Phil DiGiuseppe and Dakota Joshua. The focus of the team is more concise, determined, and concentrated than in years past as well.
After performing well in the bubble playoffs the Canucks have missed the playoffs, cycling through coaches, reeling from a great loss of depth to free agency. It’s been a long road back to playoff relevance, but we should expect the Canucks to remain ahead of the wildcard peloton as the season progresses.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
