Two years ago, not a single Canadian team made the NHL playoffs, but since then, they have only been getting better.
Last year, five of seven teams made the post season, most of them have a lot to look forward to over the next couple of seasons. Calgary, Toronto and Winnipeg all have young cores that should improve in the coming years, Ottawa and Montreal are perennial contenders and Vancouver is starting to move in the right direction.
The one team that we didn’t mentioned, Edmonton, is the kind of wild card in the bunch.
Of course, they also have a young core who should improve in the coming seasons, but at the head of that young core is Connor McDavid. Accounting for the player expected to be the best player in the world (If he isn’t already) for the next generation will vary projections quite a bit. For Bodog, McDavid has put the Oilers right behind the reigning Stanley Cup champs.
Here's the full list:
Pittsburgh Penguins - +700
Edmonton Oilers - +1000
Chicago Blackhawks - +1200
Dallas Stars - +1200
Tampa Bay Lightning - +1400
Washington Capitals - +1400
Anaheim Ducks - +1400
Nashville Predators - +1400
Toronto Maple Leafs - +1400
Minnesota Wild - +1600
New York Rangers - +1600
Montreal Canadiens - +1800
Columbus Blue Jackets - +2200
Los Angeles Kings - +2200
Boston Bruins - +2500
San Jose Sharks - + 2500
Calgary Flames - +2500
St Louis Blues - +2800
Ottawa Senators - +4000
Florida Panthers - +4000
New York Islanders - +5000
Philadelphia Flyers - +5000
Winnipeg Jets - +5000
Buffalo Sabres - +6600
Carolina Hurricanes - +6600
Arizona Coyotes - +10000
Detroit Red Wings - +10000
Colorado Avalanche - +10000
New Jersey Devils - +10000
Vanouver Canucks - +10000
Vegas Golden Knight - +10000
Other notes from the rankings are that the Leafs are listed as the next most likely Canadian team and Vancouver is tied for least likely with five other teams.
Now, back to McDavid. The Oilers were able to make it into the playoffs for the first time in over a decade last year and were even able to make it past the first round. If these odds prove to be accurate, they have a dream matchup of Sidney Crosby vs. Connor McDavid in the Stanley Cup Final.
We saw what that was like during their race to the Art Ross trophy this season, and we can only imagine it would be magnified if the team’s faced off for hockey’s greatest trophy.
