The Canadiens were the last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup in 1993
Canada brought the world the beautiful sport of hockey, so it would figure that Canadian teams would dominate the NHL landscape in most seasons. However, that’s been far from the case over the last three decades.
The Montreal Canadiens were the last Canadian team to hoist the Stanley Cup when they did so during the 1992-93 season. It’s been an agonizingly long drought for the country that has six teams in the league to go without winning the sport’s most coveted prize. The Edmonton Oilers most recently came the closest last season when they miraculously fought out of a 0-3 deficit against the Florida Panthers but came up short in Game 7.
This year, there are five Canadian teams that have qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs — the most since 2017.
With an abundance of Canadian teams making the postseason, let’s take a look at which teams stand the best chance to lift the Stanley Cup in June.
The Leafs’ postseason struggles in recent years have been well documented. Toronto has been eliminated in the first round in seven of the past eight years, so breaking through that proverbial glass ceiling isn’t going to be easy. Still, the talent on this team is unmatched when it comes to a forward group that includes the likes of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner and John Tavares. While they aren’t a spectacular five-on-five team, the Maple Leafs do possess a phenomenal power-play unit that is converting 24.8% of their opportunities, which is good for ninth in the league. The Maple Leafs will face off against the Senators, which is certainly a winnable series. However, the road to a Stanley Cup Final berth won’t be easy as the winner of Leafs-Senators draws the winner of Lightning-Panthers. All in all, I’m still banking on the talent that the Maple Leafs have showing through when it matters the most, and I do believe that this is a team that could certainly win it all if they’re at the top of their game.
The Jets secured the Presidents’ Trophy as the league’s points leader for the first time in franchise history. That was proven to be a blessing and a curse for NHL teams throughout history. In fact, only two Presidents’ Trophy winners have hoisted the Stanley Cup since the 2007-08 season. The Jets are also at a disadvantage without one of their top forwards in Nikolaj Ehlers, who is week-to-week with a foot injury. Additionally, Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck — who will likely win his second consecutive Vezina Trophy later this spring — has struggled in the Stanley Cup Playoffs throughout his career. Hellebuyck has a 18-27-0 record and a 2.85 GAA in 45 career playoff games over the course of his career. If Hellebuyck can pick up from where his spectacular regular season left off, the Jets definitely can make a Stanley Cup run. However, facing one of the hottest teams in the league in the St. Louis Blues in the opening round isn’t exactly an ideal scenario.
3. Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers are coming off of a Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2024, and were so close to winning it all before falling in Game 7 to the Panthers. Whenever a team has a superstar duo like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, making a Stanley Cup run is never out of the question. However, it’s a bit tougher road for the Oilers this time around. Edmonton will be without defenseman Mattias Ekholm for at least the opening round as he deals with an undisclosed injury. Draisaitl was also banged up late in the season, so the injury bug definitely hasn’t been kind to the Oilers as of late. Losing a top defenseman like Ekholm for a series against a team like the Kings, who have been thriving offensively with 4.6 goals per contest over their last five games, is a huge problem. The Kings and Oilers have faced off in the first round in each of the last four seasons, but I think the Oilers’ injuries may catch up with them.
4. Ottawa Senators
After missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs in seven consecutive seasons, the Senators saw the fruits of their long rebuild come to fruition this season. Young stars like Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, and Jake Sanderson have emerged as cornerstones of the franchise, while Claude Giroux has provided necessary leadership in order to get to this point. It also didn’t hurt that Ottawa finally has a franchise goaltender in Linus Ullmark. While the future is extremely bright for the Senators, they just may not be Stanley Cup contenders just yet. They’ll take on the Maple Leafs in the opening round of the postseason, which certainly isn’t an ideal scenario. While the Maple Leafs have underachieved at times during the Stanley Cup Playoffs in recent years, this is an absolutely loaded Toronto team that does have the benefit of that playoff experience. This will certainly be an entertaining series and the Senators definitely can win a game or two. However, it’s just not the Senators’ time yet.
5. Montreal Canadiens
It’s ironic that the Canadiens were the last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup, but likely have the smallest chance of accomplishing the feat this season. The Canadiens barely snuck in this year and get to play an offensive juggernaut of a team in the Capitals. Montreal was one of the worst five-on-five teams across the NHL during the regular season, while ranking in the bottom half in terms of its power-play unit. While the Capitals may be a tad fortunate to finish where they did this season, the Canadiens just don’t have enough firepower to keep up with a team that scored the second-most goals in all of the NHL.
