As the 2013-2014 NHL season is quickly approaching, let’s take some time examining how each Canadian team will fare in order from best to worst least best:
1) Vancouver Canucks: After yet another disappointing playoffs, GM Mike Gillis made huge changes. First, he fired Head Coach Alain Vigneault and replaced him with John Tortorella. The biggest change, however, came between the pipes. After seeing a goaltending controversy for almost two seasons, Gillis decided to trade Corey Schneider to the Devils for the 9th overall pick in the draft (Bo Horvat). This means that Roberto Luongo has the number one job yet again for the Canucks. Even though he’s the number one guy, he will have a ton of pressure on him to deliver. Tortorella on the other hand, brings a more fiery approach than his predecessor because he is the old-school type who coaches a more grind-it-out type of game. The roster is virtually the same as last season, but will Torts be the answer the Canucks need if they so desperately want to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history?
2) Toronto Maple Leafs: The Maple Leafs accomplished something that many people believed was not possible: they made the playoffs for the first time since 2004. This happened based on the strong play by goalie James Reimer and great contributions by guys like Nazem Kadri, Phil Kessel, and Joffrey Lupul when healthy. However, they lost a disappointing Game 7 to the Bruins, which I’m sure still haunts their dreams. To avoid similar heartbreak, GM Dave Nonis made a couple of moves. He acquired goaltender Jonathan Bernier from the Kings who will give Reimer strong competition, and Dave Bolland from the Blackhawks. As well, after buying out Mike Komisarek and Mikhail Grabovski, he used that cap space to resign Tyler Bozak and sign prized free agent David Clarkson. Both guys bring grit and goal scoring which should help the Leafs make the playoffs for a second consecutive year.
3) Ottawa Senators: This offseason was one of the most shocking ones in Senators history. The captain and face of the franchise for almost two decades, Daniel Alfredsson, signed with the Red Wings to win an elusive Stanley Cup. To fill the void, GM Bryan Murray acquired Bobby Ryan from the Ducks for promising forward Jakub Silfverberg and a first round pick in next years draft. He also signed former Leaf Clarke Macarthur with the idea that he and Ryan can put some punch in the goal scoring department. As well, he re-acquired Joe Corvo who replaces Sergei Gonchar on the back end. The Senators were able to make the playoffs last year despite a ton of injuries to their core. If they manage to stay healthy for 82 games, watch out as they have a ton of weapons like Jason Spezza, Erik Karlsson, Chris Neil, Kyle Turris and Goaltender Craig Anderson.
4) Montreal Canadiens: After finishing dead last in 2011-2012, the Habs were one of the biggest surprises last season. They managed to finish first in the Northeast division with strong play from guys like Brendan Gallagher, PK Subban and a healthy Andrei Markov. While they were able to make noise in the regular season, they were eliminated by the Ottawa Senators in five games due to being outplayed physically and poor play by goaltender Carey Price. GM Marc Bergevin addressed the physical need by acquiring tough guy George Parros from Florida, which should reduce the load that Brandon Prust has (Parros, of course, is currently out having sustained a concussion on a slip in a tilt with Colton Orr). As well, he also added scoring touch by finally signing Daniel Briere for two years. When healthy, he can produce. With almost the same roster as last year, the only way Montreal can make the same impact is if Price can bounce back and stop giving up soft goals at crucial parts of the game.
5) Edmonton Oilers: After another season that saw Edmonton miss the playoffs yet again, more changes happened. Gone are GM Steve Tambellini and Head Coach Ralph Krueger. Replacing them are Craig Mactavish and Dallas Eakins respectively. Mac T wasted little time rebuilding the Oilers as he traded long-time veteran Shawn Horcoff to Dallas and Magnus Paajarvi to St.Louis for David Perron. He also brought more toughness by signing defenseman Andrew Ference and drafting hulking defenseman Darnell Nurse (assigned to OHL team). Their success, however, lies with their core with guys like Taylor Hall, Nail Yakupov, Jordan Eberle, Justin Schultz and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (injured indefinitely). The core has great potential but they need to fulfill it to become a force in the West and end the long playoff drought.
6) Winnipeg Jets: The Jets made improvements last season but it was not enough to make the playoffs. That was because their offense with guys like Andrew Ladd, Evander Kane, and Blake Wheeler were not reaching their potential every night. GM Kevin Cheveldayoff did little to address this need but was able to acquire Devon Setoguichi from the Wild. He brings speed and scoring touch that can help the team notably on the powerplay as they were 30th overall last year. Chevaldayoff also acquired Michael Frolik from the champion Blackhawks, who did a terrific job killing penalties and should be able to help the team in that category. If the Jets finally hope to make the playoffs in the West this year, their core has to step up big time and goalie Ondrej Pavelec has to bounce back after disappointing for the majority part of last season.
7) Calgary Flames: While GM Jay Feaster does not want to say it, the Flames are clearly in rebuild mode. After trading longtime face of the franchise Jarome Iginla and Jay Bouwmeester at last year’s deadline, he traded Alex Tanguay and Corey Sarich to Colorado for Shane O’Brien and David Jones and seeing longtime goalie Miikka Kiprusoff announce his retirement. While Feaster was able to stockpile a ton of prospects during the draft, he also added depth on forward and defense by acquring TJ Galiardi and Kris Russell. They have a decent core with guys like Mike Cammalleri, Lee Stempniak, Curtis Glencross, Jiri Hudler and new goaltender Kari Ramo. The only issue this team faces is if they have a hard time finding the back of the net and playing up to par with the best guys on other teams, it could be a long year in Cow-town.
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