Free washer | Will the Oilers bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada?

There was a time when a Stanley Cup parade in a Canadian city center was not a rarity.

Between 1984 and 1993, Canadian teams won the Stanley Cup eight times. The only intruders are the Pittsburgh Penguins, champion in 1991 and 1992. The Edmonton Oilers have won four times, the Montreal Canadiens twice and the Calgary Flames once.

The National Hockey League has since become Americanized, markets have been established in all four corners of the United States, our dollar has weakened and many stars have chosen as their new destination cities where we could go to the amphitheater in sandals and not bundled up.

In short, the Edmonton Oilers will try in the coming weeks to become the first club located in Canada to win the Stanley Cup since the CH in 1993… 31 years ago!

We obviously won’t put the blame solely on Gary Bettman, the weakness of our currency and taxes. The Maple Leafs, the Canadiens, the Senators, the Canucks and the Flames have all, at one point or another in their recent history, been led by incompetents, failed a rebuild or inappropriately traded players still in full glory . The Winnipeg Jets returned home in 2011.

Six Canadian clubs have nevertheless reached the Stanley Cup final since Montreal’s victory in 1993. And four times out of six, the precious trophy has been won in seven games.

Vancouver Canucks (1994)

Vancouver reached the final despite a modest 14^e place in the general classification, at the time when the NHL had 26 clubs. The Canucks had a big star, Pavel Bure, 60 goals in the regular season, but no other player exceeded 70 points that season. The defense, led by Jyrki Lumme, Jiri Slegr and Dave Babych, was honest, and goalkeeper Kirk McLean chose the right moment to perform his prowess.

The New York Rangers, led by the rough-and-tumble Mike Keenan, were trying to win their first Stanley Cup since 1940 and featured a collection of stars, borrowed from the Edmonton Oilers of the golden era: Mark Messier, Glen Anderson, Kevin Lowe, Adam Graves, Esa Tikkanen and Craig MacTavish. Tenacious, the Canucks nevertheless forced the presentation of a seventh game after trailing three games to one against the best team in the regular season. New York won the ultimate match 3-2 in a buzzing Madison Square.

Calgary Flames (2004)

As was the case ten years earlier, the Canadian club represented the surprise guest in the final. The Tampa Bay Lightning, led by Martin St-Louis, Brad Richards, Vincent Lecavalier and Dan Boyle, finished second overall, the Calgary Flames sixth in the West, thirteenth overall. It’s also Calgary’s first playoff appearance in seven years…

The Flames, timid offensively in the regular season, are led at arm’s length by their captain Jarome Iginla. He amassed 73 points, including 41 goals, but no other had more than 18 goals or 47 points. Calgary nevertheless counts on one of the best goaltenders in the NHL, Finnish Miikka Kiprusoff. Calgary and its tight defensive system limit Tampa to eleven goals in seven games. The Lightning nevertheless became the first club based in Florida to win the Cup.

Edmonton Oilers (2006)

Clearly, Canadian clubs never enter the final through the front door. The Oilers are at a certain low point in the first years of the 21^e century, after the glory days of Gretzky and company. They are led by modest forwards, Ales Hemsky, Shawn Horcoff, Jarrett Stoll and their valiant captain Ryan Smyth. They nevertheless have a pillar in defense, Chris Pronger, who is not only immensely gifted, but intimidating. No one, however, could have predicted a place in the final for them, especially after a 95-point season. Among qualified clubs, only Tampa did worse.

The Carolina Hurricanes finished fourth overall with 112 points. The Hurricanes are too strong in appearance with their leading forwards, Eric Staal, Rod Brind’Amour, Cory Stillman, Justin Williams, Doug Weight and company, and also a surprising young goalie, Cam Ward, but unlikely heroes stand in series for the Oilers, including Fernando Pisani, and Carolina needs seven games to win.

Ottawa Senators (2007)

The Senators lost Marian Hossa and Zdeno Chara along the way, but continue their rise with Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza, Wade Redden and undisputed leader Daniel Alfredsson. The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim are considered serious Stanley Cup contenders heading into the season with their Big Three defense made up of Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger and François Beauchemin, a goalkeeper at the top of his game, Jean-Sébastien Giguère, and Teemu Selanne on the attack supported by two youngsters, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. The first four games were close, but the Ducks won the Cup in five games, including the last by a score of 6-2.

Vancouver Canucks (2011)

Vancouver is at its peak. The Canucks are having the best season in their history with a record of 54-19-9 and 117 points. Daniel and Henrik Sedin obtained 104 and 94 points respectively. Ryan Kesler remains the great leader. They have depth in defense with Ehrhoff, Edler, Hamhuis, Bieksa and Salo. Roberto Luongo is at the top of his game.

Claude Julien’s Bruins did not dominate like the Canucks, and they are not explosive offensively, Milan Lucic is also the club’s best scorer with 62 points, on an equal footing with David Krejci, but they count the giant Zdeno Chara in defense and a surprising goalkeeper, Tim Thomas.

Boston trailed two games to zero when the team exploded in the third game and won 8-1. The Bruins ultimately won in seven games, 21-4 in total goals in the last five games. Maxim Lapierre will obtain as many points as the Sedin twins combined in these five matches.

Montreal Canadiens (2021)

Funny season in the middle of a pandemic, in a playoff series with almost no spectators. The Canadian, against all odds, reached the final after missing the playoffs in two of the three previous seasons. He would likely have missed them three years in a row if the formula had not been remodeled in 2020 due to the shortened season.

CH fans didn’t know it yet, but the team’s two main stars, Carey Price and Shea Weber, were on their last legs. To give them a final chance to win a Stanley Cup, GM Marc Bergevin added experienced players to this team: Corey Perry, Eric Staal, John Merrill and Erik Gustafsson. There was a nice mix of youth and knowledge with the presence also of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and even Jesperi Kotkaniemi, contributing with five timely goals.

But after eliminating top teams Toronto, Winnipeg and Vegas, Montreal had no gas left in the tank against the Tampa Bay Lightning, seeking a second straight Stanley Cup. Montreal was never in the game and lost in five games.

The Devils ready to trade their 10^e choice in total

After a disappointing season, New Jersey wants to improve. So GM Tom Fitzgerald says he is ready to trade his 10^e choice in total for short-term reinforcement. “There’s nothing concrete yet, but the more I talk to teams, the more I’m open to giving up that pick, but the return has to be significant,” he told NHL.com on Tuesday.

“We want reinforcement in attack, in defense, and we are looking for a goalkeeper. Can pick number ten allow us to obtain the coveted player? »