5 Reasons Why Canada’s 31-Year Stanley Drought Will Reach 32
Grant White
Host · Writer
The Carolina Hurricanes are Just Too Good
In the words of the infallible Tim Robinson, the Carolina Hurricanes are just too good. And not one Canadian team is good enough to knock them off their stride.
Entering the second round as prohibitive +370 Stanley Cup favorites, Carolina has cemented itself as the team to beat in this year's playoffs. The Canes dominate play on both ends of the ice, limiting opponents' chances while executing flawlessly offensively. Their scoring depth allows them to skate all four lines, out-matching opponents.
There's no way the Oilers (+500), Canucks (+2000), or Maple Leafs (+2200) are stopping the Hurricanes from capturing this year's Stanley Cup.And so the drought continues for at least one more season.
One of the Few Teams Competing is Already Eliminated
Let's pluck some low-hanging fruit with our first reason why Canada's Stanley Cup drought will reach 32 years. Every year, a dwindling number of Canadian teams make it to the postseason. Then, despite looking like playoff contenders throughout the regular season, they fall flat on their faces in the playoffs.
That was the curious case of the Winnipeg Jets this season. Led by Connor Hellebuyck, the Jets had a puncher's chance in their opening-round series against the Colorado Avalanche. The Jets took off in Game 1, scoring a 7-6 victory over the Avs and giving themselves a lead in the betting market. It was all for naught as the offensive well quickly dried out, and Hellebuyck maintained his lackluster form.
This was a bad omen for Canadian hockey teams, albeit an all too familiar one. Teams from north of the border have a terrible track record when competing in the playoffs.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Can't Get Out of Their Own Way
Of course, the Jets' five-game series loss hardly compares to the decades-old misery of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Every September, Toronto starts planning the Stanley Cup parade, and people hope it will be the Blue Jays' year by the end of April.
If we're being fair, the Maple Leafs should probably already be eliminated. Toronto faced a 3-1 series deficit before winning the past two games and forcing a Game 7. Now, they're tasked with returning to Beantown and knocking off the perennial powerhouse Boston Bruins. If history is any indicator, Leafs fans should prepare themselves for the impending disappointment.
The Maple Leafs are the poster boys for Canada's neverending Stanley Cup drought. But unless the NHL changes the rules and starts awarding the Stanley Cup to whichever team can make it to Game 7 versus the Bruins, the Leafs' misery continues.
The Vancouver Canucks Goaltending Woes
For the first six months of the season, the Vancouver Canucks appeared to be Canada's best hope of snapping its Stanley Cup drought. Then Thatcher Demko got hurt. And then it got worse.
In an attempt to come back early and backstop the Canucks in their pursuit of glory, Demko seemingly made the injury worse. The Nucks primary netminder re-aggravated his lower-body injury, forcing himself back into the press box. The 'week-to-week' designation is not a tag to have in the playoffs, suggesting Demko likely won't be back until the start of next season at the earliest.
Kudos to Casey DeSmith, who stepped up in Demko's absence but then went down. Now, the Canucks Stanley Cup aspirations are firmly strapped to the pads of Arturs Silovs.
Maybe Silovs catches lightning in a bottle this postseason, but it's more probable that Vancouver will suffer another early playoff exit.
Connor McDavid Consistently Gets Bottled Up in the Playoffs
Granted, the Edmonton Oilers easily dispatched the Los Angeles Kings in the opening round. Still, that doesn't absolve Connor McDavid of consistently getting bottled up in the postseason. He may have skated around the Kings this time, but recent memory suggests it's just a matter of time before another opponent corrals the three-time Hart Trophy winner.
We've seen it over the past few seasons. The Vegas Golden Knights had no problem containing McDavid last year, and it was the Colorado Avalanche before that. At some point this postseason, we expect another team to find a way of containing McDavid and forcing the Oilers into another abbreviated playoff appearance.
The Carolina Hurricanes are Just Too Good
In the words of the infallible Tim Robinson, the Carolina Hurricanes are just too good. And not one Canadian team is good enough to knock them off their stride.
Entering the second round as prohibitive +370 Stanley Cup favorites, Carolina has cemented itself as the team to beat in this year's playoffs. The Canes dominate play on both ends of the ice, limiting opponents' chances while executing flawlessly offensively. Their scoring depth allows them to skate all four lines, out-matching opponents.
There's no way the Oilers (+500), Canucks (+2000), or Maple Leafs (+2200) are stopping the Hurricanes from capturing this year's Stanley Cup.And so the drought continues for at least one more season.
One of the Few Teams Competing is Already Eliminated
Let's pluck some low-hanging fruit with our first reason why Canada's Stanley Cup drought will reach 32 years. Every year, a dwindling number of Canadian teams make it to the postseason. Then, despite looking like playoff contenders throughout the regular season, they fall flat on their faces in the playoffs.
That was the curious case of the Winnipeg Jets this season. Led by Connor Hellebuyck, the Jets had a puncher's chance in their opening-round series against the Colorado Avalanche. The Jets took off in Game 1, scoring a 7-6 victory over the Avs and giving themselves a lead in the betting market. It was all for naught as the offensive well quickly dried out, and Hellebuyck maintained his lackluster form.
This was a bad omen for Canadian hockey teams, albeit an all too familiar one. Teams from north of the border have a terrible track record when competing in the playoffs.
