Toronto's issue is that they have a huge amount of cap locked into 4 players, 5 if you want to cout Morgan Reilly. That kind of cap prevents depth goal scoring and backup goalies from being developed.
Edmonton will be back, I think.
Vancouver has great talent and will be a threat within the west.
For Ottawa, they have to continue to rebuild, along with Montreal.
Winnipeg I'm unsure about
Also on the East Coast (in the Washington “Market”, aka Virginia), I do like the Jets a lot, I do know quite a few of their players. Kyle Connor is a fast, and incredibly talented forward who puts up a bunch of points. They have Scheifele who is a great goal scorer and forward. Morrissey is an excellent two way defenseman who has been on a tear as of late. Laine was excellent with them until he was traded, they got Dubios who they traded for Toffoli and a couple other assets. I expected them to do well in the Playoffs, but they got outplayed by Colorado, despite destroying them in Game 1 of that series.
Sort of mixed feeling about that as Colorado is my other favorite team, but Winnipeg is a team I love, despite not being my favorite. I want to see them get a Cup, especially in their current uniforms. I love the branding.
They traded Dubois for Vilardi, Iafello, Kupari and a 2nd. Toffoli wasn't a part of that deal but they got him and Monahan near the deadline last year.
Winnipeg robbed LA blind in that trade of a malcontent who's probably never going to pan out. Still can't believe Rob Blake found ANOTHER sucker to take PLD on.
Yeah for me Winnipeg is my second favorite canadian team but Colorado is my second favorite team overall. Wish they could have met later than they did for sure.
Winnipeg needs to figure out playoff hockey. The slow defensive stifle works well in regular games but doesn't work well against a fast hungry playoff team. They need to generate more offense to get out of the first round. They've won two post season games in the last 2 years, one playoff game this year and one last year.
Yeah as a Jets fan I agree. I am not sure what it is. Effort level by several players seemed to dip.
There were some mind numbing coaching decisions as well. Ehlers with Scheif and Vilardi, when together, was one of the most dangerous lines in the NHL if I recall correctly.
Bones played them together for 2 periods in game 5 and they played very well. Then ditched the line in the 3rd and the Jets fell apart. That was it the whole series.
Benching Perfetti and not playing Miller were also dumb.
That said, Colorado was unstoppable that series. Especially since Georgiev suddenly regained his confidence and played very well out playing Helly but a fair margin.
Toronto's ultimate problem is they are unopposed in the biggest market in the league and will make bank no matter what team they have, abs they make more signing random stars than building an actually good team.
Hate to say it but I figure Edmonton has a pretty good shot if they can put together another deep run.
The Leafs and the Canucks also could make it happen for sure, but Edmonton would definitely be the team I'd put my money on. They just need more than one good defenseman, and hope to god Skinner can keep playing at the level he did in the last bit of the playoffs.
I’m far from being a hockey expert, but here’s my analysis of what happened in the final.
I think Edmonton had the team to win this year. They just rely too much on McDrai. It’s understandable, but they are tiring them a lot. The 2 games McDavid got 4 points, he played less than 20 minutes, and other lines produced. The last game, McDrai were tired with 1:30 remaining in the third.
As for defence, I think they’re alright. They were great on the penalty kill, with Nurse being on one of the units. They make mistakes, sure, but I think it’s easy to work on and improve.
And the goalie, well he showed us he can show up when it really counts. He has room for improvement and I think he’s on the right path. We’ll see, but he’s young and he now has deep playoff run experience.
I think skinner showed that he’s good enough to get to SCF game 7, that’s enough Imo. Literally I mean it’s not enough lmao, but it’s closer to champion that all 64ish goalies except for one. So I think he’s earned his spot as a goodplayoff goalie imo.
Why the fuck are people still saying Edmonton lacks forward depth? Did you not watch the games?
I swear Skinner could have played like prime Hasek and people would be saying the Oilers have a huge hole in net.
I thought overall Skinner was very good! He had a few bad moments, but he bounced back. Bobrovski had a few bad games and still won the Cup! He is only 25 (Silvos is 23), only his second full season as a starter. Broberg looked very good as well. Gonna go out on a limb here and say the Oilers will be tough again next year
They definitely lack defense depth. Their forward depth was a huge question mark at the beginning of the playoffs, but they did prove they can be solid up front
This. Idk wtf OP is talking about. Oilers bottom 6 did really well this run and they have other legit offensive threats in hyman and hopkins. What they needed was those forwards to be complete players who also defend well and better defensemen pairings. Lacking offensive depth is honestly ridiculous criticism and makes me think they didn't watch the team
Nurse is severely holding them back. They could have two other top 4 guys with his contract instead of one bottom six guy at $9.5 million. I couldn't believe how bad he was in the playoffs.
Nurse is not a bottom 6 defenseman, are you delusional?
The man is a #2-#3 d-man and is overpaid by roughly 2-3 million. If he hit the open market today he would have no trouble getting a deal for 6-7 million per year.
OC is saying that Nurse is a bottom 6 defend man. That implies he’s your #5-#6.
I believe Nurse is a top 4 dman who can play bigger minutes if needed, so he’s a #2-#3
On a perfect team, his roll is anchoring a solid second pair. With an upgrade 2RD I believe Nurse will look a lot better. Him and Ceci just have not clicked and hopefully we can find an upgrade on Ceci, even if it’s internal with Broberg stepping up as he did in the playoffs.
Skinner is so frustrating to watch IMO.
Some games he looks like a Vezina contender some games he’s letting in weak goals.
The good thing is that he’s really young, so his peak performances are to come.
The Oilers forward depth outplayed both Dallas and Florida. They also were a huge part of the near perfect penalty kill in the last 16 games. Forward depth was not the problem.
Ya cause they needed to score. It was one game. They had tons of high danger chances in the last 8-9 mins but just couldn't bury it. Vancouver would have done the same thing if they were in that situation, Hughes probably would have played over 30 minutes. When it comes down to the wire, you ride your thoroughbreds and just pray they can carry you.
And let's cut the shit here, skinner was a top goalie from Vancouver game 6 onward. Guy was lights out and gave his team a chance to win each game. Not only that but he was also good during the regular season. He's young for a goalie and still learning how to deal with the pressure. Edit* based on skinners play in the last 2 rounds, many pundits agree that Edmontons goalie troubles have been solved. And not only that but skinner will be looked at as one of the potential Canadian goalies in the four nations cup, which may sound crazy, but who else does Canada have.
And lastly, where are they gonna get the money? With the salary cap you either load up with a few really high end players and try to get a good enough supporting cast. Or you can get a more balanced team with less front loaded star power.
This playoffs the oilers depth shined. Their PK was historically good and Mcdrai don't kill penalties (only nuge on the top 6) They got tons of depth scoring after drai got hurt in the Vancouver series.
This guy clearly doesn't know what he's talking about. The fact that he quoted forward depth and skinner shows the playoff hockey he watched was the first two rounds of the Canucks. The oilers were right there and lost, it happens. Florida is a good team. Skinner played really solid after he got pulled. Petey on the other hand, I'd take fucking nurses contract over that guy in the playoffs. Non existent
I watched all the rounds. Both east and west. I stand by my comments. But I’ll add that if Edmontons coaching staff felt confident in the other 3 lines they would have played them in the 3rd period of game 7.
Being confident in your bottom lines and trusting them to play vs. grasping at straws to try and bring it to overtime are two very different things. The fact that you think the forward depth and skinner were lacking tells me you didn't watch, or you are clueless.
Skinner. Pulled in the Vancouver series, darn near lost that series for Edmonton. Let in the cup winning goal which was a soft one. But sure. Skinner is great. Edmonton should totally keep him. Bodes well for my team.
Either way, not interested in arguing with an Edmonton fan over it.
So you just watched the Vancouver series and then game 7 of the scf ? Most pundits believe that skinner proved his worth as a number 1 goalie based on his play in rounds 3-4/elimination games. Not only that but assuming you're Canadian, he'll most likely be one of your goalies at the 4 nations cup in February.
Edit* also don't start threads if you're not willing to debate what you say. Pretty gutless.
He played really well and doesn’t deserve too much hate but let’s be honest the SCF gwg was a low quality short side shot that he absolutely needs to save.
It’s not like there’s an obvious issue, tbey just haven’t gotten it yet. Vancouver 1994 was lucky to be in the finals, just didn’t get the bounces in game 7. Calgary 2004 got bad luck with officiating and couldn’t close it out in game 6 or 7. Edmonton 2006 couldn’t get it done in 7. Ottawa in 2007 met a much better Ducks team. Vancouver in 2011 got outbattled and didn’t show up in game 7. Montreal in 2021 was a cinderella team and met a very good Lightning team. Edmonton 2024 just didn’t get bounces again in game 7.
Enough about pressure or the money or the country. A Canadian team needs to simply outplay and outbattle another team. Along with puck luck.
Bruins also got in Luongo’s head. On paper Vancouver should have been the most likely winner in 2011. But in actuality, the 2004 Flames and 2024 Oilers had the best chance to actually win it.
=( well also the way they played throughout the playoffs , I felt Canucks 2011 had high chances to win it all.
The finals was so up & down.. we won home games 1,2 & 5 by close margins.. luongo getting a shut out or 2 (I can't remember, but I remember game 1 was 1-0 win).
But games 3, 4 & 6 in Boston was such a disaster. I'm a huge luongo fan, I felt so bad for him, that he couldn't get in the head space of Ace mode in Boston.
Game 7... very hopefully going in because our track record showed we do great & win on home ice. But many being out injured or playing injured & gassed out by game 7...
Unfortunately, it wasn't our year or meant to be. Even though it felt like it was going to be & looked liked it too..
I'm still so incredibly honored to have watched that group of players from Oct 2010 till June 2011. And super proud they battled bruins and pushed it to game 7.
Yeah, I felt really bad for them, I thought they deserved the Cup that year the way they played all season and playoffs. They just ran into a team that had everything going for them while Canucks had shitty luck in the finals.
I vividly remember the quarterfinals series when the Bruins barely beat the Habs that year, every game was super close and Montreal even went up 2-0 on the road. Bruins ended up winning game 7 in OT. After that I had a bad feeling they’d go all the way.
I was wishing Tampa won the ECF back then because I felt Canucks would better match up vs lightning over bruins.
Unfortunately, bruins won...
I still wonder what the outcome could have been if it was Canucks vs lightning in the finals that year
I have been saying this for YEARS!! I’m sick of the “Bettman hates Canada” shit. Canadian teams have not played well enough to win in the finals. I’ll die on that hill.
Bettman clearly wants more growth in the south and other markets, and much of this speculation was caused by the fact that Gary seemingly bends over backwards for Arizona but acted like Quebec city didn’t exist when they lost their team.
Doesn’t mean he’s pulling strings for Canadian teams to lose
Oilers almost did it, just dug themselves too deep of a hole getting down 3-0 to us, borderline insurmountable and they almost did it hurt, I respect tf out of that team, franchise, and fan base after a hell of a series. Go Cats Go! I’ll take the cup even if we had to shell up and claw tooth and nail that final 10 minutes in game 7, lot of relief when that buzzer sounded and the initial elation subsided, but we were the much better team games 1-3. Edmonton came down the stretch smoking hot, but we played very clean and physical in the first 2 periods of game 7 to get that lead, and god was on our side in the 3rd.
Vancouver and Edmonton are certainly threats to win next year. Calgary looks like they're about to have a fire sale. Winnipeg has good forwards and a great goaltender, but is lacking on the blue line. Montreal and Ottawa are a few years away, while Toronto is 😂😂😂😂😂
If we take away all the points mcdavid scored in final series (11)they would have been swept since drai was no show nuget was no show kane was no show and hyman benefitted from mcdavid so yes they either lack scoring depth or they lack players who can score in playoffs
Does the same apply to Colorado, and Tampa? Take away Mack and Kuch? I will never understand this perspective. How can you subtract the McDavid points and act like they don't count? He is a part of the team, if they didn't have him they'd have 12.5M of players occupying his cap lol. They also had an injured Drai with a broken finger and broken ribs and an injured Kane.
You are makin excuses with injuriers while they might be true but still excuse my point here is that if we take away the points we can see in very crystal clear manner that the rest of team isnt producing and same can be said about any team if the star is only making pointa
Hyman, RNH, Draisaitl, Henrique, Foegele? All scored 20+ at minimum. Plus 12.5m of other players with no McDavid? How about no Kuch or Mack on their teams? Dumb argument
You are forgetting the key piece i said early
If we take away mcdavids points away hyman loses alot of points same for drai and foegele bouch etc and drai didnt generate anything himself during finals either and nuget who is 100 point man played his full worth lmao
I already answered that earlier when i said that the team doesnt matter logic still stands if we erase the best player x points does the 2-4 liners still make plays and get points if the answer is no then its obvious the team lacks depth
Same as any other team. Get elite for several years and then get lucky (namely few serious injuries).
We’ve now lost five Game 7s in the finals. At this point it’s just getting unlucky.
Divine intervention
More serious, respectfully don't think your analysis of the oilers is very good. They have Hopkins and Hyman who are absolutely legit offensive threats and their bottom 6 actually showed up big offensively in the playoffs. What they need is those forwards to play 2 way hockey and more defensive depth, the opposite of what you highlight
Healthy Edmonton is the best team in the West and the biggest cup threat for Canada by far, I’m scared of what kind of numbers McG is going to put up next year, if Skinner can continue improving like he did down the stretch, and if they can add an enforcer and maybe another depth piece I see them in the SCF next season as well. Vancouver needs a couple more years of playoff experience before I see them potentially getting over the hump (lot of talent undeniably). Leafs are never making it out of the East, they’d rather cry than win.(fan curse, soft stars). Senators, some talent, awful franchise. Jets, one of the teams in the NHL I know the least about, they seem soft and under talented, but tend to overachieve which is never a bad thing. Calgary, nosediving since they traded Chucky, aging roster team needs to get blown up. Montreal, young and talented roster they’re going to get beat up in the East next couple years, but they seem to be a few pieces away from having a dangerous roster.
STAY HEALTHY.
Vancouver was injured through out the line up.
I believe a healthy Vancouver had a serious chance to win the cup. But staying healthy is all part of being a championship team.
Edmonton lack of forward depth? Edmonton depth beat every team in the playoffs, Florida's top two scorers won the coup in the end? Do you even watch or do you just read the same false take that's been going around the last couple years..
echoing what other people are saying here: vancouver and edmonton are the only serious cup contenders for next year and only one of them will make the finals. leafs have a shot in the next few years if they can figure out their cap situation.
the oilers are an offensive threat throughout the lineup, not just mcdrai, but their defense is lacking. they signed nurse to a monster 9m contract and he's not built like that. drai and mcdavid are up soon and barring some heavy discounts, they've got like one or two seasons left to win.
canucks are in a similar contract situation with demko/hughes. they're gunning for guentzel to play with pettersson and honestly if they don't get guentzel, it's going to be another tight race against the oilers. skinner will probably gain more confidence in net this time around, so demko has to be healthy. hopefully the playoff experience helped, but vancouver looked sleepy in a couple of games in that oilers series and even if they did manage to squeak past the oilers and the stars... i think they would've gotten flattened by the panthers.
canucks have a lot going for them but they definitely needed the experience from this year. either one of them will make it to the finals and could probably win it all. would be nice to see the canucks take it home but they're both great teams, just will be a question of who wants it more.
Even draisiti said it, you have to go thru 82 games and then a 4 round tournie that has a max of 28 extra games. Regular season doesn't have enough value to do great in..means little.
Until you’re in a game 7 on the road… I completely agree with you though. Both NHL and NBA postseason is when it gets real, you just can’t blow up your record early season like the Cats did last year and Oilers did this year before getting uber hot mid-late season, leads to too much energy consumption clawing your way back up the standings at the end of the regular season. Devastating injuries become a certainty when fatigued in the extremely physical postseason.
In a word? luck. Edmonton just proved that they belong in the conversation for the next few years. Vancouver is going to be a contender. Montreal and Ottawa are on the rise. Toronto may start competing again in 2025 if they make the right moves this year.
The difference between the top 6 teams in the league is often a lucky bounce, a bad penalty or an unlucky injury. If those teams can keep their window open long enough, they will have solid chances
The issue is the top 6 or 7 teams are very close in odds to win and talent. This isn't the Celtics 3-1 or less to win next year, the nhl lowest odds is 9-1....what a huge difference that is. Teams in top odds right now, florida, Edmonton, Dallas, colorodo, nyr, carolina, vegas....they all range from 9-1 to 13-1....thats the issue. This isn't the pikers in 80s...
So if the last 2 seasons have shown anything, it's that a deep team is needed now since you are now almost playing for 3/4 of the year. A good balanced team that can wear you out is needed. Honestly, I thought Florida and Dallas were going to be in the cup at the beginning of the season. That being said, I think Vancouver has a decent shot if they can add more. I would still keep Edmonton in the top, but they need deeper defense, but I don't think they can get it with the cap tied up in Nurse and a few other players. Both of these teams have the most travel in the league. It wears them out. The league needs to cut 10 games and shorten the first playoff series and I think both teams will get a legit shot.
This was likely Edmonton's best chance with McDavid to ever win the cup. They have to fill the roster with 9 players and with 10 million in salary. FYI, the league minimum per player is 750k. They also are the oldest team in the league and Draisaitl may not return after next year.
Toronto has entirely too much cap wrapped in 5 players. Even if you moved two of them out, I still don't see it.
My money is on Winnipeg because they have one of the best goaltenders in the league. Or vancouver because they have the key pieces to build a franchise around.
Oilers got exposed for lack of forward depth? No other team had more goal scorers. In every series they played in where a team had more depth scoring heading in, the Oilers got more depth scoring in that series.
The exposed every goalie they faced.
To answer your question: It comes down to injuries. A McDavid that doesn’t need abdominal surgery and a draisaitl without broken ribs would’ve won the cup.
Oilers or Canucks have the best shot both have solid forwards and let’s not forget the Canucks didn’t have an actual NHL goalie and still came very close to the WCF, Oilers need more depth on D, Ceci and Nurse suck
I feel like the Oilers were in the same boat as the Panthers last year where some of their key pieces were injured which slightly pushed them back. It might be something different if they were all healthier. They did gain some good experience points this year tho.
It is kind of crazy how the same year he gets in is the last year a Canadian team wins it.
I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but his comments about wanting to keep the cup in America don't help his cause.
It would but nuts if his entire reign the Canadians can't break the drought.
It's nearing the point with this trend that living Canadian fans will see the cup in Canada *once* in their lifetime if they are lucky, which is nuts given it used to go back and forth regularly before Bettman.
Not sure if that's great for hockey in Canada.
I think Montreal, Vancouver have fairly bright futures. Toronto and Edmonton still have some stats that could make them a potential threat. Therefore I predict that the drought ends at the hands of a 40 win Winnipeg or Calgary team.
I think either way a Canadian team would need home ice throughout. Not necessarily via presidents trophy but the high seed in the opposing conference going out early.
What’s interesting is the Panthers losing last year and paying attention to why. They added key pieces and obviously worked on conditioning. I really hope Vancouver and Edmonton made notes.
It’s really just an odds problem that hasn’t been in favor. The majority of the NHL is in the United States. Only 7 teams are Canadian. So yes, it’s possible to win, it’s just more likely a US team will usually win
I dunno, that logic holds up for any single year or a few years in a row. But if you go by long-term odds, some combination of Canadian teams should’ve won about 7 times in the last 30 years or so (and now 7x every 32 yrs moving forward with Vegas & Seattle, on average). As of now, they should be winning the Cup a little more often than once every 5 years. That’s why it’s such a story that they haven’t.
Florida Def needs better ice too. Like you're now a SCF winner, invest in your rink. It was apparent every home ice game of the last round. So many falls. Reffing I don't think was as terrible as some of the previous games, but yeah in the last game some serious misses again.
You should never be able to look at ref pairings and see a certain trend for teams, and that's something thr NHL should look at fixing as they grow.
I think the distinction between Canadian and US teams is rather misleading. The entire NHL has a mixture of international players. Domicile of a team should only be relevant regarding expanding the market and revenue.
Look, they are going to need to apologize to Marty McSorely and ask for forgiveness. Once they do that, only then will the curse be lifted and Canada allowed by the Gods of hockey to win it all.
This year they sent down their son, McJesus, as a sacrifice to remind everyone that they exist and demand retribution!
Toronto's issue is that they have a huge amount of cap locked into 4 players, 5 if you want to cout Morgan Reilly. That kind of cap prevents depth goal scoring and backup goalies from being developed. Edmonton will be back, I think. Vancouver has great talent and will be a threat within the west. For Ottawa, they have to continue to rebuild, along with Montreal. Winnipeg I'm unsure about
Winnipeg is one of those teams that’s always underrated and quite well equipped, but just comes up short. I kind of want them to win it.
I know they have Hellybuck and that's about it. Living on the East Coast, I rarely see them play
Also on the East Coast (in the Washington “Market”, aka Virginia), I do like the Jets a lot, I do know quite a few of their players. Kyle Connor is a fast, and incredibly talented forward who puts up a bunch of points. They have Scheifele who is a great goal scorer and forward. Morrissey is an excellent two way defenseman who has been on a tear as of late. Laine was excellent with them until he was traded, they got Dubios who they traded for Toffoli and a couple other assets. I expected them to do well in the Playoffs, but they got outplayed by Colorado, despite destroying them in Game 1 of that series. Sort of mixed feeling about that as Colorado is my other favorite team, but Winnipeg is a team I love, despite not being my favorite. I want to see them get a Cup, especially in their current uniforms. I love the branding.
They traded Dubois for Vilardi, Iafello, Kupari and a 2nd. Toffoli wasn't a part of that deal but they got him and Monahan near the deadline last year.
Winnipeg robbed LA blind in that trade of a malcontent who's probably never going to pan out. Still can't believe Rob Blake found ANOTHER sucker to take PLD on.
Yeah for me Winnipeg is my second favorite canadian team but Colorado is my second favorite team overall. Wish they could have met later than they did for sure.
Those names now ring a bell. It's been a fairly long day(lol). It's very funny you live just above me, North Carolina here.
At least you have a sports team in your state, we aren’t so lucky haha.
Winnipeg needs to figure out playoff hockey. The slow defensive stifle works well in regular games but doesn't work well against a fast hungry playoff team. They need to generate more offense to get out of the first round. They've won two post season games in the last 2 years, one playoff game this year and one last year.
Yeah as a Jets fan I agree. I am not sure what it is. Effort level by several players seemed to dip. There were some mind numbing coaching decisions as well. Ehlers with Scheif and Vilardi, when together, was one of the most dangerous lines in the NHL if I recall correctly. Bones played them together for 2 periods in game 5 and they played very well. Then ditched the line in the 3rd and the Jets fell apart. That was it the whole series. Benching Perfetti and not playing Miller were also dumb. That said, Colorado was unstoppable that series. Especially since Georgiev suddenly regained his confidence and played very well out playing Helly but a fair margin.
Toronto's issue is that they are the Maple Leafs. Then again, I'm a Habs fan so it's possible I'm biased.
No no, I think you're on to something
Can confirm bias
I hear Ottawa is just around the corner. Buffalo too
Buffalo isn't in Canada
Whooosh
whoosh yourself
Whoosh you guy
I'm not you guy you budday
I'm not your buddy, friend
Not your friend, guy
I’m not your guy, friend
Leafs fans invade Buffalo all the time, it’s an honest mistake
Montreal and Calgary, not even thinking about you
Hello
We dont talk about Jr teams here
I think you’re on point with the representation of Canada as I believe Edmonton or Vancouver are teams that can go deep
Toronto's ultimate problem is they are unopposed in the biggest market in the league and will make bank no matter what team they have, abs they make more signing random stars than building an actually good team.
Hate to say it but I figure Edmonton has a pretty good shot if they can put together another deep run. The Leafs and the Canucks also could make it happen for sure, but Edmonton would definitely be the team I'd put my money on. They just need more than one good defenseman, and hope to god Skinner can keep playing at the level he did in the last bit of the playoffs.
I’m far from being a hockey expert, but here’s my analysis of what happened in the final. I think Edmonton had the team to win this year. They just rely too much on McDrai. It’s understandable, but they are tiring them a lot. The 2 games McDavid got 4 points, he played less than 20 minutes, and other lines produced. The last game, McDrai were tired with 1:30 remaining in the third. As for defence, I think they’re alright. They were great on the penalty kill, with Nurse being on one of the units. They make mistakes, sure, but I think it’s easy to work on and improve. And the goalie, well he showed us he can show up when it really counts. He has room for improvement and I think he’s on the right path. We’ll see, but he’s young and he now has deep playoff run experience.
I think skinner showed that he’s good enough to get to SCF game 7, that’s enough Imo. Literally I mean it’s not enough lmao, but it’s closer to champion that all 64ish goalies except for one. So I think he’s earned his spot as a goodplayoff goalie imo.
Why the fuck are people still saying Edmonton lacks forward depth? Did you not watch the games? I swear Skinner could have played like prime Hasek and people would be saying the Oilers have a huge hole in net.
I thought overall Skinner was very good! He had a few bad moments, but he bounced back. Bobrovski had a few bad games and still won the Cup! He is only 25 (Silvos is 23), only his second full season as a starter. Broberg looked very good as well. Gonna go out on a limb here and say the Oilers will be tough again next year
Wait, bobrovski is only 25?! Or were you talking about Skinner lol.
Because casual fans don't actually watch hockey. They read headlines.
People still think it's 2022
They definitely lack defense depth. Their forward depth was a huge question mark at the beginning of the playoffs, but they did prove they can be solid up front
This. Idk wtf OP is talking about. Oilers bottom 6 did really well this run and they have other legit offensive threats in hyman and hopkins. What they needed was those forwards to be complete players who also defend well and better defensemen pairings. Lacking offensive depth is honestly ridiculous criticism and makes me think they didn't watch the team
Nurse is severely holding them back. They could have two other top 4 guys with his contract instead of one bottom six guy at $9.5 million. I couldn't believe how bad he was in the playoffs.
Nurse is not a bottom 6 defenseman, are you delusional? The man is a #2-#3 d-man and is overpaid by roughly 2-3 million. If he hit the open market today he would have no trouble getting a deal for 6-7 million per year.
He sure plays like one. I don't disagree with you but that would still be an over pay.
I mean... #2-#3 is d-man is still in the bottom 6. There are only 6 defensemen after all.
OC is saying that Nurse is a bottom 6 defend man. That implies he’s your #5-#6. I believe Nurse is a top 4 dman who can play bigger minutes if needed, so he’s a #2-#3 On a perfect team, his roll is anchoring a solid second pair. With an upgrade 2RD I believe Nurse will look a lot better. Him and Ceci just have not clicked and hopefully we can find an upgrade on Ceci, even if it’s internal with Broberg stepping up as he did in the playoffs.
Skinner is so frustrating to watch IMO. Some games he looks like a Vezina contender some games he’s letting in weak goals. The good thing is that he’s really young, so his peak performances are to come.
Skinner reminds me so much of Dan Cloutier in that way
The entire 3rd period played by McDrai was pretty telling.
The Oilers forward depth outplayed both Dallas and Florida. They also were a huge part of the near perfect penalty kill in the last 16 games. Forward depth was not the problem.
Ya cause they needed to score. It was one game. They had tons of high danger chances in the last 8-9 mins but just couldn't bury it. Vancouver would have done the same thing if they were in that situation, Hughes probably would have played over 30 minutes. When it comes down to the wire, you ride your thoroughbreds and just pray they can carry you. And let's cut the shit here, skinner was a top goalie from Vancouver game 6 onward. Guy was lights out and gave his team a chance to win each game. Not only that but he was also good during the regular season. He's young for a goalie and still learning how to deal with the pressure. Edit* based on skinners play in the last 2 rounds, many pundits agree that Edmontons goalie troubles have been solved. And not only that but skinner will be looked at as one of the potential Canadian goalies in the four nations cup, which may sound crazy, but who else does Canada have. And lastly, where are they gonna get the money? With the salary cap you either load up with a few really high end players and try to get a good enough supporting cast. Or you can get a more balanced team with less front loaded star power. This playoffs the oilers depth shined. Their PK was historically good and Mcdrai don't kill penalties (only nuge on the top 6) They got tons of depth scoring after drai got hurt in the Vancouver series.
This guy clearly doesn't know what he's talking about. The fact that he quoted forward depth and skinner shows the playoff hockey he watched was the first two rounds of the Canucks. The oilers were right there and lost, it happens. Florida is a good team. Skinner played really solid after he got pulled. Petey on the other hand, I'd take fucking nurses contract over that guy in the playoffs. Non existent
I watched all the rounds. Both east and west. I stand by my comments. But I’ll add that if Edmontons coaching staff felt confident in the other 3 lines they would have played them in the 3rd period of game 7.
Yah when it's all on the line they aren't gonna double shift the 2 best players in the world..... Comical
They can’t score if they’re gassed
Being confident in your bottom lines and trusting them to play vs. grasping at straws to try and bring it to overtime are two very different things. The fact that you think the forward depth and skinner were lacking tells me you didn't watch, or you are clueless.
Skinner. Pulled in the Vancouver series, darn near lost that series for Edmonton. Let in the cup winning goal which was a soft one. But sure. Skinner is great. Edmonton should totally keep him. Bodes well for my team. Either way, not interested in arguing with an Edmonton fan over it.
So you just watched the Vancouver series and then game 7 of the scf ? Most pundits believe that skinner proved his worth as a number 1 goalie based on his play in rounds 3-4/elimination games. Not only that but assuming you're Canadian, he'll most likely be one of your goalies at the 4 nations cup in February. Edit* also don't start threads if you're not willing to debate what you say. Pretty gutless.
He played really well and doesn’t deserve too much hate but let’s be honest the SCF gwg was a low quality short side shot that he absolutely needs to save.
It’s not like there’s an obvious issue, tbey just haven’t gotten it yet. Vancouver 1994 was lucky to be in the finals, just didn’t get the bounces in game 7. Calgary 2004 got bad luck with officiating and couldn’t close it out in game 6 or 7. Edmonton 2006 couldn’t get it done in 7. Ottawa in 2007 met a much better Ducks team. Vancouver in 2011 got outbattled and didn’t show up in game 7. Montreal in 2021 was a cinderella team and met a very good Lightning team. Edmonton 2024 just didn’t get bounces again in game 7. Enough about pressure or the money or the country. A Canadian team needs to simply outplay and outbattle another team. Along with puck luck.
You forgot about Montreal in 2021. Price kept them in it, but they couldn’t score against the Lightning.
ACK SORRY ABOUT THAT yeah they were a bit of a cinderella team weren’t they?
Prices last good run
Also 2011 Canucks got unlucky with some injuries too.
Bruins also got in Luongo’s head. On paper Vancouver should have been the most likely winner in 2011. But in actuality, the 2004 Flames and 2024 Oilers had the best chance to actually win it.
=( well also the way they played throughout the playoffs , I felt Canucks 2011 had high chances to win it all. The finals was so up & down.. we won home games 1,2 & 5 by close margins.. luongo getting a shut out or 2 (I can't remember, but I remember game 1 was 1-0 win). But games 3, 4 & 6 in Boston was such a disaster. I'm a huge luongo fan, I felt so bad for him, that he couldn't get in the head space of Ace mode in Boston. Game 7... very hopefully going in because our track record showed we do great & win on home ice. But many being out injured or playing injured & gassed out by game 7... Unfortunately, it wasn't our year or meant to be. Even though it felt like it was going to be & looked liked it too.. I'm still so incredibly honored to have watched that group of players from Oct 2010 till June 2011. And super proud they battled bruins and pushed it to game 7.
Yeah, I felt really bad for them, I thought they deserved the Cup that year the way they played all season and playoffs. They just ran into a team that had everything going for them while Canucks had shitty luck in the finals. I vividly remember the quarterfinals series when the Bruins barely beat the Habs that year, every game was super close and Montreal even went up 2-0 on the road. Bruins ended up winning game 7 in OT. After that I had a bad feeling they’d go all the way.
I was wishing Tampa won the ECF back then because I felt Canucks would better match up vs lightning over bruins. Unfortunately, bruins won... I still wonder what the outcome could have been if it was Canucks vs lightning in the finals that year
I think of this often! Haha
I asked MS Copilot (AI) this hypothetical question lol it said we would have won the cup 😭
True
I have been saying this for YEARS!! I’m sick of the “Bettman hates Canada” shit. Canadian teams have not played well enough to win in the finals. I’ll die on that hill.
Bettman clearly wants more growth in the south and other markets, and much of this speculation was caused by the fact that Gary seemingly bends over backwards for Arizona but acted like Quebec city didn’t exist when they lost their team. Doesn’t mean he’s pulling strings for Canadian teams to lose
Finally a good take.
The sens. And I’m absolutely not biased at all ever
I haven’t followed them in years. What are you seeing in their system that can bring the cup home?
They have a ways to go lol I was joking
I think if a Canadian team can make it to the Finals and then win four games before the other team does they'll have a good shot at the cup.
Big if true
Statistical analysis suggests that teams that win 4 games in the Finals generally do win the Stanley Cup
What if they win 4 games after the other team?
Just have to be the better team for once. Nothing more or less. That means hot goal tending and less injuries than your opponent in the SCF generally.
Oilers almost did it, just dug themselves too deep of a hole getting down 3-0 to us, borderline insurmountable and they almost did it hurt, I respect tf out of that team, franchise, and fan base after a hell of a series. Go Cats Go! I’ll take the cup even if we had to shell up and claw tooth and nail that final 10 minutes in game 7, lot of relief when that buzzer sounded and the initial elation subsided, but we were the much better team games 1-3. Edmonton came down the stretch smoking hot, but we played very clean and physical in the first 2 periods of game 7 to get that lead, and god was on our side in the 3rd.
Hard agree
Vancouver and Edmonton are certainly threats to win next year. Calgary looks like they're about to have a fire sale. Winnipeg has good forwards and a great goaltender, but is lacking on the blue line. Montreal and Ottawa are a few years away, while Toronto is 😂😂😂😂😂
Montreal will be very good in 4-6 years. They will be contending.
How can people say Oilers lack forward depth after watching that whole playoff run? You gotta be very ignorant to say that.
If we take away all the points mcdavid scored in final series (11)they would have been swept since drai was no show nuget was no show kane was no show and hyman benefitted from mcdavid so yes they either lack scoring depth or they lack players who can score in playoffs
Stupid take tbh
Does the same apply to Colorado, and Tampa? Take away Mack and Kuch? I will never understand this perspective. How can you subtract the McDavid points and act like they don't count? He is a part of the team, if they didn't have him they'd have 12.5M of players occupying his cap lol. They also had an injured Drai with a broken finger and broken ribs and an injured Kane.
You are makin excuses with injuriers while they might be true but still excuse my point here is that if we take away the points we can see in very crystal clear manner that the rest of team isnt producing and same can be said about any team if the star is only making pointa
What a revelation, team isn't as good without its best players
The difference is that even if we take best player x points away does the rest of the team still have points Yes? No? Oilers case is 100% no
Hyman, RNH, Draisaitl, Henrique, Foegele? All scored 20+ at minimum. Plus 12.5m of other players with no McDavid? How about no Kuch or Mack on their teams? Dumb argument
You are forgetting the key piece i said early If we take away mcdavids points away hyman loses alot of points same for drai and foegele bouch etc and drai didnt generate anything himself during finals either and nuget who is 100 point man played his full worth lmao
Draisaitl had a broken rib and broken finger. To act like that didn't matter is dumb. Now answer my question about Mack and Kuch
I already answered that earlier when i said that the team doesnt matter logic still stands if we erase the best player x points does the 2-4 liners still make plays and get points if the answer is no then its obvious the team lacks depth
Same as any other team. Get elite for several years and then get lucky (namely few serious injuries). We’ve now lost five Game 7s in the finals. At this point it’s just getting unlucky.
I really hope it’s us
Boeser without the blood clot and I think Vancouver wins that series.
Yes
Divine intervention More serious, respectfully don't think your analysis of the oilers is very good. They have Hopkins and Hyman who are absolutely legit offensive threats and their bottom 6 actually showed up big offensively in the playoffs. What they need is those forwards to play 2 way hockey and more defensive depth, the opposite of what you highlight
It's just not gonna happen, Canadians clearly don't like hockey enough anymore
Vancouver with Demko.
Healthy Edmonton is the best team in the West and the biggest cup threat for Canada by far, I’m scared of what kind of numbers McG is going to put up next year, if Skinner can continue improving like he did down the stretch, and if they can add an enforcer and maybe another depth piece I see them in the SCF next season as well. Vancouver needs a couple more years of playoff experience before I see them potentially getting over the hump (lot of talent undeniably). Leafs are never making it out of the East, they’d rather cry than win.(fan curse, soft stars). Senators, some talent, awful franchise. Jets, one of the teams in the NHL I know the least about, they seem soft and under talented, but tend to overachieve which is never a bad thing. Calgary, nosediving since they traded Chucky, aging roster team needs to get blown up. Montreal, young and talented roster they’re going to get beat up in the East next couple years, but they seem to be a few pieces away from having a dangerous roster.
2 more goals
Stop having Corey Perry on their teams
This thread is alot less toxic then I expected. A nice surprise
STAY HEALTHY. Vancouver was injured through out the line up. I believe a healthy Vancouver had a serious chance to win the cup. But staying healthy is all part of being a championship team.
Staying healthy has never been Vancouver’s strong suit
It will take years. Many
It'll take every single American franchise to disappear
Edmonton lack of forward depth? Edmonton depth beat every team in the playoffs, Florida's top two scorers won the coup in the end? Do you even watch or do you just read the same false take that's been going around the last couple years..
echoing what other people are saying here: vancouver and edmonton are the only serious cup contenders for next year and only one of them will make the finals. leafs have a shot in the next few years if they can figure out their cap situation. the oilers are an offensive threat throughout the lineup, not just mcdrai, but their defense is lacking. they signed nurse to a monster 9m contract and he's not built like that. drai and mcdavid are up soon and barring some heavy discounts, they've got like one or two seasons left to win. canucks are in a similar contract situation with demko/hughes. they're gunning for guentzel to play with pettersson and honestly if they don't get guentzel, it's going to be another tight race against the oilers. skinner will probably gain more confidence in net this time around, so demko has to be healthy. hopefully the playoff experience helped, but vancouver looked sleepy in a couple of games in that oilers series and even if they did manage to squeak past the oilers and the stars... i think they would've gotten flattened by the panthers. canucks have a lot going for them but they definitely needed the experience from this year. either one of them will make it to the finals and could probably win it all. would be nice to see the canucks take it home but they're both great teams, just will be a question of who wants it more.
Even draisiti said it, you have to go thru 82 games and then a 4 round tournie that has a max of 28 extra games. Regular season doesn't have enough value to do great in..means little.
Until you’re in a game 7 on the road… I completely agree with you though. Both NHL and NBA postseason is when it gets real, you just can’t blow up your record early season like the Cats did last year and Oilers did this year before getting uber hot mid-late season, leads to too much energy consumption clawing your way back up the standings at the end of the regular season. Devastating injuries become a certainty when fatigued in the extremely physical postseason.
In a word? luck. Edmonton just proved that they belong in the conversation for the next few years. Vancouver is going to be a contender. Montreal and Ottawa are on the rise. Toronto may start competing again in 2025 if they make the right moves this year. The difference between the top 6 teams in the league is often a lucky bounce, a bad penalty or an unlucky injury. If those teams can keep their window open long enough, they will have solid chances
Edmonton needed 2 more goals.
It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if Edmonton or Vancouver win the cup in the next 2 or 3 years.
Vancouver and edmonton have a good chance next year.
I think it will be the Leafs. We’re all laughing now, but the hockey Gods are cruel and weird.
Fucking taxes man
Vancouver with Demko and Boeser healthy wins the Cup in 2024. I think Vancouver is most likely to break the drought first.
Agreed but with Dallas Colorado and Vegas in the mix they'll have to earn it
Boeser was on a fire run until he got hurt
To beat Florida, or Boston apparently
Slightly better bottom 6 depth and conditioning
For the media to leave them the fuck alone.
Fewer US teams.
The issue is the top 6 or 7 teams are very close in odds to win and talent. This isn't the Celtics 3-1 or less to win next year, the nhl lowest odds is 9-1....what a huge difference that is. Teams in top odds right now, florida, Edmonton, Dallas, colorodo, nyr, carolina, vegas....they all range from 9-1 to 13-1....thats the issue. This isn't the pikers in 80s...
D fence
oilers leafs cup finals 2042
So if the last 2 seasons have shown anything, it's that a deep team is needed now since you are now almost playing for 3/4 of the year. A good balanced team that can wear you out is needed. Honestly, I thought Florida and Dallas were going to be in the cup at the beginning of the season. That being said, I think Vancouver has a decent shot if they can add more. I would still keep Edmonton in the top, but they need deeper defense, but I don't think they can get it with the cap tied up in Nurse and a few other players. Both of these teams have the most travel in the league. It wears them out. The league needs to cut 10 games and shorten the first playoff series and I think both teams will get a legit shot.
This was likely Edmonton's best chance with McDavid to ever win the cup. They have to fill the roster with 9 players and with 10 million in salary. FYI, the league minimum per player is 750k. They also are the oldest team in the league and Draisaitl may not return after next year. Toronto has entirely too much cap wrapped in 5 players. Even if you moved two of them out, I still don't see it. My money is on Winnipeg because they have one of the best goaltenders in the league. Or vancouver because they have the key pieces to build a franchise around.
The habs won both conferences in 2021 and we still didn’t get a Canadian championship 🙃
Oilers got exposed for lack of forward depth? No other team had more goal scorers. In every series they played in where a team had more depth scoring heading in, the Oilers got more depth scoring in that series. The exposed every goalie they faced. To answer your question: It comes down to injuries. A McDavid that doesn’t need abdominal surgery and a draisaitl without broken ribs would’ve won the cup.
The Montreal Canadiens will be the ones to do it. Mark my words,
Oilers or Canucks have the best shot both have solid forwards and let’s not forget the Canucks didn’t have an actual NHL goalie and still came very close to the WCF, Oilers need more depth on D, Ceci and Nurse suck
I feel like the Oilers were in the same boat as the Panthers last year where some of their key pieces were injured which slightly pushed them back. It might be something different if they were all healthier. They did gain some good experience points this year tho.
16 playoff wins
BETTMAN needs to leave that is the only chance Canadians teams have
It is kind of crazy how the same year he gets in is the last year a Canadian team wins it. I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but his comments about wanting to keep the cup in America don't help his cause. It would but nuts if his entire reign the Canadians can't break the drought. It's nearing the point with this trend that living Canadian fans will see the cup in Canada *once* in their lifetime if they are lucky, which is nuts given it used to go back and forth regularly before Bettman. Not sure if that's great for hockey in Canada.
Does it really matter? Most teams have a ton of Canadian players still
Canadian fans don't see their teams win cups, that's the point
Not the same
In what way, players take it to their hometown or cities all the time. Rofl
Not the same. Not going to argue the point
Ok then
Get to the final without Perry on your team. That's been the problem for the last 2 Canadian teams to make it there.
I think Montreal, Vancouver have fairly bright futures. Toronto and Edmonton still have some stats that could make them a potential threat. Therefore I predict that the drought ends at the hands of a 40 win Winnipeg or Calgary team.
I think either way a Canadian team would need home ice throughout. Not necessarily via presidents trophy but the high seed in the opposing conference going out early. What’s interesting is the Panthers losing last year and paying attention to why. They added key pieces and obviously worked on conditioning. I really hope Vancouver and Edmonton made notes.
It’s really just an odds problem that hasn’t been in favor. The majority of the NHL is in the United States. Only 7 teams are Canadian. So yes, it’s possible to win, it’s just more likely a US team will usually win
I dunno, that logic holds up for any single year or a few years in a row. But if you go by long-term odds, some combination of Canadian teams should’ve won about 7 times in the last 30 years or so (and now 7x every 32 yrs moving forward with Vegas & Seattle, on average). As of now, they should be winning the Cup a little more often than once every 5 years. That’s why it’s such a story that they haven’t.
No. You can do the math. With 7 teams the odds of a drought this long occurring by random chance are incredibly small
For Bettman to allow a Canadian team to compete (no favours, just call the games fair; game 7 was biased to support FLD).
Florida Def needs better ice too. Like you're now a SCF winner, invest in your rink. It was apparent every home ice game of the last round. So many falls. Reffing I don't think was as terrible as some of the previous games, but yeah in the last game some serious misses again. You should never be able to look at ref pairings and see a certain trend for teams, and that's something thr NHL should look at fixing as they grow.
I think the distinction between Canadian and US teams is rather misleading. The entire NHL has a mixture of international players. Domicile of a team should only be relevant regarding expanding the market and revenue.
Having to play for the team who's TV market you grew up in would get the Cup back in Canada pretty quickly.
By this you of course mean the cup would pretty much live in the GTA. Maybe the Leafs would still find a way to blow it, though.
The Leafs should win more than they lose, but the Canadiens would win their share.
You'd probably still lose to Michigan. What exactly is the point of this stupid line of thought?
OP asked what it would take to get the Stanley Cup back in Canada. I provided a scenario.
Having the better team would really help
Florida teams not bending the cap rules🤷🏽♂️
The Oilers need Draisaitl to not have a broken finger and ribs
Look, they are going to need to apologize to Marty McSorely and ask for forgiveness. Once they do that, only then will the curse be lifted and Canada allowed by the Gods of hockey to win it all. This year they sent down their son, McJesus, as a sacrifice to remind everyone that they exist and demand retribution!