(Spoiler alert it's not Ottawa or Montreal)
There are a handful of talented Canadian teams in the NHL this season. It is too early to tell who the best Canadian team is until the playoff's end, but we have a pretty good idea as we approach the quarter mark of the 2021-22 season.
In the NHL overall standings, Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto take up the 4-6 spots.
All three of these Canadian teams are completely different in many ways. They all have different play styles, certain team's are more well-rounded while others can score at will with outstanding offensive weapons.
How about the other Canadian teams?
Although it's still early, we know Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver aren't quite in the same league as the elite's.
Winnipeg is currently a toss up and could spark a sudden win streak soon with their very talented roster.
Let's rank every Canadian NHL team so far, and i'll include my reasoning behind my choice.
7. Montreal Canadiens (5-13-2 in 20GP, 12 points, NHL rank: 29)
It boggles my mind that this team was in the Stanley cup final last season, and now has the second-lowest win % in the entire league. Only behind the current dumpster fire that is Arizona (Soon to be Nordiques?). Montreal likely wont be saved by Carey Price's return as the team is struggling to generate any offense at all.
Recalling Cole Caufield at this point in what already appears to be a lost season could hurt the confidence of the young player. Montreal can't afford to mess up another top prospect.
Montreal at the bottom is a no-brainer, it is time for a rebuild and a new GM.
Current Letter Grade: F
6. Ottawa Senators (4-10-1 , 9 points in 15GP, NHL rank: 32)
Another struggling Canadian team. Only issue is, they're at the bottom of the standings currently. However, they've only played 15 games due to a COVID-19 outbreak that cancelled 4 of their games. Be excited for your future, Ottawa. There are some exciting young players such as Batherson, Norris, Tkachuk and your rookie goaltender Filip Gustavsson. There are a couple of pieces missing that will make the Senators a playoff team.
Current Letter Grade: D -
5. Vancouver Canucks (6-11-2 in 19GP, 14 points, NHL rank: 26)
Do these Vancouver Canucks deserve to be near the bottom of the standings? Tough to say. There certainly are some issues with this team at the moment, and they clearly don't deserve to be in a playoff spot the way things stand.
This team has a lot of talent to be a playoff team, however they are struggling to piece it all together and there are some unaddressed issues that are plaguing this team's identity. Star players Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser are unable to live up to their current expectations, their special teams is among some of the worst in the league and they somehow always give up the opening goal to the opposing team; this is a huge reason they can’t string together wins.
Current Letter Grade: D
4. Winnipeg Jets (9-4-4, 22 points in 17GP, NHL rank: 11)
The Winnipeg Jets are a massive jump from the 5th place Vancouver Canucks and are a very well balanced team, filled with seasoned veterans and young talented rookies. Winnipeg has a 2-3-3 (21st in NHL) road record which need's to be better.
Recently acquired Pierre-Luc Dubois is performing well above expectations and is second on the team in both goals (10) and points (17) in 16 games. Young emerging superstar Kyle Connor is leading this Jets team with 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) in 17 games. Just like the Canucks, they lack in special teams and that is what sets them apart from the truly elite Canadian teams.
Current Letter Grade: B -
3. Toronto Maple Leafs (13-6-1, 27 points in 20GP, NHL rank: 5)
The Maple Leafs are currently on a 8-2-0 tear in their previous 10 games, and are second in the Atlantic Division. However, I truly believe the players in their lineup are not playing to their true potential.
Just take a look at their current team stats. Some of the players Auston Matthews is currently being compared to, have nearly double his points/goals total.
The Leafs sit in 15th in the NHL in terms of Goals Scored, and they currently only have a +6 rating which is not relatively high compared to the other teams near the top of the standings. Their lack of offense is being overshadowed by their elite goaltending By Jack Campbell who has the third-highest Save Percentage (SV%) And Goals Against Average (GAA) in the entire NHL
However, Jack Campbell has now started in 16 of 20 games for the Maple Leafs. He could burn out quickly if Petr Mrazek doesn't return to the lineup soon.
Current Letter Grade: B+
2. Edmonton Oilers (13-4-0, 26 points in 17GP, NHL rank: 6)
This was extremely hard to put the Oilers in second place as they have the two leading goal scorers in the NHL at the moment. But offense, unfortunately, isn't everything in this league.
Edmonton sits in 16th in the NHL in goals allowed (50) while scoring the second most goals (68). They have the best Powerplay in the NHL, and the second best Penalty kill. In terms of special teams, they're killing it.
Their goaltending has been mediocre thus far, despite the short-lived success of Stuart Skinner. Koskinen has started the majority of the games, and despite having a 9-2-0 record, his stats are average at best. With a .910 SV% and a 2.96 GAA, the Oilers are lucky to continue to outscore their defensive + goaltending problems.
Connor McDavid has been electrifying as expected, and has pushed this team to new heights since being drafted in 2015. However, Leon Draisaitl deserves plenty of credit as McDavid's trusted goal-scorer. He currently is on pace to score more goals than games played and shows no signs of slowing down.
The Edmonton Oilers have given up the seventh-most goals at 5-on-5. Which puts them amongst basement teams such as Arizona, Seattle, Chicago and Montreal.
Depth is going to need to step up now since Darnell Nurse got injured a few games back. This will be the Oilers first true test this season.
Current Letter Grade: A
1. Calgary Flames (11-3-5, 27 points in 19GP, NHL rank: 2)
In Canada, it truly is the battle of Alberta now. The Calgary Flames are coming for the presidents trophy and are setting NHL records.
Calgary has a very balanced team that is a healthy balance of offense, defense and goal scoring. Firstly, they have a league-best +27 Differential, the 5th most goals scored in the league (63), the 2nd least goals allowed (36), and the most shutouts (7) which also makes them the first team (since 1929-30) to record 7 shutouts in the first 19 games of a season.
The only reason this team isn't perfect is their home record (2-1-3) could be significantly better.
Dan Vladar and Jacob Markstrom respectfully both are in the top-four amongst NHL goalies for highest save % and highest Goals Against Average.
Andrew Mangiapane is tied for 2nd in the NHL for goals (15), and Johnny Gaudreau is tied for 4th in the NHL in points (22). They have the offensive pieces with great points production. Their defense is also producing significantly. Noah Hanifin is rock-solid on D, and the young Oliver Kylington is beginning to break out offensively (12P in 17GP). Lets see if this team can stay healthy and continue to win games.
There is general concern for Mangiapane that with his current unbelievable shot-percentage of 31.3%, it's unlikely he will sustain his goal-scoring pace throughout the entire season.
Current Letter Grade: A+
So what do you think? is the Stanley cup returning to Canada for the first time since 1994? There are some very talented Canadian teams in the NHL this season.
That concludes my Power rankings.
