Last week Bob and Brendan were talking about how they would rank the Canadian teams going into 2018/19 on Oilers Now and I wanted to get into it then but I was under the weather. So what better time to dig in than now?
Part 1 is here.
Part 2 is here.
Part 3 is here.
Part 4 is here.
Part 5 is here.
Click here to go directly to team #6 in our rankings!
Before we get into it I want to point you in the direction of THE MOST comprehensive “Who to Watch” guide for the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup going on in Edmonton and Red Deer right now!
You’ve got to check it out. You won’t find a better checklist of players to watch for each team!
WHO TO WATCH AT THE 2018 HLINKA GRETZKY CUP
Who will be the best Canadian team next season?
By “best” I don’t necessarily mean where they’ll finish in the standings at year’s end. I’m just looking at the rosters at the moment and letting you know how I’d rank them in terms of roster talent.
Of course, we all know that a good roster on paper might not mean f*ck all when it comes to how it performs on the ice.
Here are my rankings. If you click on the links you’ll be taken to their line combinations on Daily Faceoff’s site.
I’ve probably lost a good portion of you already putting the Flames ahead of the Oilers and I was hard pressed not to put Calgary at no.1 because I like their forward group more than any of the other teams in Canada from a depth perspective but Winnipeg’s top-6 is simply miles ahead of any of the other teams’ coming from a production POV. Yes, even better than Toronto’s…
On the whole, I like Toronto’s forwards more than Edmonton’s but I like Edmonton’s defense more than Toronto’s. At their peaks, Talbot and Andersen are a wash. So it’ll probably come down to special teams but the Oilers and the Maple Leafs are in their own bracket.
I think that Vancouver will be competitive but not quite there yet. There’s a big gap between them and Edmonton but they’ve got some really nice young talent coming up to play for them next season in Elias Pettersson, Adam Gaudette, and perhaps Jonathan Dahlen will join them as well.
Montreal is just a shit show right now. I can’t make heads or tails of their roster and its direction. They’ve got probably the best goalie in the world on their team but they’ve got nothing dynamic going on in the forwards or the defense. If Shea Weber can get healthy, that’ll help but I’m not sure how much, to be honest.
Ottawa… Well all I can say about them is that at least the tire fire has moved East and folks are talking about them instead of Edmonton.
NO.6 – MONTREAL
What I like: Carey Price. That’s it. That said, he really f*cked the future of the team up when he signed that $10.5M per year deal that runs through the next TWO NHL lockouts.
I’m a glass-half-full guy though so I will say that they do have some real talents in young players like Jonathan Drouin, Noah Juulsen, and Victor Mete. Lehkonnen and Hudon aren’t too shabby either. Also, does anybody NOT like Brendan Gallagher?
I like Domi over Galchenyuk but is Tie’s boy going to do any better in Montreal with Phil Danault as his playmaker?
The way I see it is that Marc Bergevin has brought in gritty little guys in the hopes that the Habs might get the benefit of the doubt from the refs. Problem with that is they don’t have the guns to capitalize on the PP…
What I don’t like: Everything else. As I said above, I have no idea what direction the team is going. It’s a small injury-prone team. They’ve got a top line that would be the second line on most other clubs, their 2nd line is the 3rd line on other teams, their 3rd line is the 4th line, and their 4th line is AHL caliber at best.
If we go down to their defense, Karl Alzner and Jeff Petry aren’t top-pairing dmen… And just as I did above with their forwards, their defensemen are too high in the lineup. Shea Weber is the only top-pairing defender on the team and who knows if that foot of his will ever heal.
And how their treating Max Pacioretty is a bloody shame. Here is a guy that is their captain, a revered role in NHL history if you ask me, and a player who’s done nothing but score goals in bunches until last season. He’s worth $7-$8M a year in my opinion and they’re going to screw things up when the trade him… I’d take Patches on the Oilers anyday.
Prospects coming? Nikita Scherbak MIGHT be able to make an impact sooner than later for the Canadiens. Is Charles Hudon still considered a prospect?
BUT, I do like how they’ve drafted the last couple of years. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Jesse Ylonen, Ryan Poehling, Jacob Olofsson, Cam Hillis, Joni Ikonen, Josh Brook, and Cale Fleury are great looking prospects who Habs fans should really be looking forward to watching.
Free agents after this season: Max Pacioretty (UFA), Tomas Plekanec (UFA), Joel Armia (RFA), Paul Byron (UFA), Nikita Scherbak (RFA), Artturi Lehkonen (RFA), Charles Hudon (RFA), Jordie Benn (UFA), Mike Reilly (RFA), Xavier Oullett (RFA),
In a 7-game series, would they beat the Oilers? Hahahahahahahahahahaha…
What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below!
