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.
Part 6 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.7 – OTTAWA
What I like: *Crickets*
Listen, the Sens have some fine players on their team like Matt Duchene, Mark Stone, and Erik Karlsson. The problem is all three of their contracts are expiring at season’s end and they’re outtie 5000.
That means it’ll be Bobby Ryan and company for the foreseeable future.
What I don’t like: Where does one start here? Do you remember the early years of the Senators when guys like Jeff Lazaro and Mark Lamb were running the show? Guys like Brad Shaw and Norm MacIver were manning the blueline and Peter Sidorkiewicz was tasked with taking care of the net, well, starting next season, that’s what Sens fans have to look forward to but at least they’ll have their first round pick in the Jack Hughes draft…
They’d better find a way to get that first rounder back. I wonder if Matt Duchene would like to go back to Colorado now?
My main question is this, why does Pierre Dorion put up with Melnyk interfering with the trades he’s trying to make? He’s going to lose his job anyhow, so why not make the best deal he can so that he can have that on his record going forward? The worst thing that’ll happen is Melnyk axes him but on the other hand, a good deal might turn the fortunes of the franchise around faster than expected and he keeps his job…
Prospects coming? YES! This is the part of the post I get to feel good about writing. The Senators have some very fine pieces coming. Forwards like Brady Tkachuk, Logan Brown, Filip Chlapik, Alex Formenton, Nick Paul, Colin White, and Drake Batherson.
Thomas Chabot is about to become the team’s top defender but he’s got Christian Wolanin there to offer a helping hand.
Somehow the Sens managed to convince the Penguins to part with blue-chip goaltending prospect Filip Gustavsson… Quite the coup there.
Free agents after this season: Colin White (RFA), Christian Wolanin (RFA), Cody Ceci (RFA), Mark Stone (UFA), Matt Duchene (UFA), Erik Karlsson (UFA), Chris Wideman (UFA), Ryan Dzingel (UFA), Tom Pyatt (UFA), Magnus Paajarvi (UFA),
In a 7-game series, would they beat the Oilers? No. Not even on their best day.
What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below!
