The Oilers did it. They survived a team who wasn’t expected to make the playoffs and then lost their all-NHL goalie in the first round. Their reward? They are now Canada’s great hope.
The last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup was 1993, when the aptly named Canadiens brought it home to the North. In my lifetime, a Canadian NHL team has never won it all. To be fair, we don’t know what would have happened in 2005. But our best guess is that America would have taken the title. That’s what happened all the other times.
If the Oilers do somehow pull this off despite their own bad goaltending and propensity to come up short, they wouldn’t be a bad team to do it. They’re not the most Canadian team out there, but they’re close. Who’s the most Canadian team in the NHL? I’m so glad you asked. Our list:
11. Boston Bruins
The least Canadian team in all of Canada and Junior Canada (i.e., the part of the U.S. that cares about hockey), the Bruins are firmly entrenched as an American entity. In college sports, Boston is a Canadian city. In everything else, it’s American.
10. Detroit Red Wings
Michigan is the most Canadian state in the union, but again, the city of Detroit leans more American than its surroundings. Part of this is having Big Four sports, and having them be respected.
9. Buffalo Sabres
Highly Canadian. We almost put them ahead of the Canucks.
8. Minnesota Wild
The Wild are sad. They’re just sad. It’s a tragedy that the North Stars left. This general aura of disappointment with the state of hockey makes the franchise very Canadian. Enough to edge Buffalo!
7. Vancouver Canucks
What makes the Canucks Canadian enough to stay ahead of the Wild and Sabres is that they rioted that one time after losing a hockey game. Buffalo might riot, but it’d be for fun. The Twin Cities have notably recently rioted, but that was not about hockey. Also? The Canucks are named the Canadians, but in a Canadian way.
6. Ottawa Senators
Paradoxically, Ottawa isn’t all that Canadian-seeming a place, compared to the rest of Canada. It’s like it got the worst parts of both Toronto and Montreal. This is why we became Sens fans. Because we’re an NIT blog.
5. Winnipeg Jets
We know they aren’t the original Jets. There’s something off there.
4. Edmonton Oilers
Nothing against the Oilers here. They’re very Canadian. But of these four, they’re the least Canadian.
3. Toronto Maple Leafs
Why put Toronto, a worldly city, ahead of Edmonton, a Canadian city? Because Toronto is named the Maple Leafs and is very good at losing.
2. Montreal Canadiens
The case against the Canadiens is that they’re from French Canada. The case for the Canadiens is that Canada’s pretty darn French.
1. Calgary Flames
Albertan, but without the pressure of being Wayne Gretzky’s old team? A city known for something as goofy as a rodeo? The Nordiques, rest in peace, are the most Canadian team. But they don’t exist. That’s why we had to say rest in peace. This honor belongs to Calgary.
Joe Kelly’s Shoulder: A (Real) Update
We speculated yesterday about Joe Kelly coming off the IL tonight. We have our answer: Not quite yet! He started throwing again yesterday. We don’t know what has to happen after that, but that was the first step.
An Undefeated NIT Champion?
Evidently Bayer Leverkusen, who plays Atalanta in tomorrow’s European NIT championship, hasn’t lost at all this year. They’ve tied some, but they haven’t lost. They won the Bundesliga this way, and now they go for an even bigger (and more selective) prize. Could be an historic NIT titlist.
Milks
The Indy 500 milk choices are out. No chocolate requested this year, unless the Indiana Dairy Association silenced those who asked. No buttermilk requested this year, with the same caveat. We need to dig into what changed with buttermilk since Louis Meyer drank it in 1936. Putting that on the list for later this week.
Etc.
Chicago:
- The Cubs get another crack at the Braves this week, with Dansby Swanson returning from the IL to face his old team. I’m curious how Braves fans feel about Swanson these days. There was some backlash to his comments last offseason about Chicago being a pro sports city, but I got the impression last year that most Braves fans agreed with him, because Atlanta is a college sports city? At the very least, it seemed like most people didn’t notice or didn’t care. The series is at Wrigley, so we aren’t going to measure boos or anything, but my curiosity lingers.
Burnley and the Ottawa Senators:
- It’s insane how often Brady Tkachuk’s last name gets misspelled in the press, especially because Matthew Tkachuk also exists. Big J’s need to show some respect. (The AP also misspelled Leverkusen today. Commies.)
- In related news, the quarterfinals for hockey worlds are almost set. The only question is where Sweden and Switzerland slot in. Sens still playing: Tkachuk (USA), Jake Sanderson (USA), Shane Pinto (USA), Ridly Greig (Canada). Also, Dominik Kubalík (Czech Republic), who’s an unrestricted free agent but was most recently a Senator.
- Evidently Vincent Kompany really might be under consideration for the Bayern Munich job. A friend explained that a lot of names have said no, framing it kind of like the Alabama football gig: High pressure, low upside. Something to monitor, along with the rumblings from Premier League teams. It does make me appreciate Kompany. When I think of him leaving, I say, “Shit!” This makes me more confident I want him to stay.
- Elsewhere in Burnley, Maxime Estève and Mike Tresor are permanent signings now, though they could still get shipped somewhere else in exchange for cash. I don’t know if they have to agree to that or not. There are a lot of things I don’t know about Europe.
