How Do the Canadian Teams Stack Up to Each Other Post Trade Deadline?

Now that the NHL’s trade deadline has come and gone, it’s a good time to take stock of the Canadian teams. In the paragraphs below, we’ll be examining each of the seven teams and analyzing their capability to win both now and in the future. Let’s get to it. 

In order of competitiveness:

If we go back early this season and include all deals Canucks GM Patrik Allvin made, you’re talking about the additions of a veteran defenseman in Nikita Zadorov and star forward Elias Lindholm. Those are two solid add-ons to what was already a deep and talented team, and from our perspective, Vancouver has the best team of any Canadian franchise.

The contract extension for superstar forward Elias Pettersson also firms up the Canucks’ future, making them one of the top Canadian teams in the long term. There’s loads to love in B.C., and Vancouver has the best chance to win a Stanley Cup this year. They have the depth, the production and the coaching to go all the way.

Everyone and their dog knew defense was Toronto’s main area to address at this year’s trade deadline, and that’s what Leafs GM Brad Treliving did, landing Ilya Lyubushkin and Joel Edmundson to beef up Toronto's back end at a cost that didn’t deplete their cache of young talent.

Treliving also added forward Connor Dewar to shore up the Leafs’ fourth line, creating some serious internal competition while also not taking away anything from the NHL roster. If Toronto does get bitten by the injury bug, they now have sufficient depth to help get them through any rough patches. The Buds’ “Core Four” put them ahead of most other Canadian teams, but no team is under more pressure to go on a deep playoff run than the Leafs. There are no more excuses to be made – either they thrive in the weeks and months immediately ahead, or Treliving makes big-time moves this summer.

The Oilers have been one of the most dominant teams in the league when they’ve been at their best this year, but despite adding Adam Henrique, Sam Carrick and Troy Stecher at the deadline, Edmonton’s defense corps still has notable areas of concern. The dropoff in talent between the Oilers’ top-three defensemen and their bottom-three D-men is stark, and while Stecher is a warm body that does help Edmonton’s overall defensive depth, when you compare the Oilers’ defenders to, say, Vegas’ group, you see how the back end could prove to be Edmonton’s downfall this spring,

The Oilers’ collection of forwards is formidable, and they have two of the top-five players in the sport in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but Edmonton’s defensive attack deserves to be questioned, and only when we see them taking the next competitive step will we be sure they can actually do it.

It’s hard to put the Jets this far down the list of Canadian teams, especially when Winnipeg has arguably the best goalie in the league in Connor Hellebuyck. Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has improved his group of forwards with the additions of Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli, but we’re slotting Winnipeg this low because they don’t have the same type of generational talents the Oilers, Leafs and Canucks do.

This is not to suggest the Jets aren’t capable of going on a deep playoff run. So long as Hellebuyck maintains his current form, Winnipeg has a chance to beat any opponent. But when you see Quinn Hughes and Pettersson in Vancouver, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner in Toronto, and McDavid and Draisaitl in Edmonton and try to compare them with Winnipeg’s Hellebuyck and Mark Scheifele, the comparison doesn’t move in the Jets’ favor. Good times could prove to be ahead in Manitoba, but on paper, at least, the Jets aren’t one of the top Canadian squads.

After the Flames’ trade deadline fire sale, Calgary has a slew of draft picks and more NHL-capable prospects to build a team around, but let’s face it, this wasn’t going to be a playoff team with the veterans they wound up trading – and without them, the Flames are extremely likely to plummet down the Pacific Division and Western Conference standings. Calgary’s trade frenzy will likely continue this summer when veteran wingers including Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau are placed on the trade block to see what the Flames can get for them. And if they are traded, it makes sense for Calgary GM Craig Conroy to strip down his roster to the studs and focus on being a Cup contender three or four years from now.

That might sound like a long time to wait to have a bona fide Cup contender, but the alternative – finishing in the NHL’s mushy middle season after season and never getting the chance to draft a generational talent – is not the proper way to get Calgary to return to prominence in the West. Conroy did well in acquiring picks and prospects, but it’s going to take more time – and more losses – to propel them forward in a meaningful way in the years to come.

The Senators’ freefall this season has been stunning, with very little going as planned, and with Ottawa ultimately sagging at or near the bottom of the Atlantic Division. New Sens GM Steve Staios chose to mostly stand pat at the deadline, moving sniper Vladimir Tarasenko in a player-friendly trade to the Florida Panthers, but otherwise, keeping his group intact. That’s not what Senators fans were hoping to see, and until they demonstrate otherwise, the Sens should be looked at with a skeptical eye.

Ottawa does have a number of talents worth hanging on to, but compared to the Canadian teams we’ve ranked above them, the Senators do not match up favorably. Thus far this season, they’ve almost all been letdowns, and they’re now firmly in show-me, don’t-tell-me mode. Staios could be one of the biggest movers and shakers this summer, but until we see his plan laid out plainly in terms of who they keep and who they move on from, the Sens will be at or near the bottom of all Canadian franchises.

The Canadiens may be at the bottom of this ranking, but GM Kent Hughes has a good deal of elite young talent to build around, including forwards Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky, and defensemen Kaiden Guhle and David Reinbacher. Overall, they don’t have nearly enough depth of talented performers, but you can see the foundation of the team taking shape – and if Montreal wins this year’s entry draft lottery and wins the Macklin Celebrini sweepstakes, there will be a large jump in competitiveness in Montreal’s game.

Hughes is clearly dealing with a long-term rebuild, and that means probably not making the playoffs next season as well as this season. That means there are painful days immediately ahead for the Habs, but with the right draft and development advances, Montreal could begin climbing this list and challenging Ottawa and Toronto for the title of the best Canadian team in the Atlantic. For now, though, they’ve got a long way to go before they ascend these rankings.