The NHL decided to change things up a bit this season in the race to a Stanley Cup title. Switching to four divisions, the entire North Division is made up of Canadian teams. This creates a much more direct path to reach the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Finals.
Under the new format, the winner out of the North through the opening two rounds of the playoffs will face the top team in the West. That series winner earns the right to play for the Stanley Cup in the best-of-seven NHL Finals.
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Recent history has not been on Canada’s side as far as winning the Stanley Cup. You would have to go back to the 2011 season to find the last time a Canadian team played in the championship series. The Vancouver Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games.
Ottawa (2007), Edmonton (2006) and Calgary (2004) also made it to the NHL Finals this century but all three teams came up short. The last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup was in 1993. That honor went to the Montreal Canadiens.
Maple Leafs Have the Best Odds
Fast forward to this season and the Toronto Maple Leafs have the best odds to win the Stanley out of the six Canadian teams. At +900, they are fourth on the futures board. The Colorado Avalanche are +450 favorites followed by the Tampa Bay Lightning (+625) and the Vegas Golden Knights (+850).
Toronto is a heavy -350 favorite to win the North Division title. The Maple Leafs are six points ahead of Winnipeg and seven points ahead of Edmonton in the current standings, with all three teams playing 39 games of a 72-game schedule.
At 26-10-3, Toronto has a better record playing on the road at 14-4-1 to add even more betting value to this team. Edmonton’s odds to close the gap and win the North are +600 followed by Winnipeg at +625 and Montreal at +650. Vancouver (+17500) and Calgary (+20000) are bringing up the rear.
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Another plus with the Maple Leafs is their overall balance at each end of the ice. Toronto is averaging 3.31 goals per game to complement a defensive effort that is only giving up 2.51 goals per game. This is the kind of winning formula that could carry Toronto all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. From there, anything can happen in a best-of-seven series.
Mitchell Marner (47 points) and Auston Matthews (46 points) have led the effort on offense. Matthews currently leads the NHL in goals with 27. Jack Campbell has won his first nine starts for the Maple Leafs at goalie. Frederik Anderson has been battling injuries lately. His health in the postseason as the team’s veteran netminder could determine how far this team actually goes.
As far as the rest of the NHL’s Canadian teams, Edmonton appears to have the best shot making a deep run outside of Toronto. The Oilers can also light the lamp behind Connor McDavid (64 points) and Leon Draisaitl (57 points). Overall, the team is averaging 3.18 goals per game. Defense remains a concern with a goals against average of 2.80.
Edmonton is 12th on the NHL Stanley Cup futures board at +2200 odds. It still has a shot to replace Toronto as the top Canadian team this season but the Oilers are a major reach when it comes to winning the Stanley Cup.
