1996.
It was the year of Jerry Maguire and Fargo. Braveheart won the Oscar for Movie of the Year. Broadcasters agreed on the HDTV format in which they would "eventually" broadcast. But there were no HDTVs. Cell phones were still the size of your shoe. There were only 45 million people in the world using the internet and 30 million of those were in the US and Canada. Now there are 2.2 BILLION internet users worldwide. The Cowboys beat the Steelers in the Superbowl. The Panthers lost to to the Avalanche in the the Stanley Cup Final. And a girl who was born in Ottawa and who used to sing the National Anthems at Sens Games won Album of the Year with "Jagged Little Pill" and a song about a trip she took to the movies with a former NHL Goalie.
It was the last time a Canadian won the Grammy for Album of the Year and the last time No Canadian teams were skating in the second round of the playoffs.
What has gone wrong, and perhaps more importantly, which Canadian team is on track to win a Cup next?
It's a complex question to be sure, because you can honestly look at all these teams in so many ways. It is almost unfair to link them together as well, because each of these teams has their own individual issues and their own supposed plan to escape....
But first here are my opinions as to why we won't be seeing any Canadian team play in May.
What's Gone Wrong?
1. Vancouver. Toughness
At first glance you need to note the Canucks are the epitome of regular season success. Not since 1987-88, 88-89 when Calgary took the trophy has a Canadian team won back to back President Cups. Also, the Canucks last year were a single win away from hoisting the trophy. So this is a damn good team we are talking about. They ran into a hot Kings team with a smoking goalie this season...those things happen. However, I still believe there is something wrong with the Canucks. The Canucks, when facing a very tough physical team with a strong goalie have trouble. Boston and LA aren't that much different. I blame this deficiency on the coaching. I am not sold on Vigneault as a guy who can take this group again to within one game of a Cup. Toughness on the ice starts with toughness behind the bench and I haven't seen that from Vigneault...going back to his time with Montreal until now. He is a solid coach, but when the hardest decisions need to be made...for example his handling of Luongo in the Cup Final last year or how to react to the Kings forecheck in these playoffs...Vigneault comes up small to me.
2. Edmonton. Defensemen
The Oilers made a rare decision in modern sports and allowed themselves to get worse before they could get better. The amount of talent they have been able to draft due to having great first round picks following terrible seasons is staggering. I heard a friend make the argument recently, "I hate the Penguins because everyone loves them with all this talent. Crosby, Malkin, Fleury and Staal. No one seems to remember how this team basically fielded an AHL team for half a dozen years to get those players." There will be people who say the same about the Oilers. What they need is obvious. They need help on D and they need it now. What is interesting is D-men takes a lot longer to develop so the Oilers may have gotten all they can get from the NHL draft. I could see them moving this year's first pick and more to land a blockbuster defender..or a few defenders..The Oilers fans have seemingly endless patience, but as exciting as first picks overall are, playoff games are more exciting.
3. Calgary. Guts
Ok I know what you are thinking. Calgary is a gutsy team with some pretty gutsy players. I am not talking about the players. The Flames need the guts to move Jarome Ignla and not invest in players who statistically put up fine numbers but from a team standpoint get you almost nowhere. I like Jokinen as a player, I feel he has gotten his game/life in order in Calgary, but I wonder what he really does to the bottom line. Jay Feaster is one of my favorite people in hockey but I have yet to see him take the kind of unpopular stances that need to be taken for this team to rise above the line they have balanced on for several years now. It may require a season or two out of the playoffs and some time rebuilding the culture. It is hard to do because the Flames always do "just enough" to keep the team interesting and the fans looking towards next year with the same players..
4. Ottawa. Time
You would have been run out of the country if you had said before the season began that the Senators would be the Canadian team who showed the most in this year's playoffs. But they did and the good news is they are in great shape. The better news may be they did it without Alfie and have shown there is life after #11 eventually hangs them up. And I predict the life they showed will be why he doesn't hang them up for a few more seasons. The Senators were a baffling team to me for a few years there, but what they have done very well is allow their young guys to take on leadership roles while allowing the established leaders to continue playing better hockey under less pressure. The Sens actually may be the closest to winning a Cup because they have that nice balance of experience and youth going.
5. Toronto. UFAs
The Maple Leafs were very good for the first two months of the season last year before injuries and familiar demons took them over. The coaching change was well past needed and now I look at these Leafs as another possible sleeper in the next few years. I really like the youth on this team and I believe their drafting, despite not having the Kessel picks, combined with their ability to grab college UFA's has built a solid base. You need a solid base to win in this league. You need to get depth scoring and have players who can fill multiple roles. The Leafs have that in spades. But that is forgetting the other part. The Leafs are a supporting cast without a movie. They need to get the big guns and experience to go along with the youth and speed they have in place. This summer it will be Nash or Parise or both...once those stars are added, look out. The Cap space will be massaged and I do believe it will happen.
6. Montreal. A new start. Direction
The Habs are perhaps the Canadian team needing the most help. The biggest issue for me, as a long time closet Habs fan, is I want the Canadiens culture back. I want the team that everyone fears back. Montreal has lost that somehow and until they get the players believing in the franchise's powerful past they don't feel like "The Habs" to me. Canadiens fans have long adored their players and can get too enamored with certain guys to the point where they hold more value to the Canadiens than they do to anyone else. Whoever the new GM and Coach are they need to bring back the culture. Need to make this a TOUGH team to play for. A team where you know there are two other players dying for your spot. Where you are held accountable for your actions in the room as much as you are in the media.
and of course...
7. (in honor of make it 7) Winnipeg: Identity. A division in which to play.
I truly like what the Jets are doing and believe they are a team who will sooner than later make a huge impact. It is hard to find too much wrong with them with the exception of the fact they are young and learning the ropes. They are a team who plays all over the map from night to night. If anything I feel they lack an identity. What are the Winnipeg Jets? I hear many people say they are a "hard-nosed, hard-working bunch" but isn't that just generic for "no star power." I am not really sure in this case. The Jets may have stars who we don't yet see as stars. This summer I believe will be very telling for the Jets. Can they attract a UFA or two to round them out a bit...and give them a finer identity. It would have also really helped them to have been put into their right division, but that of course will have to wait.
What do you think?
Oilers/Jackets to Swap Picks?
rumors out is Western Canada that the Blue Jackets will do "whatever it takes" to swap picks with the Edmonton Oilers and get the top overall pick in the draft.. Just a rumor at this point, but I'll be tracking it closely..