Rank the Canadian teams going forward

[General Disarray]

The jets have also shown they are capable of getting past the first round, the leafs have not.

In the past. Ottawa also proved they could get to the conference finals. The Leafs did better than the Jets this year. That's a fact. Going forward, one team is losing their #1D while the other is losing a mistake prone #2.

 

[TT1]

Can we list the top prospects each organization has coming up?

MTL has Romanov/Suzuki/Poehling/Brook/Primeau

 

[Highway1]

Winnipeg is not losing their #1D. That would be Morrisey. Yes Winnipeg will probably trade Trouba so what they lose in him they gain in the players or picks that they get for Trouba

 

[nhlfan9191]

I’m just going to say the Leafs are way overrated. They’ve got offensive talent but they’re about to be in cap **** similar to the Blackhawks before they’ve even won a round.

 

[Jost Is The Most]

1. Winnipeg
2. Toronto
3. Calgary
4. Vancouver
5. Montreal
6. Edmonton
7. Ottawa

 

[freakydallas13]

In the past. Ottawa also proved they could get to the conference finals. The Leafs did better than the Jets this year. That's a fact. Going forward, one team is losing their #1D while the other is losing a mistake prone #2.

You're right, the leafs are proven winners. Nothing but the the season we have just played matters.

 

[Pyrophorus]

You're right, the leafs are proven winners. Nothing but the the season we have just played matters.

Where is the Jets win?

 

[Flameshomer]

Anyone who doesn't have Edmonton ranked 7 hasn't been paying attention the last 5 years. Even McDavid couldn't cure the rot in that franchise. In fact it seems the rot is now getting to him too.

It will never matter what players are on the ice while Lowe and Co yuck it up in the rafters.

 

[Nervousbreakdown]

In this exact order:
Leafs
Leafs
Leafs
Arenas 3rd Jersey from a couple years ago
Leafs
Leafs
St Pats jerseys

But really, this list is probably accurate

1. Winnipeg
2. Toronto
3. Calgary
4. Vancouver
5. Montreal
6. Edmonton
7. Ottawa

You can alternate the top 3 in any order on any given week, and you can bounce 4 and 5 depending on what you value more, next seasons potential or veteran players like price and weber.

 

[Channelcat]

Leafs and Jets are interesting as their cores seem set. How much better is either team gonna get due to the cap?

Thats why I like Ottawa and Vancouver in the longer term. At least there is hope.

 

[Volica]

Thats why I like Ottawa and Vancouver in the longer term. At least there is hope.

Both teams have good starts.
EP and Brady, Hughes and Chabot are excellent starting blocks. Still lots, and lots of ways to go there though.

That being said. I don't have them anywhere near Calgary/Toronto/Winnipeg yet. All three of those teams have young cores, that with the right makeup could be cup contending by this time next year.

Montreal might be closest to the big three, but even they're a bit off in terms product. Near playoffs, but JK needs to take a few more big steps. Domi progressed nicely, they need more help on the backend coming... like there's still gaps there.

I'm partial to Calgary, but also, they're the only one of the three big teams that likely won't be in cap jail by this offseason. That being said, they're also the team with the Star player off the wing, which is something I tend not to like (I like building down the middle with an elite winger). Then again, they're the only team of Toronto/Winnipeg/Calgary who could actually, without getting too creative, add another huge piece and not skip a beat due to their cap structure.

 

[MardyBum]

Gotta see what happens in the offseason before there's any point in listing them.

 

[JetsWillFly4Ever]

In the past. Ottawa also proved they could get to the conference finals. The Leafs did better than the Jets this year. That's a fact. Going forward, one team is losing their #1D while the other is losing a mistake prone #2.

Grats' on your one extra game played this year .

Bragging like getting to game 7 is some kind of accomplishment. 3 straight first round exits my friend, not a whole lot of success I'd say.

 

[Volica]

Grats' on your one extra game played this year .

Bragging like getting to game 7 is some kind of accomplishment. 3 straight first round exits my friend, not a whole lot of success I'd say.

"we got to 7 games at least"
Is the weirdest flex I've been seeing on HFBoards in a long time.

 

[Morbo]

Recency bias is a huge problem around here with rating teams and players.

Since all of the top Canadian squads lost in the first round, perhaps the ranking threads for next season will be more objective than usual?

 

[topshelf15]

Meh leave Ottawa in dead last ,we wont go anywhere with current ownership....He leaves and then maybe we can move up

 

[General Disarray]

Grats' on your one extra game played this year .

Bragging like getting to game 7 is some kind of accomplishment. 3 straight first round exits my friend, not a whole lot of success I'd say.

It's not bragging and it's not a "flex". The Leafs did better than the Jets this year. That's a fact. Whether its by one game or by 5 games, it doesn't make it any less of a fact. It's not something to celebrate or be all that proud of, but in the context of a ranking then this kind of fact matters. No need to get defensive

 

[Lacaar]

In 3 years Ottawa will be about to start coming out of the rebuild.
Vancouver will be well on their way out of their rebuild.
Calgary will tread water.
Toronto will tread water so long as Tavares keeps up as he starts to age.
Montreal I don't really know to be honest.
Winnipeg will tread water.
Edmonton will be at the bottom or fighting Montreal for the bottom if things don't go well for them.

 

[CraigsList]

1-3 interchangeable: Jets, Flames and Leafs

4-5 interchangeable: Habs and Canucks

6-7 interchangeable: Ottawa and Edmonton

 

[CauZuki]

This is the way I see it:

Toronto/Calgary
Winnipeg
Montreal/Vancouver (Van has better elite pieces but less quality prospect depth)
Edmonton/Ottawa

 

[CauZuki]

In 3 years Ottawa will be about to start coming out of the rebuild.
Vancouver will be well on their way out of their rebuild.
Calgary will tread water.
Toronto will tread water so long as Tavares keeps up as he starts to age.
Montreal I don't really know to be honest.
Winnipeg will tread water.
Edmonton will be at the bottom or fighting Montreal for the bottom if things don't go well for them.

So the team with the 2nd most promising prospect pool (Canadian teams) and currently a top 5 youngest team in the NHL will somehow regress to the bottom in 3 years?

Seems realistic...

 

[Team Cozens]

Next 3 year:

Calgary
Winnipeg
Montreal
Vancouver
Toronto
Edmonton
Ottawa

 

[JD1]

It's not bragging and it's not a "flex". The Leafs did better than the Jets this year. That's a fact. Whether its by one game or by 5 games, it doesn't make it any less of a fact. It's not something to celebrate or be all that proud of, but in the context of a ranking then this kind of fact matters. No need to get defensive

you're really stretching it.

here's another way of looking at it: both the Leafs and Jets failed this year. The expectations of both franchise's mgmt teams and fanbases certainly exceeded first round loss. In the Leafs case, half the fanbase had the parade planned the second they signed Tavares. They failed. Badly About the best you can say is they were harder to beat this year.

I don't like "rank the teams" type threads. The NHL reality these days is the roster turnover is too high. Who knows what things look like in 5 years or 3 years.

 

[Anichels]

OP's question is not clear, what he means "going forward".
What are the current assets/liabilities going forward? (Good/bad contracts, prospect and current skilled players and talent depth)

1 - Winnipeg: Some cap space ($4M). Need to re-sign Laine, Connor, and like half of their D. Locked up Hellebyuk as their Goalie. I think they look pretty good overall. Decently young team, Buff is 34 but shows no signs of slowing.

2 - Calgary: Not much cap room. I think that they have a few ugly contracts from declining players (Neal, Backlund). I like their depth at the back end. What do you do about goal-tending? Need to re-sign Bennett, Tkachuk, Goalie. Gio is 35, but the rest of their team is actually quite young.

3a - Toronto: They don't have much cap space and still need to re-sign Marner, Kapanen, Gardiner; good high-end F, but they paid too much for some of those players. D is decent but will get worse. Not in love with Nylander contract. Goaltender is good. Once Marleau, Hainsey retires, it will provide room for some pieces. I think they will get better only because young players hit their prime. They really need to fix depth at the back-end.

3b - Vancouver: Plenty of cap room. They have a good young core at F (Pettersson, Boeser, Horvat, Goldobin), as well as Hughes and possibly Juolevi. Questionable "shut down D". Goaltender is good. Don't like the Loui Eriksson contract, but I don't think it'll prevent them from doing the moves they need to do.

3c - Montreal: Plenty of cap room. I like their current forwards, but they need more high-end skill players. Hopefully Poeling can be an impact player like he was in his first game. Not crazy about their D - half in their thirties, G Price and Niemi in their thirties. They do have Weber and Price, which I think are great pieces.

6 - Ottawa: They have plenty of cap room, I like some of their young pieces (Chabot, Ceci, Tkachuk, Brannstrom, etc.). They have flexibility with their recent trades, they will obviously struggle in the next few years, but if they figure out their management situation, they can become a good team.

7 - Edmonton: No cap space, I have no idea how they improve. They have poor depth at F, and overvalued D, and their G is meh. Their saving grace is that they have the best player in the game. Lucic at $6M??

 

[crackdown44]

OP's question is not clear, what he means "going forward".
What are the current assets/liabilities going forward? (Good/bad contracts, prospect and current skilled players and talent depth)

1 - Winnipeg: Some cap space ($4M). Need to re-sign Laine, Connor, and like half of their D. Locked up Hellebyuk as their Goalie. I think they look pretty good overall. Decently young team, Buff is 34 but shows no signs of slowing.

2 - Calgary: Not much cap room. I think that they have a few ugly contracts from declining players (Neal, Backlund). I like their depth at the back end. What do you do about goal-tending? Need to re-sign Bennett, Tkachuk, Goalie. Gio is 35, but the rest of their team is actually quite young.

3a - Toronto: They don't have much cap space and still need to re-sign Marner, Kapanen, Gardiner; good high-end F, but they paid too much for some of those players. D is decent but will get worse. Not in love with Nylander contract. Goaltender is good. Once Marleau, Hainsey retires, it will provide room for some pieces. I think they will get better only because young players hit their prime. They really need to fix depth at the back-end.

3b - Vancouver: Plenty of cap room. They have a good young core at F (Pettersson, Boeser, Horvat, Goldobin), as well as Hughes and possibly Juolevi. Questionable "shut down D". Goaltender is good. Don't like the Loui Eriksson contract, but I don't think it'll prevent them from doing the moves they need to do.

3c - Montreal: Plenty of cap room. I like their current forwards, but they need more high-end skill players. Hopefully Poeling can be an impact player like he was in his first game. Not crazy about their D - half in their thirties, G Price and Niemi in their thirties. They do have Weber and Price, which I think are great pieces.

6 - Ottawa: They have plenty of cap room, I like some of their young pieces (Chabot, Ceci, Tkachuk, Brannstrom, etc.). They have flexibility with their recent trades, they will obviously struggle in the next few years, but if they figure out their management situation, they can become a good team.

7 - Edmonton: No cap space, I have no idea how they improve. They have poor depth at F, and overvalued D, and their G is meh. Their saving grace is that they have the best player in the game. Lucic at $6M??

Backlund put up a career high in points this year and is a premier shutdown center. He’s only 30 and will make 5.35mil until he’s 35. The whole team had a bad playoffs if that’s your angle. I’m not sure I understand how it would be seen as a bad contract?