Ice Hockey is the official national winter sport in Canada, and it holds a significant place in Canadian culture as it is regarded as Canada’s national pastime. The NHL is regarded as the foremost professional ice hockey league in the world. In terms of revenue, it is the 5th richest professional sports league in the world. However, the NHL didn’t become a world-wide phenomenon until expanding to the United States of America. It currently consists of 31 teams, 24 of which are from the US, while the remaining 7 teams are from Canada and are proudly flying the flag of the home country of NHL. 1xBet tells you the story of these teams, their achievements, and plans for the new season. We provide you with interesting facts and first-hand information about the Canadian NHL teams as well as top predictions for the new season.
The 7 teams representing Canada in the NHL are Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Ottawa Senators, and Winnipeg Jets. However, despite being the birthplace of the prestigious NHL, Canada only managed to get one team in last year’s playoffs. The Vancouver Canucks didn’t make it past the first bracket, although their final game in the playoffs against the Vegas Golden Knights set a new single-year record as the 94th game in a Stanley Cup playoff. The previous highest number of games in a single-year was 93, set in 2014. However, that’s all in the past now. All the Canadian teams will be hoping to write their wrongs this coming season.
The Vancouver Canucks, for example, signed center Jayce Hawryluk on a one-year, two-way contract. Besides Hawryluk, the Canucks also welcomed Braden Holtby and Nate Schmidt into the team. They also brought back Tyler Motte, Ashton Sautner, Adam Gaudette, and Jake Virtanen.
On the other hand, the Habs are looking forward to the new season with confidence, as the head coach has stated. The manager is confident following the offseason moves, hoping for a far better run this year. And with names like Jake Allen, Josh Anderson, Joel Edmundson, and Tyler Toffoli, they have a great shot this time around!
The Maple Leafs also strengthened their roster for the next season with top players like Joe Thornton, TJ Brodie, and Jimmy Vesey. Asides from the new additions, the team also brought back Travis Dermott. This defenceman gathered 41 points from 9 goals and 32 assists in 157 games with Toronto Maple Leafs.
The 2020/2021 season brings a lot of hope for the Calgary Flames, who signed a six-year deal with Jacob Markstrom. The $36-million deal makes the Flames a better team in the defence department, where they’ve been struggling in recent years. Their five-on-five save percentage in the past three seasons puts them in 21st place overall.
It has been a busy period for the Ottawa Senators as they have signed some players to get more firepower in attack and solidity in defence for next season. Their last signing, Alex Galchenyuk, got the third-overall pick in 2012. His best season came when he was playing at Montreal Canadiens with a total of 30 goals and 56 points in the 2015/16 season.
It’s never too early to make predictions for the new season, even though the Tampa Bay Lightning just lifted the trophy a couple of months ago. However, if you really want to make the most of next season’s NHL, you need to start early. It looks like Tampa Bay Lightning are favourites for another easy win in the Eastern Conference. Next in line is the Boston Bruins, who have an excellent chance of producing a surprise to get ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning that recently lost some important players. Also, let’s not forget the Philadelphia Flyers. This team had an excellent acquisition plan and could prove to be the dark horse next season.
While over in the Western Conference, tournament favourites Colorado Avalanche look to dominate the proceedings – certainly against lacklustre opposition such as the Dallas Stars. To lift the Stanley Cup next season though, they will have to overcome current champions Tampa Bay Lightning.
However, everything is played on the ice, and we’ll see how each of them can handle the stress and the competition. Get detailed statistics, high odds, and numerous betting markets by registering an account at 1xBet to wager on all your favourite teams!
