Are the Senators Canada’s best chance at a Stanley Cup this season?
The first PlayStation hadn’t been released yet. The sitcom ‘Friends’ hadn’t even aired it’s first season yet. O.J. Simpson was simply a popular and likable broadcaster and former NFL running back. These are all true facts about the year 1993, which is the last time a Canadian NHL team won the Stanley Cup. It’s been a long 32 years since the Montreal Canadiens hoisted Lord Stanley’s mug in ’93. A Canadian team has made the Stanley Cup Finals eight times since then, but none have managed to actually win it all.
This season isn’t shaping up to be one that breaks the streak, either. Longtime playoff shoo-ins like the Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets have gotten off to poor starts. The Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks have been not-so-surprisingly bad. The young, fun Canadiens have cooled off considerably after a hot start. In fact, the only Canadian team currently in a playoff position is the Ottawa Senators. The Senators sit tied for third in the tightly contested Atlantic Division with 26 points in 22 games, but even that spot is precarious with the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers breathing down their necks.
On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discussed whether the Senators really are Canada’s best shot at a Stanley Cup this season.
Tyler Yaremchuk: We are waking up on November 26th and there is one Canadian team holding on to a playoff spot in the NHL, which brings us to the Ottawa Senators. Are they truly Canada’s lone chance at a Stanley Cup this season? I like the Senators. I think they’re a good team. I think they will be a playoff team this year. They’ve been having success without Brady Tkachuk in the lineup. What are they in their last 10? 5-2-3. They scrap together loser points even when they’re not at their best. They have a lot of really good traits. I don’t like their roster as much as I like Edmonton’s, still, or much as I like Winnipeg’s, still. But their path to the Cup is much easier than any team in the West, so I guess this boils down to, if you believe the path through the East is the easiest, are the Senators the best Canadian team in the Eastern Conference, Hutts?
Carter Hutton: Right now, I guess statistically speaking. But I can’t see this sustaining. You’ve got to think somebody is going to get going. You’ve got to think the Winnipeg Jets, if they get through this little rut without Connor Hellebuyck. You look at Toronto, can they turn it around? There’s so many different story lines. The Montreal Canadiens are a very intriguing team to me because of their youth, the lack of goaltending, they’ve still been able to produce pretty well. But for the Ottawa Senators, there’s been a lot of good stories. Having a healthy Batherson back, who missed the start for a little bit. Tim Stutzle’s been buzzing along. I didn’t get a chance to talk about him with my futures, because I think I had him with 60-plus points, 61 maybe. He’s a point per game right now, or just under. He’s got 21 points in 22 games. He’s been a great story. So I do think there is a bump, and I think this is a team that can graduate to being a little more competitive.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…