With the playoffs beginning a week from today Canadian rinks will be emptier than a Coyotes game, the lone exception being the Montreal Canadiens who will in all likelihood face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs.
The Habs have a decent opportunity to make a run in the east with new addition Tomas Vanek fitting in rather nicely with Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais on their top line. Carey Price has a lot to prove going into the playoffs, despite his spectacular play in the Olympics as he's yet to have any real success come April.
Elsewhere in Canada there's nothing left to do but ask questions. And they abound...
In Vancouver the ax has already fallen on GM Mike Gillis who made several moves with his goaltending that can only be described as bizarre. At this point last year they Canucks had two prove number 1 NHL caliber goalies, now...? The always entertaining John Tortorella is still in place behind the bench, for now, but it will be up to Canucks legend and new President of Hockey Operations Trevor Linden to decide his fate. One thing is for sure, we'll get Tort's opinion either way.
In Calgary the Flames continue to rebuild and President of Hockey Operations/Psuedo GM Brian Burke has decision to make on several fronts, aside from whatever that is on his head, including what to do with Mike Cammalleri. He's a proven goal scorer and played reasonably well this season but may command a higher price on the market than the Flames are willing to pay. Rookie Sean Monahan was a nice surprise for the franchise and they have young talent and a solid leader in Mark Giordano so they have pieces in place moving ahead.
In Edmonton, it's a case of deja vu all over again. How many years and high draft picks will it take to turn this organization around? Without a playoff birth since their Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2006 the faithful are getting restless. There is a lot of talent there, more than a lot of other teams, but it seems to fit like a square peg in the round hole. New captain Andrew Ference was brought in to help mold this young group but they seem to have taken a step back. Dallas Eakins had a lot of ups and downs as a first year coach and GM Craig MacTavish will once again have a lottery pick and a number of assets to utilize to improve his roster. Ales Hemsky was already dealt to Ottawa so is this the beginning of (another) rebuild in Oil Country?
The Jets joined the western conference and turned things around, briefly, under new coach Paul Maurice after Claude Noel was fired mid-season, but ultimately came up short of a playoff spot. It will be interesting to see what Maurice can do with the group and what comes of his, seemingly, rocky relationship with star forward Evander Kane. The Jets have some young talent in the likes of Bryan Little and Mark Scheifele but may need to bring in some veteran presence to fit with Maurice's structured style.
In the nation's Capital the 'Pesky Sens' were at worst an annoyance, mostly to their fans, as they showed a consistent lack of consistency all year, especially in their own end. They went from being one of the best defensive teams in the league to one of the worst and while they didn't necessarily get the same level of goaltending they had last season, Craig Anderson and Robin Lehner still covered up a lot of mistakes by a very young defensive core. Erik Karlsson is a dynamic player, often for both teams and this superstar needs to correct his often careless play in his own end. On the plus side Sens fans can see they have a lot of young talent and those young players will continue to improve, ideally, but what is sorely missing is leadership. With the departure of Daniel Alfredsson and Sergi Gonchar Ottawa lost two players who held those young guys accountable and set an example on the ice. GM Bryan Murray may need to add some veteran presence to his locker room to help his young team.
In Toronto there was another collapse of Rob Ford proportions as the Leafs completely faltered down the stretch and will, yet again, miss the post season. They have high end talent and can score goals but this team is as bad in their own any as a pewee squad. They have more turnovers most nights than a bakery and Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer should be given a percentage on their defensemen's contracts for having to do their job as well. This lack of attention to detail has to have driven coach Randy Carlyle nuts especially as a former Norris wining defensman. The had part for the Leafs moving forward however, may be cap issues. With the likes of Kessel, Bozak, Phaneuf and Clarksson signed to hefty long term contracts there won't be a lot to go around when free agency hits so Dave Bolland and others may be on their way out. The improvement in play by young Morgan Reily and Jake Gardiner has to be one bright spot but once again there are more questions than answers in Leaf land.
