Can the Oilers contend for a Stanley Cup? Can the Senators contend for a playoff spot? And can the Maple Leafs get by with uncertainty in net?
With training camps set to open around the league, here is one big question mark facing each of the seven Canadian teams.
Who will win the No. 1 job for the Maple Leafs?
The battle is on for the net.
With Jack Campbell signing in Edmonton, Toronto will turn to a couple of reclamation projects in Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov to share goaltending duties this season.
No one knows who will get the nod for Game 1. But considering that Murray is a two-time champion who struggled to stay healthy in Ottawa and Samsonov is a first-round pick who was placed on waivers in Washington, both should be hungry to get their careers back on track.
“The first thing that jumps out at me are Murray’s Cups,” said defenceman Morgan Rielly, who was Murray’s teammate at the 2016 World Cup. “He’s had an incredible career. I think whenever you can add a player like that into your locker room who’s had success, especially in that position, it makes your team better.”
Can Huberdeau and Kadri replace the offence Calgary lost with Gaudreau and Tkachuk?
What a crazy summer it was in Calgary.
Though the Flames lost Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk, who combined for 82 goals and 219 points last season, they were able to replace their offensive production with the additions of Florida’s Jonathan Huberdeau and Colorado’s Nazem Kadri, who combined 58 goals and 202 points.
The only question is whether Huberdeau and Kadri, who have never played together, can find the same sort of chemistry that Calgary centre Elias Lindholm had with Gaudreau and Tkachuk in what was the NHL’s most potent forward line.
“I think Bill Zito helped him giving the players he gave,” Huberdeau said of the Panthers GM. “We’ll see when we start playing because … we haven’t started playing. So we’ve got to do the job on the ice. It’s going to be good. New chapter.”
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Did the Oilers do enough to be Stanley Cup contenders?
After reaching the conference final for the first time in five years, there is renewed optimism in Edmonton, especially after bringing back Evander Kane and signing goalie Jack Campbell to a five-year contract.
“I thought he did a great job,” McDavid said of GM Ken Holland. “Adding in Campbell helps a lot. Not to say that I thought goaltending was an issue, but just to get a little bit solidified for the long term is always a good thing.”
As for scoring 50 goals or topping the 123 points he put up last year, McDavid said he’s more concerned with winning a Stanley Cup rather than adding more hardware to his trophy case.
“Numbers at this point don’t really matter,” he said. “I’ve been there and done that and I’ve won my Art Ross’ and Hart Trophies and stuff like that. So it’s kind of a moot point at this point.”
Can Quinn Hughes make it work for Vancouver on the right side?
With 68 points in 76 games, Hughes had a monster year for Vancouver, tying for sixth amongst NHL defencemen in scoring. But the 22-year-old might have to do even more on the backend if the Canucks are going to be a playoff team this season.
That includes putting himself in a position he’s unfamiliar with, such as playing on the right side on defence, where the team finds itself with few options.
“I think from an offensive perspective it might be easier for me,” Hughes said of playing on his off-side, which he worked on this summer. “In regards to everything else, yeah, it’s probably a little tougher.”
Tough, but not impossible. Either way, Hughes is willing to make it work if that’s what head coach Bruce Boudreau wants.
“You kind of want to run through a brick wall for him,” Hughes said of Boudreau. “I’m excited to play for him again for a whole year. I think we all feel hungry to win.”
Can the rudderless Jets survive not having a captain?
Let the rebuild begin.
The decision to strip Blake Wheeler of the captaincy last week was not exactly a sign that the Jets will be competing for a playoff spot next year. If anything, it hints that a major breakup could be coming in Winnipeg, where Wheeler and Mark Scheifele have two more years remaining on their contracts and Pierre-Luc Dubois becomes a free agent at the end of the season.
That being said, Scheifele is not ready to concede anything just yet.
“Letters don’t mean anything,” said Scheifele. “It gives the opportunity for a lot of younger guys to feel like they can step up into a leadership role. That’s only going to be better for our team … I don’t think we’ll all know until the season starts. You never know how a young guy might step into a role.”
Are the new and improved Senators ready to contend?
It was in 2020 when the late-owner Eugene Melnyk told reporters that the Senators would be a “Stanley Cup winner within four years.” Two years later, the pieces are there to contend.
Ottawa was a busy team this summer, signing veteran centre Claude Giroux and acquiring winger Alex DeBrincat and goalie Cam Talbot. Now, the only question is whether the Senators, who finished in second-last place in the Atlantic Division, can put it all together.
“There’s definitely a lot of buzz,” said captain Brady Tkachuk. “We just want all the people who stuck with us these last couple of years to make them happy and make them feel loved again. We’re excited … Now it’s time to go out there and prove to everybody that we’re here and we’re ready to be good for a long time.”
How bad will the Canadiens be this year?
All eyes will be on Juraj Slafkovsky, who comes into camp trying to make the jump to the NHL after being the No. 1 overall pick last summer. But after finishing in last place, don’t count on Montreal bottoming out again for Connor Bedard, who is the consensus 2023 top prospect.
In fact, after acquiring Sean Monahan, Kirby Dach, Mike Hoffman and several others in the off-season, the Habs could have their sights on a wild card spot.
“We’re not going into the season wanting a lottery pick, I can tell you that,” said new captain Nick Suzuki. “We want to win as many games as possible. We want to make the playoffs. Honestly, I think we can.”
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