from Michael Traikos of the National Post,
The league is going to feel smaller and more regional than it ever has in the past. But it’s also going to feel rather incomplete.
How will you know if a team, such as Calgary or Vancouver, is a championship contender if you don’t get to see them measure themselves against Tampa Bay or even Dallas, Colorado, Vegas and Washington?
It’s one thing for Toronto to beat up on the other Canadian teams. It’s another to assert your will against Boston or Columbus. We know Calgary can beat Winnipeg. But do they now have the goaltending needed to beat Dallas? Has Edmonton learned how to hang with a veteran team like Chicago?
We won’t know until the playoffs arrive.
Then again, good luck handicapping which four of the seven Canadian teams will qualify for the playoffs. With the exception of Ottawa, you can make arguments for and against all of them.
Who are the favourites to win the division? Who will disappoint and miss out? How do you pick between Toronto and Montreal and Edmonton and Calgary and Winnipeg and Vancouver when everyone has so much talent, so much promise?
more
The league is going to feel smaller and more regional than it ever has in the past. But it’s also going to feel rather incomplete.
How will you know if a team, such as Calgary or Vancouver, is a championship contender if you don’t get to see them measure themselves against Tampa Bay or even Dallas, Colorado, Vegas and Washington?
It’s one thing for Toronto to beat up on the other Canadian teams. It’s another to assert your will against Boston or Columbus. We know Calgary can beat Winnipeg. But do they now have the goaltending needed to beat Dallas? Has Edmonton learned how to hang with a veteran team like Chicago?
We won’t know until the playoffs arrive.
Then again, good luck handicapping which four of the seven Canadian teams will qualify for the playoffs. With the exception of Ottawa, you can make arguments for and against all of them.
Who are the favourites to win the division? Who will disappoint and miss out? How do you pick between Toronto and Montreal and Edmonton and Calgary and Winnipeg and Vancouver when everyone has so much talent, so much promise?
more