Stanley Cup play is underway in the National Hockey League but without a Canadian contender. The trophy that is the dream of millions of Canadian boys and men, will not spend the next year north of the border.
All 7 of the Canadian teams in the league lost. The Ottawa Senators were the final hope, and were eliminated on March 30th, 2016 even though they defeated the Winnipeg Jets 2-1. But the Philadelphia Flyers’ 2-1 shootout victory over the Washington Capitals mathematically eliminated the “Sens”.
The other teams, the Montreal Canadiens, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Calgary Flames, the Edmonton Oilers and the Vancouver Canucks had already fallen out of contention and are now watching as 16 U.S-based clubs battle for the Cup.
Once before
It happened once before, back in 1970. Then it was the Toronto Maple Leafs who finished sixth and last in their division and the Canadiens ended up fifth, losing the final playoff spot to the New York Rangers on a tiebreaker, on the last day of the regular season.
But Montreal Canadiens defenceman Nathan Beaulieu may have put it best when he spoke to the Toronto Star Newspaper.“I think it’s a fluke,” he said, reminding us that “Every team has Canadian players, so I don’t think it has anything to do with Canadian teams.”
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