Canada’s favourite game will take centre ice in the sporting world with the NHL playoffs start Monday night as 16 teams all start their journey towards winning the coveted Stanley Cup.
Canada’s Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs all look to end the championship drought that hasn’t seen a Canadian team win the Cup in three decades.
Bill Foster, Professor of management at the University of Alberta, told Humber News that the NHL playoffs showcases the best hockey in the world and this is the most exciting time of the year for Canadian sports fans.
“There is such intense competition and makes this the best most challenging, exciting time of the year for hockey fans,” he said.
“If you haven’t seen it before what you would gain in this sense of competition and intensity you wouldn’t see in any other sport except international competitions.”
Foster has done research on how hockey and baseball organizations perform within their respective sport, particularly when it comes to system play and player acquisitions.
His expertise has seen him interviewed on TV where he was asked for his knowledge on the two sports.
Bachelor of Commerce Management Studies student Tyrus Bath feels this year might finally be the year the Toronto Maple Leafs break through and make a deep run after not making it past the first round since 2004.
“They have never had a team like this in the recent years it’s filled with talent experience grit and leadership I think this is as good as any of a chance to break that first round drought,” he said. “I truly believe this is the year for them.”
The Leafs made several deals at the trade deadline to elevate their team to even newer heights and Police Foundations student Brandon Deans thinks those deals will be the difference maker.
“I think this is the year they take that leap and go far,” he said “They made some really good moves at the deadline that i think will pay off.”
The Leafs will have a monstrous roadblock on their way to the Cup with the Boston Bruins, who are coming off a historic season setting the record for the most regular season wins ever with 65 and the Presidents Trophy finishing with the league’s best record.
Foster has been an Oilers fan for as long as he can remember and believes like the Leafs they have a chance to break through but thinks it’ll be tougher than the Leafs challenge with the Bruins.
“This team is playing probably better than I’ve seen them play in 30 years,” he said. “But, if you look after January, four or five of the top eight teams in records are all from the West.”
Foster said those western teams are the LA Kings, who the Oilers will play in the first round which will look to be a tight matchup, along with the Vegas Golden Knights, Seattle Kraken and the defending Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche.
Fitness & Health Promotion student Eric Alcaraz said he is excited even though his Chicago Blackhawks didn’t make the playoffs. He says he’ll be routing on former Blackhawks Legend Patrick Kane, who is now a member of the New York Rangers.
“My dad is a huge leaf fan so it’s gonna be fun to see him lose his mind about them,” he said. “As a Blackhawks fan it’s gonna be awesome to see Kane compete for another cup.”
The Leafs don’t start their series versus the Tampa Bay Lightning until Tuesday but you can catch plenty of NHL playoff action Monday evening with the Hurricanes looking to blow away the Islanders, the Bruins clashing against the Panthers, the Wild aiming to outshine the Stars and the Oilers hoping to make the Kings slip up.