As the NHL reaches the quarter mark of the season, the league’s seven Canadian clubs all face major questions. Here are the ones each team hopes to answer in the immediate future:
Calgary Flames: How many veteran players get traded?
As Sportnet’s Eric Francis detailed Monday, the league-worst Flames should come to grips with their situation and start selling assets. Nazem Kadri will be on the radars of centre-needy teams and defenceman Rasmus Andersson could finally get moved as well.
Andersson, a pending unrestricted free agent, is one of two defencemen (Anaheim’s Jackson LaCombe is the other) who averages at least 18 minutes at even strength, three minutes on the penalty kill and two minutes on the power play, per game. He is not afraid to let it rip (and stare down fans), ranking tied for third on defence in one-timer attempts and 14th in overall shot attempts.
And then there is forward Blake Coleman, a two-time Stanley Cup winner who can contribute in multiple ways. More than half of Coleman’s goals (48 of 86) over his five seasons in Calgary have come from the inner slot, so he is willing to take punishment to provide offence. He also is an ace penalty killer, ranking third among forwards this season in shorthanded defensive plays. (His nine shorthanded goals since joining the Flames are tied for eighth in the league.)
Edmonton Oilers: Can the defence get its act together?
Edmonton’s 7-4 loss to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday was emblematic of its season. The Oilers have allowed at least four goals 11 times — tied with the Buffalo Sabres for the most in the league.
The defensive corps, thought to be a strength of the team, has severely underperformed. Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard, who helped the Oilers generate 60.7 per cent of the expected goals at five-on-five last season, are down to 52.8 per cent in that department. Coach Kris Knoblauch split them up against the Capitals. Darnell Nurse, meanwhile, has committed a league-worst seven turnovers that have resulted in goals against within 10 seconds.
It requires a team effort to fix one of the league’s worst defences, but it falls largely on the defensive corps’ shoulders to help right the ship.
Montreal Canadiens: Who steps up amid all the injuries?
Injuries have decimated the Canadiens, who have come back to earth (1-3-3 since Nov. 4) after a hot start. Forwards Alex Newhook (broken ankle) and Kirby Dach (fractured foot), as well as defenceman Kaiden Guhle (torn adductor muscle), are all out for considerable amounts of time. (Guhle has been out since mid-October but recently underwent surgery.)
On Monday, against the Columbus Blue Jackets, forward Zack Bolduc was promoted to Montreal’s top line alongside Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. The Canadiens generated 41.6 per cent of the expected goals at even strength in nearly 13 minutes of ice time. (Bolduc has one goal in his past 16 games after opening the season by scoring in each of his first three games.)
Rookie centre Oliver Kapanen also received a season-high 17:30 of ice time Monday — nearly five more minutes than his season average entering the game (12:38 per game). He scored his seventh goal, tying New York Islanders defenceman Matthew Schaefer for the rookie lead.
Ottawa Senators: Can Linus Ullmark raise his game?
The Senators have earned points in 12 of 16 games (8-4-4) without injured captain Brady Tkachuk, who could return to the lineup during the team’s upcoming seven-game road trip.
Linus Ullmark has started 12 of those games, and his traditional numbers are unspectacular (2.84 goals-against average, .882 save percentage) behind one of the league’s best defences as measured by shot quality against. (Ottawa ranks ninth in expected goals against per game overall and sixth across the past 16 games.)
After finishing 10th last season with 17.9 goals saved above expected (0.44 per 60 minutes), Ullmark has been decidedly average (0.05 GSAE per 60). Although Ullmark has recorded a quality start in nine of his 15 appearances (60 per cent), the Senators need more from him to keep pace in a tough Atlantic Division.
“(I’m) the first one to say that I’m not happy with a lot of the results,” Ullmark told The Athletic earlier this month. “And why should I? If I was happy about that, about the things that I’ve accomplished so far in this season, I don’t think I would be sitting here today.”
Toronto Maple Leafs: Will their defence doom them?
As addressed earlier this week, the Maple Leafs’ leaky defence and inconsistent goaltending are of serious concern. Coach Craig Berube told reporters Thursday that starter Anthony Stolarz’s upper-body injury was worse than they thought it was. Joseph Woll, to his credit, has recorded two quality starts since making his season debut last weekend.
Specifically, Toronto has struggled to defend the rush, surrendering the second-most rush scoring chances in the league.
Vancouver Canucks: Can the penalty kill rise from the dead?
The league began tracking penalty-kill percentage in 1977-78; Vancouver’s 67.1 per cent rate would be the worst in history.
It is a substantial drop from the 82.6 per cent success rate that the Canucks had last season. The Canucks have plummeted from fifth to 30th in shorthanded expected goals against per two minutes. Opponents have completed 61.7 per cent of their slot passes against the Canucks’ penalty kill, compared to a league-low 53.7 per cent last season. Vancouver’s goaltenders can hardly be blamed, despite giving up more than four combined goals above expected while shorthanded.
The Canucks are without many of their top penalty killers from last season, such as centres Pius Suter (now in St. Louis) and Teddy Blueger, who has played in just two games this season because of injury. Regardless, the team’s defensive structure is in tatters.
Winnipeg Jets: Will another forward line emerge as a scoring threat?
Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor are off to outstanding starts, combining for 22 goals and 51 points through 19 games. Along with Gabe Vilardi (14 points), the Jets’ top forward line has outscored opponents 16-11 at five-on-five. That is second to only Colorado’s top line of Artturi Lehkonen, Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas (21 on-ice goals for at five-on-five).
The problem, however, is that the Jets have only one other forward (Nino Niederreiter) with double-digit points. No other line combination has been on the ice for more than three Jets goals at five-on-five all season. Since captain Adam Lowry returned to the lineup earlier this month, his line with Niederreiter and Alex Iafallo has done well, outscoring opponents 3-0 and generating 58.3 per cent of the expected goals.
Winnipeg had 11 forwards record at least 10 points during its Presidents’ Trophy-winning season, including nine who had at least 30 points (tied for second most in the league). Secondary scoring is critical to any team’s success.
