Western Canada Breakthrough Close?

Thanks to Ryan once again....for a very entertaining article.

The three Canadian teams west of the Rockies have each faced a lot of pressure the last couple years... and all three have wilted under that pressure. Calgary couldn’t put together a postseason run under Mike Keenan, and blew their big division lead this past March. Vancouver was the hottest team in the league heading into the playoffs, but was ousted in six games as their franchise goalie came up short. In Edmonton, they have not been the same since appearing in the finals in 2006. They were also expected to make the playoffs last year… which didn’t happen! But all three have signs of hope that a breakthrough could happen as soon as this season.

The Sutter brothers have a really good bunch in Calgary. Yes, the Flames lost Mike Cammalleri and his 39 goals from last year. But I think the organization is hoping David Moss can fill those skates. In his first full season, he scored 20 goals and put together some really good stretches of play. The waiver claim of Nigel Dawes could pay dividends, as he could be their next Rene Bourque-type pickup. With the signing of Jay Bouwmeester, the Flames possess the league’s top defensive core IMO. When you can put out either Jay-Bo, Phaneuf, or Regehr at all times, you’re going to be hard to beat. I also believe Brent Sutter will be a better bench boss than Keenan in Calgary. If he lets Iginla & Kiprusoff just play their respective games, the Flames could make a run in the West!

In Vancouver… sure they’re coming off a disappointing finish to the 08/09 campaign. But they basically have the same cast of characters (minus Sundin and Ohlund), and Luongo could have a huge season in a contract year. Re-signing the Sedins was huge for the Canucks. They are the anchors up front, and GM Mike Gillis wouldn’t have been able to find two forwards with the same chemistry as the twins. Alex Burrows was a huge part of the twins’ late-season success last year as the 3rd piece of that top line, and could be again this year. If not, they have other candidates like Mikael Samuelsson or Pavol Demitra that could do just as well. Defensively, I think they’ll be fine, despite losing Ohlund. I think they’ll still add another d-man, either through a trade or free agency. The Canucks should be just fine, and I expect Alain Vigneault’s club to make another charge in the West when it’s all said and done.

Pat Quinn takes over behind the bench for Craig MacTavish, and this change was a long time coming in Edmonton. MacTavish did a poor job after their run to the finals, and the team seemed to lose chemistry as each season went on since then. The Oilers have a new goalie, and it’s the ‘Bulin Wall’. GM Steve Tambellini gave him a 4-year deal on July 1 as he was desperate to find a replacement for Roli the Goalie. Khabibulin has a solid defense in front of him… Souray, Visnovsky, and Gilbert make for a nice mix, and Denis Grebeshkov is on his way up. As for the forwards – they didn’t get better this summer like they needed to. Dustin Penner may improve under Quinn, but you can’t assume it. They still hasn’t found a go-to-guy to go with Hemsky. But other than that, I really think young guns Sam Gagner and Andrew Cogliano will recover from their sophomore slumps and start to live up to expectations. The Oilers could surprise this year… but they’re going to have to get off to a good start and have stellar goaltending from Khabibulin.

All signs point to this Western Canada trio to eventually breakthrough in the coming years. Each have had their fair share of disappointment the last few years. With the top dogs in the West from last year (Detroit & San Jose) not getting any better this summer, it opens up the door for Calgary, Vancouver, Anaheim, and Chicago to possibly take over. Don’t be surprised if one of these three teams breaks Canada’s Cup drought in the next few years.