The Toronto Raptors reached a new level after adding Kawhi Leonard for a fan favourite, and perhaps the Montreal Canadiens should try something similar.
It’s not often when you can properly compare the NBA to the NHL, but given what happened over the weekend, there’s no better time to. The Toronto Raptors took their status as Canada’s team to undiscovered and unexplored heights by making the NBA Finals for the first time in history. The entire country was celebrating which is something you wouldn’t see as strongly in the NHL given the league has seven NHL teams including the Montreal Canadiens.
However, there has been a serious lack of Canadian presence in the Stanley Cup Finals. The last team to do that were the 2011 Vancouver Canucks, but they wound up losing to the Boston Bruins who are ironically set to start their final series against the St. Louis Blues (Sidenote: GO BLUES!).
It’ll be tough to get there. Even though there are seven options for Canadian representation in the NHL, there’s rarely an occasion where all seven make the playoffs and are good enough to contend for a Stanley Cup.
The Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks are rebuilding. The Edmonton Oilers should rebuild but likely won’t because they have Connor McDavid and the city of Edmonton is in shambles searching for positivity. The Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets stumbled this year but will likely get an opportunity next season.
The same goes for the Toronto Maple Leafs if they can figure out how to get out of the first round. The Montreal Canadiens were a good team despite not qualifying, but they’ll need to find a way in next year and improve enough to do some damage.
But the Habs aren’t in a position to accept just making the playoffs. Carey Price said it best at the end of the season, the team has a window, and they need to find players to add to the team who can help them become winners.
How would Carey Price sell unrestricted free agents on Montreal?
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) April 9, 2019
“I would tell them that obviously my window is growing smaller and I really want to win more than ever, so I think that should be a pretty good indication of how bad we want to win here.”
But it’s easier said than done.