Nobody else in the world is as passionate about Ice Hockey as the Canadians are. There are currently seven National Hockey League teams in Canada despite the country’s population of 34 million people being able to easily support even more. As a point of reference, the state of California has 39 million residents and three teams in the NHL.
So, tell me, which teams represent Canada in the National Hockey League? There are seven teams competing in the National Hockey League that call Canada home.
The Montreal Canadians (1917), the Toronto Maple Leafs (1917), the Vancouver Canucks (1970), the Edmonton Oilers (1979), the Calgary Flames (1980), and the Ottawa Senators (1992) are the seven teams that have competed in the National Hockey League since the league’s inception (2011).
Canadian Ice Hockey Teams NHL
Let’s take a more in-depth look at each of the seven teams, including some of the significant dates, players, and players whose jerseys have been retired, as well as the Stanley Cups that each of the teams has won.
1. Calgary Flames
Unquestionably, the Flames’ victory in the Stanley Cup finals in 1989 stands out as the franchise’s crowning achievement. The victory was highlighted by the fact that Hockey Hall of Famer Lanny McDonald played his final game in the NHL and ended his career on a high note by scoring a monumental goal in the game that clinched the cup for his team.
Since 1989, then, well, well…. (insert cricket sounds here). There has not been much to get excited about for the Flames since their run to the Stanley Cup in 2004 when they were defeated by the Lightning in seven games. Jarome Iginla was a big reason for that loss.
The Flames have only triumphed in one postseason series in the years that followed 2004 but not in any of the other years combined. Yes, you read that correctly; there will only be one postseason series.
In 2022, the Flames will field a strong team, and who knows? They might even be able to increase their number of postseason victories from one to two.
2. Edmonton Oilers
The 1980s were a time of tremendous growth and prosperity for Edmonton. They had Mark Messier, Grant Fuhr, Paul Coffey, and a whole host of other Hall of Famers on their team in addition to Wayne Gretzky.
The Edmonton Oilers team of the 1980s is widely regarded as the best ever assembled by a National Hockey League franchise. During that time period, and with the addition of one more in 1990, they were victorious and won five Stanley Cups.
They, like their rival team the Calgary Flames, have had a hard time overcoming obstacles and have achieved only moderate levels of success. In 2006, they competed for the Stanley Cup, but their run was cut short when they were defeated by the Carolina Hurricanes in game seven of the finals.
They were so terrible over the past ten years that they had four picks in the first overall position in the draught. Connor McDavid, currently the best player in the world, was selected with one of those picks, which was a stroke of good luck.
Despite the presence of Connor McDavid, they have had a difficult time establishing themselves even as a team capable of making the playoffs, let alone contending for the Stanley Cup.
If they are successful in surrounding McDavid and their other superstar, Leon Draisaitl, with a better supporting cast, it should mean that they are able to reclaim some of the glory that they had back in their glory days.
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3. Montreal Canadiens
The city of Montreal is considered the epicenter of the world of ice hockey because it is where the sport was initially played, where the first team competitions and tournaments took place, and where the National Hockey League was established in 1917.
In addition to all of that, they have won a total of 24 Stanley Cups, which makes them the team with the most victories overall. They are the hockey team with the most wins in the history of the sport, and they will be difficult to overtake.
Because of all of the rich history that the Canadiens have, there is a deep love among the fans, and if there is any place you want to go to watch hockey, it would be at the Bell Center on a Saturday night. If there is ever a place you want to go, it would be this.
The Montreal Canadiens are not in such a glistening position at the moment as they once were. After making an unexpected run all the way to the Stanley Cup finals in 2021, they have quickly found themselves in a difficult financial situation.
As a result of the injuries sustained by several of their top players, they have fallen to the bottom of the NHL standings and are currently one of the worst teams.
The team is starting over completely, and it will probably take them between three and five years to get back to a respectable level of play.
4. Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators have a total of 11 Stanley Cups to their name, but not this particular team has won any of them. There was a team called the Ottawa Senators that existed prior to the formation of the National Hockey League (NHL), played in the NHL for a single season, and then disbanded in 1934 after having relocated to St. Louis for the previous season.
According to those previous Ottawa Senators and the National Hockey League, the current iteration of the Ottawa Senators does not have any connection to the previous iteration of the Ottawa Senators.
The current iteration of the Ottawa Senators joined the league in 1996, and their run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2007 was the franchise’s greatest achievement to date. Back then, they had a team that was capable of winning the Stanley Cup, but for some reason, they were never able to put it all together.
The current iteration of the Ottawa Senators is in the process of going through a rebuilding process. However, they are currently making their way upward.
They are still one of the worst teams in the league, but they have accumulated enough talent that in three to five years they should be a regular playoff team. This is despite the fact that they are still one of the worst teams in the league.
5. Toronto Maple Leafs
One of the four teams that initially participated in the National Hockey League (NHL) when it was first established in 1917, the Toronto Maple Leafs were one of those teams. They have a very impressive number of Stanley Cup victories to their name.
In point of fact, they have triumphed in thirteen of those competitions. The issue, however, is that they haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 1967, which is quite a long time ago.
They have been winless in the Stanley Cup competition for an official total of 54 years and counting, making them the NHL team with the longest current drought. When they had their most recent victory, there were still only six teams competing in the NHL.
They are currently playing with a very good team that is led by superstar Auston Matthews. The fact that they play in a division that has a lot of other strong teams is the primary obstacle.
In order to move on to the next round of the Stanley Cup finals, they will need to win against either Tampa Bay, Boston, or Florida. Tampa Bay is the defending champion, having won the Stanley Cup for the past two consecutive years.
However, when compared to the other teams that the Maple Leafs have fielded in the past 54 years, this one is unquestionably among the best, if not the best, of all of them.
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6. Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets in their current iteration are, technically speaking, the team’s second iteration overall. The original iteration of the Winnipeg Jets played in the WHA from 1972 until 1996. In 1979, the team was accepted into the NHL after having played in the NHL previously.
The franchise that was formerly known as the New York Jets moved to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1996, and is now known as the Arizona Coyotes.
The Arizona Coyotes are the owners of those Jets, as well as all of their records and history; the current Winnipeg Jets have no affiliation or connection with the previous version of the Jets.
The franchise that is now known as the Winnipeg Jets was originally established in Atlanta in 1999 under the name of the Thrashes. In 2011, the franchise made the move to its current location in Winnipeg, where it is known as the Jets.
The current iteration of the Jets possesses all of the records and the rich history that was initially compiled by the Atlanta franchise.
The Jets have never been to the Stanley Cup finals, let alone won a Stanley Cup, and their current roster has never even qualified for the tournament.
Over the course of the last few years, they have consistently fielded teams that are better than average, but they have not yet reached the point where they are considered legitimate contenders for the Stanley Cup.
7. Vancouver Canucks
The fans in Vancouver are known for their intense devotion. They have a history that includes many wonderful things to cheer about, but a Stanley Cup is not one of those things to cheer about in their history.
Vancouver Canucks are one of the 11 teams in the NHL that have never been victorious in the Stanley Cup tournament. They have been to the finals of the Stanley Cup on three separate occasions, but they have been eliminated twice in the seventh game.
Even though they have had incredible players, such as Trevor Linden, Hendrik Sedin, Daniel, and Marcus Naslund, come through their organization, they have not been able to put together a team that is successful enough to win a championship.
The current iteration of the Canucks is a fairly average hockey team. They have some promising young players, such as Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson, but they need to fill out the roster with some stronger defensemen and more depth.
This is Kyle Thomas, a professional writer, and a news editor. I started my career as a blogger who writes on various topics and then I decided that I should join a NEWS agency where I can work as a NEWS reporter. So, I joined a renowned agency in the town as an internet and after getting 2 years of experience, now I am working as a senior NEWS reporter for The Daily NEWS Times.
