Ranking the top five Canadian hockey teams in the NHL

For the first time since 2017, five Canadian teams have made the Stanley Cup Playoffs. All five are in search of bringing home Lord Stanley north of the border for the first time since 1993, when the Montreal Canadiens did it last.

These are the rankings of those five teams through the first two games of their respective series.

No. 5 - Montreal Canadiens

The Canadiens don’t lack talent at all with Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and standout rookie, Lane Hutson. They’re a young team with a young coach and a bright future.

It goes against them, though, that they are all young. Caufield and Suzuki both have playoff experience, but they have a young goalie, a head coach who is only in his third year and a younger roster.

They could take down the number one team in the East, the Washington Capitals, but the odds of them going much further than that are less than likely. This is a good year for experience for a lot of their young core for future playoff runs.

No. 4 - Ottawa Senators

The Senators are in a similar position as the Canadiens; they have a strong young core in Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stützle and a nice veteran piece with Claude Giroux, but it is a lot of that team’s first time in the playoffs.

Playoff hockey is not like any other sport; it is faster, harder hitting, and there is no forgiveness for a mistake. Giroux is in a favorable spot where he doesn’t have to be the main leader with Tkachuk wearing the “C,” but he is the guy that this young core is going to look to.

The only difference between the Canadiens and the Senators is the goalie. Linus Ullmark is a veteran in this league and has been through the playoffs and saw what heartbreak was like when he was with Boston, tying the all-time wins record and losing in the first round to the Panthers two years ago.

Again, they have a solid chance to beat the Maple Leafs in the first round, but they have to overcome a lot of talent across from them and they probably won’t make it much further.

No. 3 - Edmonton Oilers

Through two games, the Oilers have looked rough. They have given up 12 goals and although they came roaring back in game one, this doesn’t look like a good matchup for them this time.

With all that being said, you still have to give them the respect they deserve. They have two of the best players in the world and they are coming off a conference championship appearance two years ago and a Stanley Cup Game 7 overtime loss last year.

They have all the talent and experience that any team could ask for, except for the defense, which still leaves something to be desired.

The talent makes them hard to bet against and having won this exact first round matchup against the Kings for three years straight, but their defense may cost them the series this time.

No. 2 - Toronto Maple Leafs

How much more do you need to say than Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares? They have the best core four in the league, bar none.

Toronto looks poised for a deep run this season after finally slaying their first-round demons against the Lightning last season. Their team looks so complete with those four and then Matthew Knies' uprising and Morgan Reilly leading the defense.

If Stolarz can stand on his head the way he did in his final eight games, they will be a dangerous team. The question is, can they get away from doing what the Leafs do every year and win a couple of games with that core?

No. 1 - Winnipeg Jets

They are your 2025 Presidents’ Trophy winners with the best record in the league. They are stacked from top to bottom without a single hole. Kyle Connor may be one of the most underrated goal scorers in the league and they are loaded with playoff experience.

They possess one of the biggest things needed in the playoffs: physicality. You’re not going to leave the rink without bumps and bruises after playing the Jets, and they are going to grind you down over a seven-game series.

Not to mention, they have a top-two goalie in the league and the likely Vezina Trophy winner in between the pipes. If he can keep his form and continue to be a workhorse in the net, it’ll be hard to get the puck past him enough to win a series.

They have seemed to be cursed the same way the Leafs have in previous years, just on the western side. Can they overcome that and the everlasting President’s trophy curse?

Tristan Kunec is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email tqk5432@psu.edu.