THURSDAY COMMENTARY – CANADA’S BEST HOPE

(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98 & Rock 98.5 FM)

IT’S BEEN SO HOT OUTSIDE, LET’S GO IN BY THE ICE.

YOU MAY HAVE NOT EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT THE RETURN OF THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE, BUT TRAINING CAMPS OPEN IN A WEEK AND PRESEASON GAMES BEGIN SHORTLY THEREAFTER.

IT GOT ME TO’ THINKING ABOUT WHICH OF CANADA’S SEVEN NHL TEAMS REPRESENTS THE BEST CHANCE AT ENDING OUR COUNTRY’S STANLEY CUP DROUGHT WHICH DATES BACK TO 1993?

WHILE DEBATING THIS WITH RP SHOW VIEWERS ON WEDNESDAY – AND HEARING PLENTY OF COLOURFUL SUGGESTIONS – IT DAWNED ON ME THAT CANADA’S NHL TEAMS ARE SPLIT INTO THREE TIERS:

EDMONTON, CALGARY AND TORONTO ARE IN THE TOP GROUP, AS TEAMS WHO REASONABLY EXPECT TO WIN THE STANLEY CUP THIS SEASON.

MAKING UP THE MIDDLE TIER ARE TEAMS WHOM ARE SIMPLY STRIVING TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS AFTER MISSING LAST YEAR, OR FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS: VANCOUVER, WINNIPEG AND OTTAWA.

AND THE LAST TIER, UNFORTUNATELY, IS MADE UP OF THE MONTREAL CANADIENS WHO KNOW THEY HAVE NO SHOT AT EVEN MAKING THE PLAYOFFS LET ALONE CONTENDING FOR THE STANLEY CUP.

FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THEY THINK THEY COULD ACTUALLY WIN THE DRAFT LOTTERY FOR A SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR AND LAND REGINA PATS STAR CONNOR BEDARD. 

HOW IRONIC THAT THE BLEU, BLANC, ROUGE WAS OUR COUNTRY’S LAST GREAT HOPE TWO YEARS AGO, AND WAS THAT LAST TEAM TO WIN IT ALL BACK IN 1993?

IN VANCOUVER, NEWLY RE-SIGNED STAR FORWARD J.T. MILLER SAID CLOSE WASN’T GOOD ENOUGH LAST YEAR AND THIS SEASON THEY WANT TO BE IN THE PLAYOFFS.

THAT WAS ENOUGH OF A CUE FOR ME WHERE THAT TEAM’S HEAD IS AT.

IN ALBERTA, THE DEBATE RAGES OVER WHO’S BETTER: THE FLAMES OR OILERS?

BUT AFTER EDMONTON TOOK CALGARY OUT EASILY IN A 5-GAME ROUND TWO SERIES LAST SPRING, AND WENT THE FURTHEST OF ANY CANADIAN TEAM, THE OILERS OWN THE TITLE AS CANADA’S BEST CHANCE COMING BACK THIS YEAR.

THE LEAFS ARE, WELL, THE LEAFS UNTIL THEY PROVE OTHERWISE.

FORTUNATELY WE DON’T HAVE TOO MUCH LONGER TO WAIT TO START FINDING OUT THE ANSWER.

THAT’S TODAY’S ROD PEDERSEN COMMENTARY

(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily on Game+ TV across Canada and the USA and on WQEE in Metro Atlanta. Call your cable provider to subscribe. You can also watch on YouTube Live or listen 24/7 at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive)