Time for Edmonton Oilers to end Canadian Stanley Cup Final jinx
It's been too long since a Canadian NHL team won the Stanley Cup and it's up to Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers to finally end the drought.
The Edmonton Oilers have a proud history of competing for the Stanley Cup, having won five of their seven appearances since entering the NHL in 1979. In fact, they are tied with the Pittsburgh Penguons for the most Stanley Cup trophies in this time.
As such, maybe it's fitting that the Oilers are the team now tasked with ending the championship drought for those north of the border. No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since the Montreal Canadiens back in 1993, making it the longest such drought in NHL history.
The current seven NHL canadian teams have combined to win 43 Stanley Cups. This includes 24 by the Canadiens, 13 by the Toronto Maple Leafs, the aforementioned five by the Oilers and one by the Calgary Flames.
As much as the length of the drought by Canadian teams could never have been predicted, it doesn't mean they haven't had their chances. Since 1993 there have been six occasions when they have competed in the Stanley Cup Final, with two appearances by the Canucks, and one by each of the Flames, Oilers, Senators and Canadiens.
So close but yet so far
Of the six appearances, four have actually gone the distance and been decided in a game seven. This includes the Oilers' last appearance in 2006, when the lost 3-1 in the final game versus the Carolina Hurricanes.
Now, the Oilers will aim to complete the job this time around as they prepare to take on the Florida Panthers, who enter the Stanley Cup Final as favourites. Even as underdogs however, you better believe Kris Knoblauch's players will be ready for the challenge.
The turnaround by the Oilers under the calm, cerebral leadership of Knoblauch has been quite remarkable since he took over. However, it certainly helps when you have a strong roster which includes the best player in the world, along with another who is regularly in the top 5-10 in the NHL.
Is fate on the side of the Oilers?
The Oilers are ready -- or as ready as they can be -- for their date with destiny. On their day no one is better, but now it's a case of actually going out there and showing it consistently enough, to win it all.
More than three decades without a Canadian NHL team winning the Stanley Cup is just plain criminal. Although we won't go as far as some of those conspiracy theorists out there, when it comes to aiming to explain why the drought has lasted so long.
All we do know, is that it's now time for Lord Stanley's Cup to come back home to Canada. And maybe, just maybe, the Oilers are the right team to do it, in the process helping validate Connor McDavid's standing as the best player of his generation.
Next. 3 Oilers who need to have breakout series against Panthers. 3 Oilers who need to have breakout series against Panthers. dark
We appreciate there are plenty of Leafs, Flames, Canucks, Senators, Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets supporters who would prefer the Oilers don't win, purely because of the belief their fans would be insufferable. (Yes, we appreciate the irony of this, particularly from some of the fanbases in question.) However, this should be a case where all Canadians come together to cheer on Edmonton's finest, to end what is now quite frankly an embarrassing streak of dominance from the American teams.
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