Six of seven Canadian NHL teams could make the playoffs this year
It’s been a solid year for all seven Canadian NHL teams this season, and all but one could find their way into the playoffs next month.
The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs are set to get underway on April 19, which is exactly a month away. As it stands, six Canadian-based teams are in a playoff spot, with the Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers, and Toronto Maple Leafs holding down divisional spots. At the same time, the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, and Vancouver Canucks are in wild-card positions.
The only Canadian team not in a playoff spot right now is the Calgary Flames, who sit just two points behind the Canucks.
NHL.com
The Canadiens snuck into a final Eastern Conference wild card last night after a huge 6-3 victory over the Senators. That leapfrogged them over the New York Rangers and they now hold a narrow one-point lead with two games in hand. Ottawa holds a decent lead on both Montreal and New York, making them much more likely to make the cut.
The Senators and Canadiens may sneak into the playoffs with both wild-card spots out East.
Moving west, the Canucks are clinging to the final wild-card spot after a massive 6-2 victory against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night. That helped them keep pace with the St. Louis Blues as they are each tied at 75-points apiece.
The Flames are starting to lag behind the Canucks just a little, but a 2-1 win over the Rangers both helped them keep pace and gave the Canadiens a chance to sneak into a playoff spot.
It’s unlikely any of the other Western Conference teams will be able to catch the Minnesota Wild of the top wild card, meaning that only one of the Canucks or Flames can make the playoffs, which nixes the possibility of all seven Canadian teams in the postseason.
According to MoneyPuck, the Canucks have the best chance to make the playoffs out of the bubble Canadian teams at 34.7 per cent. The Canadiens are right behind them at 31.2 per cent, while the Flames are considerably behind at 17.8 per cent.
The Oilers, Maple Leafs, Jets, and Senators are all sitting at 95 per cent or above chances to make the playoffs.
If six of the seven Canadian teams make it into the postseason, it would be the most since the 2017 playoffs, when five Canadian teams made it. A Canadian team has not won the Stanley Cup since the Canadiens defeated the LA Kings in 1993.