It’s been a really long time since I’ve seen such a prohibitive favourite for the cup.The odds for Tampa are really, really short. Naturally a lot of sports writers and experts have picked them to win it all . They are a great team that had an outstanding regular season but I’m not so sure they will be the ones celebrating in the end . Regardless of the final outcome there front office needs to be commended for consistently building such great teams which I think is even harder to do in a small hockey market such as Florida.
I wish the Habs could have pulled it off to get to the playoffs. Without them watching playoff hockey in this city’s bars and pubs doesn’t feel the same. But it was not to be this year . As for whether it was a good year for them or not pretty much depends on what kind of expectations you had as a Canadiens fan before the season.
So with them out of it I will be rooting for the three Canadian teams remaining.
I think the west is wide open for Winnipeg and Calgary. The east has a beast in Tampa and quite a few other strong teams so it won’t be easy for Toronto. But the Leafs are the ones I’m mostly looking forward to watching . They are facing a tough Bruins team but I think they will win that series or at least I’m hoping . Really curious to see if this top heavy built Leafs team can regroup and surprise us in the postseason.
Good luck to all our Canadian teams.