If Brian Burke can do this, so can I. Ranking the Canadian teams.

During Last Saturday’s Hockey Night in Canada 2nd intermission, Brian Burke ranked his Canadian teams. Here they are.

The rankings caused some intrigue on Canucks Twitter. Especially when you put anything Toronto ahead of anything Vancouver. And then you add a team that was ousted in 4 games in the playoff qualifiers, some may have left scratching their head. That being said, this is an interesting exercise. So in part, because I don’t have the same rankings of Brian Burke, and in part, because it is interesting, here is my list. Going from 7-1, I’ll give my reasons.

7.Ottawa Senators.

In some ways, this may be obvious. But if you look closely, there is hope in Ottawa. They have the 3rd and 4th pick of this year’s NHL Draft. They have prospects like Erik Brannstrom. Drake Batherson, and Josh Norris. Thomas Chabot is certainly in the top 2 of best defenceman on Canadian teams. In most cases, you would be talking about a team you could get really excited about. Except there is one glaring weakness. Eugene Melnyk. The Senators owner can’t seem to keep his foot out of his mouth. And yes, he has been quiet the last couple of years. But you know a misstep  is coming. That is what is holding them back.

6. Winnipeg Jets.

Wait. Wait. They have Mark Scheifle, Patrick Laine, Connor Hellebuyck! They are good! Surely if Scheifele was playing and not injured, they would have beaten the Flames in the Qualifiers.

While they have a lot of sexy pieces, their weaknesses are glaring. The biggest being defence. Other than Josh Morrissey, and maybe Neil Pionk, there is a lack of depth on the back end. This also includes forward. Strength on the wings. Ehlers, Laine, Connor. But a lack of depth. As well, Ehlers struggled in the qualifiers.

And then there is Helleybuck. Based on the regular season, Helleybuck is a top 5 goalie in the NHL But he struggled during the qualifiers against the Flames Cam Talbot.

The problem with the Jets is that the gap between strengths and weaknesses is too far to put them any higher on this list.

5. Calgary Flames.

After finishing first in the Western Conference last regular season, this season was a tough one for the Flames. Replacing Bill Peters with Geoff Ward. TJ Brodie’s collapse at practice. The war of words between Matthew Tkachuk and Zack Kassian. So much adversity happened to them.

This week, the Flames removed the interim tag from Geoff Ward.  He will be the coach to start next season.

There are several questions with the Flames. The biggest being Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau. Do you keep them? Do you trade one or both of them?

The other question is on goal. Cam Talbot was the number one goaltender going into the playoffs.  He is a UFA But, they also have David Rittich. He has had great first half of seasons. But struggled in the second half. General Manager Brad Trelving is exploring goaltending options.

The Flames best defenceman is Mark Giordano. He won the Norris Trophy last season, This year, while still strong, it wasn’t as strong. The 36-year-old started to show his age.

The Flames have some established stars like Matthew Tkachuk, Elias Lindholm, Mikael Backlund. Up comers Rasmus Andersson, Jusso Valamalki, Dylan Dube, and Sam Bennett. But it is fair to say this team has underachieved last season. The question is where this team goes. Are they on the up? Or, are they on the way down?

4. Edmonton Oilers.

When it comes to the Oilers, the word enigma comes to mind.

Yes, they have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaital. Yes, they are 2 of the 5 best players in the game. It makes some have higher expectations of this team then there should be. Yes, the Oilers had the most points out of all the Canadian teams with 83. Yes, they did some of this without Connor McDavid injured. And, Draisital was an MVP candidate. But, they also lost in the playoff qualifiers in 4 games to the Chicago Blackhawks.

McDavid scored points, like McDavid scores points. 9 points in 4 games. So did Draisaitl. 6 points in 4 games. But, poor defensive play, struggling goaltending, have hurt the Oilers again.

The rest of the forward group can be described as inconsistent. Zack Kassian scored tied a career-high with 15 goals. But he was suspended twice and was a -4 in the playoffs.  James Neal scored 19 goals by December. Then finished the season with 19 goals.

There is talent on this team. Including Ryan Nugent-Hopkins , Darnell Nurse, and Kailer Yamamoto. But there are far too many questions than answers to out them any higher on this list.

3.Toronto Maple Leafs.

Like the Oilers, there is top-end talent. However, not as big of a gap, but lots of questions in Toronto.

Of course, you have “The Big 4” forwards. Matthews,Marner, Tavares, Nylander.  Defenceman Morgan Reilly could have easily been named captain of The Leafs. Prospects like Ily Mikaheav and Sam Robertson, Timothy Lindgren, and Rasmus Sandin.

The biggest question with the Leafs is identity.  The Leafs came back from a 3 goal deficit against Columbus. Then got shutout in Game 5. Who are the Leafs? Does their style match up well with their 2 division roadblocks Tampa and Boston? Those are the big questions.

2. Montreal Canadiens.

This will be controversial. Many will look at this team much lower. They had the second worst record of Canadian teams. Your first glance is they are not good. If there wasn’t the play in’s, they would have been a lottery team. But,they were also 2nd in the NHL at shots for per game at 34.1 They also allowed the least amount of shots per game 31.1.

  Of course, the biggest reason the Montreal Canadiens get anywhere and have any hope is goaltender Carey Price. He’s the face of the franchise. He’s the top goalie in the League. However, General Manager Marc Bergevin hasn’t quite got the credit for what he has built. His trade of PK Subban to Nashville for Shea Weber was panned in 2016. However, Weber is still on the Habs, and Subban has since been on 2 teams. But Bergevin made some shrewd moves. He traded Max Pacioretty to Vegas for Nick Suzuki and Tomas Tatar. He traded Alex Galchenyuk to Arizona for Max Domi.

The Canadiens may not have the superstars the Oilers and Leafs have.  But they have a more complete team. A solid Defence with Weber, and Jeff Petry. Philip Danualt is a future Selke candidate. Forwards like Suzuki, Tatar, Domi,  Brendan Gallagher, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. And of course, Carey Price. They also have 11 draft picks in this year’s draft. And 11 draft picks in next year’s draft.

It’s easy to look at a team like the Oilers and Leafs and be amazed by the high-end talent. However, as we have seen with the recent Stanley Cup winners and finalists, you don’t need a superstar, you need a team to win. The Canadiens found a way to upset the Pittsburgh Penguins and took the Philadelphia Flyers to six games. The Oilers and the Leafs didn’t.

1. Vancouver Canucks

Now some say this could be biased. But the Canucks, while flawed and with many questions, are the best team in Canada.

Let’s start with the flaws. The bottom six, not only with cost but effectiveness. However, within that, they still have some very effective pieces. Tyler Motte was a huge X factor in the playoffs. Adam Gaudette will slot well on the third line. Their D needs work. But, they have Quinn Hughes. And what about Markstrom? Will he be back? No matter, they have Thatcher Demo.

Here is where the Canucks have the largest edge. Captain Bo Horvat showed himself as a great leader. JT Miller was a great addition to the Canucks. Elias Pettersson has a swagger and a passion for the game. But, Quinn Hughes is one of the new, young breed of defenceman. He’s the best defenceman on the Canadian team and the most important player on the Canucks.

For all the flaws the Canucks fan base anguish about, this playoff run showed the future of the Canucks is bright. They are in the best position of a Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup.

What do you think? How would you rank the Canadian teams?