Canadian Teams In All Three Leagues

With Victoria Day weekend upon us here in Canada, it's interesting to me that top-three professional hockey leagues in North America all have Canadian teams still playing. Obviously, there are two of those Canadian teams facing elimination in the NHL, but we do know that the Edmonton Oilers will play in the Western Conference Final to keep the hope that the Stanley Cup will live north of the border for at least one calendar year. However, both the AHL and ECHL have Canadian teams aiming to win the respective championship trophies in those leagues. Is there a chance this year to bring all three home?

Let me say upfront that this has never happened in the history of the three leagues. The ECHL has only been in its current form since 1988-89, so the history is much shorter than that of the NHL and AHL. Thanks to the league existing mostly in the eastern United States until very recently, the chances of a Canadian team winning the Kelly Cup was virtually zero. There has only been one Canadian team to capture the Kelly Cup, and we'll talk about them below.

The NHL's last Canadian winner of the Stanley Cup was, of course, the 1993 Montreal Canadiens. Prior to that, there were three Canadian teams who made runs through the 1980s in the Edmonton Oilers, the Calgary Flames, and the Montreal Canadiens. Montreal had six more in the 1970s, and Toronto and Montreal seemed to win all throughout the 1960s. In short, there are only four Canadian teams who can claim a Stanley Cup parade in their cities through to today.

The AHL gets a little more complicated because teams, at times, seem to pop up all over the place. The Toronto Marlies won in 2018, the Hamilton Bulldogs won in 2007, and the Saint John Flames in 2001 were the AHL clubs to win in the last 25 years. The Cape Breton Oilers won in 1993, marking the last time that Canada captured both the Stanley Cup and the Calder Cup in the same season. The Shebrooke Canadiens would win the Calder Cup in 1985 in the same year that the Oilers captured the Stanley Cup.

Canada did make some history as the Nova Scotia Voyageurs won back-to-back Calder Cups in 1976 and 1977 in the same years that the Montreal Canadiens won their first and second of four consecutive Stanley Cups. Those wins mark the only time in hockey history that NHL and AHL affiliates have won both championships in the same years. Obviously, it's the only time Canadian teams have done it.

The Voyageurs added another Calder Cup in 1972, but that's the earliest Canadian victory in the AHL as the American Hockey League was truly American prior to their victory. It should be noted that the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 1972, so the Stanley Cup and Calder Cup have only been held by Canadian teams at the same time on four occasions. It could happen again this year.

As stated above, there has been one lone ECHL championship for Canada, and that came in 2019 when the Newfoundland Growlers captured the Kelly Cup in six games over the Toledo Walleye. Neither an NHL or an AHL team won that season, so there weren't any other celebrations happening in Canada that year. As it stands, Canada has never held all three trophies in Canada in the same season.

So who is left in all three leagues?

The Edmonton Oilers are already through to the Western Conference Final, so Canada has at least a 25% chance of winning the Stanley Cup. Both the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Winnipeg Jets are still alive despite being down in their series, so those odds could improve if either or both of those teams can advance. The good news is that at least one team has already qualified for the Conference Finals, and Canada could have two teams in the Conference Finals for the first time since 1994 if Toronto and/or Winnipeg can survive.

The AHL features two Canadian teams as the Laval Rocket and the Abbotsford Canucks are still playing in the Calder Cup Playoffs. The Rocket are playing the Rochester Americans in their North Division Final while the Canucks are facing the Colorado Eagles in the Pacific Division Final. Laval beat Rochester for a 1-0 lead in their series on Wednesday with Game Two scheduled for tonight. The Canucks, meanwhile, play their first game tonight in that series, so we'll keep an eye on these teams as the playoffs continue!

The ECHL is down to four teams in the Kelly Cup Playoffs, and the lone Canadian team in the league is still fighting for a berth in the Kelly Cup Final. The Trois-Rivières Lions are facing the three-time defending champions in the Florida Everblades, so nothing will be easy for the Lions as they look to qualify for the championship series. That series starts on Saturday night, so we'll see how the Lions fare against the juggernauts known as the Everblades.

One of the cooler things about this run by the Lions is that they and the Rocket could win their respective championships as affiliates as well. I have no idea if there have been AHL-ECHL affiliation co-championships in any year thanks to ECHL teams changing affiliations more often than most people change underwear, but that's a whole other conversation. What I do know is that Trois-Rivières is aiming to be the second Canadian ECHL franchise to win the Kelly Cup, and having them win the Kelly Cup while the Rocket won the Calder Cup would be pretty big for the Montreal Canadiens!

Either way, there are six Canadian teams today who have a shot at winning their respective championships that could be reduced to four with, potentially, two of them going home this weekend. I'd like to see all six continue to compete, but they have to win. The good news is that all three leagues will still have at least one Canadian team remaining, and that means Canada still has a shot at capturing all three professional hockey championships in the same season!

Go Canadian-based-pro-hockey-teams Go!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!