Will Canada’s Stanley Cup Drought End In 2018?

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a Stanley Cup parade take place on Canadian soil.

Last Canadian Team To Win Stanley Cup

In fact, the last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup was the 1993 Montreal Canadiens, who completed a memorable journey through the playoffs (highlighted by 10 straight overtime victories) with a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings in the final.

Several other Canadian teams have recently come close to snapping the drought, which now stands at 25 years. Here’s a list of the close calls for teams vying to be the last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup:

  • 2011: Vancouver Canucks lost Stanley Cup final 4-3 to the Boston Bruins
  • 2007: Ottawa Senators lost Stanley Cup final 4-1 to the Anaheim Ducks
  • 2006: Edmonton Oilers lost Stanley Cup final 4-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes
  • 2004: Calgary Flames lost Stanley Cup final 4-3 to the Tampa Bay Lightning

In the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Senators fell just short of another trip to the final, losing the Eastern Conference final 4-3 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on an overtime goal by Chris Kunitz.

Will a Canadian Team Win The Stanley Cup In 2018?

According to oddsmakers, we should already expect the streak of non Canadian teams to win the Stanley Cup will continue for at least one more season.

Online sportsbook William Hill has posted odds on whether a Canadian team will win the Stanley Cup this year. As of January 16, 2018, the ‘No’ was a heavy favourite:

In case you’re wondering, the reason the two probabilities don’t add up to 100% is because sportsbooks incorporate a commission (vigorish, also known as juice) into their betting odds. Since the two probabilities add up to 106.8%, it means the books are charging 6.8% juice on the wager.

Which Canadian Team Has The Best Chance To Win The Stanley Cup In 2018?

At the start of the season, the answer to this question was an easy one: the Edmonton Oilers.

Back in October, the Oilers were the third-highest team on Bodog’s 2018 Stanley Cup odds, paying just +1200 to win it all. But after going 20-23-3 through their first 46 games, the Oilers were 10 points out of a playoff spot as of January 16 and their Stanley Cup odds had plummeted to +4000, the 10th-worst odds in the league.

It looks like any chances of a Canadian team winning the Stanley Cup in 2018 will ride on two teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs (+1200) and Winnipeg Jets (+1400). The Calgary Flames (+2500) have an outside shot as well, but Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver all pay +10000 as we pass the midway point of the season.