Huge blow delivered to Canadian teams ahead of the playoffs, per insider

The race for the postseason is tight in the East and the West, which promises an interesting showdown when the playoffs get underway. However, according to Jeff Marek, hockey fans in Canada should not expect for the Stanley Cup to finally return to homeland.

Marek spoke about the contenders heading into the 2025 postseason, and claimed that no Canadian team is good enough to face the best in the league. He recently shared with the Daily Face-off how it may be wishful thinking to see a Canadian team raise Lord Stanley this season.

“I can’t see, with all due respect Winnipeg, with all due respect Toronto; and I would love to be proven wrong, I can’t see any Canadian team hanging with the big dogs [Florida, Vegas, Dallas, Washington].

“I don’t see Toronto being able to hang with Florida or Tampa Bay, I don’t know if I can see Winnipeg hanging around with two or three Central teams.

“I don’t think it’s exclusive to Toronto, I think that all the Canadian teams are going to have a hard time if there’s you know, Stanley Cup aspirations for any of them, and that includes Edmonton.”

Marek does not mean any political message under his analysis. He simply believes, based on observations throughout the season, that teams like Florida, Tampa Bay, Vegas, Washington are on another level, and would get the better of their Canadian rivals.

Canada hasn’t won a Stanley Cup since 1993, and Marek does not think it will be the country’s turn once again this spring.
The last time Canada came close was Montreal in a shortened 2021 season when the Canadiens eventually fell to the Lightning.

However, as a Canadian myself, I have to remain positive that anything can happen during the playoffs because it’s almost an entirely new season. And I just know that, in Canada, no matter which of the seven teams reaches the Final, fans all over the country to stand in solidarity to cheer the club to get that championship back.