The mother country hopes to bring home the Stanley Cup

Since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993, no Canadian team has paraded through the city with the Stanley Cup. The play-offs starting on Monday could also see Austrian participation through Marco Rossi. It remains to be seen whether the Vorarlberger will be allowed to storm for the Minnesota Wild.

While Canadian fans are generally left with slogans of perseverance, Maple Leafs supporters are experiencing a special kind of hockey hell. As one of the most traditional and valuable teams in the NHL - only the New York Rangers are ahead of the Leafs in the Forbes list - the franchise, which is one of the "Original Six", has not lifted the coveted cup since 1967. Almost six decades of failure are deeply rooted. Toronto has not won a play-off series since 2004, and in the last six years it has reliably been eliminated in round one.

The Toronto Maple Leafs last won the Stanley Cup in 1967. © APA / BRUCE BENNETT

The Leafs' great misfortune is that they are in the same division as title contenders Boston Bruins, who improved their NHL wins (65) and points (135) records this year, and the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Stanley Cup winners Years 2020 and 2021, play. Tampa Bay is also the first hurdle that has to be overcome for the division runner-up (50 wins this season). The Hillman curse can no longer be an excuse for the 13-time champion.

In 2017, team president Brendan Shanahan transferred $50 plus interest to former Leafs player Larry Hillman, 2.400 years late, which the defender had already demanded in 1967 after the great triumph. Hillman is said to have placed a kind of curse on the club, saying that Toronto would not win the Stanley Cup again until the club had paid out what he believed were the dollars it was owed. Duo makes Edmonton dream An ecstatic audience in Edmonton sings no curses, but rather hymns of praise. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have been the NHL's most feared attacking duo for years. Both have broken the 50-goal and 100-point barrier again. They have an incredible 281 scorer points after the basic round. The Canadian McDavid became top scorer (64 goals) and again the most valuable crack with 153 points, the German Draisaitl, as a congenial partner, was number two in the scorer ranking (128) - and yet there is a gap in the CV of these exceptional talents: neither of them have ever been champions. Last year it was over for Edmonton in the semifinals against the eventual triumphant Colorado Avalanche.

Leon Draisaitl (right) and Connor McDavid finally want to complete themselves. © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / CHRISTIAN PETERSEN

With extreme firepower - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored 104 points - and as the best power-play team in the league (32,4 percent success rate), the Oilers are heading into the play-offs. But if the old sports adage that the offense wins games and the defense wins championships proves true, the coup will likely be difficult this year too. 256 goals conceded means 17th place, i.e. mediocre. And the goalie duo Stuart Skinner/Jack Campbell has little to no play-off experience.

The third in the maple leaf league is Winnipeg. After a difficult season, the Jets are not among the closer contenders and will face the Vegas Golden Knights. To defend the title, Colorado is the favorite in the first round even without captain Gabriel Landeskog against the Seattle Kraken, like Boston against Florida.

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The mother country hopes to bring home the Stanley Cup

The Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers or Winnipeg Jets should do it for the motherland of ice hockey in the NHL play-offs and avoid a 30-year dry spell.

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