With the NHL season having wrapped up yesterday and the first playoff games being set for April 12, the Art Ross Trophy has been officially won by Connor Mcdavid. Besides this amazing accomplishment by the young Edmonton Oilers player, this upcoming 2017 playoff also has a good chance to finally see a Canadian team break through and win the Stanley Cup for the first time in over two decades.
Connor McDavid
Young Edmonton Oilers phenom Connor McDavid finished the NHL season by winning his first Art Ross Trophy for leading the league in scoring. McDavid finished a comfortable 12 points ahead of Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks.
He had 30 goals and 70 assists for the season, finishing with a total of 100 points to finish as the top scorer in the league. McDavid also led the Edmonton Oilers to the playoffs for the first time since the 2005-06 season and the team's 47 wins is the most since they had 50 in the 1986-87 season.
Connor McDavid also made history in several ways with his accomplishment. He became the first Edmonton Oilers player to score 100 points in a season since four time All Star Doug Weight. McDavid is also only the second player in Oilers history to win the Art Ross Trophy, joining 'The Great One' Wayne Gretzky. At only 20 years of age and in his second NHL season, the former number one overall pick is the third youngest scoring champion ever only behind Wayne Gretzy (1980-81) and current two-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner Sidney Crosby (2006-07).
Canada and the Stanley Cup
This season, five of the seven Canadian teams in the NHL have made the playoffs, which is a vast improvement considering that not a single Canadian team made it last season. This year the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames all made the playoffs.
The two Canadian teams that missed the playoffs were the Winnipeg Jets and Vancouver Canucks. Montreal was the best team in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference and the best Canadian team with 103 points.
It has been a long time for Canada, as the last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup was when the Montreal Canadiens won it in 1993.
None of the five Canadian teams play each other in the first round, meaning that all five could advance or be eliminated. The last time this many Canadian teams made the playoffs was 2015, but none of the teams made it past the second round.
