Connect with us

Calgary Flames

NHL Analyst Makes Interesting Claim About New North (Canadian) Division

Connor McDavid will lead a very offensive North Division in the NHL. Is this division going to be all offense and no defense?

NHL analyst Justin Bourne recently joined the hosts of the Good Show to discuss the outlook of the new North Division (all-Canadian Division) that was finalized by the NHL on Sunday. Now that the division is a certainly, what will the games look like? He claims fans are in for some interesting hockey.

Related: Put Up or Shut Up Time for Maple Leafs With 2020-21 Season Officially On

McDavid Matthews and Gallagher

In fact, Bourne makes two interesting declarations. First, he says the Toronto Maple Leafs are favorites 56 times to win. In other words, he’s predicting the Maple Leafs should win the division quite easily. He told fans in Toronto to “go ahead and get their hopes way up.”

After that, he noted that every team in the division is notoriously bad defensively which means that these games should be all offense and very little defense. Saying he’s excited about the prospects of renewed Canadian rivalries, he’s not sure teams can keep up the competitive playoff level of hockey every night. He also claims, “I do know this. Not a single team in the division defends well.” He explained:

“Holy smokes, do I expect offense. The Oilers lost to the Blackhawks because they can’t play d. The Leafs, we know they’re notorious for their playing style. Vancouver is the exact same way. It’s across the division. The Winnipeg Jets were the worst defending team in hockey last year in terms of shot attempts.”

Bourne added that the problems teams will normally have to face when they go up against teams like Columbus, Boston or the Islanders isn’t something they’ll have to deal with until June when the playoffs begin.

What’s Wrong With a Little Offense?

There’s a reason Canadian hockey fans are so excited. Not only will rivalries be on full display as teams take on each other eight or nine times — often in back-to-back scenarios — but these are teams with some of the most dynamic players in the game.

What’s not exciting about the idea of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl going up against Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner nine times? What’s not interesting about Elias Pettersson taking on someone like Patrik Laine to see who outperforms the other? Why wouldn’t we want to see the Tkachuk brothers square off so many times we’re bound to see a scrap between the two?

There’s a very good reason to be excited. If only fans were allowed in the buildings to watch. As long as these teams don’t completely forget what defense is, things should be just fine come playoff time.

Next: 7 Things We Know Right Now about Where Canadian Teams Will Play

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

More News

Discover more from NHL Trade Talk

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading