Heritage Classic comes at encouraging time for Canada's franchises
What a difference a year makes.
As the fourth edition of the Heritage Classic draws near, the celebration of Canadian hockey arrives at a time when fans north of the border suddenly have a multitude of reasons to be excited.
Last season, when all seven Canadian clubs missed the playoffs, "Hockey Night in Canada" ratings dwindled.
Carey Price's knee injury derailed the Montreal Canadiens' season, and the Edmonton Oilers' No. 1 pick, Connor McDavid, suffered a broken collarbone that cut his rookie campaign down to 45 games.
The rebuilding Toronto Maple Leafs posted the worst record in the league, and the four western Canadian franchises finished in the basements of the Central and Pacific divisions.
Now, as the Winnipeg Jets prepare to host the Oilers outdoors at Investors Group Field on Sunday afternoon, the Canadian outlook has drastically improved.
The Leafs landed Auston Matthews with the first overall pick in June, and he's made an immediate impact, scoring a record four goals in his debut and looking more than comfortable in the NHL.
McDavid is lighting it up for Edmonton after being named the youngest captain in league history to start the season.
Patrik Laine, the Jets' second overall pick behind Matthews, outshone his counterpart by capping a hat trick with the overtime winner in their first meeting earlier this week.
Price made his season debut Thursday after missing the first three games with the flu. The Calgary Flames ended a preseason contract dance with dynamic young forward Johnny Gaudreau, signing him to a six-year extension two days before the start of the 2016-17 campaign.
The Leafs, Flames, and Jets all boast impressive crops of up-and-coming talent. The Ottawa Senators, who've been mired in mediocrity of late, maintain their promising core built around Erik Karlsson, Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone, Bobby Ryan, and newcomer Derick Brassard.
The Vancouver Canucks, who many still expect to be among the worst teams this season, became the first club in NHL history to win its first three games despite never leading. Take that as you should, but even the Canucks have been interesting so far, and they also have a number of skilled prospects on the way.
The Oilers moved into Rogers Place - a brand-new, state-of-the-art arena - to begin the 2016-17 season, and back in April, Senators owner Eugene Melnyk won the initial bidding to redevelop the LeBreton Flats area in downtown Ottawa. If it's finalized, that deal will literally pave the way for a new arena in the nation's capital.
So while it might still be a while before the majority of Canadian NHL teams are Stanley Cup contenders or perennial playoff participants again, almost every market in the Great White North has a reason to believe it's possible sooner rather than later.
As the league prepares to once again celebrate Canadian hockey, the present and future look much better for most of the nation's franchises than they appeared only one season ago.