O Canada: This season's unsung heroes
Every Tuesday, theScore's editors will examine the fortunes of the north's seven NHL franchises. Welcome to "O Canada."
With less than a month remaining in the regular season, things are either heating up or cooling down for Canada's teams.
Those vying for the playoffs - after a year when no Canadian-based teams made the postseason - will rely heavy on star players, but it's important not to forget the seldom-mentioned players who have made huge contributions.
Here are some of this season's unsung heroes:
Calgary Flames
Player: Michael Frolik
Take: Death, taxes, and Frolik scoring 15 goals.
The Flames forward has seldom been in the spotlight during his career, but he's been as consistent and reliable as anyone could ask from a third-line player.
This season, Frolik has once again chipped in with 15 goals - good enough for third on the Flames - while his 41 points puts him on pace to eclipse his career high. All that and the fact he's put up nine points during a 10-game winning streak, just further proves how vital he's been to the team.
Edmonton Oilers
Player: Mark Letestu
Take: On a club that boasts the most electrifying player in the game in Connor McDavid, guys such as Letestu can fly under the radar very easily.
Nevertheless, with a respectable 13 goals and 30 points in 65 games, Letestu has given the Oilers some value and proven he can play up and down the lineup in nearly all situations.
He has the fifth-best shooting percentage on the team, is on pace to hit a career high in points, and with four goals on nine opportunities he's also been among the Oilers most trusted players in the shootout.
Montreal Canadiens
Player: Paul Byron
Take: It might surprise some to know that Byron actually ranks second on the Canadiens with 18 goals.
He sits second only to Max Pacioretty's 33 and is second on the team with five game-winning tallies. He's done all this while averaging just 14:56 of ice-time (15th on the team) and with only 79 shots.
Byron's made the most of his opportunities and appears to be a steal at just over $1.1 million.
Ottawa Senators
Player: Dion Phaneuf
Take: Love him or hate him, Phaneuf has been a welcome addition to the Senators.
In his first full season with the club, he sits second behind Erik Karlsson among efensemen with nine goals and 29 points. He's averaging the third-most time on the penalty kill, has the third-most power play points, and averages the third-most blocks.
A smaller spotlight than he had in Toronto appears to be working wonders.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Player: Tyler Bozak
Take: Bozak might never become that true elite centermen many Maple Leafs fans had envisioned, but there's nothing wrong with that.
The 30-year-old sits sixth on the club with 16 goals and 46 points and is on pace to surpass his previous career high of 49 points.
Tyler Bozak enters play tonight with 7 pts in his last 5 games. The once undrafted Regina, native is 2 gms away from 500 in NHL. #tmltalk
— Paul Hendrick (@HennyTweets) March 14, 2017
Bozak has been valuable, contributing 15 power play points and is by far the team's most reliable faceoff man with a 55.3 percent success rate.
Vancouver Canucks
Player: Sven Baertschi
Take: This season has been a roller coaster for the Canucks. The club has shown glimpses of both dominance and disaster. However, through it all, one shining light has been the play of Baertschi.
After much fermenting in the AHL and a trade from the Flames, the 2011 first-round draft pick appears to be coming into his own. This season, he has a career-best 16 goals and 31 points, surpassing last year's totals in 18 fewer games.
He still needs more development, but Baertschi is looking like a key piece of the Canucks' future.
Winnipeg Jets
Player: Jacob Trouba
Take: Once appearing to be on his way out of town, Trouba still remains on the Jets and the team is all the better for it.
Trouba has been an important cog on the blue line, sitting third in ice time, third with 103 blocked shots, while leading the club with 3:04 of short-handed ice time per game.
Factor in that he's also chipped in six goals and 27 points - the second most among Jets' blue-liners - and it's easy to see why the club made the right decision in not dealing him away.
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)