from Mark Spector of Sportsnet,

So we get two teams in the National Hockey League playoffs. Not five, like last year. But hey — it’s better than the zero that qualified in 2016.

So, with (hopefully) a few rounds of Canadian content on tap beginning in a few weeks, let’s take a look at what we have. It’s an interesting dichotomy: Canada’s marquee club, Toronto, a Hockey Night in Canada staple; and the team whose time zone doesn’t work for anyone, arguably the least sexy market in the NHL in Winnipeg.

A Canadian hockey fan can’t avoid the Maple Leafs even if they tried — but why would you? Toronto is perhaps the most entertaining team we have this season, with a budding superstar in Auston Mathews, enough offence to keep the lamp lit, and just loose enough defensively that Frederik Andersen (when healthy) is one of the three stars whenever Toronto wins.

And the Jets, that club you’ve been hearing about all winter and have no doubt been meaning to watch, with a sniper in Patrik Laine who is on his way to becoming a generational goal scorer. Now that your club is toast — we’re talking to you Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, Ottawa and Montreal — do yourself a favour and see what a proper, slow and successful build is supposed to look like.

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