The NHL season should continue pretty soon. The executives and the club owners are in talks on how to provide the highest safety standards and implement health care measures which will guarantee protect the players and all the involved in the organization of the games.

We’ve seen the format of the restart, and it would include 24 teams in the playoffs, and some round-robin tournaments which are going to decide about the final seedings before the start of the playoffs. That is only for the top four teams in each conference.

Other ones, between the fifth and the twelfth position, are about to enter a best-of-five matchup and determine the rivals for the top four teams. This means that the Canadiens are to participate in this expanded playoff battle

Now when talking about the Canadian teams, there aren’t many of them who are able to attack the Stanley Cup trophy.

Oilers are the best-placed team from Canada, with odds of 20/1 to win the trophy. They are 10th on the list of favorites. The Bruins are sharing the top spot with Tampa Bay Lightning at 13/2, Colorado Avalanche is at 10/1, same as the Vegas Golden Knights. The reigning champions St Louis Blues ae 11/1, Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers 13/1, etc. For more odds visit the best legal sports betting sites.

However, do know that these unusual circumstances and the new format could provide some surprises. The pause, the pressure, the different mindset following COVID-19 pandemic, all this might produce some miracle.

Everything is different now, and the most important fact is that the team targeted their form in accordance with a different schedule. Now, all that is interrupted, and they have to adjust themselves to the new conditions. In situations like these, quality doesn’t play a vital role, but the ability to adapt. Therefore, this playoff could be even more interesting than the last one.

When talking about some individual awards, it seems that teams from Canada could have more success, as their players are among the best in the league.

A few days ago, the NHL handed the regular season awards, after deciding to jump straight to the playoffs and end the league part of the campaign. The Art Ross Trophy was awarded to Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl, who is the No.1 favorite for winning the MVP honors.

The bookies set his odds at 19/5, and it seems that the 24-year old is about to become the first German who won this award. Draisaitl’s teammate from Edmonton Connor McDavid is second with 11/5, and it appears that if something radical doesn’t happen during the postseason, the Hart Memorial Trophy should end up in Canada. Bruins, David Pastrnak follows the Oilers’ duo, at 4/1, Rangers’ Artemi Panarin is at 7/1, Boston’s Brad Marchand is 10/1 and Lightning Nikita Kucherov at 25/1 is concluding the list.

Before the start of the season, Maple Leafs’ Frederik Andersen was the main candidate for the Vezina Trophy along with the reigning winner Andrei Vasilevskiy from Tampa Bay.

The situation changed a lot since then, and right now, the William M. Jennings’ Trophy winner, Tuukka Rask is the top favorite to take this award home too.

Bruins’ goalie is at 17/10, and Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck comes after him at 5/2. St. Louis Blues Jordan Binnington is at 6/1, and Ben Bishop from the Dallas Stars is 7/1. Two guys mentioned above, who were the favorites before the season, Vasilevskiy and Andersen, are at 8/1, and 9/1 respectively.

Even though the bookies don’t believe in Canadian teams in terms of winning the Stanley Cup, their players are in the combination of taking the two most prominent awards.

Remember what we said, about the specific situation in which all the teams find themselves now. Individuals like these might have an essential influence on the ice, and as we see, the Canadian teams have plenty of such individuals. Don’t be surprised to see them making a huge noise in the playoffs.