Over the past month or so, we’ve seen Canadian teams face off many times, taking the total number of all-Canadian matchups so far this season to 23 contests.
Earlier in the season, I wrote about how the NHL can implement in-season tournaments relatively easily as a way to increase engagement, grow the game at home, stoke rivalries, and most importantly, generate revenue for the NHL. The league could start this right away by bringing back an iconic trophy from hockey’s past, the Canada Cup, capitalizing on older fans’ nostalgia and igniting a new passion for the Canada Cup among younger fans.
The in-season Canada Cup
Check out the introduction on how the NHL’s in-season Canada Cup would work. Here’s the TL;DR version:
- This in-season cup is awarded to the Canadian franchise with the best record against all the other Canadian franchises at the end of the season.
- No additional NHL games would need to be added to the calendar, simply Canadian matchups would qualify for the regular NHL standings as usual, but also count towards the Canada Cup.
- While the NHL doesn’t have this as part of their calendar, the schedule naturally evens out fairly well in terms of games played—this year every Canadian franchise organically plays either 15 or 16 games against the other Canadian franchises.
Since our last update, 14 more all-Canadian matchups have taken place, and the standings have changed quite significantly.
Here’s your December 2024 Canada Cup update.
Canada Cup standings as of December 24, 2024
In our update last month, three teams had two or fewer games played in the Canada Cup. Now, every team has at least five games played, three teams have played eight games, and the standings are starting to take shape.
| Team | Pts | Pts% | GP | W | L | O | GF | GA | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EDM | 9 | .563 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 23 | 25 | -2 |
| WPG | 8 | .800 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 13 | 11 |
| OTT | 8 | .500 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 22 | 25 | -3 |
| MTL | 7 | .583 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 12 | 1 |
| CGY | 7 | .438 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 24 | 27 | -3 |
| VAN | 6 | .600 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 22 | -3 |
| TOR | 6 | .500 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 17 | -1 |
The Edmonton Oilers, Ottawa Senators, and Calgary Flames have eight games played, with the Oilers picking up points in most of them to lead the standings at the Christmas break. The Jets, thanks to their hot start, have played just five games but are second in the standings off a brilliant 4-1-0 record.
For the first time this season, the Toronto Maple Leafs find themselves at the bottom of the table, sporting an even .500 record with six points in six games. They’re behind the Vancouver Canucks who also have six points but a game in hand over the Leafs.
The Flames were leading in points last month but had played the most games, and now the rest of the teams have caught up. They still lead in total goals scored though with 24, equaled by the Jets in three fewer games. The Senators and Oilers have allowed the most goals with 25.
Most of the teams are fairly close in terms of goal differential except for the Jets. They are absolutely the best Canadian team so far this season and have won big against every team, it seems. Their goal differential of +11 is 10 goals higher than the next team, the Montreal Canadiens.
Upcoming Canada Cup games
There are only two Canada Cup games left for the 2024 calendar year: Jets vs. Senators on Dec. 28, and Flames vs. Canucks on Dec. 31.
In January there are 10 total Canada Cup games. The Canucks have the most in January with six games, followed by the Jets with five. The Senators and Oilers play the fewest January Canada Cup games with two each.
| Date | Time | Visitor | Home |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-12-28 | 7:00 PM | OTT | WPG |
| 2024-12-31 | 9:00 PM | VAN | CGY |
| 2025-01-06 | 7:30 PM | VAN | MTL |
| 2025-01-11 | 7:00 PM | VAN | TOR |
| 2025-01-14 | 8:00 PM | VAN | WPG |
| 2025-01-18 | 7:00 PM | TOR | MTL |
| 2025-01-18 | 7:00 PM | CGY | WPG |
| 2025-01-18 | 10:00 PM | EDM | VAN |
| 2025-01-23 | 9:00 PM | VAN | EDM |
| 2025-01-25 | 7:00 PM | TOR | OTT |
| 2025-01-26 | 6:00 PM | CGY | WPG |
| 2025-01-28 | 7:00 PM | WPG | MTL |
So far, the all-Canadian matchups have been great games to watch. The Canada Cup is an easy tournament to implement and has literally no downsides. The NHL should officially do it, but until then, you can follow along here for what the Canada Cup could have looked like if it was happening this season.
