“How long will we have to wait?”

For the first time in years, a number of Canada’s NHL teams are true Stanley Cup contenders. With a plethora of strong hockey clubs, two or even three teams could be competing deep into the playoffs for the Stanley Cup next spring. Canadian hockey fans really have much to look forward to.

If you are a hockey die-hard fan, you probably know that the Cup originated in Canada, as an honor for the highest-ranking amateur hockey team. In this regard, fans from coast to coast to coast are hopeful for the comeback of Canadian franchises. Many show their loyalty by placing stakes on them. You can enter this Pinnacle VIP code to join in the fun, regardless of which sport or team you’re interested in.

Will any Canadian team ever win the Stanley Cup again?

Even though the former perennial cup contender Montreal Canadians are struggling, Canada still has other great hockey teams expecting to be in contention. Toronto, Edmonton, and Calgary all have strong teams that hockey fans can expect to see competing for the Stanley Cup next season.

After a strong regular season, Toronto was upset in the first round of the playoffs this spring. Edmonton and Calgary both survived the first round to join the final 8 Stanley Cup contenders. The Oilers and the Flames met in round 2, with Edmonton going on to round 3 to finish in the final four. And while Calgary lost a couple of very strong players, they have also added some excellent players. Flames fans have reason to be very high on their chances for 2022-2023 season.

How can Canadian teams improve?

Better salary conditions.

The salary cap has allowed Canada’s stronger teams to become very competitive. For instance, Toronto and Edmonton currently employ some of the best players in the world. However, the main issue here is the strength of the Canadian dollar and the tax structure. What this means is that Canadian based athletes potentially end up having to pay more in taxes than players skating in most US states. Fixing this issue could prevent excellent players from signing contracts abroad, and even attract more quality players to Canadian teams.

Improved management

A good example of this is Ottawa Senators. Their management may have been under fire last season, but they’ve been aggressive in this off season and some think their team could be the most improved in the league. Out west, after the shocking loss of two stars, Calgary’s GM Brad Treliving may be the best story of all. Looking to replace goal scorer Johnny Gaudreau who signed in Columbus while gritty Matthew Tkachuk announced his intentions to leave Calgary, Treliving pulled off an incredibly promising trade, swapping Tkachuk for 115 point scorer Jonathan Huberdeau AND potential first pairing defenseman MacKenzie Weegar. Then Treliving signed Stanley Cup winning Nazem Kadri from the Colorado Avalanche. Nazem replaces the grit Calgary lost when Tkachuk left town. Plus, he put up 87 points in 71 games last season. Even more importantly, Kadri scored 15 points in 16 playoff games, proving he can get it done when the chips are down.

Which Canadian team is most likely to win the Stanley Cup again?

With a roster featuring some of the world’s greatest players in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, as well as playoff star Evander Kane, the Edmonton Oilers look like they could very well make another push. The Flames put up a spirited fight before losing to the Oilers in round 2. And even though they seem to find a new way to lose every year, the Toronto Maple Leafs are once again VERY good.. on paper.

With that in mind, there’s no clear frontrunner and it remains a very difficult task to predict who Canada’s next Stanley Cup winner will be.

Todayville Content Team

www.todayville.com/

Todayville Content Team works with a wide variety of clients to develop compelling content solutions. Our experienced team develops strategic campaigns that use video and storytelling, digital advertising and social media to help our clients position and distinguish themselves in the market.

Follow Author

The bizarre story of Taro Tsujimoto

Also Interesting / 5 days ago

60% of Canadians gamble each month – why the industry is going from strength to strength

Also Interesting / 6 days ago

Can Crypto Help You Budget?

Also Interesting

The bizarre story of Taro Tsujimoto

Published on March 28, 2025

Todayville Content Team

The National Hockey League (NHL) has seen its fair share of strange moments, but few compare to the bizarre and hilarious tale of Taro Tsujimoto, a player who never existed. His “selection” in the 1974 NHL Draft remains one of the most legendary pranks in hockey history. If you want to wager on actual players, making the 1xBet app download is definitely a great idea.

In the 1970s, the NHL Draft was a much less glamorous event than today. It was a tedious process conducted over the phone, with teams calling in their picks. The 3 biggest highlights of what happened during that year’s draft were:

the draft dragged on for hours;
there were multiple rounds and teams selecting unknown prospects from obscure leagues;
frustrated with the monotony, Buffalo Sabres general manager Punch Imlach decided to have a little fun.

As the 11th round approached, Imlach instructed his team’s representative to draft Taro Tsujimoto, a supposed forward from the Tokyo Katanas of the Japan Ice Hockey League. The name sounded authentic enough. The league officials, unfamiliar with Japanese hockey, accepted the pick without question. By downloading the 1xBet app you will also be able to wager on great NHL teams too.

A small problem

There was a small problem with all of this, as 2 things didn’t exist: Tsujimoto and the Tokyo Katanas. Imlach had completely fabricated the player as a joke, taking advantage of the NHL’s lack of verification. When it comes to NHL wagers, there is no better platform than the 1xBet Canada site.

For weeks, the league listed Tsujimoto as an official draft pick, and even some newspapers reported on Buffalo’s mysterious new Japanese prospect. Eventually, the Sabres admitted the hoax, and the NHL was forced to retroactively erase the selection from its records.

Despite being a fictional player, Taro Tsujimoto took on a life of his own. Buffalo Sabres fans embraced the prank, and over the years, his name has become a cult legend in hockey culture. Some fans even wore jerseys with “Tsujimoto” on the back. The joke persisted so much that when EA Sports released NHL video games, players could occasionally find Tsujimoto in the game’s draft pool as a hidden Easter egg.

More than just a prank, the story of Taro Tsujimoto highlights 2 things: the quirks of old-school sports management and the creativity of one of hockey’s most colorful executives. Today, with the draft process being highly scrutinized and broadcast live, such a prank would be impossible. But Tsujimoto’s legacy lives on as one of hockey’s greatest inside jokes. What is not a joke are the great rewards that a platform like the Canadian 1xBet site can give you.

Also Interesting

60% of Canadians gamble each month – why the industry is going from strength to strength

Published on March 26, 2025

Todayville Content Team

When it comes to regulating gambling, Canada has a somewhat relaxed approach. The Canadian Gaming Association oversees the industry, but it’s up to individual provinces to enact and enforce any laws relating to online casino gaming, sports betting, traditional casino gaming, and other forms of gambling.

Canada’s online casino gaming laws are not totally clear, but individual provinces are starting to put this right. Ontario was the first and did so when it launched its own regulated igaming market in April 2022. Now some other provinces have followed suit, creating a safer igaming environment for players in those provinces. Below is a look at gambling in Canada compared to other parts of the world, at gaming laws in Alberta compared to other provinces, and at the future of the Canadian, US, and UK gambling industries.

Canada: a forever love of gambling

Gambling in some form or other has always been popular in Canada. Way back in the 1990s, research found six in ten Canadians (60%) gambled every month. Additionally, four in ten (43%) spent between 1 and 20 Canadian dollars on gambling. Fast forward to today and the Canadian gambling market is worth 14.2 billion US dollars as of January 2024, according to data on the website of consumer and market data company Statista.

It seems Canada enjoys wagering just as much as two other countries that love a gamble: the US and the UK. Data on the Statista website shows that 49% of US adults took part in gambling activities in 2023. Fifty-six percent said their attitude towards gambling had relaxed, compared to the 50% of 2019.

The UK returned similar stats for the same year. Forty-eight percent of adults reported engaging in gambling activity. Online casinos generated the most gross gambling yield in 2023, but it was the nation’s National Lottery that people played the most.

Alberta: following Ontario’s lead

The regulatory developments in Ontario have triggered movement in Alberta. In May 2024, Bill 16, the Red Tape Reduction Amendment Act, made it through the process and later received Royal Assent to become law. The act removes the monopoly of gaming by a single government entity and will allow private operators, licensed by Alberta’s provincial regulator, to provide online gaming services in Alberta, meaning players will have a choice of more than one Alberta online casino to play at.

The regulation transforms Alberta into one of the more liberal provinces when it comes to online gambling, others being Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia.

Several provinces, such as Novia Scotia and Northwest Territories, have no provincially regulated online gaming sites. Some also restrict betting on horse racing and/or other types of sports betting, obliging citizens to use international betting sites for freedom from caps and betting on as many events as they wish.

What lies ahead for the Canadian, US, and UK gambling industries?

Canada’s appetite for gambling is clear, and the industry’s online sector is beginning to thrive. Ontario has enjoyed vast success by creating its own regulated market, one which, in just its first year, saw Canadians place billions in wagers and the industry itself generate more than a billion in total gaming revenue.

Canada can expect to see other provinces follow Ontario’s lead and allow private operators to provide services in the province under license. The purpose of the regulation is player protection. Any province that develops a regulated market will focus on this, so there will also be regulations around the advertising of gambling services.

The US

Gambling online is the future for the US, too, although states are slow to legalize it. As of September 2024, 38 states had legalized sports betting, following the US Supreme Court’s ruling that states could regulate sports gambling directly.

Despite allowing sports betting, some states only permit in-person betting, and only a few states allow online casino gaming. Operators believe online casino gaming is the future of gambling.

The UK

In the UK, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) will get bigger and bigger. Companies have realized AI can enhance players’ experience and are embracing it more and more. For instance, sports betting websites can use it to crunch data and provide iGamers with stats and other data to make better betting decisions. They’re also understanding they can use AI to prioritize content players are likely to be interested in and to personalize their offerings and services to players’ preferences.

Canada enjoys gambling as much as America and the UK. Although laws around igaming are more of a grey area in Canada, some provinces are clearing the issue up by creating regulated markets and experiencing great success. As time goes by, more are sure to follow.