Canadian Sports Power Rankings

July 31, 2013 • In the Magazine, Sports

Every year when Forbes, ESPN or whatever supposed sports authority comes out with their various subjective ranking of sports teams, Canadian sports fans are more often than not, left with ruffled feathers as we’re usually slotted at the bottom of everything for no good reason. Usually these so-called experts cite issues like exchange or tax rates as well as the notion that American players tend to spurn our teams to avoid going through customs so much but all that is a load of Bull. Pun intended. That’s why we’re bringing you the Canadian Sport Power Rankings. Taking into consideration a teams revenue, fan base, their attendance, their ability to win and of course their overall history; every month we want to show you where your team stands and where it’s headed in the months and years to come.

Written by Chris Kinasz

The Sens deserve to open in the top spot of The Bull’s inaugural Canadian Sport Power Rankings simply because they made it further in the playoffs this season than any other Canadian team in Canada’s most popular sport. The team overcame great adversity to reach the 2^nd round after their regular season was plagued with injuries suffered by a significant number of key contributors.

This spot would have gone to the Toronto Maple Leafs had it not been for one spectacular 3^rd period collapse against a certain team from Boston who are, as of our publication date, playing in the Stanley Cup Finals. A less spectacular playoff downfall by Montreal, due largely to an untimely rash of injuries, brought an earlier than expected end to what looked like an extremely promising season, but the future looks bright.

The Maple Leafs almost certainly would have taken the top spot had it not ended the way it did. A historic, marquee team that ends a nine-year playoff drought and makes it to the 2^nd round is a guaranteed #1. A historic, marquee team that ends a nine-year playoff drought with a respectable 1^st round exit would guarantee a #2 spot. What actually happened deserves a #3 spot. The next nine years should be better for Leafs fans than the last nine.

This team certainly hasn’t lived up to all the hype it generated this offseason when it made what seemed like some shrewd personnel moves. Not only has the team not lived up to expectations, it has been downright disappointing and frustrating. The only things keeping the Jays ranked so high are that there is still a long season left with lots of time to turn things around.

The Canucks deserve to be in the top 5 right now solely because they made it to the playoffs this season and are also the last Canadian team to appear in the Stanley Cup Finals. The good times are likely in the rearview mirror for the Canucks though. The team may not be able to take any steps in a positive direction for the future until it trades one of its two expensive goaltenders, which it has been trying to do for the past year.

In the franchise’s 2^nd year in Winnipeg since moving from Atlanta, the Jets finished in 9^th place in the Eastern Conference. The team was only four points shy of the 8^th and final playoff spot. The return of hockey to Winnipeg has been a success off the ice and it looks as if success on the ice is just around the corner.

This team may have little traction in its own market, as attendance at home games is poor and interest citywide is limited, but winning the 100^th Grey Cup in your hometown is enough to make the Argos the only CFL entry in this inaugural ranking. Hopefully the franchise can harness some of the momentum from its Grey Cup win and improve turnout in the stands as well as interest in the community.

If the MLS season ended today, the Montreal Impact would be the only Canadian team that would make it into the playoffs as they are the only of the three playing north of the border that exist with a winning record at this point. The Impact also has the best total and average attendance of the three Canadian MLS teams.

The Oilers finished 12^th this season in the NHL’s Western Conference, missing the playoffs for a 7^th straight year. This makes this franchise the new NHL leader for ‘Longest Playoff Drought,’ but better days should be just around the corner considering the Oilers have picked 1^st overall in the past three NHL drafts, pick 7^th this year in a deep draft and have a new state-of-the-art arena on the way slated to open for the 2016 season.

The Raps missed the NBA playoffs for the 5th year in a row and severely disappointed fans who expected them to squeak into the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, or at least strongly contend for it. There is some renewed hope among fans because it figures that Colangelo’s replacement, former Denver Nuggets’ GM and 2013 NBA Executive of the Year Masai Ujiri, will do a better job and maybe this team can make it somewhere for once.

Dropping out of this month’s rankings: N/A