The other day we lightly played off of NHL.com’s crafted All-Massachusetts vs. All-Michigan starting lineups. With very little analysis, Vegas’ Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin led their home state past Michigan and Minnesota in hypothetical matchups. Well, we figured we’d try the same scenario and compare the commonwealth’s starting lineup to All-Canadian province lineups. This mock bracket didn’t go as well for MA. Nothing Eichel or Hanifin can do when several of the world’s best players grew up in the same Canadian regions.
Manitoba Starting Lineup: Mark Stone, Max Domi, Seth Jarvis, Travis Sanheim, Zach Whitecloud, James Reimer
You might as well call Manitoba the Nevada of the North. The Golden Knights have had no shortage of players from MB, including the franchise’s first overall pick and first-ever captain. Like Massachusetts’ starting lineup, Manitoba consists of two veterans from Vegas. Mark Stone leads his Keystone Province teammates offensively, while VGK teammate Zach Whitecloud covers the backend. Bottom line, Manitoba lacks scoring. Their three forwards combined for 58 goals in 2023-24, Eichel, Kreider and Boldy combined for 41 more. That differential is too wide to close. MA wins with ease.
Saskatchewan: Jordan Eberle, Brayden Schenn, Chandler Stephenson, Brayden McNabb, Luke Schenn, Connor Ingram
Here’s another province with several Golden Knights ties. Former VGK Cup winner Chandler Stephenson compliments Saskatchewan’s offense, while original misfit Brayden McNabb holds down the blue line. Overall, the Breadbasket of Canada has produced many impactful NHLers over the years. Heck, Gordie Howe was born in Floral. Saskatchewan’s starting lineup has enough offense, solid defense and a goaltender coming into his own. This is a close contest, but it comes down to scoring and I can’t imagine the Canadian province keeping up.
Quebec: Jonathan Marchessault, David Perron, Nic Roy, Kris Letang, Thomas Chabot, Marc-Andre Fleury
Okay, it’s starting to heat up. Sure, maybe the Bay state knocks off MB and SK but what about Eastern Canada’s provincial territories? Of course, we had to loosen the rules to fit as many active or former VGK players as possible. However, only carrying one 40-goal scorer hurts the Quebec lineup so Marc-Andre Fleury will need to turn the clocks back to 2021. It’s another tight battle but Massachusetts survives.
Alberta: Taylor Hall, William Nylander, Brayden Point, Cale Makar, Josh Morrissey, Stuart Skinner
The run for Eichel and Hanifin was impressive, but it ends with Alberta. Frankly, their streak would have ended against any of the remaining provinces. AB’s three forwards combined for 87 goals, oh, and Taylor Hall only had two goals in ten games last season. Alberta also dresses Cale Makar and Josh Morrisey on their blueline. Good luck with that.
Nova Scotia: Sidney Crosby, Nate MacKinnon, Brad Marchand, Ryan Graves, Justin Barron, No Active Goalie
Even though they cannot fill their goalie position, Nova Scotia is still better off than most American and Canadian home state/province starting lineups. Crosby, MacKinnon, and Marchand can all score and play both sides of the puck. That alone might be enough to knock off MA. Combined, they totaled 122 goals last season. Any goalie nearby could keep NS into a game. Maybe they can borrow one from PEI.
British Columbia: Connor Bedard, Sam Reinhart, Jamie Benn, Shea Theodore, Devon Toews, Adin Hill
The Western Canadian giant only edges out the much smaller Eastern peninsula because they have a Stanley Cup-winning goaltender dressed in their lineup. Connor Bedard, Sam Reinhart, and Jamie Benn will likely average 100+ goals over a full season and Shea Theodore and Devon Toews will pitch in as well. With Hill in net, it’ll take a special team to defeat British Columbia.
Ontario: Connor McDavid, Mitch Marner, Steven Stamkos, Drew Doughty, Alex Pietrangelo, Jordan Binnington
Are you surprised a starting lineup mostly based out of Toronto is the best of the bunch? Of course not. Just read the names; Doughty, Marner, McDavid, Pietrangelo, Stamkos. No offense to Jordan Binnington, but you can completely ignore who’s in net. Offensively, Ontario easily reaches 4 or 5 goals a game. Add in two future Hall of Fame defensemen and you have a mismatch for any opponent.
So, there you have it. The rich get richer in Ontario but lookout for Bedard’s BC lineup in the future and let me know when Nova Scotia decides to grow a goalie. However, after this light summer exercise, VGK’s two Bay staters made a run for their USD. Based on my loose model, Massachusetts defeated Michigan, Minnesota, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Quebec. Not many regional starting lineups can pull that off.
