Its tough because for the most part Canadian teams either can't sign or don't pursue the real class 1 free agents because they want for some reason to play in the states with the perennial competitive teams.
Lets look at it
Vancouver - I would agree with the whole aging team that is going to have to head into a rebuild in the next year or two. But for some reason they don't seem to attract the really big free agents or don't chase after them. Maybe its because hockey players hate hippies Outlook for competitiveness - The windows closing quickly, they pretty much have to make their move this year and sell future parts for now parts to be competitive in the wild west. If they show a willingness to make their move pre deadline they could grab some great pieces to help them.
Edmonton - Beyond it being a cold city for 10 months of the year, their management group has a terrible reputation with free agents probably due to the Pronger, Peca, Souray, Comrie situation, plus the franchise has not shown any growth towards competiting, the free agents that they do attract are middle tier or fading players that they have to dramatically over pay for. Its more then likely that the Oilers are going to lose stars instead of attracting them. Outlook - Incredibly grim, I've stated many times that this team is going to have to look at rebuilding again. Outside of three and maybe four players theres not much there, they have nothing great in the pipeline that's going to provide help, and with their drafting, trading and signing history they're going to be left in the cold.
Calgary - They've had some success in signing second tier free agents like Hudler and Wiedman for example. But the top guys are simply out of their reach. Calgary is a great city, with a great tax advantage, but has the reputation of probably being some redneck haven. On top of that with the rebuild on good free agents won't come here. Grim - There's some reason for optimism in a few years as there's some nice pieces coming into the system, however those pieces are years away. On the more immediate side of things, this team is going to get worse due to selling of veterans and next year could be a miserable experience for any player in the red and black.
Winnipeg - The perfect storm of future problems. Its not a great hockey market and their current arena situation and the declining Canadian dollar could cast shadows on their survival there. They aren't a good hockey club and Winnipeg is not a destination city. Look for free agents to leave instead of signing there. I still expect Winnipeg to be back on the move in the next decade. Outlook - tepid at best. They have some nice young pieces but they're in a murderers row division, so it could be a while before they catch up to the playoff teams. Its going to be tough for them to sign higher end free agents, the dropping Canadian dollar and revenue starvation as the cap grows could be painful for this team.
Toronto - They seem to have to overpay for free agents, but that's not a problem because their rich. Free Agents don't really sign there if they want to avoid fan pressure. Frankly they are a team with a lot of cracks and they're going to lose out to free agents that want to go for a major U.S. market. Plus Ontario has an oppressive tax system and the cost of living is hugely expensive especially with energy costs going through the roof. Outlook - decent. On one hand the tax structure and cost of living are going to create a downward drag on signing free agents. They've got a decent mid tier club now, but I don't know if there's much in the pipe to get fired up about. Some players avoid signing there to avoid the pressure.
Montreal - You're going to be miserable if you don't speak french, plus the pressures of playing for that franchise, a really oppressive tax system. The only thing that might draw you to them is that they seem to be average competitive and you could be the piece that puts you over the top. Outlook - maybe decent. They're a fairly competitive club with some nice young pieces, but they're going to have to make their moves soon. I still think they're too small to be a serious playoff threat but they play in a weak conference so they could make a run if they get goaltending. Not sure about long term success here. Quebec is expensive and fiscally backwards. If your English you might not want to go there by choice especially with the opressive language and school laws.
Ottawa - Really fell flat on their faces, there's some question about the wealth of the owner and they're struggling a bit revenue wise. They're just a bad hockey team but have a lot of nifty young pieces so they could be a franchise on the rise. Ottawa is a pretty cool city, but players might see it differently due to reputation. Again the People's Republic Ontario has a really bad tax structure and costs of living is on the rise to really high levels there. Outlook - slightly positive. This franchise has holes, but a lot of good young parts and seem to have a decent GM and coach. Again the cost of living situation is going to be a real drag on getting those final pieces through free agency. I still think that they're going to become a floor team as the cap continues to rise.
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