The NHL was cold to the idea of Hockey Canada bringing the 2008 IIHF world championship to Canada back when HC hatched its plan to do so earlier this decade. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and his band of not-so-merry men were worried about the impact that the spring-time international tournament would have in Canada at the expense of interest in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Now that the Worlds are three days old and the NHL is down to its final-four teams, the worst possible scenario has played out for the NHL. There is no Canadian content alive in the chase for the Stanley Cup and with three nights off before conference final action commences on Thursday, the action heats up for Canada in Halifax with a big tilt against the United States on Tuesday afternoon and Canada will play again on Thursday.
Is Sidney Crosby's first trip to the conference final enough for Canada to sustain interest in the NHL playoffs in this country? Probably not. He's not even the best player on the Pittsburgh Penguins anymore and there still is a round to be played out before the Stanley Cup finalists are determined. But Canada pursuing its second world title in a row and fifth championship in 15 years, will likely bring hockey fans to their television sets, especially when the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals arrive next week.
In the meantime, here is the Canadian content among the final four combatants of the Stanley Cup playoffs (a player has had to suit up for at least one game in the first two rounds):
Dallas Stars (10 of 23) - Stu Barnes, Philippe Boucher, Trevor Daly, Mark Fistric, Brendan Morrow, Steve Ott, Mike Ribeiro, Brad Richards, Stephane Robidas, Marty Turco.
Detroit Red Wings (8 of 24) - Daniel Cleary, Dallas Drake, Kris Draper, Mark Hartigan, Darren Helm, Darren McCarty, Chris Osgood, Brad Stuart.
Philadelphia Flyers (14 of 24) - Martin Biron, Daniel Briere, Jeff Carter, Braydon Coburn, Riley Cote, Steve Downie, Scott Hartnell, Randy Jones, Mike Knuble, Joffrey Lupul, Ryan Parent, Mike Richards, Jason Smith, Scottie Upshall.
Pittsburgh Penguins (9 of 21) - Sidney Crosby, Pascal Dupuis, Marc-Andre Fleury, Tyler Kennedy, Georges Laraque, Kristopher Letang, Gary Roberts, Jordan Staal, Maxime Talbot.