For the first time in over 40 years, the NHL Playoffs will kick off without the presence of a Canadian team, and as Tina Poole put it in her most recent article; “N’Oh Canada”. 

It certainly can be a bitter pill to swallow if you’re a Canadian, but there’s always a silver lining to everything. In this year’s post-season, there’s no shortage of Canadian-born players on every team, and for our fellow readers who are Montreal Canadiens fans, most of which whom reside in the province of Quebec, there may be a couple of natives from La Belle Province that you can root for. It may not be the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge, but it’s quite possibly the next best thing.

Starting with the Western Conference:

Dallas Stars(1) vs. Minnesota Wild(4)

Dallas has 14 Canadian players on their roster and one from Quebec, Jason Demers. Demers, a defenseman born in Dorval and developed in the QMJHL, is appearing in his sixth post-season, with the five previous stints coming as a member of the San Jose Sharks. Demers hit career-highs this season in goals (7) and penalty minutes (72).

Minnesota has 12 Canadians this season, with two of them coming out of Quebec, Jason Pominville and Marco Scandella. Pominville, a 2nd-round pick in 2001, is no stranger to the post-season. Before becoming a member of the Wild, Pominville experience four runs at the Cup with Buffalo. He’s played in all three post-seasons with Minnesota in the last three years, this year being his fourth consecutive run. Scandella, a 2nd-round pick in 2008 by Minnesota, has grown and developed into a sturdy defenseman with the team and has played a pivotal role in the their success. The Montreal-born blue-liner was extended in 2014 for five more seasons.

St. Louis Blues(2) vs. Chicago Blackhawks(3)

St. Louis will be icing a total of 16 Canadians, with one of them coming from Quebec, Paul Stastny. Member of the prestigious Stastny family, beloved in Quebec, Paul will be entering in his fifth post-season, second as a member of the Blues. The 30-year-old has played in just 28 games combined during those four runs and hopes to get past the first round this year, a feat that St. Louis has struggled to achieve.

Chicago has a lower ratio of Canadian-born players with 10, but the sole Quebecer on the team may be the most important one, Corey Crawford. Crawford, a native of the Chateauguay region, already has two Stanley Cup rings to his name and looks to add a third, which would give the Blackhawks four Cups in seven years. He is battle-tested, playing in 62 playoff games in the last three years, but struggled late in the season this year, raising concern heading into the team’s first-round match-up.

Anaheim Ducks(1) vs. Nashville Predators(4)

Anaheim has 16 Canadians on their roster and two of them are from Quebec, David Perron and Simon Despres. Perron, traded from Pittsburgh to Anaheim, was on a role with the Ducks, scoring 8 goals and 12 assists in 28 games, before suffering a separated shoulder on March 20th after taking a bad fall into the boards. Reports suggest he’ll be ready to go for the first-round, which is a huge relief for Anaheim. Despres, a 24-year-old out of Laval, also came over from Pittsburgh and played a part in the Ducks’ playoff run last season, appearing in 16 games and notching one goal and six assists.

Nashville has just 11 players out of Canada, but they too have two players out of Quebec, one of whom Canadiens fans are very familiar with, Gabriel Bourque and Mike Ribeiro. Bourque, a 25-year-old 5th-round pick from 2009, is experiencing a third stint in the playoffs and hopes that things go a little differently than they did last year. The Rimouski-native has struggled with injuries this season, appearing in just 22 games, putting up one goal and three assists. Then there’s Ribeiro, a long-time member of the Montreal Canadiens. After being bought out by the Arizona Coyotes, Ribeiro bounced back in Nashville, a team focused on offensive-minded hockey. He would put up his highest point total since leaving Dallas after the 2011-12 season, and put up four points in five games during the playoffs. At 36-years-old, Ribeiro hopes to seal off an up-and-down career with a Stanley Cup ring.

Los Angeles Kings(2) vs. San Jose Sharks(3)

The Los Angeles Kings will have 14 Canadians on hand and one of them comes from Quebec; Vincent Lecavalier. The 35-year-old from Ile-Bizard was dealt to the Kings by the Flyers this season and made it clear he would be retiring at season’s end. With this being his swan song despite hitting a decent stride with the new team, scoring 10 goals in 42 games, Lecavalier hopes to revisit those memories of lifting the Stanley Cup in 2004 by adding a second ring and retiring on top.

Nashville will ice a bakers dozen fresh out of Tim Hortons with 13 skaters, and they also have one skater out of Quebec, Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Out with a lower-body injury to end the season, Vlasic will make a return to the line-up for game one and it couldn’t have come at a better time, as he is a big part of the Sharks top-four. The 29-year-old out of Montreal will be playing in his 85th post-season game and will hope to continue contributing, picking up where he last left off.

With a total of eleven players from Quebec, the Western Conference has the province well represented. What about the Eastern Conference? Let’s take a look:

Washington Capitals(1) vs. Philadelphia Flyers(4)

Washington will be icing 11 Canadians, while Philadelphia has 14. However, neither team has any Quebec-born players, so they get no love from us. We’d give the edge to the Flyers for having three more Canadians on their roster, but they also traded away the only Quebecer in this series. Guess we’ll just settle for the next best thing in French-native Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.

Pittsburgh Penguins(2) vs. New York Rangers(3)

Pittsburgh will play with 11 Canadians on their roster, and a big congratulations for being one of just two teams to have three Quebecers, Pascal Dupuis, Kris Letang and Marc-Andre Fleury. Dupuis, who was forced to retire this season due to his medical scare, has been a long-time Penguin and is also the Masterton Trophy nominee of the organization. Letang, the all-star defenseman on the team, has 15 goals and 38 assists in 93 playoff games. The 28-year-old has had his own medical scares as well, but with those behind him and a Penguins team that is refreshed and ready to make another run, he’ll look to add a second ring to his list of achievements. It will be a hard if the team has to do it without Fleury, who will be a game-time decision for game one. The Sorel-native suffered two concussions this season and practiced for the first time on Monday since his second injury to the head.

Florida Panthers(1) vs. New York Islanders(4)

Florida will have 16 Canadians on hand, and three of them come from Quebec, Jonathan Huberdeau, Michael Matheson and Roberto Luongo. Huberdeau had a career year in Florida, scoring 20 goals and finishing with 59 points in 76 points. It certainly helps to be playing with skilled players like Aleksander Barkov and Jaromir Jagr. This will mark his first time reaching the post-season. The same goes for Michael Matheson, a defenseman out of Pointe-Claire, who was called up from Portland last week. He’ll be a part of the team’s Black Aces, and appeared in three games this season. The most experienced member of the Quebec trio is none other than their goaltender, Luongo. Making his seventh post-season appearance and snapping a three-year drought, Luongo hit 35 wins this season, his first 30-win campaign since 2011-12.

The Islanders will be icing the more Canadians than any other team with 17, and two of them are from Quebec, Steve Bernier and Jean-Francois Berube. Bernier, a 31-year-old from Quebec City, has appeared in 24 games this season, serving as a veteran presence. He has been practicing on a line with Ryan Strome and an alternation between Shane Prince and Ryan Quine just ahead of the playoffs start. This post-season will also mark the first in five seasons, the last being a part of the memorable run with the New Jersey Devils in the 2011-12 campaign. Berube, a 24-year-old goaltender out of Repentigny, has just seven NHL starts to his name and will likely back-up Thomas Greiss in game one of the first-round, with usual starter Jaroslav Halak sidelined. In those seven games, Berube went 3-2-0, sporting a .914 save percentage and a highlight reel save that could be a candidate for save of the year.

Tampa Bay Lightning(2) vs. Detroit Red Wings(3)

Tampa Bay will have just 8 Canadians on hand, however two of them happen to be Quebecers and have the same first name, Jonathan Drouin and Jonathan Marchessault. Drouin, 21, had an eventful 2015-16, from demanding a trade, to not reporting to his AHL farm club and back to re-joining a Lightning team riddled with injuries and an ineffective powerplay. Drouin put up 10 points 21 games this season and is the offensive punch the team needs, in spite of the drama that trails behind his name. Marchessault benefited off of the aforementioned injuries this season, receiving time on the team’s second line, but despite posting 18 points in 4 games, he struggled on the defensive side of things, leading up to becoming a healthy scratch late in the season. At just 25, Marchessault is a skilled, young player that can draw penalties, something Jon Cooper may turn to in a tight-checking series against the Red Wings.

So there you have it. Eight series consisting of 16 teams total, combining for 200 Canadians and 22 Quebecers. While there may not be any Canadian teams to cheer for this year, you’ll have plenty of options as to who to root on, both as a Canadian and as a resident of Quebec. Who do you have?