For the first time since the Canucks in 2010, a Canadian team made it to the Stanley Cup Grand Final. The result was not conclusive, as the Canadiens lost in five games to the powerhouse Tampa Bay Lightning.
It seems that the NHL didn't really like to see a team from the North in the Grand Finals and will do everything to not give them any more gifts in the years to come. According to what Elliotte Friedman reports in his most recent 31 Thoughts, seeing the Habs in the finals and the poor ratings of the final series is one of the main reasons why there will be no more North division in the future. The NHL no longer wants to give Canadian teams a gift by giving them a free spot in the semifinals.
That's quite a statement from Friedman, confirming what everyone else is thinking, that the NHL, specifically Gary Bettman, does not like Canadian teams at all. This adds greatly to the commissioner's gesture Wednesday night when he never praised the run of the finalist team, the Montreal Canadiens, something he has done every year since he took office.
