Best Canadian teams this season

Well the NHL season is upon us.  And for the last few days there have been countless shows on tv previewing different teams, divisions, conferences and Canadian teams.
I have tried to see as many as possible and even right now I am watching/flipping between two shows previewing the upcoming season.
The topic that has garnered most of my attention is "What Canadian team(s) will make the playoffs?"
I have thoughts about what teams have better shots at making it and what teams will probably not even have a chance.

To start things off, the team that I think will make it are the Montreal Canadians. I believe they have the best chance at being a team that finishes higher in the conference standings and having a good run into the playoffs this season.  They have added to their roster in a few areas and they already have a Norris winning D man along with a goalie who has the capability to be a top tender in the NHL. (Which I think he already is).  They have youth and speed mixed in with some toughness and veteran leadership. Seems to be a good mix for a team looking to make the post season.  My only hold up at this moment is the size of a couple players.  Some of their players are quick and have a great set of hands, but they are on the small side of things. Two in particular stand out.  They are the smallest players on the team and they are, David Desharnais and Brendan Gallagher.   They stand at 5'7" and 5'9" respectively.   They are surrounded by players who are 6' and higher though so it may not make a difference at all.  They have made it this far and have done well doing it, so it can't be all that bad to be a bit shorter.  And that size debate has been beaten to death already so I won't get into it here.

A team I think could be a fringe team and slip into the play offs this season are the Toronto Maple Leafs.  As much as I dislike them, they have a team that if they could pull it together for a full season, they'd have a good chance at squeaking into the post season. 
They also have some youth (not much but some) and some speed.  They also have guys that can score 20+ goals a year.  That's what they need.  Goals.  If they can't score like they should they are sunk.
But their best player this year has to be their goaltender. Jonathan Bernier.  He is going to see a lot of work and needs to be on top of his game, game in and game out.  He will get a break every so often and be replaced by James Reimer, but it will be mostly Bernier.  The better he plays, the better this team will be. 
I think come the end of the season, look for the Leafs to be hovering around the 7th-8th place spot in the East.

The remaining team from the East, the Ottawa Senators, I don't think have the roster this year to make the post season.  They lost long time Sen, Jason Spezza, along with others and haven't really added anyone to fill those roles.  They may look at some prospects or guys from their AHL team to back fill positions this season.  They will also need to have Bobby Ryan, Kyle Turris and Erik Karlsson to play the best seasons of their careers in order to have a shot at the play offs.

In the West I think there is only one team that has a chance to make the play offs.  And I am not being biased here.  But I think the Vancouver Canucks are the only team that has a chance to be a cusp team and make it this year.  I don't see them being a conference leading team or even a division leading team (unless something amazing happens) but I can see them in the same area as the Leafs.  Around 7th or 8th in the conference and just making it in.  I think the West is a harder conference to play in and that will not help the Canucks at all. They need the Sedin's to play like they know they can, and to have Verbata gel really well with them.  They will need their remaining 3 lines to play their roles and chip in with goals as much as possible.  And now that they have Ryan Miller in net, he needs to regain the form he had during the Olympic year in 2010. Lack will give him a break every so often but it will be mostly Miller this year.

The remaining 3 West teams from Canada, the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and the Winnipeg Jets,  are all teams I think will not quite make the cut this year. 
Edmonton I believe has the best chance (finally) to come close to the play offs but I don't think they are quite there yet.  Hall is a top performer and RNH has beefed up some more this year and should be harder to play against.  Eberle can still score and should be a bit better this season.  Edmonton should have at least one good line maybe two good lines up front, but their D core is still a little thin.  They did add a few players towards the end of last season and in the off season this year, so that should make them a little harder to play against and help Ference out on the back end.  And they definitely upgraded their goaltending.  Getting rid of Dubnyk and Bryzgalov and replacing them with Scrivins and Fasth is a real positive step.  Look for them to be just on the outside looking in at the end of the season.
Calgary Flames have some young talent to start the year so far and a new tender between the pipes with Hiller, but I don't think that they have the right mix of players to make the cut this season.  They have a new GM and a head coach going into his second season with this team which should help out, but I think they are going to finish farther from 20th and closer to 30th this season.
The final team is the Winnipeg Jets and I don't think that they have what it takes this year either.  They may surprise a little this season by putting Dustin Byfuglien back to forward for the whole season, but they still don't have the top end scoring from their whole line up.  Evander Kane and Blake Wheeler can't carry this team all the way to the post season and Ondrej Pavelec can't back stop the team into a play off spot either.  For them to even have a sniff of a chance, this whole team has to make a serious commitment and play their best every game.  I think you will see Evander Kane traded before this team makes the post season.

Those are my thoughts on the Canadian teams this season and what I think will happen this year.  And once I hit the publish button on here, I will be able to come back at the end of the season and see how accurate I actually was on opening day.
Who do you think will make the play offs out of the Canadian teams this season? Leave a comment and let me know.  +1 this post as well if you wish.