2022: Top 5 Canadian sports franchises
As we count down the days until 2023, let’s not forget the sport year 2022 gave us with its memorable triumphs and heartbreaking losses.
Canada was a success on the international scene, with 26 medals won at the Beijing Winter Olympic Games and a gold medal in the World Junior Championship. Canada also qualified for the FIFA World Cup for 36 years for the first-ever time.
While it is nearly impossible to compare teams and leagues from different sports, let’s look at which Canadian pro-sports franchises had the most success in 2022.
Although it ended in a terrible way, the 2022 season of Toronto Blue Jays gave fans plenty to cheer about.
The Jays finished with a 92-70 record — one more win than the previous season — and seven games behind the New York Yankees Second place in the American League East Bo Bichette The AL had the most hits (189), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Starter pitchers were responsible for the seventh-most home runs (32) as well as the fifth-most RBIs (97). Alek Manoah While being closer to the truth, he had the third-best ERA (2.24) and third-most wins (16). Jordan Romano Third in saves with 36 Six Blue Jays were named to the MLB All-Star Game, and many enjoyed successful seasons.
Unfortunately, all the excitement ended. cut short rather abruptly in the playoffs. Toronto was defeated 4-0 by the AL wild-card series in Game 1. Seattle Mariners. The Jays took a 2-0 lead in Game 2 with a score of 8-1 after five innings at Rogers Centre. The Jays’ promising season was ended by a devastating collapse as the Mariners retook control and won 10-9.
The Edmonton Oilers might not have enjoyed the same regular season success as a team that was led by the likes Connor McDavid Leon Draisaitl They did what you would have expected, and they put together a strong postseason run in 2022.
They finished second in the Pacific Division behind their provincial rival after a 49-win, and 104-point regular-season. Calgary FlamesThe Oilers overcame a nasty opponent Los Angeles Kings In the first round, they won seven games. The Flames were next up, and Edmonton won in five games in the highly anticipated Battle of Alberta series. Next was the Colorado AvalancheAfter proving too difficult to manage, he swept the Oilers to reach the Stanley Cup Final, where they clinched their first Stanley Cup championship since 2001.
Edmonton currently occupies fourth place in Pacific with 38 points, and a record of 18-14-2. McDavid has been lighting up the NHL unsurprisingly with a league-leading 29 goal and 65 point performance in just 34 games. Draisaitl sits in second place with 55 points.
3. CF Montréal
CF Montréal had its most successful regular season ever, notching franchise records in points (65) and wins (20), while finishing second in the Eastern Conference behind the Philadelphia Union. Montreal defeated Orlando City 2-0 in round one of the playoffs but lost to New York City FC at the conference semifinal.
First-year head coach Wilfried Nancy finished a very close runner-up for MLS Coach of the Year, and a number of young promising stars, including Djordje Mihailovic, Ismaël Koné and Alistair Johnston, earned big money moves to Europe after stellar seasons with Montreal.
Six members of the club represented Canada in Qatar. This was Canada’s first World Cup appearance since 1986.
2. Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have had a great year.
The Leafs broke franchise records for wins (54) and points (115), finishing second in Atlantic Division behind the President’s Trophy winning Florida Panthers. Superstar forward Auston Matthews He had a record-breaking 60-goal, 101-point season, which earned him the Rocket Richard Trophy and Art Ross Trophy, as well the Ted Lindsay Award.
Despite an unforgettable season, Toronto was again eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs. Toronto became the defending champion. Tampa Bay Lightning To seven games. The Lightning reached their third consecutive Cup final appearance but did not win a three-peat.
The Buds are not slowing down in 2022/23. They have a 20-7-6 record with 46 points and are second in the Atlantic. Boston Bruins. Matthews, who is still playing at the all-league level, is tied with Mitch Marner (38 points) for the team lead. putting together a franchise-record This streak of 23 consecutive points was broken just recently.
The Leafs are a serious contender with their solid goaltending and high-octane offense.
1. Toronto Argonauts
This might be a controversial choice, considering the CFL’s popularity — or lackthereof — relative to other leagues or franchises in Canada, but the Toronto Argonauts’ reason for topping this list is very simple: they won a championship.
With 22 points and an 11-7-0 record the Argos placed first in the East Division. This would have seen them finish fourth overall in the West Division. Toronto, despite their average regular season, won a bye in the East Division. They then took the heat in the playoffs and beat the Montreal Alouettes 34 to 27 in the Eastern Final at BMO Field.
The Argonauts beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who were the Grey Cup champions twice before. They won the final in Regina 24-23 thanks to a wild drive by Chad Kelly as backup quarterback. This was their first title since 2017.