For the second year in a row, the Toronto Maple Leafs lost out to the Montreal Canadiens as Canada's most popular team, which won't make fans happy. For a second year running, the Montreal Canadiens <a href='https://www.hockeylatest.com/nhl-team/toronto-maple-leafs/elliotte-friedman-reveals-timothy-liljegren-future-with-the-toronto-maple-leafs' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>edge out the Leafs</a> and remain the most popular NHL team in Canada. A new study by Pallas Data has cemented the Habs' dominance as the beloved home team among Canadians in the sport of hockey. This long-standing support has only served to demonstrate how strong this connection has been between this team and its large contingent of fans from coast to coast. According to the study, a full 23% of Canadian hockey fans named the Canadiens their favorite team, well ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs' second-place finish with 20%. The Edmonton Oilers come next at 12%, while other teams that include the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Winnipeg Jets, and Ottawa Senators trail with single-digit fan bases. This ranking illustrates the amount of Canadiens fans in a country that lives and breathes hockey. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/338Canada/status/1844039259709378732'> </a></blockquote></div> Interesting that, even with the Oilers' recent success of making it to the Stanley Cup Finals last season, only 18% of Canadians think a Canadian team will win the Cup this year. That extremely low expectation underlines just how unrealistic the NHL playoffs can be, with many strong contenders usually falling by the wayside. It speaks volumes to the ever-skeptical growing long Stanley Cup drought for Canada, whereby many fans look beyond the Oilers for hope. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/nickbarden/status/1844776901627236671'> </a></blockquote></div> Notably, in Toronto, the Maple Leafs haven't wasted much time making drastic changes following an early playoff exit in 2024. <a href='https://www.hockeylatest.com/nhl-team/toronto-maple-leafs/alex-steeves-sends-a-massive-message-to-the-maple-leafs-after-they-cut-him' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>With the big five</a> in Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and Morgan Rielly, Toronto is off and running again. The most notable change, of course, is behind the bench, as it's now Craig Berube sitting as the head coach, relieving Sheldon Keefe of his duties. Coupled with key additions on defense and in goal this off-season, the Maple Leafs can be said to look towards the building of a more complete roster better equipped <a href='https://editorinleaf.com/evaluating-the-toronto-maple-leafs-cup-chances-for-the-2024-2025-season-01j9h9658qy4' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>for a deep playoff run</a> that will hopefully challenge the Oilers as Canada's supreme team. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs/status/1844765121005899784'> </a></blockquote></div> But the big question is, will that be enough? From the coaching change to the offseason moves, all have infused new energy into the team, but it remains to be seen with time if they can finally harness their potential into postseason success and break their long-standing playoff curse. Perhaps a deep run can finally get the Leafs over the popularity hump and maybe next year they can finally edge out the Habs in this ranking.