For the first time since 1970, no Canadian hockey team made it to the NHL playoffs. The absence of Canadian teams from this season’s NHL playoffs has sparked some debate and discussion about the state of Canadian hockey. It also follows a longer trend away from Canadian dominance of the game: the Stanley Cup hasn’t resided in Canada since the Canadiens won it in 1993, something President Obama reminded visiting PM Trudeau about last month.So, in the absence of a Canadian team, who will Canadians cheer for in the playoffs? The answer is the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks: nearly half of Canadians (46%) said they plan to back the Hawks in the Western Conference. In the East, a quarter of Canadians were ready to cheer for the Bruins—but the Bruins late-season collapse will force those fans to look elsewhere.Source: Angus Reid Institute As a Chicagoan, I don’t deny that the Blackhawks are a great team to cheer for. They’ve brought the city three Cups in the last six seasons, an achievement a number of commentators (and the commissioner ) have labeled a dynasty. But I live in Chicago. So why are Canadians cheering for the Blackhawks?It’s not because they have the most Canadian players on the roster: that spot falls to Chicago’s first-round opponent, the St. Louis Blues, who boast sixteen Canadians. The Blackhawks have ten, putting them in the lower range of playoff teams.But there is definitely a local flavor to some Canadians’ support for Chicago. While the Blackhawks support is generally evenly-distributed across Canada, Manitoba is an exception: two-thirds of Manitobans say they’ll be cheering for Chicago in the Western Conference this year. That’s likely because the Blackhawks are captained by Winnipeg native Jonathan Toews. Not only did Toews bring the cup home this past summer, he was recently awarded the province’s highest honor , the Order of Manitoba. And Toews isn’t the only Manitoban on the roster: he’s joined by 2015 Conn Smythe winner Duncan Keith and trade deadline acquisition Dale Weise.Chicago and Canada also have other close ties . There are roughly 200 Canadian companies in the Chicagoland area, and nearly as many Chicago companies in Canada. Chicago also hosts a Canadian consulate and has been Sister Cities with Toronto since 1991. And, of course, the current US ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman , is a noted Blackhawks fan.Hopefully the combined cheers of Canadians and Chicagoans alike will carry the Hawks to another Stanley Cup win this June.