Canucks have a 2.5% chance of making the playoffs this season

Feb 22 2017, 4:40 am

With 22 games left to go in the regular season, time is running out on the Vancouver Canucks if they hope to make the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2017.

Vancouver is four points back of the last spot, currently held by Calgary.

While four points may not seem too daunting a deficit to make up, the reality of the situation is actually very grim.

Not only do the Canucks need to make up four points on the Flames in one fewer game, they need to pass the Kings and Jets as well.

The sports odds website Sports Club Stats – which takes into account odds of winning based on a teams’ win/loss records to date, as well as the strength of their remaining schedule – currently have the Canucks’ chances of making the playoffs listed at 2.5%.

To put that in perspective, that’s only 0.7% off the chance that Tom Brady becomes the next president of the United States, according to local betting website PlayNow.com.

Take it away, Jim!

Only five other teams – Dallas (1.9%), New Jersey (1.1%), Detroit (0.6%), Arizona (0.04%), and Colorado (0.003%) – have longer odds of making the postseason than Vancouver.

The Canucks aren’t likely to finish dead-last though, as Colorado and Arizona have a huge edge in that department right now. Vancouver has just a 0.007% chance of finishing last in the Western Conference, and just an 8.1% chance of finishing second-last.

The most likely scenario (66.5%) has the Canucks finishing in 11th or 12th, ahead of Colorado and Arizona, in the West.

With eight days to go before the March 1st NHL trade deadline, it’s becoming painfully obvious that the Canucks ought to be sellers. That means trading veteran players without a future in the organization, likely for draft picks and/or prospects.

For many Canucks fans, news of the team’s likelihood to miss the playoffs isn’t entirely negative. Without many prospects in the organization with elite-level potential, a high position in this June’s draft is ultimately going to be the best thing for the organization.

With the Canucks in fifth-worst position in the NHL standings, the odds of them winning the draft lottery are currently at 8.5%, while the odds of them getting a top-three pick are at 26%.

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