Price is Right: It's now clear Canucks should tank the rest of the season

I’ve resisted this long to even say the word. We’ve spent so much time on it over the past six years. But, it’s time to… tank.

Jim Rutherford kind of joked about it, saying “I thought we were tanking” on Monday during his media availability.

But alas no, this was them trying. But now presents a chance for them to have their cake and eat it too. They don’t want to rebuild. But trading a few players away for younger ones, like he mentioned, that need a new start. Well, that just might have the desired effect of further reducing the Canucks capacity to win in the now, while giving some hope to win in the future.

With the loss to the Lightning on Wednesday, the Canucks sit two points up on the Sharks, and just six up on the Coyotes. Each of those rungs in the draft lottery presenting a 1% increase in odds of the first overall pick. But way further increasing their odds of a top-five pick.

The worst teams in the NHL so far this season

And of course, in the process of trading away some players, maybe they can even pick up another first-round pick along the way too. Unlikely to be a lottery pick, but you never know. Maybe St. Louis or Nashville would think of adding? Colorado, Washington, or Edmonton aren’t exactly guarantees to make it either and could be in a trade mode. Somebody will fall out of their current playoff spot after making a trade at the deadline, and will end up in a lottery position, with a chance for a top 10 pick. You can still move up 10 spots remember.

The Canucks are right there. We’ve spoken before, with the understanding that this franchise refuses to full rebuild, that they still can take advantage of a bad season and improve their lot in life via the draft.

They drafted Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson this way: by accident, whilst trying to win, they were so bad that they still picked high enough to get these players. Make sure it happens again. The managers don’t have the power to make the players try less in the second half of the season. But they do have agency over who those players are.

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