Canucks officially eliminated from playoff contention

After Sunday’s run of games, the Vancouver Canucks have officially been eliminated from playoff contention.

The Canucks currently sit in dead last in the National Hockey League standings, with a 21-40-8 record for 50 points. That amounts to just a .362 points percentage on the season. They sit dead last in the league in goal differential at negative-78 and have the worst home ice record (8-23-5) in the entire league.

With being eliminated on Sunday, March 22, there are still 25 days left in the 2025-26 regular season, with the Canucks having 13 games remaining on the schedule.

Vancouver was eliminated after what was a busy nine-game slate in the NHL on Sunday, with 10 of the 18 teams in action residing in the Western Conference. But the two games that officially eliminated the Canucks were the results of the Nashville Predators and the Los Angeles Kings: the Predators beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 in overtime, while the Kings dropped their contest 4-3 to the Utah Mammoth, also in overtime.

To do the math, if the Canucks win all of their remaining 13 games, the Canucks could earn 26 more points. Looking at the Western Conference playoff bar at the time of this writing, the Predators are holding down the second Wild Card spot with 75 points, while the Kings are hot on their tail with 73 points.

So technically, if the Canucks did collect those 26 points, they would finish the season with 76 points. However, the Canucks are eliminated before that magic number of 76 points is out of reach because the Predators and Kings are set to face off two more times before the end of the season, guaranteeing that at least one of those teams would surpass the 76-point mark. Thus, Vancouver is eliminated earlier than what the current playoff bar is at the time of this writing.

Many fans and viewers of the Canucks recognized this was their fate much earlier than this. But now the focus will be on finding that magic number which grants them the best odds of drafting first overall in the 2026 NHL Draft.

So let’s do that math.

The Canucks are in last by a wide margin of 15 points, trailing the Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, and New York Rangers – who all collected points on Sunday night – with 65. To catch one of those teams, Vancouver would need to win at least seven games and an overtime/shootout loss just to tie them. And one of those games is against the Flames, which could be a massive four-point swing.

That has the Canucks guaranteed to be in last place in the NHL until April 7, when they take on the Vegas Golden Knights. At this point, the Canucks would have just five games remaining in their season. So, if the Flames, Blackhawks, and Rangers do not collect another point the rest of the season, the Canucks need to lose six of their remaining 13 games in regulation to secure the best odds at drafting first overall in June.

As we’ve covered earlier in the week, the Canucks schedule doesn’t get any easier. Eight of their 13 games are against Western Conference playoff teams, with four more against the Kings and San Jose Sharks, who are within striking distance of the final Wild Card spot. That leaves just one game against the Flames, who have raffled off three straight wins, as the only other game on their schedule against a team without any playoff aspirations.

Of course, the Canucks could get help from the out-of-town scoreboard and the best odds at the NHL Draft Lottery could all be wrapped up earlier than this. But based on Vancouver’s results alone, the earliest they could guarantee 32nd in the standings is on Thursday, April 2, when they take on an old friend in Quinn Hughes and the Minnesota Wild.