It’s been a tough season for NHL hockey fans in Canada.
The 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs are set to get underway in just over a month, and only two of the seven Canadian NHL teams are in position to qualify. Only one of those two is in a solid position, and the other could easily fall out if they go on a slide.
As it stands, the playoff hopes have all but died for the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Winnipeg Jets, and Toronto Maple Leafs.
MoneyPuck’s playoff odds model (as of Sunday morning) only has three Canadian teams with a more than 50 per cent chance to qualify.
Moneypuck.com
As expected, the Canucks have the lowest odds at a healthy zero per cent, followed by the Leafs at 0.1 per cent, the Flames at 0.6 per cent, and the Jets making a jump at 15.1 per cent.
The Ottawa Senators are being given a 51 per cent shot, and are fighting for their postseason lives at the moment. They remain four points back of the Boston Bruins for the last wildcard spot in the East.
Only the Montreal Canadiens (82.4 per cent) and Edmonton Oilers (66.5 per cent) are in a playoff position. The Canadiens are sitting third in the Atlantic with 78 points, which is five up on the closest non-playoff team, the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Oilers, however, are in much more trouble.
Despite having Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard go supernova over the last few months, the team has been struggling. Edmonton sits third in a weak Pacific Division with 68 points and is only a two-point swing away from falling out of a playoff spot, with the San Jose Sharks and Seattle Kraken hot on their heels.
If the Oilers and Senators find a way to miss the playoffs and the Canadiens hold on, it will be the lowest number of Canadian teams to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since none did back in 2016.
The country is desperately in need of a miracle run to end Canada’s 33-year Stanley Cup drought this Spring.
Lead photo by
Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images