The epic collapse of 2025-26 will go down infamously in the tumultuous history of the Vancouver Canucks.
They’re not just the worst team in the NHL. They’re the worst team by a mile.
We’re living in Gary Bettman’s dream NHL, one where parity is rampant, giving most fanbases hope that their team can at least compete for a playoff spot until the end of the season. That’s been on full display this season, with just five NHL teams being officially eliminated with less than two weeks left in the season.
The Canucks have already locked up last place, and currently have 18 fewer points than the next-worst in the league, the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Canucks are miles back (NHL.com)
Over the last 60 NHL seasons, the last-place team has been 15 or more points worse than the second-last team just 12 times. On average, we see a team drastically trail the rest of the pack once every five years.
That frequency has diminished in recent history. Over the last 30 years, there have only been four occasions where an NHL team has held at least a 15-point edge on last place.
Of the 12 teams that were 15 points or worse than the rest of the league, eight of them were within three years of joining the NHL. A ninth team was the Tampa Bay Lightning (19 points clear of second-last in 1997-98), who were five years removed from joining the league, and we’re battling ownership issues at the time.
The rise of parity in the NHL, coupled with the fact that the Canucks aren’t a new franchise, makes their ineptitude that much harder to fathom.
Over the last 60 years, these are the only non-expansion-era teams to finish 15 or more points clear of second-last in the league.
1. Colorado Avalanche (2016-17)
The worst season of the Jim Benning era came in 2016-17, where the Canucks finished with 69 points. Colorado was astonishingly 21 points worse than this, ending their dreadful campaign with 48 points.
Colorado finished 21 points clear of the Canucks in 2016-17 (NHL.com)
2. Detroit Red Wings (2019-20)
Detroit’s status in the NHL’s upper echelon came to a crashing halt in 2019-20, when they finished 23 points behind second-last in the league.
This margin of malpractice could have been even worse if it weren’t for the COVID-19 shutdown in March of 2020.
Detroit was 23 points back of Ottawa when the pandemic halted the 2019-20 season (NHL.com)
3. Québec Nordiques (1989-90)
The Québec Nordiques finished with an abysmal 31 points in 1989-90, which was 33 points worse than the second-last team.
Québec finished a whopping 33 points behind Vancouver in 1989-90 (NHL.com)
While the Canucks won’t set records for being bad this season, the horrendous season that they’ve authored leaves them in rare and unfortunate company.