This may be the last week we can do a bubble watch for the Canucks, so let’s get it in while there’s still a mathematical possibility of Vancouver making the playoffs.
According to Sports Club Stats, the Canucks have a 2.0 percent chance of making the postseason. But...BUT...if they win all 10 of their remaining games, that probability leaps all the way to 87.0 percent.
OK, so it’s very, very unlikely that Vancouver gets in. Basically, the Canucks need to be almost perfect -- and there hasn’t been a whole lot to suggest they’re capable of being that -- and/or hope that both Dallas and Phoenix choke.
Safe to say, once this season’s hope has been officially extinguished, there are going to be some big decisions for this club to make. And it will start with general manager Mike Gillis. Because whoever is making the personnel decisions -- be it Gillis or a new general manager -- will have to decide whether to keep John Tortorella behind the bench, and then whether to trade the likes of Ryan Kesler, Alex Edler, or anyone else that can help the team “get younger, faster and stronger.”
Vancouver last missed the playoffs in 2008. Since then, the Canucks have enjoyed their finest stretch of play since the franchise entered the NHL in 1970. Two times they won the Presidents’ Trophy. They had a trip all the way Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. A Hart Trophy and Art Ross for Henrik Sedin. Another Art Ross for Daniel Sedin. A Selke for Kesler.
Is it the end of an era? Or, can an offseason retooling -- as opposed to a full rebuild -- bring Vancouver back into contention?
At the very least, Canucks fans have reason to keep watching in young Nicklas Jensen, the 2011 first-round pick who’s scored three times since being called up from the AHL earlier this month.
“I think it’s great for the organization, not just for the team now, but for the future to see guys coming in and pushing for spots,” said Henrik Sedin. “It’s when you have young guys pushing for spots from below and that’s something we haven’t had for ... 10 years.”