Fan In Van

Some Teams Starting to Quit

Back in January when the Vancouver Canucks were hopelessly spiraling out of control and out of a playoff spot, a lot of boneheaded Canuck fans called for the team to “tank” the season in order to get a top draft pick. And, as has often been the case this year with the Canucks’ runs of streaky wins and losses, it’s a simple matter of what a difference a month makes.

After escaping January with an atrocious 4-7-1 record, the Vancouver Canucks have suddenly found some fun in February, going 5-1-3 and having lost only once in regulation. And with Kevin Bieksa having returned to the lineup and Roberto Luongo’s dazzling 49-save performance last night in Nashville, you have to think that now the Canucks could be buyers at the deadline as opposed to the sellers so many Canuck fans had pegged the Canucks to be by the February 26th trade deadline.

However, the news isn’t so great for some other teams.

Aside from Edmonton, Toronto and Los Angeles, who were the general consensus to finish last in the NHL standings, more teams have fallen from grace and look poised to miss the playoffs. Some are surprising selections, while some were streaky teams who only now have come down from LaLa Land:

Philadelphia Flyers: They went from a team who were the obvious frontrunners to acquire Peter Forsberg to a team hopelessly lost and mired in a nine-game losing streak. With Simon Gagne out for the remainder of the season and many players such as Joffrey Lupul and Steve Downie injured, things are looking bleak for the team currently sitting 10th in the Eastern Conference. However, as of today, the Flyers still are only 2 points out of a playoff spot but it seems like only yesterday they held the Atlantic Division lead.

Atlanta Thrashers: If the Marian Hossa trade talk wasn’t evident earlier, it sure is by now. Word around the street is that the Montreal Canadiens have already ordered equipment for Hossa, and he will be a Hab by the deadline.  The Thrashers are now six points out of a playoff spot and with the heat on for GM Don Waddell to deal his Slovakian scoring wizard, it looks like the Thrash will be packing it in at the deadline and will miss the playoffs. So long, Don.

Florida Panthers: The Panthers aren’t going to let anyone tell them this, but after what happened to Richard Zednik, it’s pretty clear hockey was the last thing on their minds for quite some time. Hovering around .500 in their last 10 games, these cats don’t look like they’ve got enough Whiskas to muscle them into the playoffs. And with the Olli Jokinen trade talk heating up, these guys too could be sellers at the deadline.

Colorado Avalanche: By the time Joe Sakic returns to the line-up, it may be too late for the Avs. Only last week they were holding down the final playoff spot but since then have lost five games in a row. With five important games ahead (PHX, CGY, EDM, VAN and LA), the Avalanche need to get their act together in a real hurry or it’s going to be lights out in Denver. It’s hard to tell at this point whether or not the Avs will be buyers or sellers at the deadline; all the losses aside, they sit a mere four points out of 8th and still have oodles of time to climb back into the playoffs. But, like the Flyers, their recent losing skid indicates that dark times lie ahead.

Columbus Blue Jackets: If you asked me who would finish in 8th this season, I would’ve said the CBJ in a heartbeat. And it looked like for the longest time they could pull it off with Pascal Leclaire’s Vezina-worthy performance all year. However, the Jackets are 5 points back and only have 19 games remaining. It looks like GM Scott Howson has a lot of thinking to do: Should he sell off some prospects in order to perhaps propel his team to their first-ever playoff appearance, or call it a year and miss the playoffs for the eighth-straight year?

There are still other teams who look poised to miss the playoffs. St. Louis and Chicago all look like sellers, but only time will tell.