In a regular NHL season, there are both scheduled and unscheduled deadlines. One of these unscheduled deadlines is the U.S. Thanksgiving playoff bar deadline — a date often used as a measuring stick to determine which teams are most likely to make the post-season that year.
This year, it appears that the Vancouver Canucks (10–12–2), like many years prior, will not be making the playoffs according to how they’re looking heading into U.S. Thanksgiving in 2025. However, there have been past years in which the Canucks were in a playoff spot by this deadline but ultimately didn’t qualify for the post-season — so maybe the opposite is true (though highly unlikely).
2024–25 Season
On November 28, 2024, the Canucks were in sole possession of the second wild card spot in the Western Conference — though not by much. Below them were the Edmonton Oilers, who ultimately returned to the Stanley Cup Final only to be bested by the Florida Panthers yet again, as well as the Seattle Kraken and St. Louis Blues. The point margin between these four teams was only two. On the other hand, the Los Angeles Kings held onto the third spot in the Pacific Division with only a two point lead, while the Calgary Flames, who ultimately didn’t make the post-season, held onto second with 28 points.
By the end of the 2024–25 season, Vancouver had amassed a total of 90 points, placing them only six points out of a playoff spot. Only Calgary (eliminated) and St. Louis (qualified) were ahead of the Canucks in the race for the final Western Conference wild card spot at this point.
2023–24 Season
November 23, 2023, is a bit of an outlier for a Canucks team that held tightly onto first place in the entire NHL by Christmas Day. At the U.S. Thanksgiving deadline, the Canucks were second in the Pacific Division with 27 points in 20 games played — only three away from the first-in-the-division Vegas Golden Knights. Even more impressive is the fact that they were tied with the New York Rangers for third in the NHL in points. The point margin between themselves and the teams below them was much wider than 2024–25, as the Los Angeles Kings had the third spot in the division with 25 points (but three games in hand), while the Kraken came after that with 21. Seattle, who had the second wild card spot, failed to make the post-season that year, while the Oilers, who placed seventh in the division at that point, made the playoffs and ultimately defeated the Canucks in the Division Finals.
At the end of the 2023–24 regular season, Vancouver had a steady hold on first in the Pacific Division with 109 points. In this case, they actually finished the year in a higher position than the one they were in at the U.S. Thanksgiving deadline, though they were still in a playoff position during both occasions.
2022–23 Season
By the time November 24, 2022 rolled around for the 2022–23 Canucks, Vancouver fit into the bottom-half of the division in points with 17 collected over 20 games. Even so, they were still on the outskirts of a battle for the wild card spots: the Nashville Predators, Minnesota Wild, and Oilers, and St. Louis Blues all had 20 points, though it was the latter who snagged the final wild card spot with the highest points-percentage and regulation win count. Calgary held sole possession of the first wild card spot with 21 points. While the point margin between these teams was close, the Canucks were on the outside looking in.
While Vancouver did only come for teams away from snagging the second wild card spot, points wise, they weren’t very close. They finished the 2022–23 regular season with 83 points, while the Winnipeg Jets, who grabbed the second wild card spot in the Western Conference, had 95. The Flames, who were the closest to overtaking the Jets for this position, had 93 points.
2021–22 Season
Once again, by November 25, 2021, the Canucks were out of a playoff spot and did not end up making the post-season. The playoff picture was more interesting this time around, however, as the Anaheim Ducks held the first wild card spot in the Western Conference at this time with 23 points. From there on, it was a three-way tie for the second, with the Colorado Avalanche snagging it over the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators due to their advantage in points-percentage. Also in the playoff picture were the Golden Knights, who held onto the third spot in the division. Vancouver, on the other hand, was far away from this battle with only 14 points, tying them with the Dallas Stars.
The standings at the end of the regular season were quite different from the U.S. Thanksgiving deadline. Anaheim and Vegas, who both held playoff spots on November 25, finished the year without qualifying for the post-season, though the latter came only three points away. On the other hand, Dallas and Nashville, who were out of the playoff picture in November, managed to snag the first and second wild card spots respectively. The Canucks were semi-embroiled in this playoff push as well, as six extra points added to their final total of 92 on the season would have put them within the playoff bar.
After their 5–4 win against the Anaheim Ducks last night, the Canucks remain out of a playoff spot but are five points back of grabbing one. Ahead of them in the standings are the Kings (WC1, 28 points), Utah Mammoth (WC2, 27 points), Chicago Blackhawks (25 points), the Sharks (25 points), the Oilers (25 points), and the Jets (24 points).
Other teams have proven that they can make the playoffs without being past the bar by the U.S. Thanksgiving deadline. While the Canucks’ season has looked bleak so far, in theory, they’re not out of it quite yet.
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