The Vancouver Canucks are winning a historically low number of hockey games in the 2026-27 season. While it’s tough to call it a ‘bad season’ when losing was the plan heading into it, there’s no arguing that the numbers aren’t just bad, they’re catastrophic. Through 18 games, the Canucks have just one regulation win and seven total points. That’s a point percentage of just .194, which is almost unheard of.

It’s a pace well below the pace that put the Canucks in last place by 14 points last year. If the Canucks keep this up all year, they’re set to finish with just under 33 total points, which would be the ninth-lowest total ever and the lowest total since 1993.

With all that said, one might expect the Canucks to have an even larger “lead” on last place than they did last year. And, for a moment, it looked like they would. But over the course of the last few weeks, another contender for the top spot in the draft lottery has emerged, and it’s the Chicago Blackhawks. At this point, they could be described as outright gunning for the Canucks’ spot at the bottom of the standings.

Chicago’s loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday brought them to a record of 4-12-1 through 17 games, or a total of nine points. That puts them just one win and two points ahead of the Canucks, who are 3-14-1 through 18 games.

At this exact moment in time, the Blackhawks could even be described as trending even more downward than the Canucks. They’ve lost their last five games, whereas the Canucks’ losing streak only stands at four.

In terms of their per-game scoring rates, the Blackhawks also trail the Canucks to some extent. Both teams are -30 on the season, but Chicago has played one fewer game thus far. And while it’s not exactly relevant to this discussion, there’s also something to be said about the entertainment factor there. The Blackhawks have only scored 37 goals on the year (and allowed 67). The Canucks, meanwhile, have scored 53 (and allowed 83).

Between the two, it’s the Canucks who have had the tougher schedule of opponents thus far, and more games on the road. Within that context, it’s really a coin-toss as to whose record is worse, and whose will continue to be worse from here on out.

Neither side is being too terribly impacted by injury at the moment. The Blackhawks are currently missing Bowen Byram, a player they made a major investment in, but it’s hard to imagine he’d be moving the needle all that much if he were in the lineup. The Canucks, for their part, are only missing Filip Chytil (and Thatcher Demko, but that’s a slightly different story). In other words, neither team stands much chance of suddenly getting better when they get healthier.

The Blackhawks were expected to get a little better when Connor Bedard returned to their lineup after a summer injury. But after winning one of five games without Bedard to start the year, the Blackhawks have one just three of 12 with him. That’s a ‘bump’ from .200 to .250. Bedard’s return hasn’t had nearly the impact that was hoped.

It’s hard to say whether this was the plan for the Blackhawks. They probably didn’t have all their hopes pinned on a return to the playoffs this year, but they did make several moves toward contention, including the acquisition and signing of Byram, the return of Patrick Kane, and the addition of a few other veterans like Ian Cole.

But it has somehow resulted in a worse on-ice performance from the Blackhawks than what they put together last year. And, at this point, their initial plans almost don’t matter. There’s so little hope of recovering within this 2026-27 season that Chicago might as well just lean in and embrace at least this one more year of tanking.

In other words, the Canucks have some serious competition for last place on their hands.

It’s a race from here on out. The Canucks and Blackhawks will play one another three times, on November 22, January 22, and March 3. Those can be considered reverse-four-point games, but the rest of the tanking will be independent of one another.

Does either team stand to get worse from here? Both have a large number of pending UFA vets who could be sold off between now and the deadline. The Canucks have Drew O’Connor, Paul Cotter, Brendan Gallagher, and Luke Schenn among a few others. The Blackhawks have Teuvo Teravainen, Jordan Greenway, Andrew Mangiapane, and Cole. The impact of these groups of vets are probably relatively equal, but the Chicago set has fewer trade restrictions, and thus might be more likely to move.

Both sides of this competition are probably only getting worse from here. If either side has more hope of improvement, it’s probably the Canucks, who are still getting used to coach Manny Malhotra and his system. That compares to Chicago coach Jeff Blashill, who’s already been there for a full season. Blashill’s system probably isn’t going to ‘click’ for the Blackhawks anytime soon, but there’s still a chance that Malhotra’s might in Vancouver.

In the end, it mostly feels like a case of bad luck and bad timing for the Canucks. In a season in which they were one of maybe two teams without outright intentions to tank, the other being the surprisingly .500 Calgary Flames, the Canucks are instead facing competition for last place from a somewhat unexpected source. They’re on pace to finish with an even worse record than they achieved last year, and at the same time, a narrower margin on last place overall – if they can even hold on to it, that is.

A couple of decades ago, the Canucks and Blackhawks were neck-and-neck for supremacy in the Western Conference. In 2026-27, they’re once again neck-and-neck at the opposite end of the standings.

May the worse team win.