The Vancouver Canucks' nightmare just got even worse

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim has a blunt message for the Vancouver Canucks. Stay out of the playoffs, for public safety.

The quote is making the rounds this week, credited by the poster to DailyHive: "I do not want them to play a single game in the playoffs because the stress that it causes for safety."

Funny thing is, nobody in Vancouver actually needed to worry about that this year.

The Canucks finished 25-49-8, good for 58 points and dead last in the entire NHL at 32nd overall.

They were even worse at home, going just 9-27-5 in front of their own fans at Rogers Arena.

A team scoring 2.6 goals a game while giving up 3.9 does not exactly sneak up on anybody in April.

So what exactly was the mayor protecting anyone from?

Why this joke lands so hard in Vancouver

Head coach Manny Malhotra watched his group close on an L1 skid, going just 4-6-0 over their final 10 games.

That is the part that turns Sim's warning from satire into something closer to accidental honesty.

A club that finishes 32nd overall was never walking through the doors of a playoff game with anything to protect the city from.

Betting on this roster chasing a spring run felt like betting on snow in Stanley Park in July.

The last game on the books was a 1-6 blowout on the road against the Oilers.

Bad teams do not cause playoff riots. They cause empty seats and quiet exit interviews around the locker room.

Comments under the post split fast, some fans laughing along, others pointing out the Canucks would need a real turnaround just to sniff a wild card spot next fall.

One reply nailed it better than the joke itself, telling the mayor not to worry because it will not happen for five years.

Whether Sim ever actually said any of it barely matters anymore. The bit has outlived the season it was mocking, and that says plenty about where this franchise stands heading into next year.

Also read on Markerzone.com:
Auston Matthews' latest gesture speaks volumes about what's coming next