Could the Vancouver Canucks Be the Only Canadian Team in the 2012 NHL Playoffs?

It is early, but as we near the Christmas break, the odds aren't looking good for Canadian participation in the 2012 playoffs.

Currently, only Vancouver and Toronto are in the playoff mix, with the Leafs fading fast. Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Montreal and Winnipeg are all in various states of disarray and find themselves more likely to get a lottery pick than a playoff spot.

Since the 2004-2005 lockout, at least two different Canadian teams—sometimes as many as four—have made the playoffs each year.

In the six playoffs from 2006 through last year's tournament, the Montreal Canadiens have made the playoffs five times.

It is fitting, because they are the NHL's most successful franchise.

The Ottawa Senators, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks have made the playoffs four times each in this span.

Bringing up the rear, the Edmonton Oilers only made the playoffs once since the lockout. But that still beats the Maple Leafs, who haven't made the playoffs in living memory. (Or 2004, to be exact.) 

The Vancouver Canucks (20-11-2) have 42 points—good for a tie with St Louis for fifth in the West. They are also heating up after their playoff hangover: They have gone 7-2-1 in their last ten games, and are closing in on the Minnesota Wild for the Northwest Division title.

The Toronto Maple Leafs (16-13-4) are currently in a playoff position—barely, anyways—with 36 points. That puts them seventh in the East, but they are rapidly falling down in the standings after a hot start.

The Leafs are 3-5-2 in their last ten games.

The reborn Winnipeg Jets (15-13-4) are hard on the heels on the Leafs. The Jets have 34 points, putting them just outside the playoff picture in the ninth spot in the East. However, they possess a game in hand over the Leafs, and have been playing much more consistently over the course of the season.

The Ottawa Senators (15-14-4) are hanging around the playoff picture as well, sitting in 10th in the East with 34 points. (They lose the tiebreaker to the Jets due to games played.)

The Montreal Canadiens (13-14-7) are 12th in the East with only 33 points, and 3-4-3 in their last ten games. The Habs are not going to make the playoffs: They have tried making a big trade for Kaberle and firing the head coach in efforts to snap out of their funk. Neither worked.

At this point, the only thing Habs fans have to look forward to is a new general manager in the summer and the inevitable housecleaning. And hopefully a high draft pick.

Calgary (14-15-4) and Edmonton (14-16-3) are currently 12th and 13th in the West, with 32 and 31 points respectively.

Calgary has been just bad enough to miss the playoffs, but not bad enough to get a good draft pick the last few years.

At least this year the Flames might be bad enough to finish clearing the rest of the Sutters out of the front office. Ideally, the Flames would trade Jarome Iginla to jump-start their rebuild, but I don't think they are quite ready to trade the face of the franchise.

The Oilers were hot early, leading the Northwest Division in the beginning of the season, but then crashed even harder than the Leafs. Still, with all their young talent, the Oilers are at least entertaining their fans with the prospect of being a powerhouse in the near future.

In the Western Conference, only the Canucks are a seeming lock to make the playoffs. Calgary and Edmonton are already planning for the draft.

In the Eastern Conference, Toronto, Ottawa and Winnipeg will be scrapping it out for the bottom seeds, and they can't all make it. The Washington Capitals are just out of the playoffs as well, and are only an Alexander Semin-trade or a motivated Alexander Ovechkin away from reeling off a few wins and moving up the standings—potentially leaving all three Canadian teams on the outside looking in.

Of those three teams, I'd bet on the Jets being the most likely to make the playoffs. They are riding the emotion of the return of NHL hockey to Winnipeg.

In the end, could only one Canadian team make the playoffs?