First half vs second half

With the regular season over, it seems like a good time to update something I first looked at a few weeks after the trade deadline: which teams did better and which did worse after the deadline?

In a way, this is kind of a "tale of two halves" sort of thing - teams that started well (first half) and teams that finished well (second half). You could say that teams that showed improvement in the second half have recently been outperforming their current playoff seed, while teams that dropped in the second half may be underperforming their playoff seed.

Sorted by second half / post-deadline performance, here's the numbers:


Edmonton Oil Kings: 30gp-23-5-2-0 (0.800). Before deadline: 0.702
Portland Winterhawks: 31gp-23-7-1-0 (0.758). Before deadline: 0.671
Moose Jaw Warriors: 30gp-20-7-2-1 (0.717). Before deadline: 0.655
Calgary Hitmen: 31gp-22-9-0-0 (0.710). Before deadline: 0.573
Medicine Hat Tigers: 29gp-18-9-0-2 (0.655). Before deadline: 0.605
Kamloops Blazers: 31gp-19-10-1-1 (0.645). Before deadline: 0.720
Tri-City Americans: 33gp-18-11-2-2 (0.606). Before deadline: 0.821
Brandon Wheat Kings: 31gp-17-11-0-3 (0.597). Before deadline: 0.561
Spokane Chiefs: 34gp-18-12-3-1 (0.588). Before deadline: 0.592
Saskatoon Blades: 31gp-17-12-1-1 (0.581). Before deadline: 0.573
Regina Pats: 29gp-14-11-3-1 (0.552). Before deadline: 0.581
Vancouver Giants: 31gp-15-12-1-3 (0.548). Before deadline: 0.634
Kelowna Rockets: 31gp-14-12-2-3 (0.532). Before deadline: 0.476
Everett Silvertips: 32gp-15-15-1-1 (0.500). Before deadline: 0.275
Kootenay Ice: 31gp-12-13-5-1 (0.484). Before deadline: 0.634
Red Deer Rebels: 32gp-14-16-0-2 (0.469). Before deadline: 0.500
Lethbridge Hurricanes: 28gp-13-15-0-0 (0.464). Before deadline: 0.375
Swift Current Broncos: 30gp-11-16-0-3 (0.417). Before deadline: 0.440
Victoria Royals: 30gp-11-17-1-1 (0.400). Before deadline: 0.369
Prince George Cougars: 32gp-11-21-0-0 (0.344). Before deadline: 0.350
Seattle Thunderbirds: 34gp-9-24-1-0 (0.279). Before deadline: 0.434
Prince Albert Raiders: 29gp-6-20-2-1 (0.259). Before deadline: 0.384

A few things I noticed:

Look at Kootenay - of all the playoff teams, only Victoria had a worse 2nd half of the season than the Ice did. The Ice's first round opponent, Edmonton, was the best team in the league in the 2nd half. Does that change anyone's mind about the likelihood of Kootenay giving Edmonton any problems in the playoffs?

The team with the biggest improvement from first half to second? Everett, who went from .275 to .500 (an improvement of .225). The team with the biggest drop-off from first to second? Tri-City, who went from .821 to .606 (a drop of .215). Guess which two teams meet in the first round? Does that change anyone's mind about the possibility of an upset here?

(No, I didn't really think that one would.)

Calgary was the 2nd-biggest improver, at .573 up to .710. Portland, Moose Jaw, and Kelowna also showed good improvements from first half to second half. Meanwhile, other teams which were noticeably poorer in the second half of the season include Vancouver, Kamloops, and Regina. Cause for concern for those teams heading into the playoffs?