I spent six years in a newsroom that included a lot of Canadians, and if I ever doubted Canada’s preoccupation with ice hockey, those six years straightened me out on that.

Which makes the current sad state of the National Hockey League’s seven teams based in the Great White North of particular interest.

If the season ended today, the playoffs would open with zero Canadian teams.

Thirty NHL teams … 16 make the playoffs … seven Canadian teams … none on pace to survive the regular season.

Which would be the first no-Canada NHL playoffs since 1970.

Remarkable, really, especially considering how much Canadians care about hockey, compared to the often lukewarm attitude of American sports fans.

Rest assured, people have noticed.

It was in late January that the first stories began to be written about the chance that Canada would be shut out in the playoffs, including this one at espn.com.

On February 1, the Toronto Globe noted that the all-star break was a good time for underperforming Canada-based teams to take stock of their situations.

A few days later, the Toronto Sun did a story on Canada’s plight, and broke down why each of the seven teams is struggling.

A week ago, the Guardian, a British newspaper, posted a long analysis on Canada’s woes, broaching explanations and then dismissing them, seeming to settle on the notion that Canadian fans generally will not allow their favorite team to settle to the bottom — where the higher draft picks can be found, and rebuilding can begin.

My theory?

Hockey is so big in Canada that players for teams there are far more likely to have their spirits crushed by the pressure of expectations.

In the U.S. Sun Belt, where nine NHL teams can be round, hockey is far down the list of sports local residents care about, and players are rarely recognized and almost never have their games dissected, which is par for the course in Canada.

By the way, seven of those nine Sun Belt teams currently are in postseason positions.

Another factor here are the situations in Montreal and Toronto, by far the biggest hockey teams in Canada, where the other five (Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Vancouver) would be considered “small” teams, with modest population bases and fewer marketing and sponsorship opportunities.

Back to Montreal and Toronto.

Toronto was expected to struggle, and the Maple Leafs have — they have the worst record in the NHL. But the Leafs are in Year 1 of “a plan” — which is to bottom out, rid themselves of expensive mediocrities and build through the draft.

So there is one of your big two.

Then we have the Canadiens, who started as if they planned to end Canada’s 23-year NHL championship drought, and then fell to pieces when their goaltender (Carey Price) was injured.

Could Canada still see a team race into the playoffs, as Ottawa did with a scorching run a year ago?

With about 10 games left, per team, it is unlikely.

In the Western Conference, Canada’s four teams are, remarkably, holding down the bottom four spots in a 14-team grouping — Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Vancouver, from the bottom up.

For Vancouver to make the playoffs, the Canucks would have to climb past three teams, including two (Minnesota and Colorado) already at 74 points, compared to Vancouver’s 66. Also, Arizona, long considered the most irrelevant team in the league, is ahead of the Canucks with 67 points.

In the Eastern Conference, the situation is more dire. Ottawa is only seven points out of the final playoffs/wildcard berth, currently held by Detroit, but the Senators would have to climb over three other teams, as well.

At the end of things, the season is more than a statistical curiosity … it also is a huge downer for the biggest fans of hockey, Canadians. It likely will end with some introspective thinking, on why Canada’s NHL teams struggle to compete.

Some Canadians back in Abu Dhabi will be hurting.