How bad is it?

With the 2017-18 season nearly a quarter of the way completed, just how bad is the Saint John Sea Dogs' start?

The Sea Dogs are off to one of the worst starts in team history, this we know. Through 14 games, the team is 3-7-3-1. The good news for Saint John is that they've picked up quite a few loser points, giving them 10 points on the year.

The Sea Dogs were expected to have their struggles this season - just like many Sea Dogs teams in the past. So how does this year's start compare to those other years? We've gone back and taken a look. 

For simplicity, we've looked at Saint John's record after 17 games, which is 1/4 of the regular season (for the seasons that featured 68 games, at least). The 2017-18 Sea Dogs will play their 17th game of the year on Sunday.

Season	Overall	After 17 games (PTS)
2017-18	3-7-3-1	TBD (TBD)
2016-17^	48-14-5-1	11-5-1-0 (23)
2015-16	42-20-6-0	9-7-1-0 (19)
2014-15	32-26-4-6	11-3-0-3 (25)
2013-14*	19-44-2-3	5-10-0-2 (12)
2012-13	23-44-1-0	9-8-0-0 (18)
2011-12^	50-15-0-3	12-5-0-0 (24)
2010-11^	58-7-1-2	13-3-0-1 (27)
2009-10	53-12-1-2	12-4-1-0 (25)
2008-09	34-30-2-2	9-7-1-0 (19)
2007-08	44-22-4-3	10-5-0-2 (22)
2006-07*	20-47-1-2	6-9-1-1 (14)
2005-06*	15-47-2-6	7-8-0-2 (16)

*Missed playoffs

^Won championship

This year's start is indeed a rough one. The Sea Dogs will need to win their next three games in order to not tie or set the club record for fewest wins after 17 games. Points wise, the Dogs could certainly catch or surpass the 2013-14 club that had 12 points after 17 matches.

To be fair, it's very difficult to compare season-to-season. Teams can recover from bad starts -  remember, there's still 3/4 of the season to play. You can take in these numbers however you choose.

Of note, Saint John's three previous worst starts - 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2013-14 - all ended with the Sea Dogs missing the playoffs and selecting first overall in the QMJHL Entry Draft.