Vancouver Canucks: Management promise a rebuild and fail to deliver

Once again, Vancouver Canucks fans will have to stomach another lost season that goes nowhere. This management group was tasked with making this team competitive and restocking the prospect pipeline. They have failed both tasks.

Six years. That is how much time has passed since the Vancouver Canucks lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in 2011.

The memory still haunts all Canucks fans. From that point, things only went from bad to worse. In 2012, the President’s Trophy winning Canucks lost 4-1 to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the Los Angeles Kings. One year later, the team was swept by the San Jose Sharks.

The Canucks needed to be honest with themselves. That talented roster from 2011 was in decline and something had to change. Former Canucks general manager, Mike Gillis, pleaded ownership to let him hit the reset button and rebuild the team. He was denied and the Canucks had to suffer the infamous John Tortorella season. The result cost Gillis and Torts their jobs, allowing JIm Benning and Trevor Linden to take over.

On first glance, the duo’s first season was a moderate success. The team bounced back and made the playoffs and the Sedins looked rejuvenated with Radim Vrbata. However, the playoff series against the Calgary Flames brought the team back to reality, showing how bad the roster was compared to a team that was rebuilding.