Canucks: 3 big disappointments of the 2019-20 season
The Vancouver Canucks’ rollercoaster of a season left certain players unable to live up to the hype. Here are three disappointments from the club’s 50th year.
The 50th year of Vancouver Canucks hockey in the NHL was a season filled with ups and downs, highs and lows, winning streaks, losing streaks, success and disappointment. But through all of it, Jim Benning’s message never wavered. A team was built in front of him, handcrafted by himself and management that was strong enough to earn and claim a spot in the 2020 playoffs.
Right up to the very point of the NHL freeze on the regular season, Vancouver looked to be holding down a wildcard spot, maybe even better. It really depends on who you ask, though. With all NHL teams having played a different number of total games, it’s hard to tell exactly who’s made it to the show, and who’s on the outside looking in.
The Canucks’ case for a playoff spot is especially tricky. In a shortened regular season with doubt of having time for completion in full, how does the league go about filling the playoff bracket? Would the decision be based on points percentage or would the league go directly into the dance regardless of games played?
According to the NHL website, the Vancouver Canucks sit in 9th place in the Western Conference. Despite being tied in points with the Nashville Predators for the final playoff spot while also having one more win in their pocket, the Predators actually fill the spot due to having accumulated more regulation wins.
As it stands now, the Canucks only fill a playoff spot if playoffs are based on point percentage whenever the game does in fact return. How the playoff picture is put into place is a conversation for another time. However, at one point the Canucks looked to be on the cusp of locking down the Pacific Division and that probably would have happened if it weren’t for a few disappointments through the 2019-20 campaign. Let’s take a look at three big disappointments from the season that more or less held the Canucks back for another year.