You could say the Canucks are in purgatory, right now. You could say that, but it would be overly dramatic. We do enjoy the drama of the journey with this team, but really, it is just a transition year. No need to bring Heaven and Hell into it.
The latter, that was The Lost Year, or at least that was as close as we tortured souls got to that dark place. When a team so good that it was hated for it's success fell just short. It was also a team where, for maybe the first and only time in my lifetime ( in 1994, the Canucks were "Canada's Team" ), the end result was cheered in more than those usual corners where being a fan of the Blue and Green can be tough slog.