Just three years ago, the Vancouver Canucks appeared to be a lost franchise that had no direction whatsoever.
The team had missed the playoffs for the first time in six years. Head coach John Tortorella was fired just one season into his five-year contract. General manager Mike Gillis was fired amidst fans’ wishes, and favorites Roberto Luongo and Ryan Kesler were traded after both stars requested to be dealt.
And most importantly, the Canucks have virtually no up-and-coming prospects to get excited about. This was a team that was too old and too slow to compete with the modern NHL.