The San Jose Sharks did what the Vancouver Canucks are hoping to do: when they were about to fall into mediocrity, they caught themselves and became a top team in the NHL. They did all that without any major moves or a full-on rebuild. It just kind of happened.
San Jose missed the playoffs in the 2014-15 season, when the Canucks surprisingly made it but lost to the Calgary Flames in round one. That trend seemed to continue in 2015, until the Canucks suddenly collapsed while the Sharks not only snuck into the playoffs, but went all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals.