Requiem of a Team

Okay, let's be serious for a moment here.  I'm starting to feel somewhat bad for Vancouver fans.  One of their core players asks out of the town (Yes, I would bet money that Kesler did ask for a trade, regardless how vehemently he denies it), the team floundered horribly this season, despite the talent, and I've little doubt that the issues between GM and Coach (and possibly ownership) wasn't easy to ignore for the players, or the fans.

Hmm.  You know, maybe I just feel bad for Mike Gillis.

I'm certainly not trying be fecicous with this issue, either. The fact is that I've been following the whole situation in Vancouver, and am tempted to agree with the folks who are saying that this team should have been in the playoffs.

Sure, the handling of the goaltender situation over the past year and the whole situation with Ryan Kesler probably imply how much love is left for him in Vancouver.  If not, just look for a video of "FIRE GILLIS" chants, that should clear it up.

But as much as Gillis made some boneheaded moves, he built a team that was a competetor and a major player in the West for several years, and probably still should be.  Of course, there are pundits who talk about how they were protected by a weak division.  There may be some truth to that.  Getting a high seed, as they did most every year from winning the division, will usually add up to easier opponents in the playoffs.  But even if Vancouver changed to a tougher division, they're still playing those same teams at least twice, and have at least two games against each team in the 'weaker' Eastern Conference.

No, I feel the real problem goes back to the rift between management and ownership.  If you followed the drama and trade rumors this season, you probably heard how it sounded like ownership was blocking Gillis from making the Kesler deal(s) he had ready to go, supposedly because they wanted more than they were getting.  It wouldn't surprise me to learn this was true.  If fact, it probably happened at some point when trying to deal Luongo as well.  

Then add in the big fat contract the Canucks ownership gave to John Tortorella this offseason.  He's a good coach (not great, but good), but his system (tight, defense-first) is the antithesis of how the Canuck were built by Gillis (Fast and High scoring).  Ownership either saw this and didn't care, or honestly thought bringing in a coach would shift how the team played at the drop of a hat.

The unfortunate fact is that this team is probably at the end of their rope.  Under an up-tempo coach, they could have made a few more seasons of showing up in the playoffs, but with things how they are now, this team may become the new Calgary Flames, who limped into the playoffs year after year refusing to blow it up and rebuild.  They finally are doing that, but Vancouver looks to be next in line.  The Sedins aren't getting younger.  But they still have value.  Move them in the offseason for a bunch of picks and some two-way centers that don't want out of Vancouver and it'll help expedite a rebuild into more of a John Tortorella-like team.

Of course, I'm sure ownership would never want to stand in the way of the team getting better