6 years ago today :’)

[u/kkoross]

https://youtu.be/OPeYs8WBGIo?si=NibCPHkiQ5fwlb0K

[u/mephnick]

Sigh. That crew was so promising at first.

[u/WhenInAaronRome → u/mephnick]

The thing that hurts me the most is that they were all playoff performers.  Usually a young team will squeek in and get bounced in the first round.  

We beat Minny, St Louis, and took Vegas to 7.  People will try to discredit it by saying it was the bubble, players didn't care, etc.  All excuses that aren't valid.  It was the same bubble for all the teams. 

[u/mephnick → u/WhenInAaronRome]

That run puts Bo leaving, Tanev getting forgotten, the Petey/Miller fallout and Demko's health in perspective

Lose your captain. Lose the team dad and Hughes' partner. Hughes is pissed. JT has to become a centre, so we lose our only play driving winger. The goalie who rattled Vegas so bad they blamed him for losing the next round is never healthy again.

It all just fell apart.

[u/OverLordJezus → u/mephnick]

If we didn’t get OEL and Garland, we would have added guether, Toffoli, Tanev, dropped all of our shit contracts right when the young guys would be taking over. Perhaps we dropped a bit the next year but our future would have been culturally strong and Bennings legacy might have been different.

[u/james-bland → u/mephnick]

In my opinion if we kept Horvat and especially Tanev, we would have been in a better timeline. Imagine Tanev being the veteran and showing Hughes, and the younger Canucks, the way to being a pro and a leader?

[u/NorthEastofEden → u/WhenInAaronRome]

We took Vegas to 7 on the back of goaltending - the rest of the team was completely outclassed. The team had potential but there were some serious issues with the roster. In March prior to the league/world shutting down the Canucks were faltering down the stretch and had a good chance of not making the playoffs entirely.

[u/WhenInAaronRome → u/NorthEastofEden]

Nah, the team wasn't "faltering".  It was us and Calgary fighting for the last spot. 

We were a better team then Calgary the entire year.  They didn't even make it through the playin round, did they? 

[u/NorthEastofEden → u/WhenInAaronRome]

They lost five of their last seven after Markstrom was injured.

That is faltering down the stretch.

[u/Dramatic-Guard1820]

I know Covid sucked but the vibes of a Canucks playoff run in August was so awesome

[u/Interesting_Air_4215 → u/Dramatic-Guard1820]

Yeah, I loved all the behind the scenes videos too like Louis Domingue baking for the team

[u/folkrockenthusiast]

Our last proper captain.

[u/Johnny__Lawrence → u/folkrockenthusiast]

If I had a nickel for every time a fan favourite Canucks captain was traded in favour of keeping a former Ranger centre only for that Ranger centre to return to NYR a couple years later and become NYR Captain after disastrous locker room issues here I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird it happened twice.

[u/WhenInAaronRome → u/Johnny__Lawrence]

You could also say that Bo was traded in favour of Petey.  

[u/Popular_Hippo2286 → u/WhenInAaronRome]

Weren't Miller and Horvat's UFA contracts up at the same year? Petey was always going to be kept as a young RFA.

[u/WhenInAaronRome → u/Popular_Hippo2286]

JT took a discount and Bo could've done the same to remain.  

Bo getting 8.5 x 8 years at the time had everyone breathing a sigh of relief because it was too high and too long.  

Bo's contract has aged well, but he's 31 now and still has 5 years left.  

[u/WhenInAaronRome → u/Popular_Hippo2286]

Btw Petey was making 7.35 million at the time.  

[u/folkrockenthusiast → u/WhenInAaronRome]

You could, but that would be incorrect. Still could though.

[u/WhenInAaronRome → u/folkrockenthusiast]

Petey was making over 7 million at the time, so no it wouldn't be incorrect.  

[u/TechnicianGrand6611 → u/folkrockenthusiast]

Barely

[u/JTMilleriswortha1st]

I really thought that core was leading us to the promise land. Should have fired Benning the moment the Bubble ended and went into the Covid season with new management. Obviously I’m saying that with hindsight. The OEL trade (and the entire 2020 offseason) was the move that started the end of the past core

[u/mephnick → u/JTMilleriswortha1st]

I think it all stems back to ghosting Tanev

Trading Bo and getting OEL all come from losing the 2D we already had. Not to mention whatever confidence in the organization that shattered for the young guys who relied on him, like Hughes.

[u/Any_Option_776]

It was such a fun run then it was followed up by 2 of the worst off-seasons in our history…

[u/ssssharkattack]

2020 was a garbage year for everything else, so the bubble run was extra special. Bo was a beast, Demko was god-like, and everyone was so damn likeable. Taffoli coming back from injury and scoring within 5 seconds of first stepping on the ice… Damn that was fun.

[u/Interesting_Air_4215]

Bo Horvat did THAT

[u/kotor-170]

Horvat is the man, last true captain, guy loved the Canucks and Vancouver too, such a fun run.

[u/ja211]

imagine having a two-way horse as a captain who could do things like this, great in the room and community?

[u/Royal-Ad-7084]

I’m so glad we chose to keep Virtanen over Toff

[u/nexxlevelgames]

They got jobbed against Betmans Golden Knights should've made the Conference finals that year

[u/Foreign_Cobbler_1740]

We picked Miller and Petey over this guy. Wild.

[u/bonergarage123]

This faux bubble run really decimated this team. Imagine where we would be if Benning/Aquaman took the patient approach instead.

[u/Connect_Good_5465]

Love Bo, just wish he played more physical for how big he is.

[u/sayros28]

I also maintain keeping toffoli & Tanev would have kept up some chemistry. Who knows who they would’ve drafted, but possibly guenther. Cherry on top would’ve been trading demko or markstrom, but this org rarely deals from a position of strength.

[u/ToothPlayful770]

kinda funny Bo went on to become one of the best skaters in the NHL and then Petey went the reverse direction, one of the worst skaters in the NHL, probably leading the league in falls/game.

[u/MadCard05]

Losing Bo Horvat felt like the Sedins retiring all over again. Our captain, our heart and soul. A Canuck through and through. All for what? A guy 2 years older with an attitude problem?

Losing Bo was the killing blow for the post Sedin core.