In 2016, the Vancouver Canucks seemed destined for a top-three draft pick. After finishing 28th in the league standings in the 2015-16 season, fans had big dreams — Auston Matthews or Patrik Laine on the top line. That would have been great.
Today, we know none of that happened. The draft lottery saw Vancouver dropping to fifth overall. Matthews is a 40-goal scorer for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Laine tallied 36 for the Winnipeg Jets. The Canucks, meanwhile, finished 29th in the league — worse than last year.
On the bright side, the Canucks will have a 12.