The Vancouver Canucks entered the 2018-19 season with extremely low expectations, but the team fared much better than anybody expected.
And for that, you have to call this season a success — even though they missed the playoffs for a fourth straight year. Because, after a very frustrating five years, this team is finally trending upwards.
With the Sedin twins retired, rookie Elias Pettersson, sniper Brock Boeser and future captain Bo Horvat took the reigns and emerged as the new franchise faces here on the west coast. And despite so many injuries to key players throughout the season, Vancouver’s three young stars kept this team in the playoff race up until early March.