When general manager Jim Benning made the move to Vancouver, there was quite a bit of hockey jargon and word play going around to side step what had been, up to that point, the slow painful death of the 2011 Stanley Cup finals core. Fast forward two seasons and here we are on the brink of missing the playoffs for the second time in three seasons, and there’s no dodging it this time.
Canucks fans will finally come to terms with the reality: the window for the 2011 core has closed, and it’s time to start building with an eye to what comes after the era that was Daniel and Henrik Sedin.