Fodder for Thought: Canucks Desperate to Get Back to Being Playoff Failures

Published on 22-Sep-2014 by Xavier McSpaniel

NHL    NHL Daily Opinion

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Fodder for Thought: Canucks Desperate to Get Back to Being Playoff Failures

As the NHL training camps shift into high gear, the Vancouver Canucks have made it clear they're on a mission of redemption this season.

Last year, Vancouver missed the playoffs altogether, an unacceptable result for a club that has prided itself on making the postseason ... and then promptly soiling the bed.

But with a minor upgrade in playing talent and a new hierarchy demanding higher standards of mediocrity, the Canucks are hell bent on once more making up the numbers in the colossal Western Conference.

"We want to get back to where we belong," said President Trevor Linden, wearing a foam finger emblazoned with 'We're #8!'

"We're a playoff team that can't win a playoff series. That's our identity. That's our calling card. That's what other teams expect from us, and that's what we expect from ourselves."

"And with a real commitment to being consistently average, I know we'll make it."

So, predictions of a first-round mauling at the hands of the Kings or the Ducks or the Blues are not over the top?

"Not at all. We've got a team that can squeak into the dance. And once we're there ... well, our record speaks for itself: one win from our past eleven playoff games. We're proud of that mark and we want to build on it."

Time will tell if the Canucks can scale those lofty heights.