Vancouver Canucks eliminated: 3 things they need to do in offseason

The Vancouver Canucks have been eliminated from the NHL playoffs once again after a tumultuous season filled with controversy and a media bonanza.

Despite their noisy start to the season, nobody was paying attention to the Canucks as they bottomed out of the playoffs. The Vancouver Canucks were unable to sell off key pieces at the NHL trade deadline and now face a crucial offseason.

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What should Vancouver Canucks do in off-season?

Here are three things they should do:

#1 Craft a five-year plan

One thing any new administrator does when taking over a business is to create a five-year plan to chart out a course for the future. The Vancouver Canucks need to do that now if they haven’t done it already.

The Canucks are not in a bad place. Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes, J.T. Miller and Thatcher Demko still have a ton of talent on their roster. That talent is growing restless, though, as front office incompetence has led to another losing season. The front office needs to be transparent with its players about the team's intentions going forward.

#2 Find projected talent

So much of the Canucks roster is undeveloped and untapped potential. Ethan Bear, Andrei Kuzimenko and Vitali Kravtsov are all players who were projected to be much better than they are doing now. How much of that is the team and how much is the player?

The Canucks got Rick Tocchet to serve as coach, and he will have the entire offseason to try and figure out how to realize the potential of a roster filled with promising players. If Tocchet can do it, the Canucks could be Stanley Cup contenders, but it isn’t likely.

#3 Shed cap

The Canucks have barely any cap space heading into the NHL offseason. That isn’t a good thing for a team that has struggled all season and have a ton of money tied up in future contracts. The team traded their captain, Bo Horvat, but brought back nearly as much cap space in Anthony Beauvillier.

For their young stars to take a leadership role, the Canucks need to shed cap by hitting the trade market. There’s plenty of value in the market for guys like Brock Boeser and Conor Garland. They just have to find the right destinations.