Reefer2 wrote:BUT - when the Nucks won the presidents trophy we need to realize it was based upon playing some real crappy divisional teams. The points were hiding the warts which always came to light when the games went to the next level.
Not diminishing the fact they did win the presidents trophy.
Sorry Reefer, but you are infact, greatly diminishing the fact that we won back-to-back Presidents' trophies.
That 2010/2011 Canucks team was head over heels better than every single team that year and was one of the greatest hockey teams ever assembled. It's not farfetched to say that if the Canucks really wanted to, we could have had close to 130 points that year (i.e. in a few games, the Canucks deliberately 'tanked' as to save/conserve energy for the playoffs).
Even in 2011/2012..........while it's true that the Canucks did take advantage of the weak division (and probably wouldn't have won the PT that season had they been in a tougher divison), we still would have been a Top 5 team. No one ever complained about Detroit racking up a few Presidents' trophies in embarrassingly weak Central Divisions. Also - in facing the Kings in the first round, we were without Daniel Sedin for the first 3 games. With the exception of Game 2 in that series, each and every game was a coin flip.
Losing to a team that then destroyed every other team en route to a cup victory (give or take, Games 5 and 6 they played against the Devils in the finals because they completely relaxed) in no friggin way exposes our "warts."
Canucks were a great team that year but simply lost to an even greater team that was absolutely sizzling.
The only 'bad' year we've had in recent years was last year.............and even then, despite all of our injuries and off-ice drama, finished 7th overall in the league. We lost 4-0 to the Sharks but that series could have just as easily been 2-2.