It’s not your fault, really, Chicago. You were told that the “core” was the important thing and that ,without half of your cup-winning roster and a lot of the heart-and-soul guys, you could still compete. By the time the Canucks realized that the playoffs are harder than blowing through the Pacific Division with ease, they had done you an even greater disservice than Dale Tallon had before he left to rebuild the Thrashers:

They left you with the hope that a team built on moxie, determination, and guys like Nick Leddy carrying large chunks of ice time could pull off the miracle and make it back to the promised land.

When the cap goes up next season and you’re given wee bit of breathing room to decide whether you want to try to get an NHL-caliber defenseman for your third pairing or a third-liner who can consistently play like he might belong on another NHL team’s 2nd line rather than looking like he’d be more comfortable as an OHL top-six man, take heart in knowing that you’ll be slightly less prone to the dangers that a lack of depth brings. (Hey, I hear that Jonathan Ericsson is going to be a free agent this summer. Why not throw $2M per season at him?)

Then despair because you know you’re stuck with Quenneville.

Well, we lasted two games longer than New York, and three games longer than Phoenix.

Like any of that matters….