First of all, I just realized I included “messier” in the byline and for that, I accept my punishment.

The Canucks finished their season-ending presser with General Manager Jim Benning and newly re-signed Head Coach Travis Green and we’re no further ahead than we were 24 hours ago.

As the playoffs get into full swing, the Canucks organization will be watching more talented teams compete for a Cup that they should already be in contention for after what seems like the longest small-r rebuild the team has ever seen. Jim Benning stated that the team will explore buyouts, trades, and will be competitive in free agency after the season concludes.

There are still so many issues surrounding the team that will instantly impact the future of the club if they aren’t addressed properly. First and foremost, the rest of the coaching staff including uber goaltending coach Ian Clark needs to be signed and even though it came down to the eleventh hour for Travis Green, don’t expect it to be all roses when the other coaches are approached with new deals.

Many players on the team have been outspoken about who they’d like to see return and if it comes to the players to tell you publically via the media, it might be too late already.

I stated on the PP1 Podcast earlier this week that the failure to sign Tyler Toffoli to a new deal still lives rent-free in my head because he was such a great fit for this team and ended up signing with the Canadiens for a very team-friendly deal. Vancouver does have super prospect Vasili Podkolzin to look forward to next season and the sophomore seasons for Nils Höglander and Jack Rathbone to bite into and that does shed some sunshine on an otherwise dismal summer for this team.

Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes are waiting to sign contracts and even those may not be easy ones to close considering the NHL is continuing its flat-cap for the next season or two. If buyouts are coming there will be savings to be had but the penalties that come with them may not be worth executing if the needle barely moves on the cap situation.

Then there’s this:

This letter went out to our Season Ticket Members this morning. pic.twitter.com/IIXbZwBmsP

— Francesco Aquilini (@fr_aquilini) May 21, 2021

What does this even mean?

FA finishes his public address as Harvey Dent apparently and says he’ll “repay our loyalty”. Francesco, if you want to repay our loyalty you can do a few things, none of which will be pretty:

1. Sell the team – You came in like a wrecking ball and helped hire some of the most innovative minds in the game to change not only the Canucks, but the way we think about competition in sport. You followed that up with multiple internal pissing matches in which those led to the current state of the team and has made it look like the laughing stock of the sport. There is no way your pride and ego have been affected so stroking a signature on future cheques is a rubber stamp process with no emotion whatsoever.
2. Rebrand – even though the orca has emblazoned the Canucks jersey since the late-90s, there is nothing else in the brand that flows from that. The skate logo has been teased to us for years and it’s time to make it a permanent third at the very least. Add to this the commitment to change the seats in Rogers Arena to blue and white. Sure, it’s cosmetic, but it shows your dedication to streamlining the message (what that is, I have no clue).
3. Fire Jim Benning – There is more than enough money in your wallet to eat a few mistakes, it’s public knowledge you’ve blown a few dollars in real estate with just as awful results. Giving Jim the vote of confidence after seven years of murky decisions and less than optimal results in the standings just doesn’t make any sense. How can you be happy with what is in front of you? Making the playoffs will more than make up for these errors when you see your ROI compound the way it did in the late 2000s. I’m not one to have someone canned from their job but sports is different than real life and not letting him go will cost you more than just his contract. I mean, you’ve seen all his press conferences, right?

Nothing has made sense with this team for years now and it’s clear that things are as messy as a dollar store diaper. Leafs fans feel sorry for us, Senators fans feel sorry for us, heck, the Sabres look like a model franchise.

There have been no serious changes to this team whether it be up top or on the roster and that has to worry any fan and it should worry the people in charge. What’s the point of even opening the doors if there is no clear plan?

My personal confidence in this team has never been lower and it’s going to take some elite-level Macguyvering to turn this all around.

This summer has once again become the most important offseason in the team’s illustrious history and let us pray that a squirrel doesn’t run in front of management when the key pieces of this team need to be locked up.

The Canucks are barely winning in a simulated video game, you can bet your bottom dollar it’s not even close in real life.