Canucks Release Letter to Fans

The rebuild has officially begun in Vancouver. After the Canucks reached the halfway mark of the season well out of a playoff spot GM Travis Fleming decided enough was enough and completely overhauled his roster.

A number of big name players have left town recently, including long time Canucks Ryan O’Reilly, John Carlson and former team captain Shea Weber. The return has been mostly draft picks and prospects, signalling a change in direction for a club who has historically mortgaged the future to win now.

Today the club released a letter to their fans addressing the rebuild and outlining the team’s plans for the future.

First and foremost we would like to thank our fans for their continued support. Without you none of the success we’ve achieved over the last few seasons would be possible.

It’s been a fun ride for Canucks fans during their first three seasons in the EHE. Three straight playoff births, two straight trips to the Gretzky Conference finals and Alex Ovechkin winning the Rocket Richard Trophy last season are just some of the amazing memories this team has produced during that time.

When we were putting this team together in the offseason we had hoped to give one more memorable season to our fans and try to achieve our goal of winning the Stanley Cup. Regrettably it wasn’t meant to be. With the season past the halfway point and our team still well out of the playoff picture we’ve been forced to change our direction.

The departures of many familiar names, including Ryan O’Reilly, John Carlson and Shea Weber are tough for all of us to deal with. These players have been a huge part of our franchise since it’s inception and they will truly be missed.

We wish we could tell you that there will be no more changes, but unfortunately before the end of the season we expect more moves to be made to help this team better compete in the future. We ask you to please stand by our team during this difficult transition period while we remold our roster.

We assure you that our goal is still to bring a Stanley Cup to this great city. We plan to achieve this by building through the draft and assembling a young talented roster that will be competitive for years to come. This strategy may take time to execute, but we promise you it will be worth it.

In the meantime we’d like to recommend a few new ways for you to enjoy the rest of the EHE regular season:

Start cheering against the Rangers, Capitals, Golden Knights and Ducks: Since we now hold all of these teams first round picks it’s time for you the fans to do your part and start cheering against them. Remember, the lower they finish the higher we pick! Sending their players threatening letters to throw them off their game, slipping laxatives in their Gatorade before games and trying to run their team bus off the road are all highly encouraged tactics (although you didn’t hear that from us!)

Start trolling Commissioner Kevin Lacy: Continually ask Kevin questions about the league that are clearly answered in the CBA. When he tells you to check the CBA ask him what the CBA is. When he inevitably ignores you ask him a question about player rerates. If you look towards San Jose you might actually be able to see the steam shooting out of his ears.

Mock all of the Chicago Blackhawks’ trades: Every time the Blackhawks make a trade write GM Thomas Gidlow to tell him you feel he lost the deal, even if you really think he made out pretty well. Expect a very prompt and thorough reply about why he disagrees with you. Write him again to say you still feel he lost the trade. You should receive an even longer and more thorough explanation about why he feels you’re wrong. Keep doing this until it stops being funny.

Post somewhere that Scandinavian hockey players are the worst: Seriously, do it and then just sit back and wait for a response from Minnesota Wild GM Harald Geissler. It should be priceless.

Make the Rangers trade their entire roster: Trade deadline is coming up! If you really want to have some fun write Rangers’s GM Martins Auzins and tell him you’re bored with his team and it’s current make-up. He’ll be happy to change the entire Rangers roster within the span of a day for you.

Thank you again for being a fan of this great team. With your support we’re confident we can return to being a Stanley Cup competitor in the near future.

Sincerely,
Travis Fleming
General Manager