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While the results of this season are obviously disappointing for the Vancouver Canucks -- disappointing enough to cost GM Mike Gillis his job -- this isnt necessarily a team in a terrible position. Custom Tampa Bay Rays Nike Jerseys . In fact, with a few improvements, this could very well be a decent team over the next few seasons. I will go into more detail when digging into the Canucks Off-Season Game Plan, which will be coming earlier this year since they are part of the non-playoff contingent, there are some reasons to think this is a favourable situation for President of Hockey Operations Trevor Linden and whomever he selects to be the new general manager. This isnt to say everything is just fine, but there are teams in far worse situations than the Canucks. A look at some of the positives: Despite this season going off the rails, the Canucks ranked ninth in Fenwick Close, a measure of puck possession. Among the top dozen teams in that metric, only the Canucks and New Jersey Devils (who are an impossibly terrible 0-11 in shootouts) are not in playoff position. So why is that a positive? The Canucks arent going to the postseason, in large part, because theyve been terribly unlucky around the net. Their 7.2% even-strength shooting percentage is ranked 25th in the league this year after it was middle of the pack -- 15th (8.0%) and 14th (7.8%) -- in the previous two seasons. Its very difficult for a team to stray too far from the average over a longer period of time and while this doesnt mean the Canucks can just assume that they will score more next season, its pretty easy to forecast better luck for this group. As low as the team shooting percentage is at 5-on-5, having the likes of Alexandre Burrows, Chris Higgins, Ryan Kesler and both Sedins, their big minute forwards, all under 8.0% makes it likely that there will be some recovery towards more typical production, particularly because the Canucks top forwards still had strong seasons in terms of puck possession and as long as they are controlling play, the odds are in their favour that more pucks will end up in the oppositions net. Add a bona fide scorer to the mix and the odds of recovery would be even better. The Canucks have a solid group of defencemen. The top four of Dan Hamhuis, Kevin Bieksa, Alexander Edler and Jason Garrison is more than capable of anchoring a playoff team. Garrisons possession numbers took a dive this year but, on the whole, this group isnt a primary issue. Even better, they have relatively economical options Chris Tanev and Ryan Stanton to round out the top six. Tanev is also a viable candidate to move into the top four if one of those named above is convinced to waive a no-trade clause in order to upgrade elsewhere. There was a lot of talk around the trade deadline about Edler being available and, while it must be with the understanding that Edler was the unluckiest of Canucks blueliners this past season in terms of percentages going awry, he would be a top pair defenceman for quite a few teams and, since those arent made available often, he ought to bring a significant return. Also, as I noted on Twitter, the Canucks were on a 106-point pace through the first half of the season, but as January rolled around, they had some overlapping injuries. At some point, it was either Edler, Burrows, Roberto Luongo and/or Henrik Sedin missing time and they didnt have the depth to make up for those absences. That lack of depth brings us to some of the concerns that the new management will need to address. One, their core is older. Among the top six forwards in average ice time, 28-year-old Mike Santorelli, an unrestricted free agent coming off shoulder surgery, is the only one that wont be 30 by the time next season starts. On defence, Edler (27) and Tanev (24) are younger, but Garrison turns 30 in November and Bieksa and Hamhuis are already beyond. This doesnt mean that the moment a player hits 30, that they cease to have value, but age makes professional athletes a declining asset at a certain point and, by age 30, the vast majority are declining assets and most of Vancouvers core is in that neighbourhood now. Their goaltending situation, not-so-long-ago enviably deep, is decidedly suspect. 26-year-old Eddie Lack has had an okay rookie season, though if he had played well in January (1-5-2, 2.95 GAA, .908 SV%), that might have prevented, or at least slowed, the teams fade from contention and then his first couple weeks following the Luongo trade (.882 SV% in 8 GP) were a little rough as well but, on the whole, Lack has given the Canucks more than they had any right to expect from him coming into the season. Lack has played well enough to have a shot at competing for the starting job next year, with a veteran added to the mix to provide stability. There are free agents ranging in experience (Ryan Miller, Jaroslav Halak, Jonas Hiller, Brian Elliott, Ray Emery, Thomas Greiss) or a trade option like James Reimer that could upgrade the position from its suddenly subpar standing and an above-average possession team with stable goaltending is most of the way towards the playoffs. There is also the matter of Ryan Kesler reportedly asking out of Vancouver prior to the trade deadline. If that holds true, then there would be at least one blockbuster move to take care of this summer, but Kesler recently indicated that he intends to return to Vancouver next season. Even if they are capable of returning to the playoffs in short order, and thats possible, the Canucks need to beef up their young talent throughout the organization so that, even if the Canucks arent necessarily Cup-bound in the next couple years, that they have enough to be competitive as the core moves on. Young roster wingers Nicklas Jensen and Zack Kassian still have some potential to explore but may not ultimately be top-six performers. Bo Horvat and Brendan Gaunce, first rounders the past two seasons, could provide solid two-way play when they are deemed ready to play, but the Canucks need more. These are the challenges that come with the job for anyone running a hockey team and, given the Canucks above-average core, they have some easier issues to deal with than some other non-playoff clubs that dont have that foundation in place. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Custom Boston Red Sox Nike Jerseys . Particularly when speaking in the stadium of Tuesdays opponent: Manchester City. "Maybe they dont fear us as before," Pique said on Monday, "because in the last two years we didnt win the Champions League. Custom Pittsburgh Pirates Nike Jerseys . There was little fanfare, though, when the Yankees captain was taken out of his final regular-season Subway Series game in the eighth inning. Jeter watched the last four outs from the bench, pulled off the field during a double switch Thursday night as the Yankees held off the Mets 1-0. https://www.custombaseballnikejerseys.com/ . Or maybe he already did. Clark hit his first homer, Wily Peralta pitched into the seventh inning, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Miami Marlins 4-1 Wednesday night.VANCOUVER - Down 1-0 after two periods with their season on the line, the Vancouver Canucks showed they still have a little fight left. Brad Richardson scored with 1:23 remaining in regulation Saturday as the Canucks kept their minuscule playoff hopes alive with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. Richardson took a feed from linemate Zack Kassian at the side of Jonathan Quicks goal and ripped home his 11th of the season to keep the Canucks in the post-season chase, at least mathematically. "That shows the character of the team," said Kassian. "We could have folded once they scored and packed our bags but we didnt. We competed and stuck with our game plan." The Canucks and embattled head coach John Tortorella would have been eliminated from post-season contention with a regulation loss, but will instead live to see another day thanks to a spirited effort against a Western Conference powerhouse. "What do we have to lose, right? Torts just told to have fun and go play and what the hell?" said Richardson of what was discussed in the locker-room during the second intermission. "I think we all know where all are. "Whatever happens, happens." Vancouver still sits six points back of the Dallas Stars for the second wild-card spot in the West with just four games left on the schedule. In short, the Canucks will need a miracle to make the post-season, but the fact they came back against a Kings team that won the seasons first four meetings and was 26-2-0 when leading after two periods is a definite positive in what is in all likelihood a lost campaign. "We played hard. We played as a team. We stuck together," said Canucks captain Henrik Sedin, who returned after missing four games with an upper-body injury. "Thats never been a problem here the last couple weeks and thats a good feeling." Alexander Edler added a goal and an assist for Vancouver (35-32-11), which got 25 saves from Eddie Lack in his 18th straight start since the Olympic break. Slava Voynov scored for Los Angeles (45-28-6). Quick stopped 38 shots for the Kings, who are locked into the third seed in the Pacific Division. "I thought we played great the whole game," said Richardson, who left the Kings to sign with Vancouver in the off-season. "Everyone played great tonight. I thought Eddie was awesome. Its nice to beat those guys for sure." Trailing 1-0 after 40 minutes, the Canucks tied the score on the power play after Edlers seventh of the season just 66 seconds into the third stood up after a video review. The Vancouver defenceman pinched down to Quicks crease and saw Daniel Sedins saucer pass deflect in off his skate, but without a distinct motion. The Canucks had another power play moments later, but some good puck movement failed to create a clear-cut chance on Quick. "We have to bear down. We took three penalties and they scored on one of them," said Kings forward Marian Gaborik. "We cant have breakdowns in our zone. We have to get ready and make sure it doesnt happen. Were heading into playoffs. "These game situations can costt us big so we have to figure it out and make sure we bear down and are strong on pucks in front of our net. Custom Miami Marlins Nike Jerseys. " The game was played after a controversial few days in Vancouver that included Canucks president and general manager Mike Gillis seeming to criticize the style employed by Tortorella in a live radio interview. Gillis said he wanted the club to get back to the high-tempo, puck-possession game that got Vancouver to within one victory of the 2011 Stanley Cup under former head coach Alain Vigneault, who was fired last off-season after a first-round playoff exit. Tortorella responded to Gillis comments by saying that both he and his boss were on the same page in terms of systems coming out of training camp, but added that he was slow to respond to injuries that forced the Canucks into a more conservative style by mid-season. On the ice, the Kings snapped a scoreless tie on a power play with 28 seconds left in the second period on Voynovs fourth goal of the season on a massive breakdown by the Canucks penalty-killing unit. All four Vancouver players on the ice inexplicably wound up in the corner below the goal-line, leaving Voynov wide open in front to bury a feed from Jeff Carter. The goal was Voynovs first goal since Nov. 14, a span of 59 games. "When they scored at the end of the second period, we talked about just gaining the momentum back," said Tortorella. "I thought we played a pretty good second period. We just make a terrible coverage mistake on our penalty kill — really they didnt get a sniff through any of it. "We just talked about the first few shifts of just trying to gain momentum and not sink because we got scored on late. Then we score a power-play goal. I thought we played well." The Canucks had a 4-on-3 power play for 34 seconds earlier in the period that they failed to capitalize on, as well as a great chance for Richardson that the Vancouver forward couldnt get up and over Quick. At the other end, Lack made a huge pad stop in the periods opening minute when he came across to stone Tyler Toffoli on a 2-on-1. The Kings and Canucks have played some physical games this season and in the playoffs, but the opening 20 minutes felt more like an exhibition game. Los Angeles captain Dustin Brown had the best opportunity to break the scoreless deadlock with 30 seconds remaining, but his shot from the faceoff circle rang off the post behind Lack. "We played, I think, like we did back before Christmas. We iced a lineup thats healthy," said Henrik Sedin. "We were able to be aggressive, play the way we know we can. Weve been in a lot of tight games against these guys." Notes: Kings defenceman Matt Greene left the game in the third period but later returned after taking a shot off the shin that left blood splattered on the ice. ... Kings defenceman Drew Doughty missed out because of an upper-body injury, thought to be a left shoulder ailment. Andrew Campbell made his NHL debut on the L.A. blue-line in Doughtys place. ... The Canucks are home to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday. ... The Kings take on the Flames in Calgary on Wednesday. ' ' '