Canucks: Fans weigh in on half a season gone, half a season to go

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — The Vancouver Canucks reached the halfway mark of their season on Thursday in Tampa.

Coming into the year, there were high hopes. Fans and pundits alike thought this team would compete for a playoff spot. Instead, the team has mostly sputtered along with a .500 record.

If they do miss the playoffs, this will be the eighth time in 10 years that the Canucks have missed the post-season — and, of course, one of those playoff spots was in 2020, when the Stanley Cup post-season was played without fans, in Edmonton, the first summer of COVID-19.

The 2022-23 Canucks’ players still believe they’re a better team than their record shows. But coach Bruce Boudreau, who won over fans last year by nearly dragging his team to the playoffs, appears to be on borrowed time as the club has stumbled, leading management to plot a new course, one they believe will deliver a playoff spot and eventually Cup contention.