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In 2012, it was a first-round exit at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings. One year later, an inglorious sweep by the San Jose Sharks, and in 2015 the Canucks were ousted by the Calgary Flames. All three of those losses occurred with the Canucks as the higher seed and with the team winning just two of eight games on home ice.

All of those playoff appearances were stepping stones to nowhere, just as this one would be. So park the post-season chatter and address the true need of the franchise: assembling elite-level talent that can turn the Canucks into a contender again.

Do what you can in these next 10 days ahead of the trade deadline to turn aging players into assets. After that, play the young players in all situations. And keep playing them regardless of the results.

Don’t worry about loyalty to veterans who don’t figure in future plans. Turn the team over to Horvat. See if Reid Boucher has a future here in an offensive capacity. Find out if Brendan Gaunce can play higher in the lineup.

If Jordan Subban is still in the fold after the deadline, give him a look. Call up Thatcher Demko and give him a couple of NHL starts. Sign Brock Boeser the minute his college season is done and bring him in to play games if the schedule permits. Maybe even free Jake Virtanen and turn him loose at the NHL level again.

Add a few new pieces to the mix at the draft and then get this thing moving in the right direction. Retool. Rebuild. Reload. Call it whatever you like — just don’t utter the word playoffs again until the organization is truly ready to compete.

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