When the Vancouver Canucks unveiled a new management regime, it was supposed to mark a fresh, positive chapter for the franchise.

Fan favourite and former captain Trevor Linden gave the makeover an appealing face as the team’s president of hockey operations, while longtime NHL executive Jim Benning brought experience and gravitas to the department.

The new administration handled its initial challenge — getting a suitable return for Ryan Kesler — and (rightly so) there was reason for optimism in British Columbia.

In the just over a year since, however, that optimism has been steadily chipped away as Linden and Benning have committed sins of commission and sins of omission, allowing a decent Canucks roster to slowly erode in some instances — and unintentionally helping it along in others.

The following are four key errors made by the franchise over the last year:

Choosing Ryan Miller over Eddie Lack

The Canucks solved their latest goaltending dilemma at the 2015 NHL Draft, shipping off cheap, young 1B goalie Eddie Lack to Carolina for an anemic return and thereby committing to Ryan Miller — an older, more expensive starter who had been outperformed by Lack the previous season.

Incredibly, Vancouver wasn’t forced to make the move; they chose Miller over Lack.

“We could have moved Ryan Miller,” Benning told season ticket holders in July. “There were teams calling on Ryan Miller.”

The two goalies also appear to be moving in different directions:

It’s a difficult choice to defend from both a salary cap and a performance perspective. Miller has two years left at a cap hit of $6 million, while Lack has a single season left at $1.15 million. And, given the return the Canucks garnered, will still be significantly cheaper than Miller on his next contract.

Acquiring — and signing — Brandon Sutter

One of Vancouver’s key additions this summer was ex-Penguins centre Brandon Sutter, acquired at the cost of Nick Bonino along with various futures as sweeteners to the deal.

Sutter was promptly signed to a long-term contract at more than double Bonino’s cap hit, with the expectation that he’ll play a key role down the middle in the future.

But there are problems. Touted as a big, physical, defensive centre, Sutter weighs pretty much the same as the Sedin twins, ranked 10th among Pittsburgh forwards in hits last season and routinely sees his team out-shot and out-scored when he’s on the ice despite the fact that he doesn’t often see top opposition. (Top opponents more commonly play against two guys named Crosby and Malkin.)

He’s also a black hole offensively at even-strength, as seen by this comparison of his last three seasons to the other guys who played centre for Vancouver last year:

Poor cap management

Making cap mistakes makes it increasingly difficult over time to keep good teams together. (Or in some cases, to tear bad teams apart.)

Over-spending on players is one of the worst mistakes a team can make, and often ends up costing a club guys who actually matter.

Just ask Chicago GM Stan Bowman about Bryan Bickell.

Vancouver has fallen into the bad habit of paying more than it needs to for replaceable pieces. The retention of Miller over Lack is a great example, as is Sutter’s long-term deal.

But these aren’t the only cases. Under Linden and Benning, the Canucks have made a habit of overpaying players. Luca Sbisa, Derek Dorsett and Brandon Prust were all signed or acquired under the watch of this administration, and Vancouver will spend a total of $8.75 million on what is essentially a No. 5 defenceman and two fourth-line wingers.

Altogether, the Canucks have spent nearly $7.5 million more on a quartet of players who make them worse than by simply retaining internal options would have.

Struggling to have an overall plan

More damning than any of the individual mistakes the Canucks have made is the lack of focus on an ultimate goal.

At the macro level it’s hard to see how the course Linden and Benning have steered moves the team in a winning direction.

The new management inherited a group of capable but older core players, which suggested one of two directions: Either they could build around that veteran core, pushing for a championship in the short-term, or they could make a concerted effort to get younger by moving veterans out while they had value and adding pieces for the long-term.

The managers have not aggressively built up the Canucks in the here-and-now; instead they’ve opted to ship out key support pieces like Garrison and Kevin Bieksa for second-round picks.

Nor have they gone into teardown mode; instead the last productive years of the team’s best players are being spent in the service of a club that isn’t a realistic contender.

The following is a list of every forward to average more than 15 minutes per game, every defenceman to average more than 20 minutes per game, and every goalie to play more than 40 NHL games last year, along with age (as of Oct. 1, 2016) and contract status.

For the most part, these players are entering the years in which we expect to see steep declines in performance. The entire forward core (save Sutter, who is problematic in other ways) is on the downswing; only Tanev can realistically be expected to improve at all on defence; and Miller’s already showing evidence that he’s slipping.

With few exceptions, all of these players will be bound for free agency over the next three summers.