Well, that was it. In the most important game of the season, the Canucks blew a 3-0 lead, allowed 7 goals, and lost to the Calgary Flames. I hope you all forgive me for a bit of a rambling postgame tonight. I’m as depressed and angry about this outcome as any of you are, and I’m certain we’ll have ample opportunity to pick over this carcass in the coming weeks and months.

For a look at where it all went wrong and some parting thoughts on the 2014-2015 season, join me after the jump.

I’m really in no mood to pick apart tonight’s game, so I’ll start by addressing something to do with fandom that had very little to do with tonight’s game but still really bothers me when it gets brought up. Occasionally (like tonight), someone will read something I’ve said online and criticize me for “not supporting our boys” or “not being a real fan,” and that if you’re anything less than 100% less than supportive to the team at all times, you are unworthy of calling yourself a real supporter of the Vancouver Canucks.

This train of thought is bullshit. Blind support is nothing if not the single most vapid and superficial level of sports fandom, and if you’re reading this blog I assume you’re well beyond that point. If you get angry at the team, if you get sick when they lose, and if it genuinely bothers you to see them struggle, you’re a true fan. If you take the time to break down and analyze what every single microscopic transaction means for the team and it’s future, you’re a true fan. If you’re invested enough to take the time to read and share a 1,200 word article on Ashton freaking Sautner, you’re a true fan. 

Speaking on a personal level, I write about the Canucks because I want nothing more than for them to win the Stanley Cup. Like so many of you I’m sure, my Dad introduced me to hockey when I was really young, and we’ve bonded over hockey and the Canucks through the years. I want to be able to share a Stanley Cup championship with him. They came so close in 2011, but, well, you know that story.

And then I almost lost my Dad to a disease a couple years ago. I’m incredibly fortunate to still have him here with me, but that reminded me just how short a time we really have. And what really eats me inside is that I know I’m not unique here. Hundreds of thousands of other fans have stories just like mine. They’ve bonded with their parents or siblings or children or spouses or friends over hockey and the Canucks, and a Stanley Cup would be incredibly special for all of them too. But time – that bastard time – isn’t going to let us share that special experience with everyone we want to.

So this is why I get angry and depressed and negative with the team. I desperately want them to win, and every year they spend without a clear total commitment to winning the Stanley Cup at some distinct point in time burns me like nothing else. It’s a waste of time for the fantastic fans of this organization and monumentally frustrating for those who just want to win it all for once. Just once.

Part of being a Canucks fan is expecting the worst, I get that. People who’ve been around the block a lot more times than I have will be all too happy to tell me about the roulette wheel or Kurtenbach breaking his leg or the 80’s, and how in comparison, this recent run of success is really not that bad. But that still doesn’t change the fact that they’ve lost the last meaningful game of every single season since 1970, and I can’t say that I’m confident this will change in the next five years.

. Think of how much can happen in five years, and now do that with the knowledge that the Canucks go into this offseason with nobody clearly forcing their way into a top-4 D corps that was exposed by a very poor offensive team, depth reinforcements years away still from being meaningful contributors, and no succession plan for the one forward group that kept the team alive for this long. As much as you and I want this team to win, they’re not even close. They’re not even close to being close.

But what they can do to change that and force their way back to prominence is a topic for another day. I don’t have anything meaningful in terms of analysis right now, and I don’t suppose anyone else does either. It’s too soon, and losing to the Calgary Flames of all teams really stings.

I want to thank you all, each and every one of you who ever read, shared, or commented on any Canucks Army piece this season for your support. We may be sad together tonight, but the ride is always entertaining, and experiencing hockey with all of you helps make this all worthwhile. You’re all great fans, and I sincerely hope that one day you get your Stanley Cup. You deserve it.

I also want to thank Thom, Josh, J.D., Moneypuck, Grainne, Matt, Petbugs, Ryan, and everyone else who’s contributed to Canucks Army this season for your help. It’s been a blast working with all of you this year, and you’ve all helped make Canucks Army into a first-rate destination for Canucks content. Here’s to even bigger and better things in the future.

In the meantime, we’ll be picking over this carcass in the coming days and weeks and months, hoping to find something – anything – of value that might help Vancouver with the big prize. We’re all working towards the same goal, and we’ll be doing everything we can to make the Canucks future a little bit more hopeful. Our research and findings may fall on deaf ears, but that won’t stop us from trying to further our understanding of the game of hockey and maybe one day help bring a Stanley Cup to Vancouver.

We’ll see you soon. Go Canucks Go.