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From right: Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning, president of hockey operations Trevor Linden and head coach Willie Desjardins are remaking the team’s front office in their image.JONATHAN HAYWARD/The Canadian Press

The overhaul of the Vancouver Canucks intensified Thursday morning as the team fired three top executives who were key personnel from the Mike Gillis era.

The Canucks' prospects for the 2015-16 season have dimmed considerably in the past week, from the draft through the start of free agency, as Vancouver is stuck in neutral and their Pacific Division rivals grow stronger. At the same time, team president Trevor Linden and general manager Jim Benning – hired in the spring of 2014 – have moved to more sharply shape the team in their vision.

Vancouver is attempting to rebuild its hockey team – while staying competitive and aiming for the playoffs. It is a strategy that has failed for other Canadian teams, such as the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Calgary Flames from 2009 through 2012.

The latest Vancouver moves came in the executive ranks. Assistant general managers Laurence Gilman and Lorne Henning were fired, as was Eric Crawford, director of player personnel. Gilman and Henning were pillars of the Gillis era, after Gillis moved from his role as player agent to rookie NHL GM in 2008.

Crawford is the older brother of former Canucks coach Marc Crawford and has been with the team since his brother became coach in the late 1990s.

"We have made some difficult decisions to our roster and staff recently after a thorough review of the team," said Linden in a statement. "These are not easy decisions, nor were they taken lightly. But they're important as we transition this team and build for the future."

Gillis was fired near the end of the 2013-14 season, as the Canucks imploded under coach John Tortorella and missed the playoffs. Linden, a rookie NHL executive, was hired amid the fray and hired Benning, a rookie NHL GM who was an assistant in Boston, after the season. The two left the Gillis-era management intact through this past season.

Linden and Benning tried to pull off moves around the draft but were unable to close on trades, whereas division rivals such as the Los Angeles Kings picked up Milan Lucic from Boston, and the Flames scored Dougie Hamilton. The Canucks also unloaded goalie Eddie Lack and forward Zack Kassian for little in return, two players that had been part of the team future under Gillis.

While the Canucks work to change their roster, on and off the ice, Linden has continually insisted the No. 1 goal is to make the playoffs. The Canucks did so last season, before losing in the first round to the upstart Flames.

Making the playoffs in 2015-16, after everything that has happened this offseason (including a rapidly strengthening Edmonton Oilers) appears much more difficult.

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