Can the Canucks pull in the right direction?

It can be a funny thing, the time between.

Take the Vancouver Canucks for instance, who in effect needed to shed three legends of the franchise over the span of a few months in order for ownership, hockey operations and the coaching staff to feel truly free to chart out whatever course they so choose.

Or at least to have everyone “pulling in the same direction.”

This is no slight, of course, to Daniel and Henrik Sedin, who ended their brilliant careers at the end of last season, and with that joint decision officially turned over a roster that, to no fault of their own, was stuck — and suffered — in the awkward phase that follows a franchise’s swing for the fence.

And despite what you might have inferred from the quote above from owner Francesco Aquilini, it’s not to disparage former team president Trevor Linden, either. For all we know, Linden delivered nothing but wisdom from his corner office throughout his four-year executive tenure — only to have his ideas overruled by the voice that ultimately matters most: that Aquilini fella cutting the cheques.

Nevertheless, it’s a new day in Vancouver, and it’s what happens this season, with the makings of an elite talent nucleus in place, which will set the tone and timeline for the next competitive run for the franchise after the Sedins.

So how do the Canucks set things in motion?

Inaction is never the most desirable answer, especially for a franchise that hasn’t had much to rally behind in recent seasons. But in failing to realize a full reset was in order and instead embarking on this gradual descent to the league basement over the last half decade, it’s at the point now where it only makes sense for the Canucks to complete their decaying process.

Plus, there’s that little detail that seems written in the stars.

The latest key recruit to the Canucks’ talented prospect base, defenseman Quinn Hughes, is the older brother of Jack Hughes, who might be the most-hyped NHL prospect since Connor McDavid and will be chosen No. 1 overall at the 2019 NHL Draft to be held in — you guessed it — Vancouver for the very first time.

On a stage in Rogers Arena, one star brother tandem succeeds another, and the Canucks never speak of the last half decade again.

Okay, maybe the cart’s been put before the horse. But even still, the Canucks had every reason to plan and prepare for their leanest season since the early years.

So it makes you wonder why they went out and spent $27.8 million in free agency on three players that combined for 24 goals last season. Or better, if the direction Linden was pulling in was the direction they ought to be heading down.

Yes, for as romantic and serendipitous and perfect as it all sounds, a 20 percent chance at The Brothers Hughes is the only assurance the Canucks can secure from a last-place finish.

Still, it’s incumbent on the Canucks to put themselves in a position to add another top-end prospect this summer to help drag them onto the upswing.

While undeniably useful at the margins for teams farther along in their processes, fortunately, the Canucks’ three free-agent acquisitions are closer to replacement-level adds than pure game-breakers.

And despite rolling out maybe more talent on their opening night roster than they did with the Sedins still active at the end of last season with Brock Boeser returning from injury and former fifth-overall pick Elias Pettersson poised to challenge for the Calder Trophy, the Canucks remain one of, if not, the worst teams on paper in the NHL.

It seems the Canucks are where they need to be, and therefore closer than ever to being competitive again.

Whether that’s their intention, however, is another story.

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